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Commercial marketing, advertising departments and aspiring rappers know that certain extreme themes sell. This often leads to artists self-censorship; very often rap lyricists stay within a very narrow formula of commercially viable lyrical themes such as: sex, violence, and hyper-consumerism.
On MTV, 75 percent of the videos that tell a story involve sexual imagery. Over half involve violence and 80 percent combine the two, suggesting a high rate of images that depict violence against women.[1] In a 2004 study, violence occurred in music videos at a rate of 18.6 instances per hour.[2]
Mark Anthony Neal, a Duke University professor, comments, “I think when you are talking to a lot these young rappers, they see that the most important thing is for them is to get a record deal, and what they are hearing from the record companies and what the record companies are hearing from these video stations is that there are only certain examples of blackness that we are going to let flow through this space. And when it comes to hip-hop, there are certain conventions that we want to see. We want to see kind of the hard core thug performing hip-hop, we want to see booties shaking in the background, and when hip-hop videos don’t fit into those conventions, they don’t get played.”
In the mid- to late1990s, there was a greater variety in the type of hip-hop commercially available. In 1997, there were also many more hip-hop record labels in operation. When the recording industry underwent a massive restructuring and consolidation in 1998, mainstream hip-hop began to be dominated by gangsta rap.
The Campaign
The campaign for HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes will support media literacy and encourage young men and women to reflect on the impact of frequently violent and sexual imagery on themselves, their relationships and their communities.
Outreach for HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes provides opportunities to strengthen local and national networks, educate the community and increase local capacity to address the needs of young people and their families. Spearheaded by ITVS and Firelight Media, the campaign encourages local organizations and public television stations to work in partnership to develop activities that support the goals in key areas, including:
- Engage young people in reflection, discussion, critical thinking and problem-solving around the causes and effects of sexism, homophobia, and violence within hip-hop culture
- Support the work of local organizations that serve youth by providing a media tool along with expert training, resources, and connection to their peers
- Generate a national conversation on an increasingly violent, materialistic and sexually explicit American culture using hip-hop culture as a point of reference
- Provide opportunities to sustain conversations catalyzed by the film and move audiences from dialogue to action on the issues raised in the film
- Drive new, young, diverse viewers, as well as conventional audiences, to the national PBS broadcast and disseminate resources to those target groups
- Emphasize the positive and creative contributions of hip-hop, one of the most pervasive and dynamic global art forms engaging young people worldwide
Resources
Resources provided by ITVS to support local efforts include: our national partners and regional organizers; a website with relevant links; print materials such as a fact sheet, discussion guide and planning guide; press releases; flyers and a video module focused on media literacy from HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats And Rhymes. These resources are available for use in local workshops, screenings, forums and other events.
Media Literacy issue brief (PDF) >>
References
1. Pediatrics, 2001, p. 3
2. Parents Television Council, 2004
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