(One thing that struck me when viewing it again was the repeated use of the word fag at several points in the song. What's up with that? Is that working to construct a heteronormative masculinity, something else?)
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The Message --
I'd like to encourage you to continue to analyze the Message of the Message on the blog to see how much further and deeper we can take our in class analysis. How do we see the politics of abandonment in this video? How are the artists constructed their identity? What's going on in terms of its representation of race, gender and sexuality?
Here is the video again for our analysis.
(One thing that struck me when viewing it again was the repeated use of the word fag at several points in the song. What's up with that? Is that working to construct a heteronormative masculinity, something else?)
(One thing that struck me when viewing it again was the repeated use of the word fag at several points in the song. What's up with that? Is that working to construct a heteronormative masculinity, something else?)
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DJ Justice thats an interesting observation I didn't even notice them using that word during my first watch. For the most part the video seems to be very masculine from the clothing to toughness displayed and the language used in the rap. However what stood out to me after watching it again was the empty playgrounds possibly a statement about how kids are robbed of their childhood growing up in the Bronx because they have to grow up quickly to survive.
ReplyDeleteGeorge I love what you said about the playground. It kind of correlates to the lyric towards the end of the song that says, "...lived so fast and died so young". I also found it symbolic that there is so much traffic shown in clips of this video. I thought maybe the traffic could represent everything standing in the way, all the burdens. There is a line towards the beginning of the song that says, "...I tried to get away but I couldn't get far..." as the line is song traffic is shown.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, the last couple words of the song are,
ReplyDelete"yo mell, you see that girl there?
yo, that sounded like cowboy man
cool
yo, what's up money?"
I was wondering if anyone could clarify what the point of this verse was, and in what ways girls correlate to cowboy men, if they do so at all?
You are correct, my mistake.
DeleteIn response to the word "fag" I noticed he used it twice, once to describe the homeless lady and how she used to be a "fag hag"-- a woman who hangs out with gay men--then she eventually turned to stripping and became a prostitute. He raps "so she can tell stories to the girls back home" referring to how she might have grown up in a small town and maybe thought "one day I'm going to get out of this place and make something of myself!" but instead of getting a decent wage with a decent job, she had to turn to prostitution to live her life. The city life is a jungle, and you have to do what you need to do to get by. Being stuck in a jungle can turn on your primal instincts to adapt and survive, and she survived by getting paid to have sex but it eventually destroyed her and turned her homeless. "It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under" she wasn't as fortunate as him and did fall prey to "the jungle".
ReplyDeleteThe second time he mentioned the word "fag" is when he says
"Turned stickup kid, look what you've done did
Got sent up for a eight year bid
Now your manhood is took and you're a may tag
Spend the next two years as a undercover fag
Being used and abused to serve like hell
Till one day you was found hung dead in a cell"
Even thought it's probably pretty obvious to some people, I'm going to spell out this text anyway. I think by "turned stickup kid" he means that this guy started mugging people by using his gun, whether or not he killed, I'm unsure--so if anyone can clear that up for me let me know, but basically this kid gets thrown in jail for some involvement with a gun, got sentenced to 8 years in jail, and became someone's bitch for 2 years until he committed suicide (is anyone offended that I just said he became "someone's bitch"?). The word fag emits imagery of dehumanization, emasculation and shame. As is the act of a straight man being raped in jail, which is why it makes sense that he uses the word in that context.
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ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I'd like to add that my favorite line is "You got to have a con in this land of milk and honey." We're supposed to be living in a country thats prosperous and bountiful, filled with jobs and endless opportunities, except we're not living the American dream. We're living in a country where you might have to do something illegal to get by, i.e. sell drugs, prostitution, gambling, scamming.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that. There are many people trying to succeed in life by work hard and doing it the right way but it just seems that it is impossible to get further in life if you don't take a different path as you mentioned with illegal activities.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to start by bringing up a few things that I noticed. First, I wanted to note that the setting is very urban, the images are of everyday life/everyday people, he shows empty alleys, people waiting for things to happen (buses, lines, etc), and he both raps about and visually shows people just hanging out on the stoop watching things go by.
ReplyDeleteThat being said I think the "message" he is trying to get across is actually one of duality. He shows, and raps a lot about being "trapped" and feeling helpless. He shows racial tensions, oppression, and profiling. He also talks and raps a lot about people trying to get out, or better their situation, but continually making the wrong choices, especially from a young age.
It seems to me that he is equally frustrated with both the system and setting that he and his people are in, as well as the lack of good judgment and determination/ability to get out of the ghetto the right way, displayed by his people. He talks about priorities (all about money, aint a damn thing funny), life choices, and the role models of the community, and how the youth are aspiring to be like the fat cats that have all the money.
A thought I had about how many scenes there are of cars/taxis was that, going along with my two aforementioned ideas, that the taxis represented a few things. They represented the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the Bronx, things and people coming and going; an ebb and flow. The traffic, people being stuck. Cutting to a taxi scene right after a scene of people waiting may have been intentional to illustrate people waiting for change to come their way, instead of actively seeking it, and of course them being taxis (aside from it being NY) also illustrates that they aren't the ones in the driver's seat.
Just some thoughts.
First, I would like to say that I agree with Caitlin, "land of milk and honey" is one of my favorite lines in this song as well. It definitely speaks to the fact that in this neighborhood/concrete jungle "milk and honey" is not naturally available. Money and success, which basically equates to survival does not come easy, everyone must work for it.
ReplyDeleteThe portrayal of masculinity in this video is very noteworthy, because it manages to function in two different ways. First, as many of you have already mentioned, the word "fag" appears at least twice in the song, while it is not used directly against any individual in the video, the word is still used as a way to perpetuate shame, as well as the idea of what a man is not/should not be. In theory, by using this term, the masculinity of Grandmaster Flash, and the rest of his all male crew is fortified. Throughout the video, we are able to see masculinity being established with the use of the lyrics of the song, as well as the demeanor of Grandmaster and his crew. However, there seems to be a limit.
The black men in 'The Message' are not hypersexual. They assert themselves, but they are not portrayed to be violent, lustful, and savage men. Additionally, unlike current music videos, the men in this video do not need to gain power or credibility by having control over female bodies, or by having the will to do harm to male bodies. Visually and physically the men in this video maintain their masculinity by being themselves, but lyrically, the men use demeaning language to promote themselves.
word. awesome analyzation.
DeleteMaybe it is just because I am a queer individual who the word "fag" has been weaponized against for a large portion of my life, but I immediately noticed each time it was used and cringed deeply. It is interesting and unfortunate that while Melle Mel uses this entire song to talk about how the systems of oppression over him (classism and racism) are "pushing him close to the edge", by using those slurs as a way to shame others, he is also upholding a heavily oppressive system over others (heterosexism).
ReplyDeleteHomophobia in rap it turns out is just as deeply rooted as race and classism. "The Message" is the first hip hop song not only to really focus entirely on the MC but to directly adress issues of race and class. We should consider the time in which the message was written also when thinking about its homophobia, although it still is accepted in modern rap, homophobia was much more culturally acceptable in the early eighties.
ReplyDeleteI also think it is interesting to hear Melle Mel gay bashing when him and his friends are dressed like they are part of the Village People.
One of the boldest commentaries I noticed was the arrest of the group at the end of the video that accompanies the following...
ReplyDelete"What is that, a gang?
No
Shut up
I don't wanna hear your mouth
Shut up
Officer, officer, what is the problem?
You the problem
Hey, you ain't gotta push me man
Get in the car, get in the car..."
With this, we see the group loitering in front of a housing project, behaving harmlessly, when a cop car halts in front of them. Two white cops run out of their car and shove all five men into the backseat. This shows the source of rage and frustration that the song resolves around. Not only are the group falsely accused, but they are then physically and verbally assaulted. This also gives a clear insight into how the law operated in the Bronx during the early-80s.
Grandmaster Flash is using the "jungle" as a metaphor for life in the fast paced lifestyle of the Bronx. For example -
ReplyDeleteIn the real jungle, it is every being for itself, like new york city, where many people are trying to take care of only themselves and sometimes that affects how others are surviving.
It is the survival of the fittest. Those who are the most able to handle the dangers of the jungle (wether it's made of concrete or plants and trees) will rise to the top. Grandmaster Flash is trying to explain that it takes a lot of hard work to be like a lion or a cheetah.
The jungle is a metaphor for the "hood" or "ghetto," used many times over the course of hip hop history.
Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” paints a portrait of ghettoized New York inner-city life within the context of Manhattan’s bustling urban center. The song deals with (though is not limited to) aspects of space, poverty, drug use, prostitution, crime, education and death. As one of the first examples of its kind (“consciousness rap"), it pioneered a socio-politicized version of hip-hop concerned with conveying a message as opposed to just something to dance to (a la: Mos Def, Dead Prez, Public Enemy).
ReplyDeleteSpace is one of the most intriguing pieces of this video to me. The hook “It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under” is almost always laid over a scene of busy Manhattan: cars driving by, people rushing to work, etc. This “jungle” represents the active down-town, hardships of living in the ghetto, and the recklessness of society and Melle Mel wonders how he’s survived so long. In the face of flashing images of the bustling city, homeless on the sidewalk, ambulances driving by, and abandoned/derelict apartment buildings, the group utilize a porch and a street corner as a only means of expression (the only other space we see them is in what seems to be an old park/junk yard, but nobody is seen physically rapping there). These two spaces are theirs—safe spaces they can retreat to from the Jungle (though they are in fact still, themselves, in the Jungle). That being said, another reading could be that these visual representations of space only exist as a challenge to working-class stereotypical space: the porch and the street corner. Utilized safe spaces are not limited to two controllable, set, locations.
The construction of masculinity in “The Message” is also debatable. Visually speaking, The Furious Five (led by Melle Mel) are not the most traditional representation of masculinity hip-hop has seen in its (arguably) 30+ year span. In “The Message,” Melle Mel dawns a black driver’s cap, a white mesh shirt, white gloves, studded jewelry, and a torn petite jean jacket. Now, there isn’t anything inherently feminine about these individual pieces of clothing, but my guess would be that if someone dressed this way in mainstream hip-hop they would be laughed off MTV. Was this a sign of hyper masculinity in the 80’s just as baggy clothes, baseball hats, and flashy jewelry because in the 90’s and 2000’s?
http://theyearinmusic.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/grandmasterflashfuriousfive.jpg
http://www.hashmoder.com/wp-content/flagallery/post-edits/grandmasterflashandthefuriousfive.jpg
James (AKA Gangrene right)? That is a great post -- and you know you hit points about space that are close to my own interests. I really like how you talk about the street corner and the porch which are spaces they can claim as their own. But I'm not positive I understand your next point -- about how "these visual representations of space" (which one) only exist as a challenge to stereotypical working class spaces. Unpack this point for me more....
ReplyDeleteThink your point about masculinity is interesting -- think the hyper masculine definition of hip hop was less established in this time.
I was more posing it as a question because I was not entirely confident in any sort of position. But I think the argument COULD be made that a corner or a porch could be seen as stereotypically "working class" space and was looking to garner some sort of response to that (ie. whether or not it is stereotypical/racist to even assert that, what "space" means, how/why this narrative has permeated our culture)
DeleteAnd yeah, Fritz, I totally agree. With Frank Ocean and ASAP coming out in solidarity I think masculinity in hip-hop has become more of a dialogue than law. That being said, when Ocean DID come out as bisexual (or whatever it is he is identifying as) the backlash was pretty significant. That's why when I hear the "Frank Ocean is bridging gaps in the hip hop community"/"hip-hop is no longer sexist/homophobic" (which WAS being said--albeit paraphrased) I sort of cringe.
Male bravado isn't as flashy as it was when, say, G-Unit was doing their thing, but I think it's totally still a factor.
Like Chang's book says, this track was one of the earlier rap songs to have more of a somber and downbeat tone to it rather than just a party/dance track. To me, the Parliament sample that the song uses is actually kind of a juxtaposition to the lyrical content. It sounds like a fun danceable song through the beat, but the lyrics don't really suggest the same. He explains his role in the community as one of bravado and resentment for the trap of poverty, greed, and oppression that he and his peers are helplessly set up in. He doesn't suggest an alternative or a route out for the oppressed, but rather just tells it like it is. The images that the video presents are of the bustling city as well as the environments that Flash and his friends can retreat to. For them, even the undesirable spaces that they can call their own are compromised by the authority of the police.
ReplyDeleteTo Jame's comment, I think that in present day, the hyper masculine image of rappers is starting to recede. I think that started to decline after the early 2000's (50 Cent, etc.) Rappers nowadays such as ASAP Rocky are also starting to come out in support of gay rights. Even if masculinity is still a theme in current hip hop it isn't about male bravado but more just about material things and reputation.
The juxtaposition of the Parliament dance sample and the lyrics is super interesting... It makes me think of Chang's quote that you give the hip hop generation an apocalypse and they will dance. Seems like the dance beat highlights the possibility of surviving -- even celebrating -- the jungle.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Fritz. Whenever I hear "The Message," I'm ready to jam to that Parliament sample and as someone who hears melodies and breaks before lyrics, I didn't even know how dismal the meaning really was. Regarding gender, I think "The Message" has a far more respectful tone towards women then modern day hip hop does. There are some very random images of women, such as the one shot of the woman sort of dancing in the street for a minute and the one with two puppets on her hands.
ReplyDeleteThe style of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is certainly less masculine than today's standards of hip hop dress, however, their facial expressions and hand gestures (forceful pointing) suggest masculinity.
So the message that I think G.F. is trying to portray is that he and everyone around him are living in a cycle. A cycle of low expectations and self destruction. The highest perceived rank is that of a hustler but that rank can only be obtained by becoming the stereotypical African American man that the white man hates, holding every other African American man to the same standards to which they are oppressed by every single day. The chorus of the song says "Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge, I'm trying not to lose my head" and at the end of the song when the police officers are arresting them he says "Hey, you aint gotta push me man" I believe these correlate to one another to convey his message that the Ghetto is a Jungle, a place where people are constantly losing their minds, as well as their lives, since he's already living on the edge all it takes is one push for him to fall into same cycle as every other brother before him.
ReplyDeleteThis song and video seem to act as perfect representations of early hip hop and the cultural influences that created it. The beat is clearly sampled and has a very early hip hop feel drum kit accompanying it, and the lyrics are as far as I'm concerned a perfect accompaniment to the relatively good feeling the beat. I think the lyrics are crafted to show how each member of the group is living in poor conditions that seem to be only escapable to those who engage in illegal activity, and generally are inevitably caught by the police (who is very prevalent in the neighborhoods.) The jungle seems to act as a perfect metaphor for the circumstances of the "hood." Dense, crowded, tall trees (buildings?) which create a canopy that seems as if it is possible to elevate above the immensely poor horror ridden neighborhood. I read the constant depiction of people and cars moving through showing that people can constantly go in and out of these neighborhoods, but for the people born there it doesn't seem to even be an option. Also I believe it showed that many people pass through these neighborhoods and simply act oblivious to the conditions and just try to leave as fast as they came. "Don't push me because I'm close to the edge" further exemplifies the amount of stress this feeling of being fastened to the neighborhood manifests. Also, it does, like we discussed in class show some sort of pride for the neighborhood and the people in it who have learned to have some sort of attachment and love for it. Incredible song and video.
ReplyDelete