"the selection of sound becomes narrative" (85). This quote means a lot of different things to me. Humans are story tellers, it is how we lean, interact, and make decisions. When a song is playing, we listen to the many different aspects that have been compiled, and we find a way of organizing all the signals we are receiving. We can hear the beginning, middle and ending of a song, and after listening to a song we can hear a story, which to each person may have a different meaning.
'the observer always alters the picture, the map always changes the route traveled"(93). I take this quote to mean something to this extent. Once we interact with a medium an impression is made. We become familiar with different aspects, and can apply our own knowledge to the medium.
"we live in a world so utterly infused with digitality that it makes even the slightest action ripple across the collection of databases we call the web"(89). This quote made me think about how quickly viral videos spread world wide. a video starts off being shared by a few people, it is then shared with several more, then hundreds share the video, until the vast majority of web browsers of a like community have all seen the video.
"the future is already here it is just unevenly distributed"(100). After reading this quote I immediately though about the digital divide. We now have enough resources and technologies that everyone in the would could own the same technologies, however because of the disparities in wealth not everyone has can. The distribution of the "future" is only available to those that have the financial and educational tools. Wealth and education are two "things" that will never be evenly distributed, therefor unevenly distributing the future to those who have the means to buy it.
"the sense of living in a racially divided culture that has lost the ability to think about anything but media entertainment"(109). A very scary idea, but very true. People who watch television shows, movies, ect... can have a distorted view about how people function in the real world. They are blinded by the exciting, glamorous images they see in the media, which inhibits the possibilities of progress. Unless people engage in the world around them not within the realm of media, our society will remain racially divided.
I chose to look at Steel Pulse "walking on a tight rope" and talib Kweli "Hostile Gospel pt2.
the main background vocals, and chorus from steel pulse are used in kweli's song. One of the most powerful parts of the song is the beginning "oh deliver me oh my father", which Kweli samples in his song. I feel that the sample helped inspire and construct the lyrics. Kweli's lyrics are all focused around deliver me from______. Both songs are talking about the fine line between struggle and survival, and i think the fact that Kweli samples fro Steel Pulse helps to strengthen his message.
http://www.whosampled.com/sample/view/6889/Talib%20Kweli%20feat.%20Sizzla-Hostile%20Gospel%20Pt.%202%20(Deliver%20Me)_Steel%20Pulse-Tight%20Rope/
I feel like in the second half of Miller's book, he is looking at media as a whole and not just hip-hop. The quote about the media creating a racial and social divide is interesting, especially since it does happen. We tend to get most of our stereotypes from watching the TV or listening to the news and unfortunately, it just keeps building upon itself since we rely heavily on them for our information.
ReplyDeleteYour comments about the digital divide really struck home. I keep an eye on world politics and it really is amazing how lucky we are, to have the opportunity to not only go to a university, but to get a degree in DTC. To think that so much of what we learn is simply nonexistant to much of the world is troubling. By denying the ability to connect online, we are irrevocably altering the future of millions, if not billions. Sorry, I don't mean to rant, but as we start graduating and working towards becoming contributing memebers of society, it is important to remember those that have not.
ReplyDeleteI think looking at the social aspect of the digital world while reading Miller is a great angle. We've talked about the digital divide in other classes, and with the quotes you picked it really comes out.
ReplyDeleteIn the same way Ross was discussing today, the media we choose to look through to see the world makes a difference on the information we receive; a first hand source will always be better than news on TV.
Reading the quotes from everyone's distinct points of views and the explanations that went with them really helped me get a better grasp on the reading. I liked your outlook on it =)
Great post. I would've liked to see a few more connections between the song and the reading, but overall, well done.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily believe entertainment "racially divides" our society like you mention, but certainly it does inform a lot of cultural views people have. What I don't necessarily understand is where he is coming from with the racial division comment- it seems so isolated and self contained- there's no context its coming from. One second in the book he's pattern recognition, intentionality in creation, he suddenly comes out of the woodwork with the European/African dichotomy and presents race as an influence for his work. It's unusual and jarring to see that brought up with so little previous mention in his book.
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