Final Blog Post

Outstanding blog #1: The Feminine Mistake (http://wtfiship.blogspot.com/2011/04/feminine-mistake.html)
-I like this blog because I felt that I really analyzed Leland's thought process, and was able to prove him wrong. All through out the book I felt as if he thought he was the champ, and I am glad I was finally able to say "No, your really not, and here is why..."

Outstanding blog #2: Cartoons and Race in America (http://wtfiship.blogspot.com/2011/04/cartoons-and-race-in-america.html)
-As much as I bash Leland, he really opened my eyes by mentioning the obvious racism in some of the early cartoons. "Kind of like you wouldn't know it is there unless you look for it", sort of deal.

Outstanding blog #3: Trickster in Bamboozled (http://wtfiship.blogspot.com/2011/03/trickster-in-bamboozled.html)
-I thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog post because I really liked the movie, and felt I could write an honest response with my opinion instead of trying to argue with Leland.

     The reason I chose these three specific blogs is because, to me anyway, I thought that they were my best and the three that stood out among the rest. These three blogs really allowed me to just be myself and write in a more free style instead of trying to answer a specific question, and that I like.
     My ideas about American pop culture have not really changed, because to be honest, it is pretty obvious hip is deeply embedded in race. How come Nike shoes sell when promoted by black athletes (Micheal Jordan), how come more often than not, when a black person is doing something it is automatically considered "hip?" Race is hip, and hip is race. This book just reinforced the obvious, in a way. The part where Leland basically says woman have no role in history regarding hip is, I think, total bull. The reason why is because woman have made an outstanding impact all through out history. Ameilia Earhart is a prime example. Why isn't she hip? Rosa Parks. What about her isn't hip? You're telling me those woman had little to no impact on American history? Please.
     Well, my perform in class has not been the best. I definitely don't participate in class discussion as much as I should. I don't know. I am more of a person who doesn't exactly sit back, but when it comes to people: I let them speak. I let them speak as much as they want because in doing so I get a better understanding for who they are just listening to them talk. I won't even say a word when I am in a conversation with someone, I just nod my head and let them talk up a storm. Letting someone talk while you listen, I think, is the best way to get a feel for what kind of person they are. Now, applying that very off topic matter to class, I don't know- maybe the whole "class participation" deal just isn't my thing. If you are grading us based off of that, than I no doubt failed the class. I'll just put it that way.
     ...I really don't like talking myself up, I'm really a modest person. But when it comes down to my grade being on the line, I think I earned an A. Now, I didn't say a "high A" or an "A+", just an A. As in skin of my teeth A.
     Anyone can really say this, so I don't know what makes me different but: I try pretty hard when it comes to the essays. I think you know by now that English isn't my most fond subject. But hey, I always give it my best shot. As a writer, I think I have really learned a few things from the beginning of the semester to this point in time. I used to think writing five page papers was right up there with being water boarded. Now, I could crank one out in 15 seconds. As a student, I have learned to "expand" on my ideas, and to not be afraid to go in depth on some of them, and to see where they take me. I used to always be afraid of writing a big ol' paper and then re reading it and realizing how awful it sounded. This class helped me to do that, but to then understand that doing so is OK, and that more often than not mistakes help to make a better essay when revision time comes along. I sort of have a love hate relationship: I really enjoy being a better person and learning new things, being able to look back and say "I did it". I also really don't like writing. It's not that I think I am bad at it, I just find it really hard for me to find the motivation to do so. I can honestly say that all my papers from English 102 and 201 up to this point, were done the night before. Anyway, when it comes down to it, I deserve the grade you give me. Naturally I would like to shoot for an A, but if I receive a C for example, I would understand why, and would be very humble about it.

Annotated Bibliography

Just letting you know, NONE of this is really concrete yet...I am still in the brain storming stage, but as of now I have this:


The rolling stones chronicle online: Since I am saying that hip will continue to evolve through music, and also considering several of the articles that I have read from the rolling stone magazine all have to do with music, I think this will most likely be my primary source for where I get my information on exactly which artist will carry scepter of hip in the future.


Yahoo Music: Since Yahoo music has all the current top of the chart music, I would probably use them as a source to determine which top artist would carry hip.

Ebsco Host: When I determine which artist to do, which will more than likely be Dr.Dre or 50 cent, Ebsco host will provide an in depth look at their background, which will be vital my essay.

the feminine mistake?

     To be completely honest, I think Leland really missed the target here. I also think that he just tried to add pages for adding page's sake because the way he presents his "findings" in this chapter is as though he did so at gun point. I don't really buy there being a lack of woman in "hip" or whatever you define "hip" as. Either way you look at it, there are an astounding amount of woman in not only America's past, but in the world's past as well. I will give Leland this though, there are no where near the amount of heroic woman figures today then there were ten or even twenty years ago. Lady gaga? Are you kidding me? Wow, since we are on the subject of woman who don't matter, let's just throw my crazy aunt Olga up there on the list while we are at it.
     Hip isn't sexist as much as it is racist. Hip goes through a great deal to exclude those of certain race while at the same time inviting those of different races to be the new "in crowd." Woman have been subject to this day in and day out.
-Rosa Parks
-Anne Frank
-Amelia Earhart
Just to name a few. These woman not only stood up for their beliefs and what they thought was right, they also gave their all to excel beyond men in their field of expertise.
     Like I said, I find it very difficult to give respect to any modern day woman. Most if not all are Hollywood suck ups doing everything they do outside of movie making for publicity, so for anyone to say "J Lo is deep." Doesn't even know what they are talking about it. In the sciences, I can't name one woman that has made a breakthrough, or in any literature other than J.K. Rowling, and the only reason she used her initials is because they thought that if she put her name, people would know she is a girl and not buy her books. sad.

Cartoons and race in America

Well, I love Bugs Bunny. I didn't really notice anything racist about it to be honest. But then I watched it again and found a few things. I mean, I guess you wouldn't really know what to look for unless you were looking for it, like racism in Bugs Bunny of all things, you would have to know its there to be able to spot it. I can see Elmer Fudd taking on the role of the white man, while Bugs Bunny plays the act of being the black man, or a trickster. That means if Bugs Bunny is a trickster, then I also think that Elmer Fudd could be the the black in the cartoon also then, and Bugs Bunny would be the white man using his intelligence and wit to outsmart dumb ol' Elmer. I think the racism manifests itself into this cartoon by very casually portraying Elmer Fudd as an idiot, which at the time, was society's take on blacks. Bugs Bunny is always 4 or 5 steps ahead of Elmer Fudd and I think this in my mind is what makes him white, or even a trickster. I think Bugs Bunny is taking on the role of the white man because again, during this period in society, no one ever heard of a black man being 4 or 5 steps ahead of a white man in...in anything. I think it would be really interesting to watch more Bugs Bunny cartoons, and now that I know what to look for, to try and see how many of these racial messages were implanted into each cartoon, because I honestly had no idea they were even there until I read the blog prompt and read a little bit of chapter 9.

Trickster in Bamboozled

     I think the main trickster in the movie bamboozled is Delacoix, but that doesn't mean that not all of them are tricksters as well, but I think all of them are, but most notably Delacroix. Delacroix essentially uses his wit and guile to seduce "mantan" and womack into doing something completely against everything they stand for, in order for money.
     I think this poses the question that if you were ever approached, and someone offered you a large sum of money to say...re act 9/11, but you had to do it while laughing the entire time. you had to pretend to be the airplane to smashed into tower 1 and 2, and you had to do it with a smile on your face, for a large amount of cash in return. Would you? I can say that I would definitely not. Or it is like asking a Jew to pretend to be in a concentration camp, but to smile and enjoy it while the audience and other actors in the play make fun of him.
     The two said examples I used above are along the same lines of, as I said, womack and mantan to perform. Ultimately in the end, Delacroix "tricksterness" is what gets him killed, literally. The entire ploy falls into pieces, with relationships damaged and lives changed. This goes to show that tricksters, as seducing as they come across, that in the end, they are just smoke in mirrors-nothing.
     Secondly, I think that Dinwitty is a major trickster because he is the one who really pushes Delacroix to dig deep inside himself. Dinwitty is just looking out for his company and is trying to keep his rates afloat, and uses Delacroix as his instrument in doing so, without Delacroix ever realizing it until the very end. I don't think it is any coincidence that the entire skit fell into pieces int he end. It shows that those who place themselves before others, and use others to further their own agenda are the ones who ultimately end up getting burned and loosing everything.

Singing the song of the trickster

     A current trickster in our society is someone who displays wit and knowledge, more so than the average Joe. A trickster is one who moves like a snake and is always willing to pounce on helpless pray when the moment arrives. A trickster has little to no morals and feeds off of others pain to further his agenda. Tricksters are politicians. Be honest and put aside the "well in the name of the debate...", have you ever heard of an honest politician? The correct answer would be no, and if you have an ounce of an argument that starts with "Well there are some..." You are wrong and you know it.
    
     Politicians are modern day tricksters. They are snakes in the bushes, fangs glistening in the moon light, waiting patiently to kill their next oblivious victim. If a politicians were asked a question regarding weather or not to take $1,000,000 or to save a family members life, I and just about the entire rest of the American population would place a solid bet that the money would be taken first.

     Leland makes the argument (or so I picked up) that tricksters are deceivers, and although they may not be the physically strongest in the bunch, they use their knowledge to make others do what the tricker wants. The connections between politicians and tricksters is uncanny. I guess every generation has a sort of trickster, and the fact that media and other news sources are more readily available, we are able to see exactly how these guys operate. Not to say that politicians haven't ever not been slime balls, just with technology, we are made more aware of their actions then past generations.

     Before you take me for a Benedict Arnold, how is what I am saying dishonest or unpatriotic? The underlying message here is to trust no body. The story about the monkey deceiving the lion: The lion could have avoided getting his butt whooped and looking like a fool if he had chosen not to take words at face value. I also think Leland makes that argument as well, to trust no one, but in a much more settle sort of way, as in you would have to look for it. That is what I picked up from chapter 7, to be some what of a critical thinker and that tricksters are indeed as much a apart of hip as hip is apart of our everyday culture.

The PerFecti0n of Imperf3ctioN

     Well, both ideals of imperfection and living in the present tense absolutely influenced one another. The subtle fact that living in the present is imperfection almost screams perfect in a sense, because when you live in the present you forget about tomorrow and solely focus on the here and now. The imperfection mostly translates into art in my opinion. Art used to be a skill of perfection, in the Beat generation, the imperfections in one's art were given a higher pedestal than the perfections, something that had never really been done until the Beats.
     I think that showing your mistakes in art, exemplifies that you are human and are in fact not perfect. I don't think the Beats had any heavy religious beliefs, but I do think the message they are trying to convey is that we are all human, and humans are not perfect, thus mistakes happen. The mentioning of "aesthetic" is a symbol that says "The Beats are numb to the idea of perfection." To be honest, I don't think the Beats cared much about being perfect, and this is proven by the fact that they lived in the present.
     As for a current artist that has the attribute of being "numb", I think this artist would be, honestly, any "real" rapper. (lil wayne does not fit this category). These guys made themselves into somebody. They started as nothing and became something, like Dr Dre or even Notorious BIG before he died. The Game also did the same, rose from rags to riches. For them to survive in the type of environment that they say they come from, and to "make it", that would require a heavy dose of "anesthetic". None of these guys practically even graduated from jr high school, and they are basking in their success day in and day out. That requires a great deal of determination.

Californication

     I think the reason the West Coast is considered so hip, and such a fertile ground for making Hollywood movies is because while New York had its own sense of hip brewing, so did Los Angeles. I think it all began during the Gold Rush when James Marshall discovered gold on the American River. Many people came from all over, rushing to San Francisco/ Sacramento to try their luck by striking it rich. This allowed people to leave behind their past and assume a whole 'nother role while in doing so. Before the gold rush, California had no where near the fame that it has today. The gold rush had already attracted a profound amount of people to this end of America, and many of them left everything behind, so what I am saying is they were basically stuck out here. That and also those leaving the mid west because of the harsh growing conditions and the uncooperative soil, all ended up migrating here. They all had something to contribute and that is what turned California into what it is today, a large melting pot of "hip".

     Why does everyone want to be like "California"? I don't get it. What is it about that place that no other place has? Well I will tell you. It is like another planet, in a way you wouldn't understand unless you are from there. You can give me flak all you want for being from California and saying how loony and weird I am for being from such a crazy place. But to be honest, you could say the exact same thing about any other state, or any other country for that matter. So isn't that along the lines of discrimination? Didn't we as a nation come to the consensus to kill such an act many decades ago? So what does that make you? If there is one problem I have with people from Idaho, it is that most people here hate super hard on people who move here from California. I am 19 years old. You think I wanted to move here? We came here when I was 13 and I miss my friends and family back home more than anything, not the mention the things that California has to offer than frankly, puts Idaho to shame.

     California has just about everything a film maker could ask for. The Sierra Nevadas provide an outstanding back drop for films, as does the Mojave desert and death valley for western films. The ocean can serve as a backdrop for, well, you name it. I think with the west coast being light years ahead of Idaho, hip takes on a substantially more transmogrified shape. Not to say that hip is not ever changing, but it is more evident down there, than it is up here. New styles seem to come and go, as do people's roles. In the morning you can chill in China town, by the afternoon go to the beach, when the evening roles around, build a fire from drift wood and roast potatoes and smores. The next day? hike the Sierra Nevadas, the list goes on and on and on. Not to say that you can't do various things in other places, but California has made haters hate, and has lured millions of people to it's "promise land" all for something right? 

From nothing to something.

     All things are created from somewhere. Hip is no exception. Many things begin in one place, and then with time, later blossom into much more. Hip can essentially be "born" anywhere. From the small town in Alabama to the night life of Los Angeles, hip is truly universal. My opinion stands that hip is originally born in a small environment, and then begins to "adapt" to its surroundings, much like an animal would. I mean, if "hip" is considered to be the latest trend then wouldn't it have to "adapt" to its surroundings?

       We know that hip, for the most part, began within the tight quarters of the enslaved Africans in America. (not African American, because think about it, not all black people come from Africa...Yeah, remember in my last post how I said people can be pretty stupid? Anyway,) With the evolution and change that the industrial revolution brought, hip began to evolve and change with it. I do agree with Leland's argument, that urbanizing provides an important role in the way hip takes on its shape. I would also argue that urbanization alone, is not the main ingredient. I think there are many other factors such as people wanting a new trend, certain groups looking to break off from the mainstream, and many other factors.

     As I said earlier, hip can basically begin anywhere. Hip can begin as a seemingly harmless idea, that will suddenly skyrocket into a movement. Don't believe me?

A.) The wearing of black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.
B.) Wearing popped collars.
C.) Listening to rap music.

     All of the above are past or current demonstrations of being hip.
The black armbands began as a silent way to protest the Vietnam War, and as a result kids were thrown out of school, the bearers were shunned from society, from what I read, it was a mess. But the intent was not to wear them as a fashion statement. The intent was to try and get the message across that many people disagreed with the Vietnam War and the direction the country was headed at the time.
     Popped collars and rap music practically go hand in hand. Rap music began as a way for blacks to communicate before and after the midst of the civil war. Now rap has evolved into an entire music genera. I think any educated man could say that rap was never intended to go this far. Robert E Lee and Abe Lincoln would have never thought in a million years rap would have turned into this, and be such the hit that it is today.
     Popped collars are another thing. In a song by Three Six Mafia called Poppin' my collar. They make a great effort to make the point that it is cool to pop your collar, and that in doing so will make you that much more "hip." How the clothing industry has evolved. Just fifty years ago, people used to dress as if they were going to meet the president or something of equal magnitude ALL THE TIME. It is pretty rare to see a sight like that nowadays.
     Hip comes from all places. Not just from urbanization and not just from the outside of a city, but from everywhere. Because thats what makes being hip unique right? the fact that an idea can be born from literally an empty thought, and yet, be such a trend. How beautiful is that?

Ethos

     This is what you shall do. Forget everything you know, and everything you think you know.
Question everything. Question books, the Bible..., teachers, lessons, lectures, everything. If these said notions do not add up to your outlook on life, simply disregard them. Absolutely praise drop outs, gangsters, athletes, and unique individuals (who really aren't that unique in the first place). Shun the sciences, mathematics, and other gifted intellectuals, because let's all face it, no one wants to watch a reality show on a scientist, and mathematician, and a wise guy. Treat girls like dirt, because after all, "treat em like dirt and they stick like mud!" When meeting new people, disregard their first impression, and turn your back on their values. If they aren't rich, move on, if they are, $JACKPOT!!!$ Always have your phone out, even if you aren't really talking/texting anyone, just pretend you are. Trust me on this one. Spend all your money on accessories that will eventually go out of style the next day, and neglect things that really matter (paying of any debt, loans, payments, savings, etc...) Next on the itinerary, having kids with someone you aren't even married to and then no longer continuing the relationsh- OMG, I LYK HAVE 2 GO BCUZE IM GTNG A TXT ;)

What is a hipster?

For one to try and define the word "hipster" is like trying to find a needle in a haystack...a really big haystack. Words certainly have more than one meaning, but for a word to have a set meaning, it must have a definition first, and with that being said, there is really no universally agreed upon definition of "hipster."

    

     Taking a stab in the dark, I would have to say that a hipster is one who is always "in the loop" when it comes to the latest trends. Because let's all face it, when someone doesn't know what the latest trend or must-have is, that person is thought of as just a regular person, or in this case, a follower.

    

     Apple has done a great job by portraying that in order to have a mac or an ipod, you have to be either:

A.) An idiot.

B.) A tortured artist.

C.) In a band.

D.) A pseudo-intellectual. (you know, the guy who hangs out at the coffee shop all day on his laptop, challenges everyone's ideas or belief, and thinks he is too smart for class, etc...)



     Then of course, people who are one or all of the above, go out and buy macs and ipods because they feel that apple has done a great job by reaching out to them, and understanding them. Since laptops and ipods were not around during the civil war, and during the days or slavery, I would have to say that "hip" has an always changing definition. Based off the reading, hip during those times would have taken for form of using slave lingo, and being against or for slavery (depending if you lived in the north or the south).

     Today it seems as though for one to be hip, they almost need to branch off of a sub-culture. Football in Texas is a sub-culture, since it is taken far more seriously there than it is in Idaho. The next step would be for a football fan in Texas to bring something unique to that specific sub-culture, which in turn would spark yet another group of football?

     Trying to define hip is like trying to remember the dream you had from last night. Hip really does not have a definition etched in stone, because hip can't be defined. The word is as flexible as silly puddy, and will most likely remain that way for centuries to come.