Music Violence Essays - Rape, Misogyny, African-American Culture

Music Violence Throughout history the human populous has been attracted to music. Whether it be part of a ritual, an emotional release, religious reasons, or just for listening pleasure music has been at the center of our society. We have used music to express ourselves, tell stories, and let others into our thoughts. However, we often wonder whether what we are saying has an effect on the listening audience. Recently, in the 1990's references have often been made to link violent and deviant behavior to music and certain music genres. Some such genres include but are not limited to; heavy metal, rock, death metal, rap, gansta rap, industrial, hardcore, and alternative music. During the last decade we have seen music lyrics become more and more violent and sexually explicit. Experts argue that this can cause problems in children and adolescents. Studies show that the average teenager listens to approximately 40 hours of music in a given week. One is to assume that somewhere in the mix a child is going to hear something derogatory or objectionable, as it has become the norm in todays society. In most music today especially rap and heavy metal most of the lyrics contain references to violence, sex, and/or drugs. While many argue that this is dangerous for children to hear we know that a modern day teenager often faces violence, drugs, suicide, pregnancy, and other aspects of this music. While we find that lyrics may be dangerous to a child we must ask ourselves whether the child fully understands and comprehends what the artist is saying. Teenagers often do not understand what is being said, in fact in one study only 30 percent of those questioned knew the lyrics to their favorite songs and they all had varied comprehension as to what the message was. It could be argued that if the lyrics were not included in the artists booklet then the audience would never know what was being said. Some lyrics are indeed harsh such as this Nine Inch Nails lyric: "I am a big man yes I am; and I have a big gun; got me a big ole *censored* and I like to have fun; held against your forehead I'll make you suck; you know, just for the *censored* of it." Obviously we cannot interpret this as a positive meaning. A sampling of lyrics from Marilyn Manson include "Who says date rape isn't fun," "...the housewife I will beat..," and "I slit my teenage wrist," among others. Manson concerts are often grounds to bash religion and rip bibles while fan chant "we hate love, we love hate." Other songs that have overtones of violence include "slap-a-ho" by Dove Shack and another song sung by death metal band Cannibal Corpse in which they make reference to masturbating with a dead womans head. Avid music lovers attest that they words sung in these songs are just words and or no different that poetry printed in literature books. No studies to date have concluded that listening to a song that speaks of death will make a teenager want to go out and kill. Do these kinds of lyrics breed todays children to be killers and to be sexually promiscuous? Yes, and no, depending on who you speak to. Listening to music does not drive people to kill, and no proof of such has been offered. In fact, one teacher speaks of a student who wore a Metallica shirt everyday to school and wrote lyrics with foul language, but was often seen sitting in the front row at Sunday mass with his mother in a nice suit. The same people who go out to see Black Sabbath and Motley Crue are the same people who handle world finance and international affairs, it is just their choice in music. Studies that use music videos on the other hand show an increased tolerance in deviant behavior among both males and females. Music videos add reinforcement to what is being heard with the use of visuals. Now an extra sense is being used. Videos often exhibit sexual innuendo, acts of aggression, and gender stereotypes. Studies showed that men have a tolerable attitude as to what is violent and what is "too far" in sexual advances. Women have less of a tolerance. Studies have also found that heavy metal music and gansta rap influence mens attitudes towards women and that increased exposure to videos containing interpersonal violence against women tended to increase men's acceptance of rape myths such as "she was dressing like she wanted it" or

Free Essays on Cat On A Hot Tin Roof - Mendacity

Discuss the roles of â€Å"mendacity† or various characters’ crutches in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Lies and Mendacity run rampant in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. They help keep the play going and keep it interesting. The play shows us the lies that people tell themselves and other instead of the truth that is hard to accept but must be said. The entire family is involved with lies to Big Daddy and Big Momma, as are the doctors. They tell them that Big Daddy does not have cancer, but only a spastic colon. Brick lies to himself about his feelings for Skipper until Big Daddy forces him to face it. He then understands that he is upset about the way his clean friendship has been misinterpreted. Gooper and Mae pretend to be loving and doting children, when in fact all they want is money and land. Big Mama lies to herself, think all the cruel things Big Daddy says are just jokes. She also lies to herself by thinking that a child from Maggie and Brick would turn Brick into a non-drinking, family man qualified to take over the family place. Big Daddy is even wrapped up in the mendacity. He admits to Brick that he is tired of letting all the lies. He has lied for years about his feelings for his wife, his son Gooper and his daughter-in-law Mae, he says he loves them, when in fact he can’t stand any of them. Maggie, who seem s to tell close to the truth the entire play, breaks down and lies about her pregnancy. Sometimes the lies are not even lies; they are just seen to be that. Big Daddy thinks that Big Momma is scheming to take over the place, when in fact she really does love him. He only sees this as a lie because of his feelings toward her. Brick seems to feel them same way about Maggie, and is surprised in the end when Maggie declares her love for him. Big Daddy and Brick are perhaps the only two that do not lie to each other. During their heart-to-heart Big Daddy says, â€Å"then there is at least two people that never lied to each ot... Free Essays on Cat On A Hot Tin Roof - Mendacity Free Essays on Cat On A Hot Tin Roof - Mendacity Discuss the roles of â€Å"mendacity† or various characters’ crutches in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Lies and Mendacity run rampant in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. They help keep the play going and keep it interesting. The play shows us the lies that people tell themselves and other instead of the truth that is hard to accept but must be said. The entire family is involved with lies to Big Daddy and Big Momma, as are the doctors. They tell them that Big Daddy does not have cancer, but only a spastic colon. Brick lies to himself about his feelings for Skipper until Big Daddy forces him to face it. He then understands that he is upset about the way his clean friendship has been misinterpreted. Gooper and Mae pretend to be loving and doting children, when in fact all they want is money and land. Big Mama lies to herself, think all the cruel things Big Daddy says are just jokes. She also lies to herself by thinking that a child from Maggie and Brick would turn Brick into a non-drinking, family man qualified to take over the family place. Big Daddy is even wrapped up in the mendacity. He admits to Brick that he is tired of letting all the lies. He has lied for years about his feelings for his wife, his son Gooper and his daughter-in-law Mae, he says he loves them, when in fact he can’t stand any of them. Maggie, who seem s to tell close to the truth the entire play, breaks down and lies about her pregnancy. Sometimes the lies are not even lies; they are just seen to be that. Big Daddy thinks that Big Momma is scheming to take over the place, when in fact she really does love him. He only sees this as a lie because of his feelings toward her. Brick seems to feel them same way about Maggie, and is surprised in the end when Maggie declares her love for him. Big Daddy and Brick are perhaps the only two that do not lie to each other. During their heart-to-heart Big Daddy says, â€Å"then there is at least two people that never lied to each ot...

Rap and Hip Hop Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rap and Hip Hop - Term Paper Example Experts are not unanimous in their conclusions. The influence of rap music is intense and it can have mostly negative effects. The worrying factor is rap has become part of the popular culture. It has made rapid strides since it originated 1970s. â€Å"It is a known fact that hip-hop has taken over, in a sense, the mainstream youth culture,† said Emmett Price, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, who teaches hip-hop culture. â€Å"So, the young kids from the age of being able to speak to going on to high school are influenced by hip-hop culture whether they listen to music or not.† (Killion†¦) A correlation exists between rap music and increased criminal behavior, sexual activity and drug use. Tricia Rose opines, â€Å"A key aspect of much of the criticism that has been leveled at hip-hop is the claim that it glorifies, encourages, and thus causes violence. This argument goes as far back as the middle to 1980s—the so-called golden age of hip-ho p—when politically radical hip hop artists, such as Public Enemy, who referred to direct and sometimes armed resistance against racism ‘by any means necessary,’ were considered as advocates of violence.†(p.34) The wise saying goes—‘a lie repeated from a platform a thousand times, becomes the truth.’ In the present times of internet revolution, it is necessary that the young adults should know many things.

Figurative Language vs. Literal Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Figurative Language vs. Literal Language - Essay Example According to Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language, in figurative language â€Å"figures of speech such as metaphors and similes freely occur...they are regarded as embellishments that deviate from the ‘ordinary’ uses of language.† On the other hand, literal language â€Å"suggests the influence of the letter as a measure of strictness and rightness... If something is done literally, a person follows instructions ‘to the letter’, without flexibility or imagination.† (1998) It is common for people to misuse or overly use figurative words in written or spoken language. Consequently, the minds of the readers or listeners start focussing on the language, rather than what it implies. Thus, it hinders the productivity of the thought process by engaging the mind to concentrate on words, or phrases rather than their meanings in a particular context. Following is an attempt to define the meanings and functions of a few words according to Oxford Reference Online that are often used interchangeably in different contexts. 2.Idiom â€Å"A phrase or grammatical construction that cannot be translated literally into another language because it’s meaning is not equivalent to that of its component words. † A simple idiom like ‘bring home the bacon’ means to earn money or success or profit. Consider the confusion it makes in contexts like: We planned to host a sumptuous dinner on Thanksgiving. I decided to prepare a delicious sweet potato, bacon and pomegranate salad, and bacon-roasted turkey. Everyone was looking forward to Thanksgiving as the year had been really tough and both, John and I had to work really hard to bring home the bacon. ... (Vega-Moreno, 2007, p.189) 3. Amphiboly Amphiboly is a â€Å"kind of ambiguity in which the linguistic context allows an expression to be taken in more than one way. There are several types, and writers differ over which to include out of: ambiguous grouping or scope.†2 Consider this statement: I wanted to become a fashion model for eight years. This statement is ambiguous because it implies two meanings: I have wanted for the past eight years to become a fashion model; or I want to be a fashion model for only eight years. 4. Analogy Analogy is the â€Å"respect in which one thing is similar to another. Arguing by analogy is arguing that since things are alike in some ways, they will probably be alike in others.†3 In debates or arguments, analogy is used to prove that if A is equal to B, and if B is equal to C, then by analogy, A is equal to C. While such inference might be true in mathematical domains, it is likely to generalize facts and thus obstruct critical thinkin g. 5. â€Å"Flame-word† Flame words are words that convey expressions like anger, fury, hatred, insults etc. As such words carry emotional meanings; therefore they carry compound impressions. For example: May you burn a million years in hell is based upon figurative language. 6. Metaphor â€Å"The most important figure of speech, in which one subject-matter (sometimes called the tenor) is referred to by a term or sentence (the vehicle), that does not literally describe it: the ship of state, the light of faith, etc.†4 â€Å"...consider the thematic similarity among the metaphoric expressions that are used to describe a love relationship in this fictitious â€Å"break-up† speech: Dearest, we’ve come a long way since we first met, but

Self Determination of Indigenous Australians Essay Example for Free

Self Determination of Indigenous Australians Essay â€Å"Self determination is a principle of International Law and it must be the basis of social and political organisation† (Mazel, 2009, 150). This is an important principle in the acknowledging of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples rights. Self determination allows Indigenous peoples to independently determine their political status and gives them the freedom to economically, socially and culturally develop as according to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Maguire, 2009, 2). Acknowledging this fundamental right is essential for Indigenous Australians to be able to preserve their culture, dignity and independence. Therefore, political, social, cultural and economical independence and freedom need to be granted to the Indigenous peoples. Arguably, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was politically a step forward for Indigenous self determination and autonomy. ATSIC was established in 1990 and allowed Indigenous Australians, via a number of councils, to effectively govern themselves. This gave them the opportunity to take care of their own land, education, economic development, laws and justice and a number of other issues. â€Å"Aboriginals must be recognised for what they are, a peoples in their own right with their own culture, history and values† (Djerrkura and Herron, 1999). Since ATSIC was abolished, the Indigenous peoples have even less political representation and their infrastructure has worsened. To maintain the traditions and culture of the Indigenous Australians, they need to be able to have the strong connection to the land that is such an integral part of who they are as a people. The Aboriginal Land Rights legislation is a positive step forwards in this way. Also, socially there needs to be more recognition in the white Australian community of the damage that was done in past generations and there needs to be more respect for the lands original owners. As more responsibility is taken for the wrongs against the Indigenous population, and more actions are taken such as providing mental health services to help deal with this, there will be less social stigma attached to the Indigenous population. The Australian Government implementing the Northern Territory Intervention was a direct violation of the Racial Discrimination Act and it â€Å"impairs self-determination of Aboriginal communities, their ability to make certain choices about how their communities are run† (Anyana, 2010). This blatant form of institutionalised racism is demoralising and takes the Indigenous Peoples dignity from them, lowering their self-esteem and essentially making the causes of excessive drinking worse. Also, government funding is not going far enough in terms of infrastructure or providing support. Without basic needs being met such as garbage collection or emergency plumbing, the risk of disease is much higher. Most importantly, I believe that there needs to be some constitutional changes so that rights cant be revoked so easily. Also, Indigenous history, culture and customs need to be assimilated into into all compulsory education from as early as possible so that the younger generation can co-exist more harmoniously. Another very important thing for white Australians need to do is stop trying to force westernisation onto the Indigenous people and let them be autonomous. Self determination is necessary for Indigenous cultures so that a cultural majority doesnt take over and force the old culture into extinction. Increased political independence and representation is an important step towards this, as well as encouraging their spirituality and better social integration of the diverse cultures. It is important that the Australian government gives back the Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory the right to manage their own finances and also to economically support these remote communities infrastructural development. This principle of international law is a foundation for organisation both politically and socially because handing over the responsibility is not only a show of respect but allows Indigenous Australians to take pride in who they are. REFERENCE LIST Mazel, O 2009, The Evolution Of Rights: Indigenous Peoples And International Law, Australian Indigenous Law Review; Volume 13, Issue 1. Maguire, A 2009, The Right of self determination to the Indigenous peoples of Australia, National Human Rights Consultation. Djerrkura, G and Herron, J 1999, Regional Autonomy for Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Communities; Discussion Paper. Anyana, M. 2010, The West Australian; NT Intervention violates human rights: UN.

Discipleship Essay -- essays research papers

Discipleship Teachers around the time when Jesus lived thought that learning was such that the people who wanted to learn should come to them to be taught. But Jesus felt differently and rather than waiting for people to come to him, he went out to find them and then chose them to be his followers. He called them disciples and this word means one who learns. But Jesus chose his disciples carefully as we are told in Mark 1:16-20 and also in Mark 3:13-19. In the first passage, Jesus appoints his first four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus said to them â€Å"Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.† (Mark 1:17) In Mark 2:13-17, Jesus calls up the fifth disciple, Levi who was a tax collector, and Jesus later renamed him Matthew. But Levi was not called in the same way as the other four disciples. Jesus was with him at the tax collector’s booth and Jesus simply said, â€Å"Follow me† (Mark 2:14) and he rose and followed Jesus. These five men responded immediately to Jesus and this is very surprising as he is a man who they have never met before. It is quite clear that this idea of discipleship for the first disciples is very important and that Jesus is planning on building his faith in them and he wants them to spread the word around to the people. (Mark 3:14) Jesus appointed 12 disciples in total and this number was significant because each one represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Mark 3:13-19) Jesus gave them the authority to cast out demons and preach to his people and they were known as his companions. It seems strange for him to choose those specific people as his twelve because he could have chosen from many of his disciples, but he chose a specific twelve to be his companions and apostles. When Jesus chose his apostles, there were two unusual choices: Levi and Simon the Zealot. Levi was a strange choice because he was a tax collector who had managed to get more money out of people than they need pay and so many people hated him and many other tax collectors. Simon the Zealot was an unusual choice because he was a zealot and although they had a strong belief in God, they hated the Romans, and being ruled by foreigners. In the mission of the twelve, Jesus calls them to him and sends them in two’s saying that they have the authority over evil spirits. (Mark 6: 7-13) Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave th... ...o Pilate, JesusÆ main enemy, or trouble, was the Roman Empire. Their religion was polytheistic; they had, among many others, a god of war, (Mars), a god of wine, (Bacchus), and a goddess of love, (Venus). They also believed that their Emperor, at the time Caesar, was a living God. This included Jesus, one of his titles being "King of the Jews". At the time of JesusÆ death, this number was sizeable, and as the early church grew, after the resurrection, the followers grew in number too. Literally. All of the people who attended these secret meetings, to tell or listen to the tales of Jesus Christ, were disciples. They were risking their lives to spread the good news. Stephen was viciously stoned to death after his great speech at the Sanhedrin (Acts 7), and Peter was crucified. There are many examples of modern day disciples around. Oscar Romero was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of El Salvador. Endangering your own life by fighting oppression, injustice, and going up against bigger powers, or giving your life to helping others. There are still some people today who take the faith as seriously as the first Christians do, but not many. TodayÆs society is too materialistic.

How Democratic is Britain? Essay

In this essay I will be looking at the democracy in Britain, but firstly I would like to be sure that it is clear what democracy means. Democracy is when there’s a system of government, whose representatives have been elected by the population. This means that the society is able to choose themselves, they have freedom of speech and views. The opposite of this is Dictatorship, this is when a ruler has total power over a country, a person who tells people what to do in an autocratic way or who determines behaviour in a particular area. Politics is concerned with power differences at every levelling society its about negotiation and decision making within individuals at a personal level, groups at a personal level and groups at a national level. This topic is a topic that many sociologist are interested in, they want to find out how democratic Britain is because everything sociologists study are linked to each other and this topic is linked to equality in society. Sociologist want to know if our society is as equal as it’s said to be, but we all know that in our society there isn’t total equality. One of the important principles of democracy is that we are able to participate in the political process in order to make our views known. We do this by voting, joining a political party and writing to the press or our M.P.’s. We have a Parliamentary democracy, this means that there’s a system where leaders are selected to represent the people through elections. These are the Members of Parliament (M.P.) who are elected. The British system has a number of fixed posts, these posts holders are the civil servants, the lords and the judges. These are the three main institutions of the state and the most powerful groups in society. The role of the state is to act as an umpire or referee rather than side with one party over another. The problem with this is that most of the people who work for the state are middle and upper class and all seem to share the same views about the way society should be run. This means that not all views are being represented their views are elitism. Due to this critics argue that Britain is not democratic because we have an unelected House of Lords and a Hereditary Monarchy. In this system there are three types of power and three types of authority that Max Weber drew out, Economic power, Physical power and Non-co-operative power, Traditional authority, Charismatic authority and Legal authority. Economic power is when money has lead someone to power, it can reach to the point were there’s exploitation. Physical power is taken over someone using physical force over someone more vulnerable to them. Non-co-operative power is when someone refuses to follow what the person in power order therefore the one who refuses will become empowered themselves. Traditional authority is when it is accepted because it’s always been done that certain way, it’s traditional within the culture. Charismatic authority is when a person has something special about them in their personality that the public is drawn to. Legal authority is accepted because it is the law, you can be sent to prison for disobeying the law. There are three factors about the state that seem to support Marx’s view, they are: 1. most Mp’s are white. 2. most of them are from the middle class and 3. most of them are men. Due to this many groups are no longer voting because they feel their views are not represented or they feel that there is racism, sexism and bias within the political system. The pluralists argue that the states approach is towards everyone in society. Including the different ethnic groups, all ages, all genders and all other groups that exist in society. Political power is spread a spread among these groups. Unlike the conflict who argue that the state’s approach is towards those who have had a privileged education and background. Thos who are in the senior possessions such as the judiciary. They believe that the policies benefit the bourgeoisie and ruling class. For this reason is why pressure groups have a very important role in maintaining democracy in Britain. Pluralists have a positive role of them. They help politicians keep in touch with the wishes of the public. They provide the government with the expert information. There are links between our voting behaviour and our social class, ethnicity, age and gender. People vote for the party that the best represents their views or interests, these views and interests are brought to us by the way we are socialised. We get these views and interests through the way we are socialised, we get influenced through our families, our peer groups and the media influence our political views and attitudes on politics. I feel that the media is the main influence in our political socialisation in the media because it influences our lives in everything. The media often use â€Å"Spin† and â€Å"Spin Doctors† they use these in campaigns to persuade us to vote a particular way. â€Å"Spin† and â€Å"Spin Doctors† are use to either catch out the opponent by using images or interviews were they look as if they were going against what they said they would do in their manifesto, for example printing a certain phrase they said out of context so they look bad. If they are unable to do this they might make up things up about them and use it to get the public to vote for them. These techniques are a type of propaganda because they want you to believe something that is not exactly true but as long as they look like the good ones it doesn’t matter. I have come to my conclusion of this essay, I believe that Britain is democratic because we get to vote in the Members of Parliament who are there to represent us. But there is a minority of people who have an incredible power within our government who make Britain and undemocratic country because it’s up to them to pass a law or any other decisions. This wouldn’t be a problem if they thought the way the nation do but their backgrounds have a great influences in the way they think and their thoughts are very different to ours. I don’t agree with the present parliamentary system because those who are involved in the system are elite, I think that if they wanted a true democratic Britain they would bring in a new system to vote in who we want to be at the top deciding what the right thing would be for our society, including the royal monarchy.