Rap and Hip-Hop Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Rap and Hip-Hop Culture - Essay Example The conclusion section summarizes the main ideas of the paper and further confirms that the rap/hip-hop culture tends to contain adolescent themes of autonomy and rebellion. Rap music has particularly been known to make provocative remarks towards women. Rap and hip-hop refers to a cultural movement and genre of music developed in the 1970s in New York. This was mainly among Latino Americans and African Americans. Hip-hop has four major elements namely break-dancing, graffiti writing, and rapping. Other elements are slang, hip-hop fashion and beat-boxing. Since its first emergence in the Bronx in the 1970s, rap/hip-hop culture has spread to many parts of the world. When hip-hop first emerged, its basis was around disc jockeys creating rhythmic beats through looping breaks on two turn tables, and was later followed by rapping. Then there arose particular dress styles and form of dancing among the new music followers. The emergence of rap and hip-hop music in the 1970s came with a lot of fear. This was because many parents and other stakeholders thought that this new rhythms and lyrics would negatively affect the listeners, most of whom were adolescents. This fear was carried on into the 21st century. Many critics of this genre of mu... This fear was carried on into the 21st century. Many critics of this genre of music are of the view that it promotes homicide, drug use, violence, suicide, deviant sexual activity, bigotry and aggression (Ballard and Dodson, 1999, pp 476). This is a significant topic since this issue has sparked a lot of debate among parent groups, censorship supporters, artists, record companies and even the United States federal government. The same issue also crops up in the medical arena, with the American Pediatrics Association expressing fear that rap and hip-hop lyrics threaten the well-being and health of adolescents. According to Mendelson (1989, pp 314-315), the greatest concerns include suicide, accidents, sexually transmitted diseases, drug use and pregnancy. Many physicians perceive the adolescent period as a very difficult period due to the rapid psychological and biological changes occurring during this period. Furthermore, the society expects these young people sound moral values through the way they perceive adult behaviors and standards. A number of physicians use their adolescent patients' music preferences to get a clue to their mental and emotional health. Music that contains explicit lyrics is capable of skewing and misrepresenting the world's realities. Rap and hip-hop music tends to represent adolescent themes of autonomy and rebellion. Rap music has particularly been known to make provocative remarks towards women. Hence the most popular music forms for adolescents must revolve around such themes as sexual imagery and disrespect (Brown and Hendee, 1989, pp 1659-1663). Moreover, many have questioned what effects music lyrics have on stereotyping, aggression, suicidal ideation and mood. According to a study conducted on the

Speech: Accepting and Dealing with Change :: essays research papers

Change can have many meanings. It is going from â€Å"same† to â€Å"different†. Change can be defined as an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another and as a process of transition. The forces of change affect attitudes, beliefs and behavior. Not a single moment goes by when everything in our lives will remain the same. When you become adjusted to your surroundings, something changes again. Changes can affect both individuals and groups. Throughout our lives we go through many changes, especially in adolescence. This is shown in the song Graduation by Vitamin C. Graduation is about the change of leaving high school and moving on to adulthood. It shows the many questions young people have about leaving school, and uncertainty of the future. At the same time, it shows the constant of friendship that people can rely on, when many other things in their life are changing. Some people who have dealt with changes in their lives have become inspirational to others because of their courage, determination and optimism. Examples of such people are the Biggest Loser contestants and also Bethany Hamilton. The television program the Biggest Loser shows people changing their lives physically and emotionally through diet and exercise. People watching the show could relate to these people, which could give them inspiration and motivation to make changes of their own. Bethany Hamilton is an example of dealing with change in an optimistic way. In October 2003, Bethany was attacked by a shark while out surfing in Tunnels beach, Hawaii. Without warning, a Tiger shark attacked her surfboard, dragging her back and forth and then disappearing into the ocean. Bethany was able to compose herself to use her right arm to swim back to the shore. She was later taken to hospital with severe injuries, where her left arm was amputated. She came through her recovery with things that were important to her, such as her family and her Christian faith. Despite the trauma of the incident, Hamilton was determined to return to surfing. Just 10 weeks after the accident, she returned to the ocean and went surfing again. She adjusted to the change by using a custom made surfboard and changing her surfing style. Bethany taught herself to surf with only one arm and she also began surfing competitively in competitions again. Hamilton claims that the loss of her arm was a bles sing in disguise.

Why are Geographers interested in Marston Vale?

Marston Vale lies upon the Oxford clay, between Bedford and Milton Keynes in UK. The soils in this area are very fertile. Because the majority of English houses are built in bricks, and the location of Marston Vale is also near London, many brickwork industries were set in this area over last hundred years. Most of the clay extracted here is sent to London to build houses. Today, the extraction of clay and the brick making is still busy, and the Stewartby brickwork industry is one of the biggest industries formed in Marston Vale. Millions of tonnes of clay are extracted from the clay pit everyday, then the clays are transported by conveyor belt to the brickwork, where the clays are drained, moulded and then fired in kilns to make the red bricks that are used to build houses. After all the clay that is valuable to mine has been extracted, huge holes are left on the ground. The topsoil has been removed from the ground during clay extraction, and so no plants will be able to grow in such areas. The area turn to worse if there is rain, the whole area will turn muddy and dirty. A chain of pits stretches along the A421 from Bedford to the M1 near Milton Keynes. This was one of the worst areas of rural derelict land and damaged Ecosystem. The noise, pollution, traffic and bad view that has been produced by the extraction pit and brick making factory affect local residents badly. What can be done to improve the situation? In 1989, 12 National Community Forest project were launched. These Forest will cover 470,000 hectares , which take over 3.6% of all land area in England and Wales, nearly equal to half the total land area used by the National Parks. The Community Forests is a national programme of improving the environment, which affects half of the people in England. Improving the countryside around towns and cities by planting woodland is the main aim of the Community Forests, especially in the areas of the derelict land. This will improve the environment and benefits the local people. In theory, the land must be made to contribute the local communities, e.g.: Creating jobs, Creating farmlands, Creating an attractive environment, Creating a variety of different landscapes, Creating sports facilities, Creating settlements. The Marston Vale Community Forests. Marston Community forests is one of12 National community forests projects which introduced in 1989. The Marston vale community forests cover a total area which more than 150kmà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. About 25,000 people are living inside the forest area, about 145,000 people are living on the edge of the area, most of them are in Bedford and Kempston, about 500,000 people are living within 20 minutes' drive. (These figures are from GeoActive) In order to succeed in this project, local people should put efforts in planning, planting and looking after the woods that are planted. The past experience has shown us that most environmental management, which involved local people, are more likely to succeed. Local people are encouraged by the Forest team to grow their own seeds in Marston Vale Community Forest project. The results of that are small woodland have begun to grow in their villages. Forest team also need to encourage landowners to allow their land to be planted with trees and organise seed collection and planting days. (This information is from GeoActive.) From this act, we know that the Marston Vale Community Forest project does not just involve the restoration of the clay extraction pits, but also allows local people to get in. It encourages people to plant trees, to protect the woodland created, to take a part in the development of the forest. The most important thing is people will love what they have planted, in order to love the whole nature. The restoration of the clay extraction pits in Maston Vale community Forest. There are three possible ways to restore the clay extraction pit: 1) The main restoration for the clay extraction pits is by changing them to an artificial forest. The way of doing so is to spread 3-4 metres of topsoil over the top. Then trees may be able to be planted in. The local people are involved in the development of the Marston Vale community forest. The plan is for local people to plant 100 ha of woodland each year and 5 Km of hedgerow each year. Farmers can apply for grants from the Forestry Commission for planting woodland. 2) The huge hole left on the ground can also be turned into an artificial lake by pouring water into the pit, or just leave them until the rain season comes. Separate clay extraction holes may be joined together by digging out the soil between them. The Stewarby Lake is an example of this restoration. 3) There's also another restoration, which is making it into a landfill site. I personally think this is a fantastic restoration, because this is also a waste solution. Million tonnes of waste can be buried in the clay extraction every day. This solved the crisis of waste in London. After the waste is filled in, plants can also be planted on top. After a long time, a chemical reaction will be happen when the waste decays and the methane gas is produced in this process. We went to an L-field landfill site, which is run by Shanks company; more information on landfill site will be in the back. *Questions On my coursework. 1) How brickwork, clay extraction and landfill sites effects local people ‘s life 2) What's local people's knowledge on Marston Vale Community Forest Project? 3) How successful is the Marston Vale community forest project? Both in attempting to solve the problems of pits left on ground after the clay extraction, and to create the better environment for local people. These are three questions that I set through my coursework. The answers for these questions will be in the end of my coursework in details. For first data collecting, the school organised a day fieldtrip to the Marston Vale area. On the day of the fieldtrip, we visited the following places: *Community forest centre, the artificial forest that has been restored from pits. *Stewartby lake, an artificial lake in the forest, also a different landscape created from clay extraction pit. *The Quest pit, one of the present clay extractions pits run by Hanson Company. *Wootton village for the questionnaire, to ask a few questions on how the brickwork and the landfill site affects local residents. *Randalls Farm, to do some water tests on the Elstow Brook River located there. *Landfill, to see what is the landfill site is like. Issues in the Maston Vale to look at. A Geographer will particularly look at the environmental issues in this area, such as how clay extraction damages the area's Ecosystem, how this affects local people, and what can be done to solve the problems, and finally are these attempts successful or not, and what can be improved? To answer all these doubts, I will first introduce the area to the readers, give them the exact location of the Marston Vale area and what transportation is available to get there. To let readers understand more about my coursework, especially on the day we went to the Marston Vale. I'll explain clearly what we've done on the fieldtrip; where we did them; why we did them; and what are the data can tell us.

Pip in Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essay - 1473 Words

Pip in Charles Dickens Great Expectations Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens and set in mid-late Victorian era; is about a boy named Philip Pirrip, better known as Pip and his great expectations. As a child he lived with his sister and brother in-law Joe. Luck brings him to the aid of a convict, and to the house of a wealthy society lady. After many encounters with her in Satis house, he seeks a life as a gentleman. A Victorian society gentleman is a man of high social status, and is expected to be wealthy, well educated, come from a wealthy background, and have enough money not to work. This is all Pips perception of what the precepts of being a gentleman are. Drummle sets a good example of this for†¦show more content†¦Affluence is unimportant for a moral gentleman; the importance is how you treat and respect others. Victorian gentlemen seems to be more about themselves or rather what is around themselves, like wealth; moral gentlemen are more about their inner qualities, personality and the way they behave. The expectations of a moral gentleman are more naturally come by; the society gentleman gains unnatural qualities; so what Im trying to say is the moral gentleman comes from within a person, a person who becomes a society gentleman is selfish because he wishes to gain. The arrogant behaviour seems to come naturally for a society gentleman, or for a person who is in contact with one. Herbert and his father Matthew fit some of both precepts, they are well-educated, quite wealthy, work for their living, and have friends. Herbert is caring, devoted the day to attending to me, he tends Pips wounds, and Pip describes him as kindest of nurses. Herbert is also a moral gentleman; Pip took his time in realising that he should have copied his example instead of Drummles. Before Pip went to London he had been to, a wealthy society lady, Miss Havishams house many time, he met a girl named Estella who called him coarse and common, this is the starting point to Pips intensions of being a gentleman. Pip tells Biddy he wants to be a gentleman because of Estella I want to be a gentleman on her account.Show MoreRelated Pip in Charles Dickens Great Expectations3985 Words   |  16 PagesPip in Charles Dickens Great Expectations After reading the compelling ‘Great Expectations’ by the famous writer Charles Dickens, I can gather that it is based upon his own psychological insight to life. He makes connections in relation to a specific character or event in the storyline, which were critical in his own expectations. Also Dickens moulds his selection of characters very well into the desired settings he’d created, that matched what he knew only too well throughout his childhoodRead MoreEssay Sympathy for Pip in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens997 Words   |  4 PagesSympathy for Pip in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens For the past half term, in English, we have been spending our lessons on a novel by Charles Dickens called Great Expectations We have been concentrating on the opening Chapters as well as to understand the novel. Great Expectations is based on a boy called Pip. Pip is an orphan who lives with his cruel sister and husband Joe Smith whos a blacksmith. He is poor and lonely as his siblings unfortunately died. 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