Eminem, Public Enemy and Frank Lloyd Wright 23
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Lets start with typewriters." – Frank Lloyd Wright – Typewriters are the tool of the messengers, of the informers and trusted entities of any society. We will never be able to grasp the extent of various writers' clout and influence upon the world's occurrences. Writers and journalists can make small, incremental shifts in a population's attitude that lead to large, cataclysmic revolutions. Wright's statement sounds mildly facetious, but it embodies a huge issue in history. Oftentimes evil minds have manipulated the beauty of the written and spoken word for ulterior and destructive motives. Some people will disparage various literary works for being dangerous, (seems to be the conservative right trying to prevent supposed moral decadence because Catcher in the Rye actually corrupts us all through Caulfield's depravity) but this is not the type of writing I am worried about. It is the media and various propaganda outlets that hold our attention for many hours everyday.
If you tell a pedestrian that typewriters are a dangerous weapon, most will probably disagree and laugh in your face. If you asked a San Francisco pedestrian if they thought Fox News and Bill O'Reilly were dangerous, they might say yes. The media shapes our ideas and perceptions of the U.S. government and world events, which also gives them the opportunity to skew our views. The Bush administration paid Armstrong Williams $240,000 under the table to speak positively about the No Child Left Behind education policy. The program has been almost universally rejected because it has created a larger chasm between rich and poor school's funding, but to promote their own agenda the Bush administration pays people to support NCLB. Williams clearly crossed the 'conflict of interest' line as a media personality and pundit. Rather then upholding his duty as a critic and publicly trusted individual, Williams betrayed us all by preaching for a price rather than for a cause.
FLW is absolutely correct when he shares his fear of a malicious mind at the helm of a typewriter and in this day an age, access to channels of information is ever easier and more prevalent. With the government using money to influence the media, we are in a period of time where the media is constantly losing credibility and a story is not exactly 'newsworthy' unless there is a price tag or profit attached. When someone has access to the masses, they have tremendous power that can be used for good or bad depending on their agenda. Hitler used his astounding intelligence, skills as an orator, and determination to manipulate the purpose of the typewriter to murder millions of people. His propaganda campaign is one the most impressive in history. From dropping leaflets on the country to his captivating public speaking, Hitler was able to assemble the masses against a common enemy, which as we all know ended with 11 million people dead. If Hitler's dissemination of anti-Semitic values and rhetoric doesn't convince you of the danger of words and the typewriter, maybe Eminem can.
Eminem is easily one of the most creative lyricists of all time. With ease, he can dissect words and language into separate sounds, consonants and syllables for a seamless flow of rhythm and rhyme. He aimed that creative venom many times at Benzino, his ex-wife Kim, his anti-fans and more, but he was also able to add some value to certain ideas, like those of Frank Lloyd Wright. Eminem's song, 'Sing for the Moment' supports FLW perfectly with the lines, "Yet everybody just feels like they can relate, I guess words are a mothafucka they can be great, or they can degrade or even worse they can teach hate." This self-aware and self-critical rhyme from Eminem eloquently states that you can use words to improve and contribute to the world or you can use them to hurt or injure people. Eminem obviously used words to strike back at people he felt wronged by, but he wasn't using his language to incite violence or hate. Eminem's music examines the different avenues words can take and for us it is a matter of whom to trust and distrust, which is no easy task.
Do we trust our media outlets to provide 'fair and balanced news?' Immortal Technique – yes I am quoting him again – believes Fox is composed of, "some of the most ignorant and racist people giving that type of mentality a safe haven." IT would also appreciate if we would, "read about the history of the place that we live in and stop letting corporate news tell lies to your children." Public Enemy also supports this viewpoint in 'Rebirth' by saying, "If you only trust the TV and the radio these days, you can't see who's in cahoots, 'cause now the KKK wears three-piece suits." However, Public Enemy graced us with these lyrics back in 1991 when I was all of five years old and still living blissfully ignorant while Immortal Technique is more modern. (It's sad that PE lyrics are still so applicable to such an issue almost two decades later). These talented hip-hop artists are trying to make us aware of the atrocities being committed against us through the manipulation of the media. The wool is without a doubt,snuggly wrapped over many of our nation's citizen's eyes.
Hitler certainly taught and propagated hate to a level we hopefully will never again witness. Two years ago in a closing lecture by my Journalism and Mass Media professor, she told the entire class "If you remember nothing from this entire semester and you will walk out of here without learning a thing, at the very least I hope I taught you to question and challenge everything you hear." This professor touches on a delicate point because we will always suffer the subjective skewing and interpretation of the news, but hopefully we can eventually regain faith in our media to present a truly fair AND balanced message. As Eminem said, "words are weapons," but we need to find a way to make these words, typewriters and lyrics into weapons of construction, rather than destruction.
(Short synopsis about the NCLB program - If a school doesn't meet the government's yearly progress standards two years in a row, they will lose federal funding. The schools that struggle the most to meet these standards are generally in lower class neighborhoods that also receive less local funding through lower property taxes on cheap property. The NCLB program has allowed the education system to fall apart while emphasizing standardized test scores instead of education. There is a huge difference between gaining valuable knowledge in school and being taught how to become a good test taker. Rather than reinforcing the importance of useful pedagogy, the government wants to emphasize the superficial window dressing of stronger standardized test scores. And if a school can't teach their students how to take a test then money disappears and the school washes down the financial drain. What's the point of even opening a real book?)
If you tell a pedestrian that typewriters are a dangerous weapon, most will probably disagree and laugh in your face. If you asked a San Francisco pedestrian if they thought Fox News and Bill O'Reilly were dangerous, they might say yes. The media shapes our ideas and perceptions of the U.S. government and world events, which also gives them the opportunity to skew our views. The Bush administration paid Armstrong Williams $240,000 under the table to speak positively about the No Child Left Behind education policy. The program has been almost universally rejected because it has created a larger chasm between rich and poor school's funding, but to promote their own agenda the Bush administration pays people to support NCLB. Williams clearly crossed the 'conflict of interest' line as a media personality and pundit. Rather then upholding his duty as a critic and publicly trusted individual, Williams betrayed us all by preaching for a price rather than for a cause.
FLW is absolutely correct when he shares his fear of a malicious mind at the helm of a typewriter and in this day an age, access to channels of information is ever easier and more prevalent. With the government using money to influence the media, we are in a period of time where the media is constantly losing credibility and a story is not exactly 'newsworthy' unless there is a price tag or profit attached. When someone has access to the masses, they have tremendous power that can be used for good or bad depending on their agenda. Hitler used his astounding intelligence, skills as an orator, and determination to manipulate the purpose of the typewriter to murder millions of people. His propaganda campaign is one the most impressive in history. From dropping leaflets on the country to his captivating public speaking, Hitler was able to assemble the masses against a common enemy, which as we all know ended with 11 million people dead. If Hitler's dissemination of anti-Semitic values and rhetoric doesn't convince you of the danger of words and the typewriter, maybe Eminem can.
Eminem is easily one of the most creative lyricists of all time. With ease, he can dissect words and language into separate sounds, consonants and syllables for a seamless flow of rhythm and rhyme. He aimed that creative venom many times at Benzino, his ex-wife Kim, his anti-fans and more, but he was also able to add some value to certain ideas, like those of Frank Lloyd Wright. Eminem's song, 'Sing for the Moment' supports FLW perfectly with the lines, "Yet everybody just feels like they can relate, I guess words are a mothafucka they can be great, or they can degrade or even worse they can teach hate." This self-aware and self-critical rhyme from Eminem eloquently states that you can use words to improve and contribute to the world or you can use them to hurt or injure people. Eminem obviously used words to strike back at people he felt wronged by, but he wasn't using his language to incite violence or hate. Eminem's music examines the different avenues words can take and for us it is a matter of whom to trust and distrust, which is no easy task.
Do we trust our media outlets to provide 'fair and balanced news?' Immortal Technique – yes I am quoting him again – believes Fox is composed of, "some of the most ignorant and racist people giving that type of mentality a safe haven." IT would also appreciate if we would, "read about the history of the place that we live in and stop letting corporate news tell lies to your children." Public Enemy also supports this viewpoint in 'Rebirth' by saying, "If you only trust the TV and the radio these days, you can't see who's in cahoots, 'cause now the KKK wears three-piece suits." However, Public Enemy graced us with these lyrics back in 1991 when I was all of five years old and still living blissfully ignorant while Immortal Technique is more modern. (It's sad that PE lyrics are still so applicable to such an issue almost two decades later). These talented hip-hop artists are trying to make us aware of the atrocities being committed against us through the manipulation of the media. The wool is without a doubt,snuggly wrapped over many of our nation's citizen's eyes.
Hitler certainly taught and propagated hate to a level we hopefully will never again witness. Two years ago in a closing lecture by my Journalism and Mass Media professor, she told the entire class "If you remember nothing from this entire semester and you will walk out of here without learning a thing, at the very least I hope I taught you to question and challenge everything you hear." This professor touches on a delicate point because we will always suffer the subjective skewing and interpretation of the news, but hopefully we can eventually regain faith in our media to present a truly fair AND balanced message. As Eminem said, "words are weapons," but we need to find a way to make these words, typewriters and lyrics into weapons of construction, rather than destruction.
(Short synopsis about the NCLB program - If a school doesn't meet the government's yearly progress standards two years in a row, they will lose federal funding. The schools that struggle the most to meet these standards are generally in lower class neighborhoods that also receive less local funding through lower property taxes on cheap property. The NCLB program has allowed the education system to fall apart while emphasizing standardized test scores instead of education. There is a huge difference between gaining valuable knowledge in school and being taught how to become a good test taker. Rather than reinforcing the importance of useful pedagogy, the government wants to emphasize the superficial window dressing of stronger standardized test scores. And if a school can't teach their students how to take a test then money disappears and the school washes down the financial drain. What's the point of even opening a real book?)
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About the Author
I know a lot of people who would say listening to Eminem is bad because he "attacks" people and delivers hateful messages. I on the other hand don't agree at all. If you actually think about what's in his rap, you will see that it's all true. Unfortunately people don't understand nice, simple things and the only way to get something into their thick skulls in through force.