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Review of Literature

December 11th, 2009 by khaleddn

Review of Literature

Hip hop music videos are seen everywhere and the content in it is so common, nowadays, that its influence goes unnoticed. I am interested in exploring how hip hop music videos popularized hip hop dance and the hip hop lifestyle of today by using appealing, luxurious lifestyles and the confidence that the artists posses; as well as the seduction in the form of sexy women, wealth, alcohol, drug abuse, nightlife and so on. These characteristics that exist in music videos are the main reason why adolescents are drawn to them so much and why they have become so popular in this era. Chances are hip hop music videos today are going to effect hip hop music videos of tomorrow.

After the rapid spread of hip hop and rap music videos on television as mentioned in the statistic of, Are rap videos more violent? Style differences and the prevalence of sex and
violence in the age of MTV, “By 1986, more than 27.3 million homes in 3,100 cable systems were receiving MTV, and in 1990 that number had increased to over 52 million (Pember, 1992).
Those who watched the music videos (mostly 14- to 34-year-olds) became zealous fans of the 3- to 5-minute minifilms, whose current impact on television, film, and recording is immeasurable. Every important music recording has a video version, ranging in production cost from $40,000 to $250,000. Each year about 1,500 music videos are released in the United States alone (Ault, Agee, & Emery, 1993)” (Jones, 1997, p343).

In Children, Adolescents, and the Media, Victor C. Strasburger, MD, wrote, “Early content analyses showed that music videos were rife with sex: More than 75% contained sexual scenes, and half of all women were presented as sex objects. A content analysis of 100 videos on MTV in the early 1990s found that women are frequently portrayed as “bimbos”. One critic feels that MTV creates a “dreamworld” in which women are all nymphomaniacs, waiting to be ravaged” (Strasburger, 2004, p. 67). This supports my point in how much sex is portrayed in videos; as well as an alarming percentage of women who seem to represent luscious perfection. This explains why young girls are so dramatically effected by them and do come to grips with their sexual identity by aspiring to become like them.

In a number of books and articles, I have found, many studies carried through to prove that sexually explicit imagery is used in music videos; and it what way it is impacting youth. Girls are using music videos to come to grips with with their own sexual identity (Strasburger, 2004, p. 67) and many articles discussed how boys are more accepting of sexual violence from these music videos and its commonality in them. There is heightened sexuality now in music videos and most of them come from hip hop and rap. Some other genres have mixed some sexual content in their music videos to market it to audiences more. Not only is hip hop effecting children, but it is also effecting the re-evaluation of other genres to become more like hip hop in order to succeed. Yet many studies carried through in Image Effects and the Appreciation of Video Rock, twenty two years ago have proved that not all combinations of sex and violence were successful with fans of rock music. In fact, some viewers thought that the combination of sex and violence were less romantic and more objectionable and that was not appreciated (Zillmann and Mundorf, 1987, p.331). This allows us to say that many parts of hip hop culture is to include sex in the videos and still have it be considered normal. That is why most people who respond to it are somewhat leading a hip hop lifestyle, like African Americans.

In another section of Children, Adolescents, and the Media there were studies carried out to show how music videos and the imagery in them impacted teenagers. It discussed how girls viewed their own body image and began sexual activity. To explain what I have just mentioned Victor C. Strasburger, MD, wrote “A study of nearly 1000 ninth-grade girls in California found that hours spent watching videos correlated significantly with the girls’ weight and appearance concerns. Two studies have found a strong relation between acceptance of premarital sex for girls and exposure to music videos” (Strasburger, 2004, p. 89).

Not only is this behavior that is presented in these videos effecting the sexual activity of teenagers but is also effecting their level of sexual violence. As was written in the report, Differential Gender Effects of Exposure to Rap Music on African American Adolescents’ Accepting of Teen Dating Violence (Johnson et al, 1995):

In recent years, one issue which has received an increased amount of attention involves teen dating violence against women. There is some suggestion that this type of violence against women has become “alarmingly common” (USA Today, 1991). To support this contention, Bergman (1992) found that approximately 25% of the high school females in her sample reported experiences of sexual and/or physical violence in their dating relationships. Similarly, Stets and Henderson (1991) findings indicate that over 30% of their respondents use physical tactics to resolve disputes with their dating partner. Interestingly enough, their findings also indicate that younger respondents (18-21 years of age) were more likely to engage in such tactics than older respondents (22 years and over). (1995, p. 597)

This proves how dramatic and quick the effect of music videos are on teenagers. Especially at the age of 18-21 years when they do not have set beliefs and ideologies and are learning from MTV and other music video channels.

Unfortunately hip hop videos depict negative and offensive imagery that effects adolescents negatively; but on the other hand, these depictions are the main reason why they are so appealing to teenagers. Will hip hop still be as appealing if they did not contain alcohol, women, nightlife, wealth and so on? Is this why music video producers insist on keeping these
aspects present in them? If it was possible to keep the appeal of hip hop yet shift its messages to something more positive, this has potential to benefit our children to the better and make a world of difference in their lives. Children look at hip hop videos and extract from them beliefs and ideologies. Specifically, the “at risk” adolescents are the ones who are effected by these videos because they are surrounded by MTV and other music video networks and view rappers and hip hop artists as role models. These children are “at risk” because they live in an environment where poverty and unemployment are high and drug abuse is common (McLean, 1997, p.2). Some of the reason for that would be because at one stage, those hip hop singers were in their situation and they managed to move upwards from there. The article, Age Ain’t nothing but a number: A cross-cultural reading of popular music in the construction of sexual expression among at-risk adolescents states:

Through the use of ethnographic research techniques, this study looks at how at-risk, coitally active African American and Latino adolescents use music texts to construct ideas of sexual expression. There are several assumptions guiding this inquiry. First, music, as one of several cultural discourses, influences the development of adolescents as they are learning new ways of thinking and behaving. Nevertheless, adolescents are not one-dimensional, blindly assimilating meaning without exercising human autonomy and agency in the signification process. Second, even though adolescent participation increasingly revolves around music and other sound-enhanced products (e.g. music video clips, films), adolescents are not necessarily the authors of their own meaning; the words, utterances, and texts are the products of others and are not     necessarily produced from or by the imagination and disposition of adolescents. (McLean, 1997, p.2)

This identifies where the children pick up certain, explicit behavior from. The lyrics, the interaction and the atmosphere in video clips is interpreted by children to be their own version of the American dream and they aspire to one day become like these artists.

When parents are unaware of what their children are being exposed to as well as not being hands on in how they raise their children, this will help lead children to be effected even more. As was concluded in the previous study:

There is a need for increased attention to how the quality of at-risk adolescents’ lives and the environmental context in which they live influence their use of music and other cultural products. A 17-year-old Latina, who lived in a sexually promiscuous home setting, reported that “Pop that Coochie” was helping to empower her by giving her ideas about making money from “prostitution or stripping” as a way out of her immediate situation. Overall, music seems to function as a “rite of passage” into the adult world, serving as either foreground or background. For some respondents music was a mood enhancer. For others, music provoked thought and debate. For still others, it was fodder for their sexual fantasies. For yet another group, it served as a source of learning about coitus and sexual consummation”. (McLean, 1997, p. 12)

So as mentioned, not all adolescents are necessarily impacted by the negativity of hip hop music videos, in the same way this review has demonstrated earlier. Most studies fail to mention this or mention it very briefly as though it is insignificant. But looking at this side of research can open up many options for researchers study how and why these teenagers are not effected and how artists can integrate these methods in their music videos to not influence the next few generations negatively. This could open up a world of options to help keep hip hop music videos popular and appealing as well as being ‘family friendly’. Or we can concentrate on the more direct route of solving the problem yet could completely change the image of hip hop. The majority of groups are effected negatively, as shown in the study, which indeed concerns us enough to take a quicker and more active approach to change the messages that are delivered through music videos.

Despite the fact that not all children are effected negatively, there still needed to be a law to limit videos from crossing the line; especially with the internet’s recent boom and how almost everything is within children’s reach. It is getting more challenging to censor music videos to children.

This increased spread of music videos has frightening outcomes, such as effecting who children grow up to be and how they are currently identifying themselves, sexually. This raised a red flag with many authorities as well as parents when they began attacking the hip hop music video production companies so they could pressure them into censoring their content more in hopes of lessening the negative effect on children. A movement was finally made towards censoring these videos and more specifically, “In early 1994 some of the nation’s most highly visible Black leaders began to take an aggressive stance against record companies that produce and promote rap records and videos, or music deemed in general to be too violent, culturally degrading, or negative in its depiction of women (Staff, New York Post 1993). New policies instituted by BET and MTV involve active censorship of videos with guns and offensive sexuality (personal communication, G. Diggs, BET music director, July 20, 1994)” (Jones, 1997, p 346). After this so called action was taken towards changing the face of hip hop music videos, these policies are unfortunately often unwritten and applied subjectively (Jones, 1997, p 346).

There is a method that has proven to be successful in changing the content of hip hop music videos and lyrics. As the article, Rap and Race It’s Got a Nice Beat, But What About the Message? mentions, “Rappers and rap fans were often portrayed as menacing Black adolescents, and rap music was vilified as violent and misogynistic (Feagin, Vera, & Batur, 2001; Rose, 1994). As Rose (1994) noted, rap music has both overt and covert political dimensions: “Rap’s poetic voice is deeply political in content and spirit, but its hidden struggle—that of access to public space and community resources and the interpretation of Black expression—constitutes rap’s hidden politics” (p. 145)” (Sullivan, 2003, p. 607). The inception of hip hop music and videos revolved around the struggles African Americans went through and the politics involving them. This genre was initially targeted to African Americans and was identified to belong to a certain culture. After the criticism that was received by many politicians, the people in the music business decided to make a change in the perception of hip hop music and moved towards focusing more on money and sexuality; also for the additional motive of expanding their fan base and as Sullivan puts it, “To reach a “wider and Whiter” audience” (Sullivan, 2003, p. 608). The upper class, caucasian Americans are the ones who viewed rappers menacing Black adolescents. Producers have tried to widen their horizons and multiply artist’s fan base by making a major change in the identity of hip hop. This proves to us that hip hop has been changed before, over a period of time, and could change again. But the catch is it needs to benefit the people in the business as well.

This change from rapping about the politics of African Americans to showing them in a more lavish context, where the singer partakes in mental masturbation and has access to the hottest women (who are ethnically mysterious and have sensual curvy bodies) is what Fitts believes could have changed how children interpret these images and rethink their own priorities (Fitts, 2008, p.212). Did this shift change children’s mentality or did it force some children to lose interest in the genre because its authenticity is fading and now it’s focusing on more shallow matters, such as luxury, sex, etc? Some would say this is what attracted children of all backgrounds to this genre. This genre and the clothes, dialect an characteristics that emerged from it is now spread amongst the youth today. Bakari Kitwana, in his book, Why White Kids Love Hip Hop (2006), explains to us the different degrees to which caucasian people are involved in hip hop. They now listen to it regularly and integrate it into their daily lives, through fashion, lifestyle, speech and even attitude. Because these music videos are now concentrating on sex and partying, which they can relate to, they are more likely to listen to it and view their videos. This is so popular with caucasian and other ethnicities nowadays that some of them have completely adapted to this lifestyle and speech, despite them  having any racial background that relates to African Americans. There is even a term given to the street talk of hip hop which is known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and the internet has a largely used source for people to be able to search in a dictionary and chat online to improve their  hip hop repertoires (Cutler, 1999, p. 434).

Bakari Kitwana has also written a book called The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the crisis in African American culture. Here he discusses how hip hop so far covered political issues of racism and politics as well as poverty and the struggle  African American citizens have gone through. He a posed a question which relates to what I am studying in my research paper. It revolves around the idea that with the shift of aspects portrayed in hip hop music videos and what is being shown about African Americans today, what will hip hop be like in the next few generations? Especially with all the damage that has been done to the face of hip hop, today, in popular culture. Depictions, as he mentions, of “Inadequate parenting, resentment-filled interpersonal relationships, and inferior educational performances, which stands counter to traditional ideas of Blackness” (Kitwana, 2002, p.xii). This is basically him asking about the singers in the future who are the children today. In other words, whatever the children are viewing today and aspiring to, they will become tomorrow and will use their music and videos to inspire the generations after them, to either do something positive or continue in the unfavorable behaviors of the present.

All these studies have led me to think about many unanswered questions of the future. Effects of hip hop music videos on children today will be the result of what form most hip hop videos will take in the future. To anticipate what the future will be like for hip hop music videos, studies must be carried to understand what children would be motivated to do with their lives from viewing these videos. From seeing how children were effected by hip hop in the past, we could have a more accurate observation on what the future could look like. Questions have also risen to help shape what my study should reveal. How will African Americans be viewed in the future? Will the next generations be educated about the political struggle of African Americans through hip hop, or will this message be completely extinct by that time? Now that the US is extremely multicultural as Kitwana mentions in his book, will hip hop culture belong to more than one ethnicity? If so, will there messages be targeted to their own ethnicities or to all other ethnicities and most importantly will it be more positively delivered and perceived? and if hip hop will take a dramatic shift towards other ethnicities, will it succeed without all the seductive aspects that hip hop is known for?

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