Film
criticizes hip hop’s portrayal
of black males
By
Kimberlee Morrison and Tanya Payne
Online Forty-Niner
Documentary film maker Byron Hurt described the experiences of black men being
boxed in by the narrow American definitions of masculinity as characterized
in contemporary hip hop music in an on-campus screening of his film Wednesday.
“
In order to be in the box you got to be strong, you got to be tough, you got
to have all the girls, you got to have a lot of money, you got to be a player
or pimp,” Hurt said. “You got to be in control, you got to dominate
other men.”
Hurt’s purpose in making the film, “Beyond Beats and Rhymes: Masculinity
in Hip Hop,” was to make a statement about the stereotypical portrayal
of black masculinity and the prevalence of misogyny in hip hop music with his
sophomore film screened in LH-150.
The introduction laid the foundation for the film’s premise that in order
to be a man in black culture, one has to over-exaggerate the hyper-masculine
ideals already ingrained in us by American society.
Using the same approach as other documentarians such as Morgan Spurlock and
Michael Moore, Hurt is both narrator and commentator while also putting people
in power on the spot with his direct style of questioning.
Def Jam CEO Russell Simmons appeared uncomfortable when asked how he felt about
the misogyny in hip-hop culture, particularly in Nelly’s now infamous
video “Tip-Drill,” in which the artist swipes a credit card down
the buttocks of a woman, commonly referred to as a “video hoe.”
Nelly, known for his philanthropy, was scheduled to host and speak at a bone
marrow drive on the campus of the historically black, all women’s university
Spelman College. When the student government representatives requested Nelly
participate in a dialogue with the students about the overt objectification
of women in his videos he declined to make an appearance.
According to commentators within the documentary, much of the responsibility
for the current state of hip hop should be shouldered by the major labels whose
corporate policies forgo any semblance of socio-political consciousness in
favor of what they feel is more commercially viable.
“
White record producers don’t want to hear a social critique of white
patriarchy,” cultural critic Michael Dyson said.
While there are artists such as M-1 from Dead Prez, Common, Talib Kweli and
Mos Def whose original claim to fame was the socially conscious content of
their music, Hurt said of the artists he interviewed for the film, none wanted
to be labeled as such.
In the movie, hip hop pioneer Chuck D argues the homogeneous nature of mainstream
rap music can be attributed to artists “genocidally following through
on a program laid out for them.”
Chuck D also criticizes popular cable network Black Entertainment Television
(BET) for its contribution to the perpetuation of negative masculine stereotypes,
calling it the “cancer of black masculinity in America.”
Many commentators in the film, including a BET executive, pointed out that
since the network was bought out by media giant Viacom, “major market
forces” forced socially conscious forces of hip hop to the background.
A woman featured in the film defended sexism in rap music, specifically the
derogatory terms used for women, by asserting she is not the woman about whom
the rappers were speaking.
“
He’s not talking to me, I know what I am,” she said.
In response, Hurt said, “If George Bush was to get on national TV and
make a speech and he started calling black people ‘niggas’ would
you be like, ‘I don’t know who George Bush is talking about, but
he ain’t talking about me’?”
At the conclusion of the film, which received generous applause at the screening,
Hurt opened the floor for Q&A which lasted well past 10 p.m. as the audience
was eager to engage in a dialogue about the issues brought up in the documentary.
The first part of the Q&A session consisted of Hurt fending off criticism
for not including certain issues audience members thought were necessary, such
as deflecting responsibility to women in hip hop and making whites comfortable.
One audience member said the film would have been better and made whites more
comfortable had it included Eminem.
Hurt said he would have had to make cuts in order to add a segment including
Eminem. He also pointed out that while Eminem is known for his lyrical prowess,
he would have had to address Eminem’s appropriation of black masculinity
to justify including him in the film.
Cady Ogdin, a senior human development major said, “I was not surprised
race was brought up by whites because people always forgo gender issues for
race.”
Shara Arizmendi, also a human development senior, said, “The point that
I got from the film was that hip hop is just one leaf on the branch of the
whole problem of sexism and it needs to be attacked culturally.”
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