Steven Reeder

Kyngsung University

INTRODUCTION
What is pop culture? Pop culture is what happens around us every day. Whether it's
clothes, movies, music or cars it's all a part of popular culture.
ASPECTS OF POPULAR CULTURE
TV / Movies / Sports
Fashion / Celebrities
Music / Video games
Hobbies / Hangouts / Food
Beliefs / Values
Pets / Transportation
New technology
Hair styles
Tattoos / Piercings
Magazines / Newspapers
Comic books / Animation

WHY STUDY POP CULTURE?

As opposed to the study of high culture (opera, classical music, Shakespeare, etc), which is the best
that has been thought or said, the study of pop culture is the study of all that that has been thought or said.
Culture is how we live in nature. Culture is always an active process. Culture is the practice of making and
communicating meanings.
Culture is not in the object but in the experience of the object: how we make it meaningful, what we do
with it, how we value it. i.e. Culture is ordinary: it is how we make sense of ourselves and the world around us;
it is the practice through which we share and contest meanings of ourselves, of each other and the world. To
share culture is to interpret the worldto make it meaningfulin recognizably similar ways.
WHO DECIDES WHAT POP CULTURE IS?
Do the media decide what is popular and what isn't popular?
Is popular culture what the media makes popular?
Do companies play a part in deciding things like clothes, movies, food etc. are popular?
Is pop culture what the media makes us believe it is?
IS POP CULTURE AMERICANIZED?
Can pop culture be labeled as the new culture of America?
What is popular in your country? Can you trace its origins back to anything American?
If you can, does this mean your pop culture is Americanized? Or is it a unique version of what was
American?
CAN POP CULTURE BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY?
Is pop culture for the mindless masses?
Is it separate from the high arts?
Do only the uneducated or lower classes accept pop culture as value?

POP CULTURE SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

The study of popular culture has emerged in cultural study courses at the university level. The Pop Art
movement of the 60s was founded on a rejection of the distinction between popular and high culture. The
publication of 13 books to date on the topic of pop culture and philosophy has the top academics and

2
philosophers in the country using high art to bring mass art into a deeper meaning.
THE MATRIX FACTOR
Popular culture as a serious study had been only accepted by a few until after the release of The Matrix
(1999), which created an onslaught of scholarship and research into the deeper meanings of the movie. The
matrix became the first pop corn movie to be taken seriously as a blockbuster movie with a message. There
was an academic need to take Pop culture out of the realm of escapism, entertainment, relaxation, and
treat it with the seriousness of art.
IS ART BETTER THAN MASS ART?
Up until the early 1800s opera, classical music and Shakespeare was enjoyed by all classes. With the
lower classes getting better education, artists and theorists tried to remove art from the masses through
restricting rules. Does this make high art better than any other art?
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN POP CULTURE
Culture is not what one is but what one has, or rather, what one has become. Pop Culture is an economic
activity, perhaps the most important economic activity of all. Some argue that people who consume pop culture
unknowingly are cultural idiots, victims of an up-dated form of mind control.
2 WAY OF LOOKING AT POP CULTURE
1. Industries
Industries of capitalist countries provide popular culture for profit and manipulation.
manipulation.
2. A culture freely emerging from below, from the voice of the people, defines exactly what the masses
are thinking and what they are.
MODERN CULTURE IS SATURATED BY MEDIA
We communicate what we consume. What really matters is not what we consume but how we consume
it. Fandom. What does it mean to be a fan? Objects of fandom become part of our sense of identity. Obsess us
they may, but they can also empower.
Our identities are made from what is outside (culture) and what is inside (our nature). Therefore,
popular culture is an important part of our modern identity.
identity.
THE TEST OF TIME?
Who determines if art stands up to the test of time? Schools, libraries, theaters, museums, publishing
and printing houses, and so forth,
forth, the very institutions through which the Arts operate. The items that are
selected and preserved by time will always be those items that fit the needs, interests, resources, and purposes
of those institutions and those that have control of them.
WHY A BOUNDARY BETWEEN ART AND POPULAR ART?
Whereas, with Art, you may decide what is good or bad, but do not doubt that it is art, that has already
been decided by those better than you. Why cant popular art be considered mass art that has risen above its
origins? Unlike average films or pop music, popular art is the best cinema, the most advanced jazz. Yet
again, who is to decide what the best is?
THE BEST WAY TO THINK ABOUT MATTERS OF CULTURAL VALUE
IS TO BEGIN WITH POWER
Those in power teach us that no independent thinking is needed from the audience of popular culture;
the product already prescribes every reaction; nothing new can be learned. Yet is there a greater importance for
popular culture? What can we, as students, learn about America from its popular culture? Is that a fair
judgment?

3
 Chapter 1
American Pop Culture

4
 WAYNES WORLD AND AMERICAN POPULAR
CULTURE
Lets use Waynes World as our introductory text book looking into American pop culture. What are
some American cultural points you can learn from this film? Is there a difference in American culture
and the culture of your country? What is the same? What is different? Waynes World shows a nostalgic
reality of the 80s and early 90s. So, the nostalgia is created for those who actually experienced it. What are
some things, ideas, or cultural points you didnt really understand? How can we learn about a countys
culture from viewing its pop culture? What can you learn about American culture from this film?
(Americana) Do you agree or disagree that this kind of movie represents American pop culture? Why or
why not?
WHY STUDY WAYNES WORLD?
Wayne's World (1992) was adapted from a popular skit of the same name on a live comedy skit show,
Saturday Night Live.
Live. Known to be the connoisseur of pop culture, the movie is filled with pop culture
references and also started a few. Catch phrases like "Not!" and "Excellent!" were added to the slacker lingo of
Generation X. Its multiple endings and the use of the camera as a character are noted in film studies. Wayne and
Garth's slacker hobbies include playing street hockey, hanging out at Stan Mikita's doughnut shop (a sly in-joke
on Tim Hortons), avoiding obsessive girlfriends, and catching hot local bands at "Gas Works."
The movie can be seen as one movie critic puts it, Waynes
Waynes World is a postmodern comedy. Waynes
World uses plenty of references, some of which are: Garth recreating the infamous shower scene from Psycho
with donuts, Wayne getting pulled over by a cop who looks like the T-1000 from Terminator 2 and the sequence
with the string of product placements. The thing is, we have to be aware of these references beforehand so that
when we see them in Waynes World we can make sense of them. That is the whole idea behind the power and
influence of pop culture. This is what it means to be a bricoleur.
A Directors Take on Pop Culture
When asked in an interview, Personally,
Personally, which of your movies have brought you the most
satisfaction? the director of Waynes World,
World, Penelope Spheeris answered, Obviously the recognition we got
from Waynes World was quite gratifying. However, commercial success is very different from artistic success.
Therefore, I have to say that The Decline of Western Civilization (Part I,II, and III), have brought me the most
satisfaction. Over the years so many people have told me that when they saw The Decline films, they changed
their lives. Nobody ever said that about Waynes World.
World. Those kind of comments are what make the work
worthwhile and the reason why the documentaries are the most gratifying for me.
POP CULTURE AND WHO WE ARE
We communicate through what we consume. Consumption is the most visible way in which we show
others who and what we are. Who we are is biological (human nature), i.e. Darwin (evolving self), Marx
(situated self), Freud (unconscious self). Postmodernism has shown us that who we are is not unchangeable, but
is something we always add upon until the day we die. Pop culture is the main factor for this ever changing self.
Both Wayne and Garth represent Gen X living in a media saturated white-youth culture, their entire
references based on TV shows of the 1970s, heavy-metal bands and TV commercials. We do not watch the
characters participating in a life drama (or comedy), but are actually watching characters in a movie. They look
at the camera directly, talk to the audience, and advertise products, as though they know they're in a movie. All
this makes for a very post-modern, self-referential tone which seems to reflect the media-saturated nature of
contemporary society.
The use of the camera also invites the audience in on the action of Waynes World.
World. Wayne appears to
address a camera but we feel like he is addressing us personally as he is introducing himself and his friends and
the places that he goes to. The camera also lets us see the world behind the camera, which is supposed to be
hidden from us. During the shooting of Cassandras music video, we see all the equipment that is supposed to
be shooting it. We see the equipment shooting Waynes initial home cable show and also in the studio set up of
the show.
A crafty part of the movie is Waynes conversations with the camera. In a sense, this whole movie is a
cable access documentary on his life, and particularly on his great and helpless crush on Cassandra.
Thus the movie is actually a packaged nod to consumerism and pop culture. Since youth are pop culture
savvy, the movie appeals to the young who do not recognize the line between fine art and popular art, which
5
is why it is funny to see two guys who run a stupid cable show talk about their juvenile interests as being art.
And they dare sell out? In the characters of Wayne and Benjamin we see the two sides of Pop Culture play out
as stereotypes. Benjamin is pastiche: everything he does is a cheap imitation; he is not real. Wayne is bricoleur:
bricoleur:
he actually creates everything out of what he sees; what you see is what you get.
By comparing the world of Benjamin and Wayne we can further see the how pastiche and bricoleur can
be misunderstood. Benjamin is rich and he has taste. Wayne is middleclass and is tacky. But Benjamin is who
he is because he imitates others. Everything he does is to get more money or women, he doesnt do anything for
art itself. Wayne is who he is because he takes what he likes, no matter how base, and he makes it his own.
For him, this is art; taking what nobody appreciates and glorifying it. This is the essence of the movie and pop
culture, too.
Although identities are clearly about who we think we are and where we think we came from, they
are also about where we are going, or becoming.
The Roots of Cultural Identities
A large part of who we are belongs in the past, in our memory. Memory seems to be the core of identity.
It connects who we are with who we once were. Thus who we are is based on collective memory. Memory is
as much collective as it is individual. This is due to the power of pop culture. A lot of what we remember of the
past and about ourselves is based on collective memory, i.e. movies, TV, books, etc. We cannot remember
everything on our own; we need witnesses to fill in many of the gaps.
Think of a family photo album being passed around a room. I talk about a certain picture, then another
who was there either supports what I said, or gives his version of the past. We then agree upon that point in the
past. Also, a lot of our memories are not our own. Think of world events. Did you experience the Korean War?
No, but someone told you by book or movie. You must rely upon the memories of others to fit into the culture
of the now.
Memory is always a practice of rebuilding and images. When we remember, we do not think of a pure
past. The memories are what I and others remember of the past by speaking of it. Yet in speaking of the past,
some things can be added that are not true, and we eventually believe it really happened (you may believe what
you saw on TV in your youth actually happened to you). you). What is important to remember is not the facts but
how the facts are understood. Therefore, the interaction between memory and making our identity does not
rely on the truth of what is remembered but how they are used to make meaning in the present.
So is Waynes World really what the 60s and 80s were like? Probably not. I lived in the 80s, and what
I saw in Waynes World matches what I remember of the 80s. Now here is the problem. Memories do not take
us to the past, but they bring the past into the present. In order for my memories to have any meaning, they
must make sense in the context of the present. Just think about the Korean War again. Twenty years ago, most
South Korean adults can recall school textbooks and comic books that portrayed North Korean communists as
devils, complete with horns, hell-bent on taking over the South. School children were required to write essays
denouncing the evils of the North Korean system. What has changed? The North Koreans? Or the present
situation?
To use an example from the movie, why does Wayne put on a pink bra and start singing happy birthday?
The only way to understand this is to bring the past into the present situation. Marilyn Monroe sang Happy
Birthday, Mr. President at a televised birthday party for President John F. Kennedy in May of 1962. This caused
quite a stir throughout America at the time, where it hurt her career and not Kennedys. She was fired from a
movie for doing this. The incident is forever a part of American pop culture and is rehashed in many movies,
including Leon.
Our collective memory is also part of sites of memory. Institutions, mass media and popular culture
add to our memories. The memory industries create images with which we are invited to think, see, and
recognize the past. Mass media (especially movies) help us to experience memories that we have never lived.
Therefore, what we see might influence us so significantly that the images actually become part of our own
personal memory of experience.
An example of how the memory industry influences my personal memories, is my memories of the 80s.
You may ask me, Is Waynes world really what the 80s in America was like? I may not be able to give you a
truthful answer because what really happened is now mixed up in my mind with what I have seen in the
movies and TV that the pure experience is no longer there. The same can be said about the Korean War or
Vietnam war. Veterans have difficulty with the reality of the war vs. the representation of the war in movies. It
is no longer a definite event so much as it is a collective idea that is erased and rewritten by the collective

6
memory.
POP CULTURES RETRO INFLUENCE
The use of Queen's "Bohemian
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
Rhapsody" in Waynes World sent the song to #2 in Billboard singles
charts nearly 20 years after its first release where it only made it to # 9. To this day it is still one of Queens most
popular songs, thanks to the retro-action of popular culture.
Jimmy Hendrix
Jimmy Hendrix (November 27 1942 September 18 1970) was an American guitarist, singer, and
songwriter. He is frequently credited as being the most important electric guitarist in the history of popular
music. Hendrix always looked for new guitar effects. He was one of the first guitarists to use the full expressive
possibilities of electronic effects such as the wah-wah pedal. Rolling Stone magazine named Hendrix the
number 1 guitarist of all time. His influence almost cannot be overstated.
ACCESS TV: A Time before the Internet
Public-access television is a cable television service that allows the public to use a cable company's
facilities and equipment to create and broadcast their own shows. This service is provided to the public free of
charge on a first-come, first-served basis, and there are very lax censorship rules. Funding for public access is
typically very limited, so the content and production value of shows on such channels is often of very low
quality.
The Great White North
Before the popularity of the internet, there was access TV. This was a format for creative individuals to
get their message out to the masses. I like to think of it as an ancient video weblog. Sure most are not worth
watching, but as Waynes World has shown us, some were made to cater to be interesting. A Canadian version
of public access TV is The Great White North,
North, a panel show that played upon Canadian stereotypes. Bob and
Doug, two dumb beer-drinking brothers wearing heavy winter clothing and tuques, would comment on various
elements of Canadian life and culture, frequently employing the interjection "Eh?
Mental Engineering
The First successful access show to make it to prime time was Mental Engineering,
Engineering, a show that
commented on the craziness of commercials. People enjoyed watching the show so much that commercials
soon became a form of entertainment.
ACCESS TV AND THE INTERNET
Access TV was a way for the common person to get a message out to the public. The internet and
weblogs have taken over this forum and made it better. But what harm can come from using the internet for
ones own personal show? How many famous peoples lives have been destroyed by the internet? How many
people have become famous? In America, two regular people became national stars for being total idiots. John
Daker is the unfortunate victim of an Internet phenomenon similar to the plight of Star Wars kid. A video of his
vocal work originally aired on a Peoria, Illinois public access channel in the early 1990s. It has since been
passed around the country via internet.
Ghyslain Raza is a Quebec teenager from Canada who, at the age of 15, became known throughout the
Internet in late April 2003 and May 2003 as the Star Wars Kid.
Kid. On November 8, 2002 Raza had made a video
of himself acting like the Star Wars character Darth Maul, using a golf ball retriever to represent his lightsaber.
It was filmed at the studio of his high school. A few of his classmates stole the tape and uploaded it to a peer-to-
peer file sharing network as a prank. The video file spread across the Internet extremely fast; within only weeks
it had been downloaded millions of times. Within days, artists all over the world began making modifications to
the original video, such as adding music, visual effects and sounds.

7
 Waynes World Study Questions
1. What are some American cultural points you can learn from this film?

2. Is there a difference in American culture and the culture of your country? What is the same? What is
different?

3. Waynes World shows a nostalgic reality of the 80s. So, the nostalgia is created for those who actually
experienced it. What are some things, ideas, or cultural points you didnt really understand?

4. What can you learn about American culture from this film? (Americana)

5. This movie shows us the difference between pastiche and bricoleur in how Wayne and Benjamin behave.
Which one is pastiche? Which one is bricoleur?

6. What does this movie tell us about the power of advertising?

7. Public access TV was used as a form of information for the people by the people. What has replaced this old
and expensive form these days?

8
 Chapter 2
Postmodern Culture

9
 POSTMODERN

CULTURE
The dividing line between high and popular art was erased with new sensibility. New sensibility
questioned modernisms cultural elitism, which became postmodernism. Postmodernism is a schizophrenic
culture, as in experiencing culture only in the constant present, with some intrusion from the past and possible
future.

THE ARGUMENT AGAINST (haters)

Although postmodernism is a culture without a sense of history, it is a culture that feeds vampirically on
the past. It can be argued that postmodernism is a world of pastiche: a world in which stylistic invention and
innovation is no longer possible. Thus, the producers of postmodern culture have nowhere to turn but to the
past: the imitation of dead styles found in global culture. Rather than a culture of clear creativity, postmodern
culture is said to be a culture of flatness, images and surfaces without possibilities. It is a culture which involves
the necessary failure of art and the aesthetic, the failure of the new, the imprisonment in the past.
A scene from the movie Austin Powers illustrates the weakening effect of postmodern culture with the
idea of the clone. Dr. Evil clones a copy of himself. What happens when you make a copy of something? Mini-
me is the result. The same result happens in pop culture with postmodernism. This is a culture of improvers
and not creators. What has been invented from 1960 to present? What has been invented from 1900-1950? We
are a culture of imitators and our creations are small in comparison to original ideas.
10
 Plato's Cave
Plato would be opposed to what today we would call pop culture: the artist is an imitator of images
and is very far removed from the truth, he said (Republic X, 27). If we apply this concept to movies or other
forms of pop culture, we can understand how American culture itself has become so self-imitation in a negative
sense, and also far removed from the truth.
WHY STUDY POP CULTURE?
Why should we pay attention to such a seemingly useless thing as pop culture? There are at least four
reasons.
First, pop culture both reflects who we are as people and also helps shape us as people. In Korea, two
high school kids watched the movie Friends () and then went out and imitated a murder sequence from the
film. But in defense, if pop culture could absolutely shape and dominate our lives, it would have a far higher
success rate (i.e. more kids would have copied the murders). So there are more factors than just the movie.
Overestimating pop cultures ability to influence frustrates those teens who rightly claim to think for
themselves. Nevertheless, underestimating pop cultures shaping power can also be dangerous. In America, for
example, homosexuality is being accepting by the media, just look at the sitcoms openly showing and talking
about it. Thirty years ago it would have taken a civil rights action to get something like this started. Now, its a
business decision. Pop culture shapes who we are and who we are becoming.
Second, pop culture serves as a type of international language for communication between countries in a
postmodern world. In pop culture young people have developed a new standard of literacy, which has a broader
range of influences and sources, including classical literature and classic movies, songs, and even comic books.
The new literacy is democratic, much less elitist, and influenced by the media. Bono of U2 has replaced James
Joyce as Dublins most important writer. Tupac Shakur stands as the most influential African-American poet.
This brings us to look at rap as literature, which will be discussed in another class next semester. Pop culture is
also technological literacy. Information can be accessed in a number of different wayscomputers, the Internet,
video, TVwhich raises literacy of the masses far better and quicker than it did through traditional books.
Third, pop culture must be taken as seriously as high art. Universities love the idea that the best
ideas come from above (from them)with the view that the best ideas, and those most worthy of study, come
from the professors or professionals and then are passed down to the rest of society who must be told what is
good or bad (a very old way of viewing the world). Yet postmodernism has changed that with the idea of values
and ideas coming from below.
The 20th century was marked by communism vs. capitalism. Democratic capitalism has won in most of
the world, even in China. The glory of the free market, spread by American pop cultures movies, music, and
TV defeated a half a century of communism. All the military might of the West could not stop communism in
Eastern Europe. But the rebellious sounds of the Rolling Stones managed to inspire and helped free
Czechoslovakia from the Soviet Union. Sights and sounds of America helped bring down the Berlin Wall and
the Iron Curtain. Why do you think North Korea is so isolated? They know what the power of pop culture and
the power it has in the hands of the masses.

THE POST-MODERN REVOLUTION

The global super power is entertainment. The top of the charts measures military might. The world is
getting smaller. Nations share information and pop culture without worrying about borders. In our postmodern
time, the future of theology is dynamic, ongoing, rooted in a cultural matrix of meanings.

A Matrix of Meanings

Music Movies TV Fashion Sports Art

Post-national
Post-rational
Post-literal Lived in the Marketplace
Post- Driven by Consumerism
scientific/technological Fueled by Advertising
Post-sexual Attained by Celebrity
Post-racial
Post-ethical/institutional
11
 Post-national
Globalization is the main talk at international trade discussions. But pop culture is the new international
money, the language we all speak, the glue that binds the global youth culture together. Yet so many nations and
religions feel threatened by this.
What bothers so many people about America today is not that they send their troops everywhere, but
that they send their culture, values, economics, technologies, and lifestyles everywherewhether or not
America wants them to or others want them. And if you look at what American pop culture puts outmurder,
rape, incest, robbery, free sex, etc.no wonder so many Islamic extremists (and others) look upon America as a
cruel, godless, brutal, and vulgar society. It is everyones duty, however, to try and find the good in all the bad,
because there is no stopping progress, there is only embracing what is good.
Post-rational
Postmodern life is all about multitasking: you chat on the computer with a friend and talk on the cell-
phone with another while sitting at work. You can shop, e-mail, chat, read, watch movies, and listen to music all
from your computer or even cell-phone. Postmodern life is no longer about borrowing from the past and
making it new, it is now all about creating originality and letting the rest of the world catch up. In this age we
can say A + B = Q because people are thinking with their feelings first.
Post-literal
Our image-driven pop culture has caused many to wonder if were becoming a society that cannot read.
But the very popularity of the Harry Potter books alone, especially with the youth, shows that reading is alive
and well. Thus, society is not post-literate but post-literal. Modernity can be seen as a war against mystery and
magic. This can also explain the reason why movies like Spider-man, Star Wars, Superman, and the Lord of the
Rings have such an international popularity. These kinds of heroic movies show an audience suffering from a
lack of heroic myths.
Post-scientific/technological
th
Science entered the 20 century as a flawless godcars, airplanes, rockets, skyscrapers, computers,
cloning, etc. It has made us a 24/7 society. Around-the-clock connections has resulted in not enough sleep
from 10 hours in 1910 to less than 7 hours today. While social conservatives blame our loss of civility on
declining religious and moral values, it is probably more because of our hyper-speed culture.
Post-sexual
Birth control pills, condoms, AIDS, teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, and pornography, there is
almost nothing sacred about sex anymore in this post-sexual era.
In 1972, less than 5% of 15 year old girls and 10% of 15 year old boys had ever had sex in America.
Twenty years later, 38% of girls and 45% of boys reported having sex, alarming for most parents! In this post
sexual era, however, there is a virginity trend where 50% of high schoolers now graduate as virgins. TV may be
wasteland of sex and violence but there are shows that educate youth on sexual awareness and the virtues of
virginity. Some of the hottest female singersMandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, and Beyonce
Knowleshave confessed to their faith and virginity while still looking sexy.
Post-racial
In America, at least, 7,000,000 Americans considered themselves multi-racial, there is no longer just
black or white. We can see that race is being replaced by class. The most underrepresented group of Americans
at universities is not blacks or Latinos but students from low-income families. The fact that the most popular
rapper was white (Eminem) and the top golfer was black (Tiger Woods) and there is even a black president
(Obama) shows that American views of race have changed.
Post-ethical/institutional
Though youth rebel against institutions, pop culture has become institutionalized. And we gladly buy
into it. Record companies that have become rich off of singers for years through lying and cheating those they
represent are now complaining about CD burning and internet file sharing. Finally aware of the unfair prices of
CDs (why 15,000 won for a CD that costs less than 1,000 won and only 5,500 won for a tape?), teens in the
post-ethical world created file sharing.

NOSTALGIA FILM
An argument for pastiche in postmodern culture is the nostalgia film; it is not a historical film,
for they do not try to recapture or represent the real past; they always use certain cultural myths and

12
stereotypes about the past. A.K.A. false realism, films about other films and not the reality of the past.
Nostalgia films do not attempt to recapture or represent the real past, but always make due with certain myths
and stereotypes about the past. Rather than a culture of clear creativity, postmodern culture is criticized as being
a culture of quotations.
Austin Powers could be cited as a very profitable example of the random cannibalization of the past. It
grossed almost 55,000,000 dollars in its first week in the US. Mike Myers (the writer, producer, and star) said,
Austin Powers is everything I watched on TV in the late 60s. He explained, I am a police composite of
every comedian Ive ever liked:
THE COUNTER ARGUMENT (positive)
Films that quote other films, self-consciously make reference to and borrow from different genres of
film, create an audience of bricoleurs, those who create from whatever is immediately available for use.
Bricoleurs create a new historical sense with a shared pleasure of intertextual recognition and the power
rather than passivity of nostalgia. Instead of pastiche, which has nowhere to go, it is a re-writing or
reviewing, and in terms of the spectators experience, of the re-activation and re-configuration of a given
generational structure of feeling within a more dynamic and varied set of histories.
Americans as Bricoleurs
As a nation made up of people from diverse ethnicities and religions, the United States doesn't really
have any of its own universal shared customs -- except for commercialism and mass-market popular culture.
Advertisements, fast food chains, big Hollywood movies and nationally syndicated TV series are what
Americans all can share as their cultural canon. Back in the day and in other cultures, people shared the Bible,
plays and classical literature as their canon, and the educated made their references from these. Today,
Americans in their millennial temporary culture the important references are made to "The Simpsons" and
Austin Powers.
How do people from different parts of the country establish a bond or friendship? It is through pop
culture. Of course we may talk about Nine Inch Nails or Nirvana, but movies like Star Wars, Apocalypse
Now and episodes of Friends are what connects us. We become excited as we recount our favorite scenes,
songs, characters and episodes in a stream of rapid-fire, "Remember whens." It's great to be able to share laughs
and moments of TV and movie nostalgia with people you've never met before.
Similarly, though it didnt start with Dr. Evil, but his using the patented pantomime quote marks around every
other word -- whether it was "laser," or death star" it was simultaneously ridiculous and contagious as adding
"baby" and "shagadelic" to conversation. People may be separated by 3,000 miles and haven't seen each other
for months, but they all can share in these jokes and form a bond.
And let's not forget the best thing about Austin Powers (and this goes for the Simpsons as well) -- the
referential humor that spoofs all of the pop culture that came before it -- from James Bond movies to " Jerry
Springer" to Will Smith's "Just the Two of Us." If you refuse to enjoy the fruits of our collective media culture,
you're missing out on more than just laughsyou're missing out on shared experiences. And, besides, the in-
jokes will be referenced more times than Mike Myers can say mojo.
What should be required viewing for a pop culture-savvy person? The original "Star Wars" trilogy, all of
the '80s John Hughes movies, including "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink," "Sixteen Candles," "Some Kind
of Wonderful," and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and multiple viewings of every episode of "Seinfeld," "The
Simpsons" and even "The X-Files." These are films and TV shows to be celebrated and revered, to be watched
with friends, and to be discussed and dissected for years. References to these films and shows will pop up in
casual conversation well into following decades. Imagine conversations without "D'oh! (The Simpsons)
"Yadda, yadda, yadda" (Sienfield) or a joyous Yeah, Baby." It would be a lonely lingual landscape.
MEDIA SATURATION OF THE PAST
Postmodern culture is saturated by media. This is most visible in the way television recycles its own
accumulated past, and that of cinema, and broadcasts these alongside what is new in both media. It may not be
a sign that there has been a general collapse of the distinctions people make between high/pop culture,
past/present, history/nostalgia, fiction/reality; but it may be a sign that such distinctions are becoming
increasingly less important, less taken for granted. But this does not mean that such distinctions cannot be, and
are not being, used for particular strategies of social recognition.
1999 was the last year of true creativity, and big money for Hollywood. As you will see, 1999 was
original, for the movies were very bricoleur. 2007 has been the 1st year since, thanks to the power of bankable
13
sequels: Spiderman 3; Shrek the Third; Pirates of the Caribbean 3; Transformers. All grossed over 3 million
dollars each domestically. However, the creativity has yet to return, since Hollywood is still very pastiche.
Cultural Ratcheting
Creativity and innovation are a result of larger brains. Chimps can show other chimps how to hunt bugs
but they do not improve upon it. Modern humans don't suffer from such limits. No one individual came up with
all the technology in a computer; it came from generations of creative ideas from innovators. This leads to
social ratcheting. Social skills and mental abilities are basics for cultural ratcheting. The larger the population is
the greater the chance of innovation. It is not how smart you are. It is how well connected you are that leads to
cultural ratcheting.

14
 Chapter 3
The Matrix as a Postmodern
Tale

15
 A Matrix of Meanings

Seeing is no longer believing. Its just one of the five senses available to the postmodern consumer in a
virtual universe. The Matrix represents Generation Xs first blockbuster franchise. What made The Matrix so
popular to young audiences? Because how The Matrix communicates says more than what it communicates.
Young filmmakers Larry and Andy Lana Wachowski mixed the most stylish elements of global pop
culture, i.e. Japanese anime, Hong Kong kung-fu films, and cyberpunk comic books, into one strong,
postmodern package. The first part of the trilogy, The Matrix was submitted to passionate theological study. For
one, there are at least two layers of meaning to each of the characters names. The most obvious is Keanu
Reevess character, Neo, is an anagram for oNe, as in the One.
There are similarities between Christ the Messiah, who delivers humanity from sin, and Neo the One,
who leads humanity out of bondage to computers. The Matrix and the Bible are both driven by the search for a
savior, the fulfillment of prophesy.
Jesus had John the Baptist, Neo has Morpheus. Zion from the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelations is
comparable with The Matrixs Zion, the city where humans gather following the destruction of the earth.
Jesus Christ: The name Jesus is often used in association with Neo, most explicitly when Choi, a drug
user, thanks Neo for providing him with illegal software. "Hallelujah. You're my savior, man. My own
personal Jesus Christ."
Matrix: Literally, a computer program used to imprison mankind. According to Webster's, "matrix" means: 1)
orig., the womb; uterus 2) that within which, or within and from which, something originates, takes form, or
develops.
At its heart, The Matrix is a story about birth and creation.
Birth: When he is "unplugged" from the Matrix, Neo resembles a newborn. Once his "umbilical cords"
are removed, we see that he is hairless, confused, and covered in a type of amniotic fluid.
He falls down a long tube and into a pool of water. After this presumed baptism, he is carried up, with his limp
body making a cross silhouette.
16
Neo had to be "born again" before he could begin his mission.
The association between Morpheuss ship, Nebuchadnezzar (the name literally means "Nebo, protect the
crown), and the Babylonian king obsessed with dreams fits into Morpheuss very name (Morpheus is the
Greek god of dreams).
There is even Judass act of selling out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver is likened to Ciphers (perhaps Lu-
cifers) betrayal of Morpheus for a steak dinner.
And do not overlook Neos love for Trinity, comparable to Christs relationship with God the Father and the
Holy Spirit.
Thomas Anderson: The Apostle Thomas was also called Didymus, which in Greek means "twin" or
"double."
Anderson means "son of man," one of the titles Jesus uses for himself.
The twin names suggest his dual nature. As "Mr. Anderson," he is vulnerable to the powers of the evil agents.
As "Neo," he has control over them.
We even find out in the next movies that Smith becomes his evil twin.
Why Neo Must Die!
Neo is like Jesus going willingly with the Roman guards. His followers believed he was The One who would
end the war (destroy the Romans), and they were extremely confused, like Morpheus, when the prophecy
didn't come true. They didn't understand the way he seemed to give up the fight and waste his life that he had
worked so hard to fulfill. Christ did have the power to destroy his enemies; he just took a different path, the
same as Neo. Also, many people who did not like how the movie ended feel the same way, they want their
savior to kick ass! Not redeem all.
Symbolically, we know what Neo will do when he leaves the Mjolnir (the actual name of Thors
hammer) and goes onto the Logos (which is symbolic in the Bible for the Word of God, or Christ). So? What
does this mean? It is the laying down of the war-power of Thor's hammer and the choosing of the word-power
of Jesus or the Buddha.
Buddha? Before the Buddha was born, his mother was told her son would either be a great warrior-king OR a
great teacher. The problem is choice!
Why Trinity Must Die! Neo has done everything so far out of singular love, his love for trinity (his love for
God). Only when God forsakes him (Trinity dies), does Neo face his final trial alone. My God, why hast
thou forsaken me? , ? (Matt. 27:46). When Neo fights Smith, his
Other, he realizes he cannot defeat himself (his dark half). He must accept it and then destroy it. (He must
understand himself) When he does, the light and the dark are one. The One. Finally, Neo is the One. Phew!
And what is the purpose of the One? To return to the source. And the source is where all programs are
deleted, hence Smiths quick death. (Did you notice that the Smith Neo fought was the Oracle?) Humble
machines pull Neo's body, arms out in the shape of a cross, to a temple of light. Streams of energy course out
from Neo along mechanical lines, gifting his divinity. And he ascends, he returns home, to the Source, where
the path of The One ends. Both man (representing body) and machine (spirit) are redeemed, but for how long?
That is up to us.
The Matrix clearly glamorizes violence and the use of guns to resolve most problems. The use of guns
to solve problems has a hallowed place in Hollywood cinematic history. So how can violence have any
theological quality? The Christian faith was also born from violence. The blood associated with Jesus death
serves as a symbol of hope in the Christian community. The cool, stylized violence in The Matrix connects with
classic Christian ideas about blood being spilled on the way to redemption. But Jesus didnt commit violence;
he suffered and died under it.
So are the parallels between Christian theology and The Matrixs mythology overstated? In a post-
rational, post-literal, post-human culture, The Matrix offers a new mythology, a spiritual shaping story that
gives life meaning. It uses virtual technologies to tell us that what we see is not always true. The Matrix asks
viewers to look beyond the surface, to distrust what theyve been bought and sold, taught and told. The Matrix
dares viewers to adopt Neos enlightened perception. To ensure our future survival, we all must learn to look
closer.

We are stuck in Matrix

Early in the film Neo opens a book. This book is the most important book to understanding Postmodern culture
and the Matrix movie. It is called Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard. He claims that we now live in
17
a postmodern society for the first time in history
We live in an imitation world, a highly artificial world of images, signs, copies, and models.
In this high-tech, computerized world of virtual reality and media saturation, the idea of a real world
under all of these images and simulations has dropped out of sight.
The chapter in the book is called On Nihilism Nihilism = belief in nothing. Someone who denies that
anything exists (or anything cant be known) can be called a nihilist. It can also mean traditional values and
beliefs are unfounded. Or the idea of existence is meaningless and absurd.
Nihilism is a symptom of our postmodern condition. He does not mean that reality does not exist, but
reality is hidden behind a screen of images and simulation. Thus, a postmodern world is devoid of meaning.
Everything is on the surface. Nothing is stable or permanent.
Life in our postmodern world is constantly becoming more and more meaningless.
Thus postmodernism is the an immense process of the destruction of meaning. Baudrillard says that we have
now completely abandoned the real, natural world. And have instead live in a fully artificial world of images
and simulations. A postmodern world is a world much like the Matrix
The Matrix Has You!
In order to understand the effect postmodernism has on our life, we need to look at what the Matrix can teach us
about reality. Remember that postmodernism is an era of imitation and copying. It is not ironic to look at the
Matrix to see what is wrong with the postmodern culture. The Matrix is pop culture but it is not postmodern.
The Matrix is a movie that shows us that reality is good and that fake is bad, and that authenticity is a reality
worth fighting forthe illusion must be fought and overcome. In that sense, the Matrix trilogy is very anti-
postmodern. But the Matrix trilogy is meaningful to us as an allegory only. Meaning that we are in a matrix of
postmodern culture and we need to escape from the power that the machines (culture industry) has over our
minds, and we need to return to reality.
So please consider to what degree you are actually in the Matrix.
You Are in the Matrix if You
Spend almost all of your time in artificial environments, cut off from the natural world;
Believe that your favorite soft drink or beer tastes a lot better than its major competitors;
Believe that the good life is the life of gain and consumption
Think that your country, while it may make some mistakes, is always on the side of good.
Spend most of your waking hours surrounded by media;
Or greatly prefer Internet, video games, smart phones, and virtual reality to face-to-face encounters with
people.

Also, the meaning we find in mass media is usually one-sided or propaganda based.
For example, the media does not say, The U.S. always supports democracy, never aggresses against other
nations, and always opposes terrorists. Nor do advertisers say that the key to happiness and the good life is the
never ending and increasing need to buy purchasable products. But this message still makes it through loud and
clear. Because to state this directly will cause us to actually question and discover the actual truth.

The thesis of the Matrix movies is that images mask reality. There is a reality and a truth that these
contemporary forces are used to Postmodernism. American Pop Culture is the study of postmodernism.
Postmodernism can best be described as a celebration of nothing.
People searching for their own identity, because they have so many roles to play in society. History has
been forgotten, forcing people to live in the present forgetting the past
Forgetting the mistakes that have been made. Postmodernism lacks any real depth and meaning. It is made of
copies, as nothing is seen as original anymore. Bricoleur and pastiche.
Postmodernism is essentially about control. In the past, people struggled to overcome traps and
oppression in life. The philosopher Georg Hegel master-slave dialectic. The master becomes so dependent on
the slave that eventually the tables are turned. The master becomes the slave. What about in a modern society?
Who is the master and who is the slave? Are you a slave? No? Then you are the master.
Who has control in these sources:
the government
the media

18
 the entertainment industry
Advertising
your job
your education
your diet
your gender role
your race or ethnicity
your family
your religion
With these sources, who is the master and who is the slave?

Master =control.
Slave =you are controlled.
What is control?
Control is the exercise of power over another person or thing. Control is most effective when it makes the slave
is dependent on the master. Control is also about when we are not aware of it. Example:
American Democrat vs Republican for president. Any 3rd party has little chance of winning.
But it is a democracy.
The people can vote for the third party. BUT Americans are trapped in a two party system. To choose any a 3 rd
party looks like it may destroy the structure. Just because success in an alternative may seem futile, it is, in fact,
not. This is how we maintain our power.
Now consider consumer culture and the affluenza virus it spreads. Affluenza, similar to influenza (flu) a
painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste where we only want
more.
Advertising is everywhere. The pressure on us to buy brand name clothes, even if they are the same as
regular brands. We fall into the trap of conspicuous consumption.
We keep up with our neighbors for the sake of letting them know we are keeping up. Affluenza is a system of
control. Like the Matrix. This is not a conspiracy. It is a lie that has been fed to us since birth. We are not what
we buy. Worse, we buy what we are! Empty inside, we buy objects outside to fill the void inside. We live in a
consumer culture and the pressure is put on us to conform to the lifestyle of the rich (the 2% of the population),
to be a good citizen. People judge us in terms of what we own, drive, where we live.
To prove our worth we buy to display our ability to buy. How twisted and crazy is that?!! Worst of all,
we may not even have realized it. We are masters of our lives.
When did we become the slaves? After IMF, we were all told to spend, to go to the department store, or else we
would lose. What got us into IMF in the first place? The 2% taking all our money and hoarding it! Such
spending may seem to benefit the producers we buy from and the larger economy, but such benefits lacks the
power of productivity.
What is the population of Koreans in debt? One adult Korean has an average of 3 credit cards. That
doesnt sound that bad? More than 1 / 7people in Korea are in debt to their credit card companies. LG card
nearly went bankrupt in 2004 because of this debt.
It needed the government to bail them out with 4.5 billion dollars (4,500,000,000,000 won)
We do not encourage producers to make better quality more affordable products but rather
more expensive more attractive less necessary products. In the end that serves no one well.
It is just another system of control. Become conscious of living in a consumer society. Realize the
interest companies have in getting you to buy their products. No matter what they say they do not care about
youThey care only about your money
Companies do this by getting you to desire and believe that you need their product.
It is difficult to resist if you are a slave to their advertising. Instead we become walking advertisements, more
difficult to resist than ads.
Why not take some satisfaction in refusing to conform. Marcus Aurelius said To refrain from imitation
is the best revenge. Start spending less, lessen your consumption and voluntarily simplify your life. A need to
impress shows an inner bankruptcy. If you dont have much money dont buy the lie that you need to be rich.To
know you have enough is to be rich. To be happy is to be successful. Get right with yourself on the inside. It is
cheaper than covering up on the outside.
19
 What Can You Do?
Saving and investing in good companies helps both individuals and economies. Do not worry about what other
people do or think. Find out what your job, government, TV, etc. is doing to control you. Then do something
about it.
Make your life meaningful as the master of it and not the slave to consumerism. Here are some ideas to
help set your secular life in order. How Do We Escape the Matrix?
Spend a lot of time in the natural world. Hike in mountains. Go camping. Take long walks on nature trails.
Dont spend all your time in office buildings and on city streets. Devote a little bit of time each day to creative
activitypainting, playing music, writing poetry, whatever you like. Become politically active. I dont mean
electoral politics (voting). Instead, pick an issue that interests you and work on it.
Spend more time with your friends and less time watching other peoples friends on TV or movies.
For that matter, radically reduce the amount of time you spend passively enjoying the various electronic media.
Dont believe everything you see on TV. When it comes to pop culture, American products are not always the
best; they just have the best advertisers. Dont rely on the local mass media for your information about the
world and entertainment. Read foreign press, scholarly articles and reports; read books; think for yourself; then
talk to other people about what you have learned and what you think.

20
 Chapter 4
Hip Hops Dialectical
Struggle for Recognition

21
 MC Battles or Beefs
In 1984, the rap trio 'U.T.F.O.' released a single entitled "Hanging Out", which did not do well.
However; it was the single's B side, "Roxanne, Roxanne", which was about a woman who would not respond
to their sexual advances, that gained much attention and radio play.
Yo EMD But everytime I say this rhyme it makes me kinda weary
Yeah, what's up man? It's only customary to give this commentary
There goes that girl they call Roxanne. She's all stuck up Some say it's bad, some say it's legendary
Why you say that? You can search all you want, try your local library
Cause she wouldn't give a guy like me no rap You'll never find a rhyme like this in any dictionary
She was walking down the street so I said "Hello But do you know, after all that
I'm Kangol from UTFO." And she said "So?" All I received was a pat on the back
And I said "So?!? Baby don't you know? That's what you get, it happened to me
I can sing, rap, and dance in just one show Ain't that right Mixmaster I-C-E
Cause I'm Kangol, Mr. Sophisticata Chorus
As far as I'm concerned ain't nobody greater You thought you had a rose, you thought you was Cupid
From beginning to end and, to beginning But EMD, your rap was plain stupid
I never lose because I'm all about winning I know you're educated, but when will you learn?
But if I were to lose, I wouldn't be upset Not all girls want to be involved with bookworms
Cause I'm not a gambler, I don't bet You gotta be strong in a way she can't resist
I don't be in no casino, and baby while you knizzow So educated rapper, huh, bust this...
The izzi is the grizzeat Kizzangizzo." Since she's a new girl on the block
I thought she'd be impress by my devious rap I had to let her know that I'm the debonoir Doc
I thought I had her caught cause I'm a sinister trap I said "I'd like to speak to you if I can
I thought it'd be a piece of cake but it was nothing like that And if I'm correct your name is Roxanne."
I guess that's what I get for thinking, ain't that right, black? She said "How'd you know my name?" I said "It's getting around.
Then crizzi to gizzone and seen number izzone Right now baby you're the talk of the town
Crizzin ricking tizza of mizzac mic dizza Please let me walk you to the corner, my rap will be brief."
With the bang bang, brother I feel bad She said "I've seen you before, you look like a thief."
But I ain't comitting suicide for no crab I said "Me? The Doc? A hood, a rock?
But calling her a crab is just a figure of speech Running around the street robbing people on the block?
Cause she's an apple, a pear, a plum, and a peach Nah, that's not my style, that crime I'm not related
I thought I had it in the palm of my hand As far as I'm concerned I'm too sophisticated."
But man oh man, if I was grand I'd bang Roxanne Then it seemed I got busy cause she cracked a smile
Chorus: That let me know my rap was worth her while
Roxanne, Roxanne, can't you understand? She said "You call yourself a doctor?" I said "This is true."
Roxanne, Roxanne, I wanna be your man She said "Explain to me really what doctors must do."
You Kango, I don't think that you're dense I said "This is very rare because I don't say this every day
Buy you went about the matter with no experience There's a million medical skills a doctor displays
You should know, she doesn't need a guy like you Dermatology is treatment of the skin
She needs a guy like me, with a high IQ Infected and you'll see me and you'll know you're again
And she'll take to my rap, cause my rap's the best There's enthesiology, opthomology
The educated rapper MD will never fess Internal medicine and plastic surgery
So when I met her, I wasted no time Orpedic surgery and pathology
But stuck up Roxanne paid me no mind A disease involves a change of the body."
She thought my name was Barry, I told her it was Gary She said "Ooooh, that's very unique."
She said she didn't like it so she chose to call me Barry Gave me her number and kissed me on the cheek
She said she'd love to marry, my baby she would carry She said she had to go but be back by 8
And if she had a baby, she'd name the baby Harry So to call her at 9 to arrange a date
Her mother's name is Baby, which is really quite contrary Did you take her to the beach?
Her face is really hairy, and you can say it's scary That's what we planned
So isn't not every, her father's a fairy But she stood me up, Roxanne, Roxanne
His job is secondary, in some military Chorus
He throws them to an ?electric camp? that wasn't voluntary And here's our gameplan
His daughter's name is Sherry, his sons are Tom and Jerry The beat is here, so we will reveal it
Jerry had the flu but it was only temporary And if you think it's soft, then Roxanne feel it!
Back in January, or was it February?

Soon afterwards, 14 year old Lolita Gooden was walking outside a New York City housing project
called Queensbridge when she heard Tyrone Williams, DJ Mr. Magic, and record producer Marley Marl talking
about how U.T.F.O. had canceled their appearance at a show they were promoting. Gooden offered to make a
rap record that would get back at U.T.F.O, with her taking on the name Roxanne Shant. The three took her up
on the idea, with Marley producing "Roxanne's Revenge." The single was released in late 1984, taking the
original beats from an instrumental version of "Roxanne, Roxanne", and was very confrontational and vulgar,
but was an instant hit which sold over 250,000 copies in the New York area alone. Legal action followed, and it
was rereleased in early 1985 with new beats and the obscenities removed. Following this, U.T.F.O and Full
Force decided to release their own answer record. While not directly aimed at Roxanne Shant, this record
featured another female rapper, Adelaida Martinez, who would play the role of the "Real Roxanne". This also
was a hit. But this may have also produced an undesired result. While there had been answer records before
22
(such as the semi-disco song "Somebody Else's Guy", and "Games People Play"/"Games Females Play"), it
would end with the second record. But in this saga, with a third record now, a whole trend began. The airwaves
were so occupied with the three "Roxanne" records, that other rappers decided to get into the act. Over the next
year, around 50 answer records were produced, bringing in Roxanne's family, or various claims about her. Thus
the beefs was on. This incident established once and for all the importance of battles to the hip hop
industry.
Well, my name is Roxanne, a-don't ya know Rockin' on the beat-a that you can see
I just a-cold rock a party, and I do this show And every time I have a DJ like Ice
I said I met these three guys, and you know that's true He ain't right, yeah, he ain't nice
A-let me tell you and explain them all to you: Because a-everything he does is off-the-wall
I met this dude with the name of a hat Compared to my man Marley Marl
I didn't even walk away, I didn't give him no rap The way he gets on the tables, yes
But then he got real mad, and he got a little tired Everyone knows that he is fresh
If he worked for me, you know he would be fired So, the UTFO crew, you know what you can do
His name is Kangol, and that is cute Lemme tell you one for me, and then I'll tell you one for you
He ain't got money, and he ain't got the loot Every time you sayin' somethin' just-a like-a this-a
And every time that I see him, he's always a-beggin' It ain't nothin' that I don't wanna miss-a
And all the other girls that he's always tryin' to leggin' And if you're thinkin' that I'm bitin' your beat
Every time that he sees me, he says a rhyme Well, then you just better know, and a-listen to me
But, see, compared to me it's weak compared to mine Because my name is Roxanne-a, and I came to say
A-every time I know that I am sayin' somethin' fresher I'm rockin' to the beat-a, and I do it every day
In any category I'm considered the best I'm conceited, never beated, never heard of defeated
And every time that I say it there ain't nothin' less I'm rockin' to the beat-a, and you know it is-a me-a:
And everybody knows I will win the contest The R-O-X-A-N-N-E-a
So, then, after that came the Educated Rapper And if you wanna play a little game for me
His fingers started snappin', and my hands start to clappin' Lemme show you what you can do, baby
Every time-a that I see him, everything he say 'Cause with a twist of my cheek, and a twist of my wrist
A-every time he says, he says it dumber this way: I have all the niggas droppin' down like this
He said-a, "Yeah, you know your mother's name is Mary," Yeah, I am fly but don't take this
But all he wanna do is just-a bust a cherry And everybody knows I don't go for it
Every time that I see him, he's sayin' somethin' new So, if you're tryin' to be cute and you're tryin' to be fine
But let me explain to him what he should do: You need to cut it out 'cause it's all in your mind
He should be like me, a fly MC Tryin' to be like me, yeah, is very hard
Don't never have to bite, we're always right You think you are God, but you do eat lard
I have the freshest rhymes that I do recite Tryin' to be cute, and you're tryin' to be fly
And after that, and you know it's true Don't you know you wish you could be my guy?
Well, let me tell you somethin' else about the Doctor, too: So I can take you home, make you relax
He ain't really cute, and he ain't great And everybody knows that you're out there, tryin' to tax
He don't even know how to operate Like corn-on-the-cob, you're always tryin' to rob
He came up to me with some bullshit rap You need to be out there, get yourself a job
But let me tell you somethin' 'cause you know it was wack Yeah, you're tryin' to be in search of a Roxanne
So when he came up to me, I told him to step back But lemme let ya know--you're not a real man
He said, "You call yourself an MC?" I said, "This is true," 'Cause a Roxanne needs a man, and yes:
He said, "Explain to me really what MCs must do." Someone fresh who always address
I said, "Listen very close 'cause I don't say this every day: Someone, yeah, who will never fess
My name is Roxanne, and they call me Shante." And then I'll say, yeah, the rest
But every time-a I say a rhyme-a just-a like-a this-a 'Cause everybody knows how the story goes
It's something that you MCs just won't-a miss-a There's no ifs, no ands, no buts, or suppose
And if you think it's cute-a, and you think it's all right No coke up your nose, no dope in your vein
But, see, you said it in a language so you wouldn't have to bite And then it won't cause no kind of pain
You started talkin' Pig Latin, didn't make no sense But yet, and still, you're tryin' to be fly
You thought you was cute, yeah, you thought you was a prince I ask you a question, I wanna know why:
You're walkin' down the block, holdin' your jock Why'd ya have to make a record 'bout me
But everybody knows that you're all on my yacht The R-O-X-A-N-N-E?
I'm just the devastatin', always rockin', always have the niggas clockin' ("Roxanne, Roxanne, ["Oh, my goodness!"]
Everybody knows it's me, yeah, the R-O-X-A-N-N-E, yeah I wanna be your man
Down with everybody fresh and everyone that I possess Roxanne, Roxanne
And every time I do it right-a, everyone is sure to bite-a And here's our game-plan!")
Every time I do it, yeah, you know it is-a me-a

Are battles just a gimmick, a marketing strategy? Or are they an essential part of what hip hop is all about? What do
battles signify in a hip hop culture?
Hip Hops Dialetical Struggle for Recognition
One of the elements of hip hop is Mcing (rapping), and one of the universal symbols is a rappers claim
to be superior as a rapper to all others on the scene. Many songs are challenges to this authority, put downs on
posers who think they can rap as well the best, and harsh dissing other MCs who steal or copy their style.
The idea of such rhyming is that of an all-out, every-man-for-himself war for supermacy or mastery. As Rakim
puts it in I Aint No Joke, talking to an anonymous MC:
I wake you up and as I stare in your face you seem stunned
Remember me? The one you got your idea from

23
 But soon you
When you start to stutter, that's when you had enough of biting
It'll make
You can't cope, you shoulda broke, because I ain't no joke
A classic example of a battle is that staged between Jay-Z and Nas. Here the lyrics are hard-hitting and
take on fully martial imagery. As Jay-Z raps in Takeover, addressing Nas:
R.O.C., we runnin this rap shit
Memphis Bleek, we runnin this rap shit
B. Mac, we runnin this rap shit
Freeway, we run this rap shit
O & Sparks, we runnin this rap shit
Chris & Neef, we runnin this rap shit
The takeover, the break's over nigga
God MC, me, Jay-Hova
Hey lil' soldier you ain't ready for war
R.O.C. too strong for y'all
It's like bringin a knife to a gunfight, pen to a test
Your chest in the line of fire witcha thin-ass vest
You bringin them Boyz II Men, HOW them boys gon' win?
This is grown man B.I., get you rolled in the triage(?)
Beatch - your reach ain't long enough, dunny
Your peeps ain't strong enough, fucka
Roc-A-Fella is the army, better yet the navy
Niggaz'll kidnap your babies, spit at your lady
We bring - knife to fistfight, kill your drama
Uh, we kill you motherfuckin ants with a sledgehammer
Don't let me do it to you dunny cause I overdo it
So you won't confuse it with just rap music
R.O.C., we runnin this rap shit
M-Easy, we runnin this rap shit
The Broad Street Bully, we runnin this rap shit
Get zipped up in plastic when it happens that's it
Freeway, we run this rap shit
O & Sparks, we runnin this rap shit
Chris & Neef, we runnin this rap shit
{*"Watch out!! We run New York" -> KRS-One*}
I don't care if you Mobb Deep, I hold triggers to crews
You little FUCK, I've got money stacks bigger than you
When I was pushin weight, back in eighty-eight
you was a ballerina I got your pictures I seen ya
Then you dropped "Shook Ones," switch your demeanor
Well - we don't believe you, you need more people
Roc-A-Fella, students of the game, we passed the classes
Nobody could read you dudes like we do
Don't let 'em gas you like Jigga is ass and won't clap you
Trust me on this one - I'll detach you
Mind from spirit, body from soul
They'll have to hold a mass, put your body in a hole
No, you're not on my level get your brakes tweaked
I sold what ya whole album sold in my first week
You guys don't want it with Hov'
Ask Nas, he don't want it with Hov', nooooo!
R.O.C., we runnin this rap shit
B. Sigel, we runnin this rap shit
M-Easy, we runnin this rap shit
Get zipped up in plastic when it happens that's it
O & Sparks, we runnin this rap shit
Freeway, we run this rap shit
Chris & Neef, we runnin this rap shit
{*"Watch out!! We run New York" -> KRS-One*}
Later on in the same rap he presents the fantasized resultfor his opponentof their life-and-death
struggle: Get zipped up in plastic when it happens thats it/ Theyll have to hold a mass, put your body in a
hole.
With Ether Nas responds in Kind, opening the track with the sound of automatic gunfire and several
background invocations of Fuck Jay-Z! The track is full of anger and hate toward Jay-Z for having
disrespected Gods son:
start to suffer, the tune'll get rougher
you choke, you can't provoke
I know you missin all the - FAAAAAAAME!
But along with celebrity comes bout seventy shots to your brain
Nigga; you a - LAAAAAAAME!
Youse the fag model for Karl Kani/Esco ads
Went from, Nasty Nas to Esco's trash
Had a spark when you started but now you're just garbage
Fell from top ten to not mentioned at all
to your bodyguard's "Oochie Wally" verse better than yours
Matter fact you had the worst flow on the whole fuckin song
but I know - the sun don't shine, then son don't shine
That's why your - LAAAAAAAME! - career come to a end
There's only so long fake thugs can pretend
Nigga; you ain't live it you witnessed it from your folks pad
You scribbled in your notepad and created your life
I showed you your first tec on tour with Large Professor
(Me, that's who!) Then I heard your album bout your tec on your dresser
So yeah I sampled your voice, you was usin it wrong
You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song
And you ain't get a corn nigga you was gettin fucked and
I know who I paid God, Serchlite Publishing
Use your - BRAAAAAAAIN! You said you been in this ten
I've been in it five - smarten up Nas
Four albums in ten years nigga? I could divide
That's one every let's say two, two of them shits was due
One was - NAHHH, the other was "Illmatic"
That's a one hot album every ten year average
And that's so - LAAAAAAAME! Nigga switch up your flow
Your shit is garbage, but you try and kick knowledge?
(Get the fuck outta here) You niggaz gon' learn to respect the king
Don't be the next contestant on that Summer Jam screen
Because you know who (who) did you know what (what)
with you know who (yeah) but just keep that between me and you for now
R.O.C., we runnin this rap shit
M-Easy, we runnin this rap shit
The Broad Street Bully, we runnin this rap shit
Get zipped up in plastic when it happens that's it
Freeway, we run this rap shit
O & Sparks, we runnin this rap shit
Chris & Neef, we runnin this rap shit
{*"Watch out!! We run New York" -> KRS-One*}
A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who
So stop with that childish shit, nigga I'm grown
Please leave it alone - don't throw rocks at the throne
Do not bark up that tree, that tree will fall on you
I don't know why your advisors ain't forewarn you
Please, not Jay, he's, not for play
I don't slack a minute, all that thug rappin and gimmicks
I will end it, all that yappin be finished
You are not deep, you made your bed now sleep
Don't make me expose to them folks that don't know you
Nigga I know you well, all the stolen jew-els
Twinkletoes you breakin my heart
You can't fuck with me - go play somewhere, I'm busy
And all you other cats throwin shots at Jigga
You only get half a bar - fuck y'all niggaz
24
What's up niggas, ay yo, I know you ain't talkin 'bout me dog You traded your soul for riches
You, what? My child, I've watched you grow up to be famous
You been on my dick nigga, you love my style, nigga And now I smile like a proud dad, watchin his only son that made it
(chorus) You seem to be only concerned with dissin women
(I) Fuck with your soul like ether Were you abused as a child, scared to smile, they called you ugly?
(Will) Teach you the king you know you Well life is hard, hug me, don't reject me
(Not) "God's son" across the belly Or make records to disrespect me, blatent or indirectly
(Lose) I prove you lost already In '88 you was gettin chased through your buildin
Callin my crib and I ain't even give you my numbers
Brace yourself for the main event All I did was gave you a style for you to run with
Y'all impatiently waitin Smilin in my face, glad to break bread with the god
It's like an AIDS test, what's the results? Wearin Jaz chains, no tecs, no cash, no cars
Not positive, who's the best? Pac, Nas and Big No jail bars Jigga, no pies, no case
Ain't no best, East, West, North, South, flossed out, greedy Just Hawaiian shirts, hangin with little Chase
I embrace y'all with napalm You a fan, a phony, a fake, a pussy, a Stan
Blows up, no guts, left chest, face gone I still whip your ass, you thirty-six in a karate class
How could Nas be garbage? You Tae-bo hoe, tryna' work it out, you tryna' get brolic?
Semi-autos at your cartilege Ask me if I'm tryna' kick knowledge
Burner at the side of your dome, come outta my throne Nah, I'm tryna' kick the shit you need to learn though
I got this, locked since '9-1 That ether, that shit that make your soul burn slow
I am the truest, name a rapper that I ain't influenced Is he Dame Diddy, Dame Daddy or Dame Dummy?
Gave y'all chapters but now I keep my eyes on the Judas Oh, I get it, you Biggie and he's Puffy
With Hawaiin Sophie fame, kept my name in his music Rockafeller died of AIDS, that was the end of his chapter
Check it And that's the guy y'all chose to name your company after?
(chorus) Put it together, I rock hoes, y'all rock fellas
I've been fucked over, left for dead, dissed and fogotten And now y'all try to take my spot, fellas?
Luck ran out, they hoped that I'd be gone, stiff and rotten Philly's hot rock fellas, put you in a dry spot, fellas
Y'all just piss on me, shit on me, spit on my grave (uh) In a pine box with nine shots from my glock, fellas
Talk about me, laugh behind my back but in my face Foxy got you hot 'cause you kept your face in her puss
Y'all some "well wishers," friendly actin, envy hidin snakes What you think, you gettin girls now 'cause of your looks?
With your hands out for my money, man, how much can I take? Ne-gro please
When these streets keep callin, heard it when I was sleep You no mustache havin, with whiskers like a rat
That this Gay-Z and Cockafella Records wanted beef Compared to Beans you wack
Started cockin up my weapon, slowly loadin up this ammo And your man stabbed Un and made you take the blame
To explode it on a camel, and his soldiers, I can handle You ass, went from Jaz to hangin with Caine, to Herb, to Big
This for dolo and it's manuscript, just sound stupid And, Eminem murdered you on your own shit
When KRS already made an album called Blueprint You a dick-ridin faggot, you love the attention
First, Biggie's ya man, then you got the nerve to say that you better than Big Queens niggas run you niggas, ask Russell Simmons
Dick suckin lips, whyn't you let the late, great veteran live Ha, R-O-C get gunned up and clapped quick
(talking) J.J. Evans get gunned up and clapped quick
(I...will...not...lose) Your whole damn record label gunned up and clapped quick
"God's son" across the belly, I prove you lost already Shaun Carter to Jay-Z, damn you on Jaz dick
The king is back, where my crown at? So little shorty's gettin gunned up and clapped quick
(Ill...will) Ill Will rest in peace, let's do it niggas How much of Biggie's rhymes is gon' come out your fat lips?
(chorus) Wanted to be on every last one of my classics
Y'all niggas deal with emotions like bitches You pop shit, apologize, nigga, just ask Kiss
What's sad is I love you 'cause you're my brother

This example colorfully shows the hate, the emotional charge, and the violence of expression that battles
often produce. But all that still leaves open the questionsare these guys for real?, or are they only fronting?
What do battles have to do with the heart, the spirit of hip hop? To answer these questions, lets turn to a
philosophical treatment of human struggles formulated during the revolutionary period 200 years ago in
Europe.
One of the great themes of western philosophy is dialectic, a pattern of progressive development
through opposition and struggle. The first and greatest modern work on dialectic was written by Wilhelm
Friedrich Hegel. Self-consciousness is, for Hegel, a primary stage in human development. This is what
differentiates humans from animals. This idea is affirmed by Talib Kweli, when he raps in K.O.S.
(Determination):
So many emcees focusin on black people extermination
We keep it balanced with that knowledge of self, determination Things I say and do, may not come quite through
It's hot, we be blowin the spots, with conversations My words may not convey just what I'm feelin
C'mon let's smooth it out like Soul Sensation
Yes yes come on, yes yes
We in the house like Japanese in Japan, or Koreans in Korea Knowledge Of Self is like life after death
Head to Philly and free Mumia with the Kujichagulia TRUE With that you never worry about your last breath
Singin is swingin and writin is fightin, but what Death comes, that's how I'm livin, it's the next days
they writin got us clashin like titans it's not excitin The flesh goes underground, the book of life, flip the page
No question, bein a black man is demandin Yo they askin me how old, we livin the same age
The fire's in my eyes and the flames need fannin (3X) I feel the rage of a million niggaz locked inside a cage
At exactly which point do you start to realize
With that what? (Knowledge Of Self) Determination That life without knowledge is, death in disguise?

25
That's why, Knowledge Of Self is like life after death
Apply it, to your life, let destiny manifest
Different day, same confusion, we're gonna take this
hip-hop shit and keep it movin, shed a little light
Now y'all bloomin like a flower with the power of the evident
Voices and drums original instruments
In the flesh presently presentin my representation
With that what? (Knowledge Of Self) Determination
Things I say and do, may not come quite through
My words may not convey just what I'm feelin
The most important time in history is, NOW, the present
So count your blessings cause time can't define the essence
But you stressin over time and you follow the Roman calendar
These people enter Cona like Gattaca, you can bet
they tryin to lock you down like Attica, the African diaspora
represents strength in numbers, a giant can't slumber forever
I know you gotta get that cheddar whatever
Aiyyo I heard you twice the first time money, get it together
You must be History, you repeatin yourself out of the pages
You keepin yourself depleatin your spiritual wealth
That quick cash'll get your ass quick fast in houses of detention
Inner-city concentration camps where no one pays attention
or mentions the ascension of death, til nothing's left
The young, gifted and Black are sprung addicted to crack
All my people where y'all at cause, y'all ain't here
And your hero's using your mind as a canvas to paint fear
With, broad brush strokes and tales of incarceration
You get out of jail with that Knowledge of Self determination
Stand in ovation, cause you put the Hue in Human
Cause and effect, effect everything you do
and that's why I got love in the face of hate
Hands steady so the lines in the mental illustration is straight
The thought you had don't even contemplate
Infinite like figure eight there's no escape..
From that what? (Knowledge Of Self) Determination
Things I say and do, may not come quite through
My words may not convey just what I'm feelin
Things I say and do, may not come quite through
My words may not convey just what I'm feelin
What I'm feelin, what I'm feelin, ooooh, what I'm feelin...

Hegel claims that self-consciousness becomes certain of itself only through struggle for recognition.
The only way I can become aware of myself is through the acknowledgment of another self-consciousnessif I
am recognized for what I claim to be by someone else. Thus battles are fought over recognition. This demand is
made by both sides: my demand that you recognize me is met by your demand that I recognize you. This is key,
the demand for recognition is made to an equal, not a lesser self-consciousness.
Hegel says, The relation of the two self-conscious individuals is such that they prove themselves and
each other through a life-and-death struggle. They must engage in this struggle, for they must raise their
certainty of being for themselves to truth.
Why cant both sides simply accept one anothers demands without a struggle? Lets consider this
classic example from Run-D.M.C.:
Two years ago, a friend of mine I'm rockin to the rhythm won't you watch it on my face
Asked me to say some MC rhymes Go Uptown and come down to the ground
So I said this rhyme I'm about to say You sucker MC's, you bad face clown
The rhyme was Def a-then it went this way You five dollar boy and I'm a million dollar man
Took a test to become an MC Youse a sucker MC, and you're my fan
And Orange Krush became amazed at me You try to bite lines, but rhymes are mine
So Larry put me inside, his Cad-illac Youse a sucker MC in a pair of Calvin Klein
The chaffeur drove off and we never came back Comin from the wackest, part of town
Dave cut the record down to the bone Tryin to rap up but you can't get down
And now they got me rockin on the microphone You don't even know your english, your verb or noun
And then we talkin autograph, and here's the laugh You're just a sucker MC you sad face clown
Champagne caviar, and bubble bath So D.M.C. and if you're ready
But see ahh, ah that's the life, ah that I lead The people rockin steady
And you sucker MC's is who I please You're drivin big cars get your gas from Getti
So take that and move back catch a heart attack
Because there's nothin in the world, that Run'll ever lack I'm D.M.C. in the place to be
I cold chill at a party in a b-boy stance I go to St. John's University
And rock on the mic and make the girls wanna dance And since kinde-garten I acquired the knowledge
Fly like a Dove, that come from up above And after 12th grade I went straight to college
I'm rockin on the mic and you can call me Run-Love I'm light skinned, I live in Queens
And I love eatin chicken and collard greens
I got a big long Caddy not like a Seville I dress to kill, I love the style
And written right on the side it reads 'Dressed to Kill' I'm an MC you know who's versatile
So if you see me cruisin girls just a-move or step aside Say I got good credit in your regards
There ain't enough room to fit you all in my ride Got my name not numbers on my credit cards
it's on a, ah first come, first serve basis I go Uptown, I come back home
Coolin out girl, take you to the def places with who me myself and my microphone
One of a kind and for your people's delight All my rhymes are sweet delight
And for you sucker MC, you just ain't right So here's another one for y'all to bite
Because you're bitin all your life, you're cheatin on your wife When I rhyme, I never quit
You're walkin round town like a hoodlum with a knife And if I got a new rhyme I'll just say it
You're hangin on the ave, chillin with the crew Cause it takes a lot, to entertain
And everybody know what you've been through And sucker MC's can be a pain
You can't rock a party with the hip in hop
Ah with the one two three, three to two one You gotta let em know you'll never stop
My man Larry Larr, my name DJ Run The rhymes have to make (a lot of sense)
We do it in the place with the highs and the bass You got to know where to start (when the beats commence..)

D.J. Runs rap is a series of insults, addressing various features of his enemys selfnot just his style,
26
but his lack of originality, bad taste in clothes, his wack neighborhood, his ignorance of English, and his
unoriginality (you cant get down). The rap raises Run to a level of dominance in relation to his enemy in
every way. This superiority is recognized: the sucker M.C. shows himself to be a fan by the fact that he
copies Run (he bites Runs lines).
While it is true that a rap battle is not literally a life-and-death struggle, it is the closest thing to a
culturalmusicalform of a life-and-death struggle, and the stakes of a rap battle have a similar all or nothing
character to them. Both claim the same prize, but only one will gain it.
But why does the struggle for recognition have to be a life-and-death struggle? Nothing, and no one, can
tell me who I am. For that to be true, I must be able to eliminate, or dominate, anyone or anything that threatens
my self-determination, my control over a situation. I must also be able to impose my terms on you. For if you
are in a position to determine the conditions of my existence, then I will not be fully in control. My demand for
recognition is matched by an identical demand on your part. Thus, the struggle begins, as outlined by Hegel. It
is only through staking ones life that freedom is won.
A life-and-death struggle only ends when one of the contenders is defeated, and even put to death. Yet in
killing your opponent, you lose the very thing you fought for in the first placerecognition. Your opponent is
no longer able to provide recognition since he no longer exists. Witnesses do not provide adequate recognition
because they are not on the same level as both of you. This is why Hegel thinks the struggle for recognition
must lead to the relation of master slave, which is also depicted in the lyrics of numerous battle raps.
However, can you see the problem with the very idea of needing recognition from an equal? In my quest
to be completely self-determining is already compromised by the fact that I need another to recognize me. I am
admitting a sort of dependence upon another! For how much can a master really achieve without his slave? We
see that neither party is truly free. Yet we cannot refuse the struggle to be free, for in doing so we reject the
world all together. The extreme version of this is suicide.
The importance of the theme of freedom in hip hop might also suggest part of an explanation for the rise
of gangsta rap. Gangsta rap is an extreme, exaggerated metaphoric form of the struggle for recognition. Gangsta
is an extended metaphor that highlights a violent, no-holds-barred, sudden-death form of the battle in
stylized, dramatic narratives.

Since I was a youth, I smoked weed out This is a gang, and I'm in it
Now I'm the mutha fucka that ya read about My man Dre'll fuck you up in a minute
Takin' a life or two With a right left, right left you're toothless
that's what the hell I do, you don't like how I'm livin And then you say goddamn they ruthless!
Well fuck you!

Here the struggle for recognition is shown that freedom requires dependence on the group, or gang. The
rappers life not only takes place within the gang but also the gangs life is part of the life of society. Thus we
move from individual recognition, to social recognition. We see the rapper is no longer struggling for
recognition as an individual with talent, imagination, and vision. There is a demand that those in the suburbs
recognize the connection between their life and that imposed upon them by those in the cities. Hip hips
struggle for recognition becomes a demand, and sometimes a plea, that America opens its eyes to the realities of
black America.
(chorus) You feel like getting so high you smoke a whole damn crop
This is for my folkers who got bills overdue You feel like crying but you think that you might never stop
This is for my folkers, um, check one two Homes with no heat stiffen your joints like arthritis
This is for my folkers who never lived like a hog If this was fiction, it'd be easier to write this
Me and you, toe to toe, I got love for the underdog Some folks try to front like they so above you
*repeat chorus* They'd tear this motherfucker up if they really loved you
I raise this glass for the ones who die meaninglessly *chorus*
And the newborns who get fed intravenously There's certain tricks of the trade to try and hault your defeat
Somebody's mom caught a job and a welfare fraud case Like taking tupperware to an "all you can eat"
When she breathe she swear it feels like plastic wrap around her face Returning used shit for new saying you lost your receipt
Lights turned off and its the third month the rent is late And writing four figure checks when your accounts deplete
Thoughts of being homeless, crying till you hyperventilate Then all your problems pile up about a mile up
Despair permeates the air then sets in your ear Thinkin about a partner you can dial up to help you out this foul stuff
The kids play with that one toy they learned how to share Whole family sleepin on a futon while you're clippin coupons
Coming home don't never seem to be a celebration Eatin salad tryin to get full off the croutons
Bills they piled up on the coffee table like they're decorations 'Crosstown, the situation is identical
Big ol' spoons of peanut butter, big ass glass of water Somebody's getting strangled by the system and its tentacles
Makes the hunger subside, save the real food for your daughter Misconceptions raise questions to be solved
You feel like swingin haymakers at a moving truck Alot of b-boys are broke, alot of homeless got jobs
You feel like laughing so it seems like you don't give a fuck You can make 8 bones an hour till you pass out and still be assed out
27
Most pyramid schemes don't let you cash out All the life lessons learned doing six years of detention
They say this generation makes the harmony pray Or how you learned the police was just some handicappers
But crime rises consistent with the povery rate On the ground next to broken glass and candy wrappers
You take the workers and jobs, you're gonna have murders and mobs Now don't accept my collects on the phone
A gang of preachers screamin sermons over murmurs and sobs Just hit me at the house so I know I ain't alone
Saying pray for a change from the Lord above you And we can chop it up about this messed up system
They'd tear this motherfucker up if they really loved you Homies that's been killed, how we always gonna miss them
*chorus* It's almost impossible survivin on this fraction
You like this song cause it relates, it's you in this rhyme Sip a 40 to the brain for the chemical reaction
We go to stores that only let us in two at a time You gotta hustle cause they're tryin to push and shove you
We live in places where it costs to get your check cashed I'll tear this motherfucker up since I really love you
Arguements about money usually drown out the tec blasts *chorus*
Work six days a week, can't sleep Saturdays though
Muscles tremblin like a pager when the battery's low
And you just don't know where the years went
Although every long shift feels like a year spent
And you can write your resume, but it wouldn't even mention

28
 This second level of cultural struggle for recognition that defines hip hop is the
struggle for recognition of the legacies and cultural traditions from which hip hop was
created. First and foremost this means the legacy of the urban black and Latino youth who
gave birth to this form of cultural creativity. But this struggle for the recognition of the
historical experience is more difficult than the struggle for recognition than that of any
individual artist. The stakes are higher, and the struggle is a collective or group struggle, not
an individual one.
As can be seen by the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, probably the most
famous rap feud of recent times, the battle is taken from the individual to the group, this time
New York Hip artists vs. L.A. hip hop artsits. This rivalry occurred in the early to mid-1990s
between the East Coast's Bad Boy Records and the West Coast's Death Row Records. It
consisted mainly of in record battles by Death Row artist 2Pac at numerous rappers,
primarily The Notorious B.I.G. In this case, the battle would end in death for both.
Hip hop had originated in the streets of New York, and the city remained rap's
foremost musical scene until the early '90's. During this time, acts such as N.W.A. and The
D.O.C. began gaining attention for the West Coast. In 1992, former N.W.A.-head Dr. Dre's
The Chronic became one of the biggest-selling hip hop albums in history, followed shortly by
Snoop Doggy Dogg's debut album Doggystyle in 1993.
Dre was then on Death Row Records, headed by Suge Knight, and the label built up a
roster of high-profile acts such as Tha Dogg Pound as well as Snoop and Dre that reigned on
the charts. LA begun to rival New York as hip hop's center of attention. Signs of the tension
first appeared when East Coast rapper Tim Dog released the diss track "Fuck Compton." It
enraged many rappers who grew up in Compton and the Los Angeles area, sparking a flurry
of retaliatory disses.
In 1994, two young rappers from New York were rising to the top: Tupac "2Pac"
Shakur and his close friend The Notorious B.I.G. Biggie was signed to Bad Boy (headed by
Puff Daddy/P Diddy/Diddy). In 1994, just before the release of Biggies debut Ready to Die,
2Pac was shot and robbed in a recording studio, just downstairs from Biggie and his
entourage.
The next day, Shakur was convicted of a 1993 sexual assault on a female fan. While
he was in jail, he began hearing about Bad Boy's success with Ready to Die and began to
suspect the group of setting him up because when they saw he was shot they offered him no
help; he also accused B.I.G. of knowing the robbery was going to happen and failing to warn
him.
While 2Pacs in jail, LAs Suge would approach 2Pac, offering to pay his bail if the
rapper would sign with Death Row Records. Shakur agreed, and when he was released began
taking numerous lyrical shots at his former friends and their record label (Bad Boy) with Suge
backing him.
From late 1995 into early 1996, 2Pac would appear on numerous tracks aiming
threatening words at B.I.G., Bad Boy and anyone affiliated with them. During this time,
though Biggie never directly responded, the media became heavily involved and dubbed the
rivalry a "coastal rap war," covering it endlessly. This caused fans of and from both scenes to
take sides with one set of artists or another.
The Notorious B.I.G. would release a track called "Who Shot Ya" in late 1995; 2Pac
interpreted it as Biggie mocking his shooting, and claimed it proved that Bad Boy had set him
up. In early 1996, 2Pac released the infamous diss track "Hit 'Em Up," in which he claimed to
have had sex with the Notorious B.I.G's wife Faith Evans and threatened the lives of Biggie
and Puffy. The song was viewed as taking the feud to another level.
In March 1996, at the Soul Train Awards in Miami, there was a confrontation in the
parking lot between the respective entourages of Bad Boy and Death Row in which guns were
drawn. Although an armed standoff was all it amounted to, it was becoming readily apparent
to hip hop fans and artists that the situation was progressing into a serious issue.
Not long after, at the Vibe awards in New York, Nas and 2Pac also confronted each
other outside the venue. 2Pac said he would remove the disses to Nas from his next album if
Nas would in return stop dissing him. Nas kept his end of the bargain, although Tupac would
be killed presumably before he was able to remove the disses.
On September 7, 1996 Tupac Shakur was shot several times in Las Vegas, dying a few
days later on Friday 13. Then on March 9, 1997, Notorious B.I.G. was shot and killed in Los
Angeles, California. Both murders remain unsolved, and numerous theories have sprung up.
The outcome of the feud would shake the culture of hip hop; it changed the way rap
rivalries were viewed, especially when the media was deeply involved. Following the death of
2Pac, most of Death Row's prominent artists left the label, and Suge Knight ended up in jail
for unrelated probation violations. This bad turn for Death Row led to a long lull in the
mainstream popularity of West Coast rap. In 2005 Suge was released from prison, but his
attempts to revitalize his label were largely futile.
Bad Boy was affected as well, to a lesser degree with Puff Daddy (now Diddy) himself
earned considerable commercial success. More recently, Bad Boy has struggled as a record
label due to a lack of marketable talent. There has not been a rivalry of such magnitude in rap
since this one; that may be due largely to the fact that, seeing the outcome of this episode,
artists and prominent industry figures have stepped in to help cool down subsequent battles to
prevent them from reaching this level.
 Chapter 5
TV & Commercials
 What Shapes the Youth in the West?
Think about what you know of Western culture. Think about young people growing up
in the West and tell me: What shapes their attitudes and personalities? Where do they get their
ideas? What is the strongest force that shapes young people? Parents? Schools? TV, movies,
popular music, video games. Media entertainment is the strongest influence on youth culture
by far. TV is everywhere. It is the first teacher for young people.
TV teaches them lessons on how to behave sociallyhow to interact with other
people. If you have grown up in America, you have already seen everything on TV before you
experience it in your own life. If there is someone that a young person admires, a hero whose
lessons he tries to follow in life, that person is probably a TV character. Our speciesmodern
manevolved ... How many years ago? ... about 200,000 years ago. That's when we first
appeared on Earth.
Now, TV appeared relatively late during those 200,000 years. How long ago? About
50 years ago. And that was when something very important changed forever. From 200,000
years ago until 50 years agothroughout history, throughout pre-historychildren growing
up, in every human society, have been socialized by the people around them. They learned
their lessons, their culture, from human beings. Not any more. Since 50 years ago, the social
world of young people is made up of many people who are not natural human beings.
Now remember, people copy the thinking around them. They copy it blindlywithout
thinking. That's why friends don't touch each other's hands in America; that's why men in
Korea smoke cigarettes more than they do in America. The habits, customs, behaviors that
young people are learning today come from artificial (man-made) beingsfictional
characters they see on TV. Typically those lessons begin before the children are old enough to
speak.
In what ways are TV people, and movie people, different from natural people? The
main difference is that they are corporate productscreated by business corporationsand
the reason they are created is for money and profit. Natural humans can have many different
wishes and goals in life. TV people have one goal. They are single-minded. Their only
purpose, their only reason for existing, is to make more money for their creators.
The Nature of Artificial Beings
How many people do you feel you know in your life? How many people do you feel
connected to? Count them. Now, you know TV and movie people are all around us in our
societies. How many of the people in your life are TV and movie people? I want to help you
understand the true nature of these artificial people. To understand TV and movie people
better, it is useful to think of a character from a popular American action movie. The character
is not a man, but a kind of robotmade of a very strong steel. So it is artificial, man-made,
just like the many TV people in our own lives.
Also, like TV people, it is single-minded. It does not have wishes, feelings, fears,
emotions. Its mind is a computer. This machine, this robot, has been programmed with a
single objective. The only purpose of that robot's existence is to murder a specific target ... a
particular woman. There is an actor ... he's a superstar now ... who made that robot so
wonderfully un-lifelike, that robot became world-famous and won many more fans than most
human actors. Who is he?
Arnold made everyone fall in love with the Terminator. But Terminator also returned
the favor for Arnold. How? Well, it changed Arnold Schwarzenegger from an obscure actor
with a very strange English accent into a top celebrity and international movie star. This is
how TV people are different from you and meand this is how they are similar to the
Terminator. First, they do look human, since they're designed for "infiltrationbut they're in
fact artificial. Second, unlike humans they are single-minded. They don't feel pity or remorse
or fear. They have one objective only: to make money.
Cultural Pollution
Some types of pollution are not controlled at all. Corporations are free to produce as
much as they want, even if it kills people. Cultural pollution is just as poisonous as physical
pollution. The average youth watches an average of nearly 3 hours of TV/day. By the time the
average person reaches age 70, he or she will have spent the equivalent of 7 to 10 years
watching television. 32% of 2- to 7-year-olds and 65% of 8- to 18-year-olds have television
sets in their bedrooms.
American Youth see 10,000 violent acts/year. By age 18, the average youth will have
viewed an estimated 200,000 acts of violence on TV. American media glamorizes guns. And
the people who use guns often are not punished. The idea that is shown most often in
American media is that violence is a good way to solve problems. Heroes typically achieve
results with violent action. Each year, teenagers view nearly 15,000 sexual references. TV
between 8 and 9 PM (prime time) contains more than eight sexual incidents per hour, more
than four times as much as in 1976.
By the time children are 5 or 6 years old, they've been pulled by TV into the
marketplace. They are on the way to becoming consumers ... instead of citizens. Selling
products to American children is standard business practice. American children have viewed
an estimated 360,000 advertisements on television before graduating from high school.
Tobacco manufacturers spend $6 billion (6,000,000,000,000\) per year, and alcohol
manufacturers $2 billion (2,000,000,000,000\) per year, advertising to young people.
American advertising messages often make sexual suggestions to sell their products.
Sex in Advertising
Why does advertising use sex as an appeal to the consumer? The answer is simple:
because it works. The purpose of advertising is to convince people that products are of use to
them in one way or another. If people agree, they will buy them. However, advertising must
do its job very quickly; it doesn't have the time or the space to go into detail or explanations.
For many products it is possible to find (or invent) a sexual connection. However, the sexual
connection is much easier to set up for men than for women.
Men have a minimal criteria for sexual desire; basically, they are concerned with a
woman's bodyas long as a woman looks young enough and is healthy, she is desirable. Men
also consider her beautiful, since to a male beautiful and sexually attractive are almost the
same. Thus, in advertising it is easy to get a man's attention by using women's bodies and
associate getting the woman if he buys the product. It is playing on his instinctive rather than
intellectual view of the world. Women are less concerned with the body. Women are looking
for more. Thus, advertising can show the woman and sell the product on the basis of "women
want this [product] in a man.
There is big money is beer commercialsand big sex appeal. Since men buy and
drink beer more than women the ads are for the male audience. And since there really isnt
that much difference between one beer and the next, the producer must rely on mens
insecurity to sell the item. The ads will always show beautiful women, but the only way to get
her attention is to have a beer in hand. This is not to imply that all beer commercials use sex
to create appeal for their products; many use self-esteem, personal enjoyment, or even
selflessness.
Nonetheless, sex is a powerful and easy method of getting male attention and making
their product desirable. Note that in all the ads described, the women are nothing but beautiful
(i.e., sexually desirable) and show interest because the men are drinking a particular beer.
They don't speak, show no signs of money, position, power or intellectthey are simply
beautiful. Although American culture thinks that the only necessity to make a woman
desirable is beauty is considered sexist and demeaning to women, the fact remains that for a
male it is all that is necessary.
A man's eye is attracted to and follows a woman's face and form, not the fact she
carries Plato's Republic in the original Greek, gives to the poor, or drives an expensive car.
None of these make a woman sexually desirable in and of themselves: if they did, Mother
Theresa, Jean Kirkpatrick, and Leona Helmsley would replace Rebecca Romjin, Paulina
Poriskova and Marilyn Monroe as sex symbols. Although the former clearly have intelligence,
generosity, compassion and/or money, it is the latter that men lust after.
Mirror Neurons
In 2004, Steve Jobs, CEO, chairman, and co-founder of Apple, was strolling along
Madison Avenue in New York City when he noticed something strange, and gratifying. Hip
white earphones (remember, back then most earphones came in basic boring black). Looping
and snaking out of peoples ears, dangling down across their chests, peeking out of pockets
and purses and backpacks. They were everywhere. It was, like, on every block, there was
someone with white headphones, and I thought, Oh, my God, its starting to happen, Jobs,
whod recently launched his companys immensely successful iPod, was quoted as saying.
The popularity of the iPod (and its ubiquitous, iconic white headphones) could be
called a fad, maybe even a revolution. But it is actually the triumph of a region of our brains
associated with something called the mirror neuron, neurons that fire when an action is
being performed and when that same action is being observed.
What does this mean? Have you ever wondered why, when youre watching a baseball
game and your favorite player strikes out in the top of the ninth inning, you cringeor
alternately, why, when your home team scores a goal during the World Cup, you pump your
arm in the air? Or why, when youre at the movies and the heroine starts weeping, tears well
up in your own eyes? What about that rush of exhilaration you feel when Tom Cruise or Vin
Diesel kills the villainor the reason why you feel so strong an hour after the movie ends? Or
the feeling of grace and beauty that floods through you as you observe a ballet dancer or listen
to a world-class pianist? This is all mirror neurons. Our brains react as if we were actually
performing these activities ourselves. In short, seeing and doing are one and the same.
Mirror neurons are also responsible for why we often imitate other peoples behavior
without knowing. This tendency is so innate it can even be observed in babiesjust stick
your tongue out at a baby, and the baby will very likely repeat the action. When other people
whisper, we tend to lower our own voices. When were around an older person, we sometimes
walk more slowly. If we have a roommate with a foreign accent, we tend to start talking like
them without knowing. Mirror neurons explain why we often smile when we see someone
who is happy or wince when we see someone who is in physical pain.
What Steve Jobs observed on that New York City day was a good example of mirror
neurons in our everyday livesand the role they play in why we buy. They make us mimic
each others buying behavior. So when we see a pair of unusual earphones sticking out of
someone elses ears, our mirror neurons trigger a desire in us to have those same cool-looking
accessories, too. But it goes deeper than simple desire. Think about why you buy? Women
often buy the image of others rather than the cloths. Men often buy the image of others rather
than the car. Their mirror neurons overrode their rational thinking and caused them to
unconsciously imitateand purchasewhat was in front of them.
And thats just how our mirror neurons work on us as consumers. Think about how
other peoples behavior affects our shopping experience, and ultimately influences our
purchasing decisions. Not only that, but a smiling clerk will have more success at sales and
even get return customers over those that do not smile.
Mirror neurons can even respond to things we see online. Just look at how YouTube
has changed our lives. In fact, there are entire video-sharing sites devoted to this kind of
vicarious pleasure; on www.unbox.it.com and www.unboxing.com, computer users can watch
strangers from all across the world open their various purchases. Its the culmination of lust.
There are a lot of people who aspire, who want to have something they may not be able to
afford, and they cant buy it yet. They are looking for some way to satiate their appetite. This
is mirror neurons at work.
This concept of imitation is a huge factor in why we buy the things we do. We see
models in fashion magazines and we want to dress like them or make up our faces the way
they do. We watch the rich and famous driving expensive cars and living in their lavishly
decorated homes and think, I want to live like that. We see our friends snazzy new LCD TV,
or iphone and we want one for ourselves. Why? Because we need it? Think about it carefully!
But mirror neurons dont work alone. Often, they work with dopamine, one of the
brains pleasure chemicals. Dopamine is one of the most addictive substances known to man
and purchasing decisions are driven in some part by its seductive effects. When you see that
shiny digital camera, or those flashy diamond earrings, for example, dopamine subtly flushes
your brain with pleasure, then before you know it, youve signed the credit card receipt
(researchers generally agree that it takes as little as 2.5 seconds to make a purchasing
decision). A few minutes later, as you exit the store, bag in hand, the euphoric feelings caused
by the dopamine recede, and all of a sudden you wonder whether youll really ever use that
camera or wear those earrings. Sound familiar?
Shopping has become an enormous part of what we do in our spare time. But does it
actually make us happier? All scientific studies point to yesat least in the very short term.
And that dose of happiness can be attributed to dopamine, the brains flush of reward,
pleasure and well-being. When we first decide to buy something, the brain cells that release
dopamine
secrete a burst of good feeling, and this dopamine rush fuels our instinct to keep shopping
even when our rational minds tell us weve had enough. Our emotional brain wants to max
out the credit card, even though our logical brain knows we should save for retirement.
This phenomenon can be traced way back to our age-old instinct for survival. In other
words, that crazy rush of pleasure we may experience from the anticipation of buying an
iphone may actually be helping us enhance our reproductive success and preparing us for
survival. Why? Because consciously or not, we calculate purchases based on how they might
bring us social statusand status is linked with reproductive success. We assess snazzy stuff
iPhones, Harleys, and suchlargely in terms of their capacity to enhance our social status,
just what we need to attract a mate who could possibly end up carrying on our genetic line or
providing for us for life. Between your mirror neurons making you feel sexy and attractive,
and your dopamine creating that near-orgasmic anticipation of reward, your rational mind
doesnt stand a chance.
So buyers beware. Because the future of advertising isnt smoke and mirrorsits
mirror neurons. And they will prove even more powerful in driving our loyalty, our minds,
and our wallets than even the marketers themselves could have anticipated.
 Chapter 6
CELEBRITIES
 What is a celebrity? Would you recognize one on the street? At first, you may not. You
may be surprised how plain, ordinary, and normal a celebrity can be in their private life. Yet a
celebrity can be the most vital shaping (or distorting) force in our society. So what can stars
reveal about a culture, values, and God? Or do they actually compete with God, turning our
attention from the Creator to creation?
Celebrities perform a valuable social and theological function. They sharpen our
ideals, bear our disappointments, and promote our hopes of immortality. Are celebrities
perhaps secular saints that deserve to be celebrated, or even venerated? Only you can judge. If
religion had become entertainment in the 20th century, then entertainment was now becoming
a religion.
Questions to Think About
1. What aspects of 20th century America allowed for the introduction of regular celebrities?
2. What spiritual needs fueled the rise of publicists (TV, newspaper, and magazine media that
follow the life of the stars)?
3. Has a Protestant church ideal of destroying idols actually encouraged the increase of
celebrity obsession?
4. What is the proper function of celebrities in everyday life?
5. What can mythology tell us about our current obsession with celebrity?
6. What was the original purpose of mythology? Was it to humanize the gods? Or deify
humans?
7. Do we have a built in need for heroes and role models that celebrities satisfy?

Perhaps the first written product of Greek pop culture was Homers Iliad. The Greeks
also turned mythology (theology) into entertainment. Greek mythology may be read as a
sincere effort to reach God while Roman mythology looks more like a calculated effort to
deify humans. Heroes became the role models of the Ancients.
In our postmodern culture, the need for heroes has never been stronger. The recent
success of big screen mythologies such as The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and Harry
Potter shows we are desperate for stories of heroic virtue. Heroism arises from resisting
temptation, renouncing power, and choosing goodness.
We also look at our leaders as role models of civic virtue. Yet when they make a
mistake, we are reminded how human they (and we) are. We know celebrities do not deserve
to be worshiped. We recognize that talent and blessings, such as Michael Jordans jumping
ability, can come only from God. Yet Michael Jordan earned his celebrity status through hard
work and developing his talent. He is an inspiration.
Democratic nations have overthrown the kings and queens that once ruled their people
and instead created their own royalty out of achievers based on the belief that talent and hard
work are rewarded. This is what has been called the American dream, and now flourishes in
many nations. Now there are celebrities with no talent and have no defined role. In America
the most notable useless celebrity is Paris Hilton.
Heroes who used to fill us with purpose have been replaced by celebrity. The hero
created himself; the celebrity is created by the media. The hero was a big man; the celebrity is
a big name. The media is the very engine that makes and breaks stars. It has nothing to do
with personal choice. We may learn to like the celebrity, but it is the media who chose him/her
and then finds another. Only celebrities of talent control their own destiny.
So do we blame the media for the problem of artificial celebrity? For making pop
culture so shallow and soulless? WE cant complain about the air we breathe without inhaling.
Instead of complaining about how the media controls us, we should deal with the lasting
questions that come when we look into the media mirror. Whats real? Am I really alive? Or
just caught in a matrix of illusions? Can people of conscience use the media without being
addicted by its illusions?
Use of mass media is a temptation that can be both positive and negative. Would
Jesus, tempted by Satan to expand his message in the widest, fastest, most powerful way
possible, have used the mass media to spread his message? Christians use radio and TV to
speak out against the negative use the media has in our lives and then get upset when the
media turns against them.
Perhaps the greatest innovation that gave the power of celebrity to an actor over the
story and even director is the close up of the individual playing the part. Because of this, film
studios soon realized that stars, not writers or directors or producers, sold movies. Thus it was
the public who insisted that there be not be a connection between achievement and fame.
Reward began to detach itself from effort. One of the bases for morality began to disappear.
As a result, teeth were fixed, breasts heightened, hair and eye color adjusted, and names
changed. Looks and appearance became the new heroic standards.
Yet we do not associate these heroic ideals with reality. Whenever Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford, or John Travolta step outside their standard, heroic characters, they risk
audience rejection. When Harrison Ford plays a villain, the movie fails. The director Woody
Allen is a genius, but when he marries his adopted Korean step-daughter, nobody wants to see
his movies anymore.
So why did we invent the movie star? It is interesting to note that America, the
democratic ideal, serves as the birth place of the modern celebrity. With no King or Queen to
idolize, Americans created their own royalty.
Is there only one Marilyn Monroe? Will there never be another James Dean? Are they
unique or are they created by the celebrity industry that tells us each individual star is unique
and cannot be replaced? The passage of time, which creates and establishes the hero, destroys
the celebrity. What happened to Miss Oh ()? Did her acting ability change after the sex
tape appeared on the Internet? It was a big deal then, who cares now. And despite the celebrity
industrys best efforts, sometime the movie going public refuses what theyve been given. Not
even Tom Cruises dating Penelope Cruz could give her superstar status. In fact, his dating
Katie Holmes (who is half his age) has even hurt his superstar status.
But our endless fascination with celebrity could also show the depth of our spiritual
hunger. We create celebrities in our own image (like us but not us) as an ideal of modern
heroism, beauty, humor, and perfection. In a nation where anyone can become a king or
president, or super rich, we need people to show us the way, to set our standards. Celebrities
are our vicarious heroes, going where we cannot. They give us a taste of immortality, a
preview of eternity. Think of famous people (poets, writers, real heroes) of the past. They did
not reach any such level of superstar until after their death. So to see a superstar is to touch
the divine. Having made celebrities, we have a duty to worship them.
In a post-Christian culture, celebrities stand in as our high priests, our conduits to the
divine. We want them to be perfect, to offer an image of eternal beauty. They are to our post-
modern culture, as the gods were to the Greeks. But what happens if they fail to live up our
lofty expectations (poor Miss Oh)? What if they turn out to be false gods? We need someone
to smash them. We turn to the tabloids (the gossip newspapers).
Why do we care about stars private lives? We may pretend to not be interested in
gossip, but when a star gets married, or makes a mistake, or does something we do care. The
biggest tabloid stars dont need to be in movies or sing. Their storybook lives provide
enough interest. Princess Diana simply played herself. Her fairy-tale marriage and personal
style turned her into a fashion icon. After the honeymoon the drama of her life unfolded better
than any movie. Her death was tragic, but still stained by public interest.
Celebrity mistakes are interesting because they remind us of our falleness and
imperfection. In fact, celebrities stand in our place, acting out our collective cultural sins that
are purged when they are caught and hated by the very public who made them rich and
famous.

OUR SCAPEGOATSFALLEN STARS

Like Old Testament scapegoats, celebrities bear the communities weaknesses. Like the
Hebrew kings in the Old Testament, they are held to higher standards. But the smallest
mistake can also bring down the wrath of God, or worse, the rejection of the public. Stars
travel a well-paid road from idol to scapegoat.
The media also seems to always destroy what it creates. A good example is Celebrity
Deathmatch on MTV that takes our scapegoating to a comedic level. Another is Celebrity
Boxing, which is the post-modern form of the Roman gladiator spectacle.
What fuels such hatred and contempt? Why do former stars no longer seem human?
Could it be that they carry our greatest disappointments? They remind us how short fame
really is. How foolish it is to create immortality. They show us what a shame it is to make an
idol of such a regular human.
Celebrities live long after theyre dead. John Wayne sells beer. Fred Astaire dances
with a vacuum cleaner. Digital technology turned dead celebrities into big business. We both
created and destroyed Diana, serving her up as a sacrifice for our miserable desire for news
and gossip, for a role model, for immortality. Diana was sacrificed for our sins, taking on all
the vicarious suffering and glorification we long to experience. In comparison, Mother Teresa
offered her life to helping the poor and needy in the world. When she died, she was offered
sainthood. Diana, though a not a nun, donated her time and money to helping the poor as well,
and yet influenced more people in the world through her celebrity. Is Diana a secular saint?
Her sainthood seems assured, with or without the churchs blessing.

OUR PURPOSES
Celebrity can be a fabulous platform, the ultimate pulpit. The day time talk show host
Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president,
politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope. She has become a post-modern
priestessan icon of church-free spirituality. At least 10% of her annual income goes to
charity.
Another pop culture icon is U2s Bono. He has turned his celebrity status into a
campaign highlighting third world debt relief. He was even nominated for a Nobel Peace
Prize. Bonos consistent efforts on behalf of the poor make him the most secular of saints a
worldwide symbol of rock n roll activism.
Bono has hated the label of role model, believing that his love for alcohol,
cigarettes, and swearing disqualify him. But like King David, Bonos failings are central to
his music and his mission. Whether discussing his doubts (I Still Havent Found What Im
Looking For), or making fun of his own celebrity (God Part 2), Bonos imperfections
make him much more loveable and human. Bono has even suggested, I think God is waiting
for us to act. In fact, I think that God is on His knees to us, to the Church. God is on His knees
to us, waiting for us to turn around this supertanker of indifference. We should remind
ourselves that love thy neighbor is not advice. It is a command. During an era in which
everyone wants to be famous, he has proven that hard work, generosity, faith, and sincerity
can still be celebrated, even amid doubt.
May our lasting tribute to heroes involve recovery of celebritys important purpose.
We need heroes; we need role models, a taste of the divine. May we recover deeds and
imagine a future in which everyone is famous for all the right reasons.
 Chapter 7
Comic Books
 A Very Brief History of Comic Books
Comic books are, at least, as old as movies. Their first steps were set in the beginning
of 20th Century, in the search of new ways of graphic and visual communication and
expression. Usually, comic books are also associated with the prehistoric paintings in caves
and Egyptian hieroglyphics,
hieroglyphics, all of them visual narratives of juxtaposed images. The existence
of words was not mandatory, but with the adoption of symbols to represent them -- letters --,
they were soon added to give more information and boost the narrative flow. The
improvement of press and printing technology were strong factors to the development of the
medium.
The birth of a typically American comic was born with the super-hero,
super-hero, Siegel and
Shuster'
Shuster's Superman.
Superman. Superman is a landmark -- for a lot of people his dbut is the start the
Golden Age -- in Comic book History,
History, a perfect archetype, the model to lots of characters and
one of the most perfect myths of modern ages. Lots of academic studies and dissection works
have been made about him along his near 60 years of life. And lots of money, money, too.
The Comics evolved, and spread its arms, becoming part of pop culture. In the period
1940-1945 some four hundred super heroes were created, mostly based on Superman's Superman's
model, though only a few survived. Two of them deserve to be highlighted: Batman, Batman, created
in 1939 by Bob Kane,
Kane, a darker character (inspired in Da Vinci'
Vinci's flying machine and Zorro)
Zorro)
whose fame would exceed Superman's
Superman 's in the 80's, and Captain Marvel,
Marvel , by C.C. Beck,
Beck, a
young boy that earned magical powers every time he said the magic word Shazam!
A lot of characters were enlisted and went to the World War II, II, and comic books
became ideological weapons to increase soldiers and people moral. The greatest icon of those
war days is Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's Captain America.
America. To say the least, in the cover of his
first magazine, Captain America battled no one other than Adolf Hitler himself.
The 50's staged the greatest witch-hunt of comics ever, and a lot of prejudice from
those days still remains. Psychiatrist Frederic Wertham wrote a book, The Seduction of the
Innocent,
Innocent, where he accused comic books of causing youth corruption and juvenile
delinquency. Among any other weird subjects, he accused comics of inciting youth to violence
(what had already happened with rock'n'roll).
rock'n'roll). A Comics Code was then created destined to
limit and rule on what could appear (and what could not) in the pages.
Another great story was born in those hard days, an apparently innocent strip about a
group of children: Peanuts,
Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz.
Schulz. Charlie Brown,
Brown, the main character, is a 6
year old boy, born to lose. He symbolizes the insecurity, the ingenuity, the lack of initiative;
an eternal hopper. His dog, Snoopy,
Snoopy, is a philosophic beagle on the top of his red house. This
strip starts the thinking and intellectual age of comics, with a greater value of the text over the
images.
In the sixties we can see the remake of the super hero with the Marvel Comics, by
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Kirby. Lee and Kirby already worked with comic books and super heroes,
but then, they had the opportunity of creating an entire new fictional universe. The surprise
was that the characters had some kind of weakness or defect in opposition to their super
powers. Fantastic Four,
Four, Silver Surfer,
Surfer, Thor,
Thor, Hulk,
Hulk, X-Men,
X-Men, Iron Man,Man, Dr. Strange were
the first of an empire that soon would turn Marvel into the number one comic book publisher.
But the most popular character and one of the most interesting super heroes ever
created is the Spiderman,
Spiderman, the secret identity of frail and shy teenager Peter Parker.
Parker. Marvel's
comics were noted for focusing on characterization to a greater extent than most superhero
comics before them Spider-Man in particular, its young hero suffering from self-doubt and
mundane problems like any other teenager. Marvel superheroes are often flawed, freaks, and
misfits, unlike the perfect, handsome, athletic heroes found in previous traditional comic
books. Some of the Marvel heroes looked like villains and monsters. In time, this non-
traditional approach would change comic books.
Times changed, and so did comic books in the seventies. Examples of what we call
today adult comics became more usual, opening space for the creation of stories such as
French Barbarella,
Barbarella, by Jean Claude Forest;
Forest; North American Fritz the Cat,Cat, by Robert Crumb
(who introduced the underground in comic books); and for the unique works in science fiction
and fantasy of Parisian penciller Jean Giraud,
Giraud, who later would be better known as Moebius.
Moebius.
In all those works it could be seen sex, violence, intellectual insight, critics to the
society, use of color and page design in very different ways and intensities than what has been
done so far Comic books were not only for kids; they grew up and sophisticated themselves
in unexpected ways. Adult comics existed since the first times, but they increased in number
in the 70's. Conventions and exposition in museums began at the end of that decade, as much
as academic studies.
BUT WHY COMICS?
In the new millennium, American intellects are learning the secret thats been kept
alive for years by a core group of comic-book fansthe classic superhero stories, as they
continue to be produced by some of the best writers and artists alive, can be wildly fun,
suspenseful, exciting and even profoundly thought-provoking. Like Plato and Aristotle,
Superman and Batman are here to stay. So are Spider-man, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, and
the Uncanny X-men, among many other mythic heroes in tights.
One of the most striking pop culture developments of the present day is the strong
resurgence of the costumed superhero as an entertainment and cultural icon. A recent,
nationally syndicated newspaper article on this turn of events began with the sweeping
sentence, Its become a comic-book world
world The global reference is appropriate. Not many
fictional characters in history have attained anything like the international recognition of
Superman and Batman. These two giants of the comics have inspired radio, TV, film, and
musical depictions since their first appearances in the late 1930s.

The Double Power Principle

First explained by Philosopher Tom Morris. Typically, the more power something has
for good, the more it equally has for ill, and vice versaits up to us how we use it. This one
simple principle explains both the promise and threat of nuclear power, technology of all sorts
(think of the Internet and genetic engineering), and religion, among many other things. All
have great power for good as well as great power for ill. This is why there is so much debate
over these ideas.
According to the Double Power Principle, the role of religion in a persons life could
conceivably go in either of the two directions. It could be a source of great good or terrible
harm. In connection with this insight, we can then ask a more specific philosophical question:
What could possibly be the role of traditional religious faith in the life of a costumed vigilante
superhero? In other words, is Daredevils religious belief a source of inner strength and
guidance for him, or is it rather a cause of weakness and confusion?
Now let us ask, is fearlessness a source of strength, or could it rather end up being a
source of weakness? Is fearlessness just an inability to understand and feel in a certain way?
The philosopher Aristotle believed that every virtue, or human strength, or human strength, is
a mid-point between two vicesan extreme of too little would be one vice, and an extreme of
too much would count as another vice. He saw the virtue of true courage as being midpoint
between the two extremes of cowardice, on the one hand, and rashness on the other hand.
The classic virtue of courage is not at all understood as requiring an absence of fear,
but it is thought of rather as the ability to act in support of great values despite any fear we
may experience.
If religious faith gives Daredevil guidance towards values, good insight into the world
of facts, and a source of both encouragement and self-control as he fights for justice for those
who are not strong enough to have it themselves, then it is safe to say that this is a unique
form of spiritual strength that would benefit any superhero, or any ordinary human being.
Have you ever questioned how a perfect, loving God can allow so much suffering?
suffering?
How can terrible people, gangsters and murderers sometimes live a good life, when faithful
people suffer?

WHAT DEFINES US? Determinism Vs. Free Will

Matt Murdock seems to hold the traditional religious view that it is ultimately not our
genetics or our heritage that defines us, but our own choices in this world. In 1997s
Daredevil, Typhoid Mary is trying to blame an accident that Daredevil once inadvertently
caused for her fall into crime and murder. He says, No, Mary. You are who you are because
of the choices you make. Sometimes life is tragedy and pain and accidents! But was I there
when you pulled your first trigger? Was I there the first time you took a life? No! You made
that choice on your own.

Why Be Good?
The idea of a superhero with special powers is not only in modern comic books.
Platos Republic gives a brief description of an ancestor of Gyges of Lydia. This is known
as Gyges Ring. Becoming invisible he could enter the kings palace seduce the kings wife
and with the aid of the wife, murder the king and take his place a ruler. So do people love
justice, or goodness, for its own sake or just because they realize that if they are unjust they
will suffer?
The immoralist says any normal person would do the same if placed in the same
situation. What would you do if given a superpower? Would you use it for the good of many
or for the good of yourself? The problem is not simply that few would be just and good if they
had super powers without any fear of punishment. The real problem is that if you had a
superpower and used it for good, then the rest of us would hate and fear you be jealous of
your deeds tough many would keep this to themselves.

Kierkegaards Double Danger Principle

Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1830-1855) updated Platos idea: the life we
live is a life of universal love (which is love thy neighbor as thyself). Easier said than done.
We, as individuals, are naturally selfish who put our own desires before those of others.
This is called the first danger that threatens us as moral people. But if we do overcome this
first danger, and love unselfishly, then we face the second, or double danger, which is
external. What does this mean?
When you are able to overcome selfishness and really love your neighbor more than
yourself, you will find that you will be hated almost as a criminal insulted and ridiculed (great
examples, Jesus Christ, Buddah, Job, Gandhi.). Why should this be so? Because our moral
virtue is not very high. We may admire Christian saints as a story from the past, but encounter
heroic selflessness is likely to disturb us. Why? They are a mirror to our very faults that it
embarrasses us, so we seek to destroy the object of our shame.
The X-Men and the Double Danger
Both the X-Man comic books and the movies illustrate the idea of Kierkegaards
double danger. The differences between the mutants and normal people have led many
ordinary citizens to fear and even hate the mutants. How should the mutants respond to this
situation? How would you? The argument is seen through the constant battles between Xavier
and Magneto. The X-Men start to show the neighbor-love that Kierkegaard sees as the basic
human duty.
The X-Men work for the good of all, including even those who hate and harm them.
Yet the dangers faced from Magneto and his mutants who wish to destroy all mankind and the
politicians who wish to kill all mutantkind shows that the choice of being good is not an easy
one. The story of the mutants symbolizes both of the dangers that Kierkegaard describes, and
these difficulties are most memorably dramatized in the character of Logan, or Wolverine.

Why are the X-Men Good?

Why should they (or we) care about others, especially when those others do not care
about them (or us)? If they are good to those that hate them, then the hate should end (the self-
interest argument). The fact that the X-Men face the second part of the double danger the
idea that the reason they are good is out of self-interest (conventional level).
A 2nd possibility = the X-Men simply have no choice but to be good, because it is the
right thing to do (post-conventional level). Or, perhaps, because they are mutants, they are
mutated to commit themselves to good. But the problem with this is that there are evil
mutants led by Magneto. And to say that a mutant is not human doesnt work either. The X-
Men show all kinds of human emotion. There is a romantic conflict between Cyclops and
Wolverine over Jean Grey. They are not perfect beings who can do no wrong; they do make
mistakes.
Are the X-Men good because they are afraid of legal problems or punishment (pre-
conventional level)? Or because they feel pity for normal humans? The evil mutants show that
they can do whatever they want and be perfectly safe from the law. This is the Double
Power of have superpowers, you become your own law (you either protect it or break it). So
there is no fear of punishment for being good. In order to understand why a superpower
would be good, lets look at why a normal human would be good.
In general, children who are raised in loving, accepting homes by parents who are
concerned about the good are themselves more likely to be good and follow those who are
good as well. Yet, there is still choice, which makes it easier for those from loving homes.
This same idea is shown Xaviers home. He never forces them but gives them a choice. Even
Wolverine begins to change when introduced into a moral society.
Compare with Magnetos methods and you can understand why the other mutants are
bad. Because Magneto suffered at the hands of the Nazis, it is not too surprising that he finds
Xaviers love to be nave and even ridiculous. So the best explanation as to why a superhero
(or any human) is good is that they have learned to love the good as a result of a relation to
those who are good. This applies well with Superman, Spiderman, and so on.
This answer also fits well with research on child development and moral growth.
Why be good? is not as easy as loving your neighbor even when those neighbors do not
love you in return. It is in loving your neighbor that you best connect with the love that is
communal a love that is only found in a community (family, friends, fellow mutants).
The ultimate lesson learned is no matter how different we are we all come from the
same source be it God or some other powerman, woman, Asian, European, human, super-
humanwe are all the same. The question is how will you treat your neighbor?
 Chapter 8
What Makes A Hero?
 What Makes

a Hero?
Some people see problems with the very idea of a superhero. The more heroic a person is the
less super he/she should be. The more powerful a person is, the less he or she would risk in
fighting evil or helping someone else. Whats so heroic about stopping an armed robbery if
your skin is made of steel, like Superman, and you are 100 times stronger than the robber?
On the other hand, if you are actually heroic in your actions, you usually have a lot to
lose, like your life or health. Think about a firefighter. They are heroic because they can be
injured and even die rescuing strangers from a fire. If this is so, then superhero is an
oxymoron, two words put together that mean opposite things. So if you have super powers,
can you also be heroic? And Superman could never be thought of as a Superhero, unless he
faces kryptonite.
But if this is the case, then it is based on a simple misunderstanding of the heroic. The
Oxford English Dictionary defines hero as a word of Greek origin, and as meaning man of
super-human qualities; favored by the gods. Another definition is illustrious warrior, Or a
man admired for achievements and noble qualities. Which one best describes our
superheroes.
No matter what we have done (achievements), they are nothing unless we also have
noble qualities. The idea of a hero is a moral one. So the idea of a superhero is not an
oxymoron.
A superhero is an extraordinary person with weaknesses as well as strengths whose noble
character guides him or her into worthy achievements. And this can be a problem.
Why are superheroes hated so much in their stories? The police dont trust the Batman
he has only one friend in the police department, Gordon.
J. Jonah Jamison, Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper the Daily Bugle hates Spider-man
a man in mask that lives for others and risks his life to help and save others is a standing
rebuke to the rest of us. If we cant be like the super hero, we hate ourselves. But instead of
openly hating ourselves, we will hate those that go out of their way to be better than the rest
of us.
This is why superheroes are often hated.
This is why Christ was hated, why Shakyamuni, the Buddha, was hated. In superhero
stories, ordinary people welcome superheroes as needed saviors. Then they are saved. They
start to resent them for their never ending heroic efforts, doing what the rest of the population
should be doing.
Another definition of a hero: a person who stands for the good and the right, and does
so against what the majority think. A mother that stays home to take care of her children,
when all other mothers are out working, can be seen as heroic. A superhero isnt always a
person with a super power.A person who uses super effort more than others.

The Anti-hero
In literature and film, an anti-hero is a character that has some of the behaviors and
weaknesses given to villains, but still has enough heroic qualities to make them heroic to the
viewer. Anti-heroes can be awkward, hated, passive, pitiful, stupid, or just normal; but they
are always, flawed or failed heroes. When the anti-hero is the main character in a story the
work will frequently deal with the effect their flawed character has on the other people they
meet. The work may also show how their character changes over time, either leading to just
punishment, un-heroic success or redemption.
There are four types of anti-heroes: The most popular type of anti-hero is the
vigilante. Usually, these are characters with the same goals as a traditional hero, but they will
break the law to see justice done. This character type is the most popular in comic books with
the Batman being the best example of this type. In the movies, Dae Su and Woo Jin in Old
Boy fit this type, as well as the Bride in Quentin Tarantinos Kill Bill .
A second type of anti-hero is a scoundrel who, at the start, has unlikable traits such as
prejudice, immaturity, cockiness, or a single minded focus on things such as wealth, status, or
revenge; or they could even be a criminal. As the story develops, the character grows and
changes, and eventually becomes sympathetic and rises to the occasion to become heroic in
every sense of the word. Well known examples of this type are: the character of Han Solo
from the Star Wars films, and the character of Riddick (played by Vin Diesel) in the movies
Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick.
A third type of anti-hero is the pessimist, feels helpless distrusts accepted values, is
unable to commit to any ideal within a family or community, and accepts the status of an
outsider. Strider/Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a perfect example.
Another type of anti-hero is the Clown: a character who constantly moves from one
disappointment in his life to the next with only occasional and temporary successes. But he
continues and even succeeds through diligence and his determination to never give up or
change his goals. These characters often have an optimistic hope that one day, they will
succeed. Though usually in the end they still meet with failure, the same fate of a traditional
villain. Homer from The Simpsons is a good example of this.

The Flawed Hero

Character Motivation: The reason or reasons behind a characters choices and decisions.
Why characters do the things they do.
Hamartia: a characters tragic flaw which causes his downfall.
Moral Dilemma: A situation in which a choice must be made between two actions, neither of
which the person making the choice completely agrees withthus, the dilemma.
Turning Point: This may be a moment of insight which causes the characters later decisions
and actions to change for the better (indicating character growth). It also applies to a moment
of decision which may result in the characters downfall.
Batman has no super powers. He is still a superhero. He goes above and beyond what
others would normally do. What chance does Gotham have when the good people do
nothing?
Bruce Wayne is a millionaire. He has it all. He has popularity, the best education, the best
friends, a woman that loves him, but he doesnt have his parents. They were murdered. And
nothing in this world can ever replace the emptiness he feels inside.
The choice that Bruce Wayne had to make, and continues to make, in order to be the
superhero Batman shows the true nature of heroic choice. To help people, he had to leave the
comforts of his home a loving butler the city where he grew up, his girlfriend, move away to
live a life of poverty and pain. In order to defeat the criminal, he had to know their thoughts
and fears. He had to make real sacrifices. Sacrifice is forgotten virtue in modern life. We
think of sacrifice as being negative and not positive. But only change and happiness can be
achieved through sacrifice.
Superman sacrifices a lot in order to be able to do the heroic things he does. So does
Peter Parker, in order to serve as Spider-Man. Bruce Wayne gives up his nights and social life
in order to protect innocent people. And all this sacrifice takes self-discipline. Power without
self-discipline is either just wasted, or its dangerous. Self-discipline is a form of focus that
helps make the greatest goods possible.
The more power we get, the more eagerly we tend to serve ourselves, and our own
interests. But this is where the superheroes are different. They realize that there is no real self-
fulfillment without self-giving. Superheroes provide great, fictionally dramatic images of the
heroic, and are inspirational. Superheroes can remind us of the importance of self-discipline,
self-sacrifice, and applying ourselves to something good. It's not who I am underneath, but
what I do that defines me.

WHAT DEFINES US?

Bruce Wayne holds the traditional religious view that we are not born evil, but our
own choices and those around us determine evil. In Batman Begins, Bruce Waynes childhood
sweetheart, Rachel Dawes, says, Deep down you may still be that same great kid you used to
be. But it's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you. In other words, we
are who we are because of the choices we make. Sometimes life is tragedy and pain and
accidents!
Bruce Wayne lost his parents. Ducard lost his wife. It is what they did after that
defines them. Bruce wanted to kill the murderer of his parents, Joe Chill, but he didnt.
Ducard was ready to kill an entire city, just to make sure evil would die. I will go back to
Gotham and fight men like this, but I will not become an executioner.
A Moral Question
Is it morally just to kill a wicked man? (This argument goes as far as capital punishment).
Batman had the chance, on numerous occasions, to kill. He was offered to kill a man who had
murdered because he was hungry. Bruce Wayne refused to kill him. He had a chance to kill
Ducard, but he rescues him. By not killing Ducard or allowing him to die, Bruce Wayne
comes to feel partly responsible for the evil that this man commits. Is this right?
Yet Batman knows that Ducard or the gangster Falcone would rule the worldwere it
not for laws. The moment one man kills another, he is rejecting those laws. If Ducard,
Falcone, or Scarecrow is a menace to society, it is society that must make him pay the price,
not any individual, or superhero.
Batman wanted Ducard to die; he hates what he does and is. But Batman is not God
hes not the law he is not a murderer. He says to Ducard at the end of the movie, I won't kill
you, but I don't have to save you. Is this a fair way to think or act? Is Batman morally right
or morally corrupt?
How are we to view vigilantes? Remember, vigilantes take the law into their own
hands.
The British philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) argued about an important element of civil
society: each of us gives up our right to private vengeance. We give it to a legitimate
government
for the purpose of objective judgment and sentencing. Comic books of the past didnt really
look at this issue of vigilantism until 1986 and Dark Knight Returns.
We all know by now that Batman never kills or even thinks about killing. In Dark
Knight Returns, however, he comes to regret this for the first time near the end of the story.
Batman is now an old man and forced out of retirement by the Joker. It occurs to him that by
not killing the Joker long ago, he feels some responsibility for the hundreds of people the
Joker has murdered.
Is there any truth to this?
If you dont really understand the weight of this question, I suggest you watch Park
Chan Wooks Revenge Trilogy. We see first hand what happens when we take the law into our
own hands.
Who Watches the Watchmen?
A superhero created a master plan to stop both Russia and America from destroying
the world with nuclear war. Using the talents of some of the most creative people on the
planet
whom he kills when their work is finished. He sets up a fake alien invasion on New York City.
This invasion means that millions of innocent people must be killed in an explosion
that will destroy most of the city. His plans is that the sudden appearance of an alien threat
will bring together all the warring countries in a peaceful collaboration against the alien
threat. The cold war will be ended. His plan succeeds, at the expense of 3,000,000 lives. Is he
evil? Is he insane?
On the one hand, he was able to understand the growing threat of nuclear war that put
over three billion people in peril. And the drastic solution he thinks of to save the world and
restore peace seems to be successful. Yet, the solution is in itself totally sickening, since it
means intentionally killing millions of people and deceiving all the others still living. Can the
end justify the means?
Lets put it in perspective. In World War II, Germany had surrendered. Japan was still
fighting for dominion of the Pacific, as well as Asia. On August 6, 1945, the nuclear weapon
Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, directly killing an estimated 70,000 people.
Approximately 69% of the city's buildings were completely destroyed, and 6.6 % severely
damaged. In the following months, an estimated 60,000 more people died from injuries, and
hundreds more from radiation.
On 9 August 1945, Nagasaki was the target of the world's second atomic bomb attack.
The north of the city was destroyed and an estimated 40,000 people were killed. According to
statistics given at the Nagasaki Peace Park, the dead totaled 73,884, with 74,909 injured and
several hundred diseased. Of the two cities combined there were over 243,000 people killed.
Japan surrendered on August 14th. The war was brought to a quick close. Does the end
justify the means? With the surrender, Japan gave up annexation of Korea and parts of China
and southeast Asia. The bombs saved thousands of American lives and those that fought with
them, for they didnt have to invade Japan. Many saw the imperial family would never
surrender, preferring to send all of its people to the slaughter to defeat the West. Any Japanese
who opposed the Imperial family were killed.
Yet it wasnt only the Japanese who suffered. During the war Japan brought many
Korean conscripts to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to work as forced labor. About 20,000
Koreans were killed in Hiroshima. About 2,000 died in Nagasaki. It is estimated that 1/7 of
the Hiroshima victims was of Korean ancestry. We cant avoid confronting the issues. And
these questions lead us back to our understanding of superheroes.
Perhaps comic books actually can help us understand our world and the consequences
of our action just as well, or perhaps better, than literature and certainly movies.
 Chapter 9
The Fight Club and
Postmodern Angst
 Piercing

Truths: Fight Club

Fight Club also dares to comment on the self-sacrifice fueling American males. Fight
Club is a broad, mass-marketed, movie star driven critique of commercial culture. How do
you tell a commodified, sedated, therapeutic culture that the things you own end up owning
you? The director, David Fincher, created the abundant groundbreaking music videos and
advertising spots of the past decade. In Fight Club, he tries to destroy the world he created.
He admits, Im extremely cynical about commercials and about selling things and about
narcissistic ideals of what were supposed to be. I guess in my heart I was hoping people are
too smart to fall for that stuff.
Fight Club was perhaps the first film of the next century. An anti-New Age satire of
both the dehumanizing effects of corporate/consumer culture and the absurd excesses of the
mens movement. Fight Club is the emerging generations most cutting critique of the false
bill of goods and empty ideas handed down by their descendants. It rages the hypocrisy of a
society that continually promises us the impossible: fame, beauty, wealth, immorality, life
without pain.
The movie ultimate teaches that you are not your job, you are not your pants, you are
not what you have in your bank account. When shopping serves as the new hunting and
gathering, what is a real man-child to do? The symbolism in the film tells us what these
men do and how they suffer. The acid Tyler (Brad Pitt) pours on Jacks hand in Fight Club
tells us a lot about young peoples hidden pain. Tyler challenges Jack to move past therapy, to
be in the moment, to truly live. Jacks chemical burn accompanies the realization that our
fathers were our models for God. If our fathers left, what does that tell you about God? In all
probability, he hates you. Were Gods unwanted children, so be it. What a bald, defiant
appeal for love and for meaning.
We must move on the idea that men are creating fight clubs to know what it is like to
live. That is not the message of the movie. The real message is why these men have a fight
club in the first place. Why do young people (males especially) have earrings, a tattoo, or a
pierced tongue. Is it really to rebel? To those tired of being numbed by shopping or modern
living, piercing can serve as a wakeup call, a connection back to a more primal time.
Suffering, even for a short time, becomes a means of feeling, an occasion for caring.
Fight Club is probably the most violent, sadistic, negative, pro-life movie ever. Pro-
life? For a generation created from the suicide of its primary poet, Kurt Cobain, statements of
faith start in the pit of hopelessness. Viewers must look closer at the desperate acts of
desperate men as a desperate cry for help, a plea for life, for meaning, for community, for
significance, within a culture that has stripped them of God-given humanity.
Fight Club has the strongest smartest men whove ever lived. They have a lot of
potential, and they waste it. An entire generation is pumping gas, waiting tables, slaves with
white collar shirts. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we
can buy stuff we dont need. We are the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We
have no Great War, no Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our Great
Depression is our lives. Weve all been raised on TV to believe that one day wed all be
millionaires and movie gods and rock stars. But we wont. Were slowly learning that fact.
And were very, very pissed off!
This is a shocking sermon kids are desperate to hear. Ina society created by, for, and
about selling soap, Fight Club offers a bracing cry for something much more spiritual.

The Postmodernism of Fight Club

The movie, Fight Club, has many scenes that mainly deal with the materialism in
modern society and its limits on the freedom, which the characters are trying to obtain. The
main character and narrator dislikes his life, even to the point that he is unable to sleep. He is
disillusioned with his life, unhappy and does not understand why. And in order to feel
anything he has to make a lot of bad choices to change his life. This transformation originates
through his interactions and dealings with Tyler Durden, his alter ego and his imaginary
friend.
The main character remains without a name until in the end you, as the movie
watcher, are lead to realize that he (the main character) and Tyler are one in the same, almost
on the level of the Trinity (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit). However, he goes without a real
name because he is supposed to represent how he could and is Any Man, anybody, and
everybody. But after he, Any Man, has made all these bad choices he has to run around and
try to undo all the horror he has caused. Any Man started Fight Club, which matured into
Project Mayhem, which then ultimately resulted in the collapse of the institution of their
society.
In many ways this movie is an extreme moral movie, with the battle between good
and evil happening within a person. Even though, in the end the bad guy dies, it is only the
good guy's sense of the bad guy that is killed. The bad guy never really existed to kill off.
However you are left to believe that he, the good guy/bad guy, gets away with blowing up the
buildings. Of course the movie is really about the causes of violence and is in fact anti-
violence, although it acknowledges those impulses in human nature.
Fight Club is a metaphor for the extreme materialism of our current modern culture
and the rebellion against it. It presented one approach (albeit a very unpleasant approach) to
solving the problem. It was an intuitive reminder of what we as Christians must constantly do
to fight off the pressures of the environment in which we find ourselves and to, instead, hang
on tightly to the Truth.
The movie should be viewed as trying to see the Tyler inside of you. The person inside
of you that does everything you could not. Tyler can be viewed as sin, the hate towards
everything that has built up over years of torment. Then seeing that sin and almost embracing
it as an outlet for your suffering. As it slowly starts to take you over you realize its power and
destructive nature. From there it is up to you to confront the evil and overcome it. A movie
like this makes you think, and in some areas it plays the devils advocate. Questioning your
faith and finding answers is the way to a healthier relationship with God. Its not like you can
watch Fight Club to grow in your faith, but it can make you think about your relationship with
Christ, and how you live your life.
Fight Club Analysis
The comments and questions below are intended to focus on your reading on the
themes that are most important for our course, including what I call "Tyler's theology." Author
Chuck Palahniuk has suggested that this theology is also central to the story's larger meaning:
"My hope was that the film would demonstrate the themes of the story to a larger audience. It
would offer more people the idea that they could create their own lives outside the existing
blueprint for happiness offered by society" (DVD pamphlet). One central question raised by
the film as a whole:
Should we accept Tyler's philosophy as our own?
1. The opening presents a (fanciful) tour that begins in the "fear center" of Jack's brain and
then exits through one of his sweat glands. (NOTE: Although the character played by Edward
Norton is generally called Jack, his name is never mentioned in either the film or the novel.)
2. This scene at the top of the "Parker-Morris building" actually ends the story; the scene is
repeated at both the beginning and end of the film, functioning as a frame for the other events,
which are related in flashback. However, these flashbacks are complicated by the fact that the
characters often speak to the camera and otherwise disrupt the time sequence.
3. The insistently emphasized Starbuck's coffee cup begins a recurring motif in the film; the
characters live in cultural wasteland dominated by product branding and corporate control.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the film's criticism of consumer society, major corporations
including Starbucks and Pepsi Co. paid the filmmakers millions of dollars for product
placements like this one.
4. Another persistent motif: the crisis of masculinity. Bob is the largest example of this crisis.
He is a bodybuilder who took steroids in order to conform to a hyper-masculine ideal. Instead,
the drugs resulted in the loss of his testicles and the growth of breasts. Like Bob and Jack, all
of the men in the film are searching for something that can give their lives meaning. Fight
club will become their answer, and it is prefigured here by the "subliminal Tyler" who appears
for a split second behind the support group's leader.
5. Dreaming of a plane wreck that will end his miserable existence, Jack wakes suddenly.
Tyler is sitting next to him, and they meet for the first time. How does their discussion of the
emergency procedures cards fit into Tyler's overall philosophy? What do we later learn
about the sports car Tyler drives off in here?
6. After starting Fight Club and moving into the Paper Street house, Jack tells us that "By the
end of the first month, I didn't even miss TV." Have you ever gone a month without
watching television? Do you think that you ever will? Do you think that you might think
or feel differently at the end of a month without television? At the end of a year without
it? In addition to giving up television, Jack also stops going to support groups. What does
Fight Club offer Jack that replaces these things?
7. Marla asks Jack to help her do a breast exam. Jack finds nothing in the film. In the book,
however, Marla does have two lumps. She decides that she would rather die than put herself
through the misery of Medicade-sponsored "healthcare." Why did Palahnuik choose to give
his character cancer? (In other words, how does it relate to the story's major themes?)
Why did the filmmakers decide to "cure" Marla?
8. How does the demolition of the World Trade Center affect our viewing of this scene?
Do you think this movie would have been released if it had been finished after
September 11? Should this movie have been released after September 11?
9. What role does Marla play in the film's vision of Tyler's philosophy?
 Chapter 10
American Global Culture
 American Culture Vs. Global Culture
Many view globalization as the reduction of the world to an American global village
where everyone speaks American English, wears Levi jeans, drinks Coca-Cola, eats at
McDonalds, uses computers with Microsoftware, listens to American pop or rock music,
and watches a mix of MTV, CNN, Hollywood movies, Friends sitcom, drinking a bottle of
Budweiser beer and smoking Marlboro cigarettes. In this scenario globalization is the
successful push of Americanization. In terms of the goods which move as global culture there
can be little doubt that the majority of these goods come from the US.
Cultural Hybridization
French President Jacques Chirac, during a visit to Hanoi in October, accused the
United States of spreading a "generalized underculture in the world. This giant of
tastelessness, if unchecked, he suggested, will stamp out whatever traditional culture and
native originality that lies in its path. "All other countries would be stifled to the benefit of
American culture," Mr. Chirac warned, speaking in a city once under French dominion. "If
there was a single language, a single culture, it would be a real ecological disaster."
Sometimes, you'd think Americans were the bad guys. As it turns out, though,
individual national identities do hold their own against American pop culture within their
borders. But even so, not one of these countries is a serious rival to America as an
international culture. (Maybe that's what's bothering the French.) American pop culture is
resented in parts of the world as evidence of a disease. "Coca-Colonization" it's been called.
Instead of invading a country and stealing all its natural resources, America imposes a pattern
of consuming that eventually takes money out of the host country and into corporate
Americas pockets.
A few examples of how American consumerism goes too far are as follows: An
advertisement in Jerusalem featuring "Sex and the City" actress Sarah Jessica Parker
advertising soap that was thought too sexy. A few months ago, Chinese censors complained
about a poster of a semi-naked Pamela Anderson, the "Baywatch" icon, protesting the fur
industry. Singer Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe
"wardrobe malfunction"
malfunction" in February 2004 was a
sneak preview seen 'round the world.
world.
"Jihad vs. McWorld" author Benjamin Barber, has written that American "cultural
imperialism will mesmerize peoples everywhere with fast music, fast computers and fast food
MTV, Macintosh and McDonald'spressing nations into one homogenous global theme
park." The most recent reports show that in 2004, the top five films worldwide were all
American-made: Harry Potter 2, Shrek 2, Spiderman 2, Troy, and The Incredibles. Where
number 12 and 19 were Japanese and Chinese films, and 25 was a Japanese animation.
Hybridization
Though these examples do show that America has a strong economic power, it does
not prove that global culture is American culture. Why? Is economic success the same as
cultural invasion? Goods do not equal culture. Globalization is not simply the production of a
homogonized American global village in which the particular is washed away by the
universal. Globalization is not simply the production of a reduced American global village in
which the local culture is replaced by the global. It is the meeting of the local and the global
in new forms of hybrid cultures.
Examples of Cultural Hybridization
Still, is Globalization still the evil American Empire? Is the world at the mercy of the
monster that is America? Or does the door swing both ways? The mixing of cultures is called
hybridization. It should not be seen as another name for accepting cultural imperialism;
western societies (especially the United States) also absorb and adopt cultural practices from
other countries. The former Beatle George Harrison asked that his ashes be scattered in the
sacred River Ganges shows the great influence of east on the west.
Where does this eastern influence come from? A country can choose to isolate itself
from the rest of the world and America and try to outgrow both alone, or it can open up and
push its culture just as hard. I think Korea has finally learned this lesson late in the game. In
the mid-1800s Japan opened up after centuries of isolation. They exported woodblock prints,
which were considered cheap copies in Japan, to France where they were hailed as works of
art, inspiring an entire generation of painters.
Which famous French painters were inspired by cheap Japanese wood prints? The
Impressionists. Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Manet and others were all enchanted with the
Japanese approach to perspective, space, light and color, and used these ideas in their own
paintings. Think of all the other Asian inventions the world now takes for granted: eyeglasses,
fireworks, ramen noodles, Buddhism, and more recently sushi, futons, and Godzilla.
Today, plenty of Asian influences surrounds Americans. Some are the mainstream pop
culture of movies and cartoons. Stings Grammy winning DesertDesert Rose
Rose featured the voice of
Cheb Mami, a singer of traditional Muslim songs called rai. In early 2005, Sting proclaimed
that he admires Hinduism, wants to spend a lot more time in India and that he loves Indian
culture. His words in an interview are: In a sense I am more of a Hindu... I like the Hindu
religion more than anything else at the moment. I have become addicted to India ... I would
want to spend the rest of my life discovering this beautiful country.
American cinema is even affected by Asian culture. The main use of martial arts in
movies like The Matrix,
Matrix, which was also created to look like a Japanese animation movie, the
religious ideals of Zen Buddhism ( ( []),
]), in Star Wars. Japanese animation has actually
has brought adults back to animation as an art form with the popular success of Akira, while
Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! ( ()) has started a cartoon craze with kids that
McDonald's puts Hello Kitty toys into Happy Meals. Levi's uses karaoke to sell jeans.
Budweiser changes wazzup?! into "wasabi"wasabi"" and makes a national buzz word out of a
Japanese condiment. And Hollywood embraces a Chinese-language film. Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon was a milestone for the movie industry. The film already has been the
highest-grossing foreign film ever in the USA.
Yet more influences of Asia are the sources of inspiration for a peaceful, balanced
lifestyle: Acupuncture; Tae-Kwon Do; Yoga and inner development; Feng shui; Herbal
();
medicine ( ); Buddhism and Islam (more so before 9/11); Lets not forget Greek myth and
politics.
A countys culture will not spread out just on the merits that the locals think it is great.
The locals must push the idea outward, by opening their country to others and vice versa. The
Beatles introduced the world to Nehru jackets and Transcendental Meditation in the 1960s.
President Richard Nixon introduced Americans to ping pong when he opened relations with
China in the early 1970s. The 1970s' rise and sudden death of martial arts superstar Bruce
Lee, established all forms of Asian martial arts - and their emphasis on honor, discipline and
commitment - throughout the U.S.
Thanks to a traveling museum exhibit, a wave of Chinese mania swept through
America in the early 1980s, resulting in a rise in Asian fashion and Asian themes at chic
department stores. Japanese culture has embedded itself into the U.S. mainstream via
technology such as video games and hit animation series including Pokemon. Chinese film
stars such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li have extended the popularity of martial arts beyond what
Bruce Lee started, and Chow Yun Fat's rise from Hong Kong gangster movies to Hollywood
blockbusters has opened the door for Asian faces in mainstream U.S. entertainment.
Suddenly it isnt just a western (or Americanized) world anymore, but a true global
world. This is the effect of globalism. So why all the fear of globalism? What at first may look
like the export of sameness is the global being understood by the local, and in doing so the
local tradition and culture is replaced with modern imitation (hence global postmodernism).
Globalization can, therefore, both help to confirm and help undo local cultures; it can keep
one in place, and it can make one feel suddenly out of place. (Just look at the difference
between North and South Korea)
The negative side to the sharing of pop culture is that this is the only form that another
country can learn from. So when an American watches Anime, they think this is how Japanese
think, and vice versa. In other words, it does create stereotypes that can hurt another. If an
American watches Old Boy, will they think that Koreans are like that? Or do all Asians know
martial arts? The only answer to that question is, do you think that America is just like it is in
the movies? And you will see that it is not the product but the perception of the product. In
other words: EDUCATION!
Cross-pollination
"American dominance is just a myth," says Charles Paul Freund, senior editor of
Reason magazine. "The biggest films in most major markets are really not American films." Is
this true for Korea?
Korea? Weekend Market Share (11/25-27) KOREA: 73% USA: 21% JAPAN:
2.3% Cultures are cross-pollinating to compete in an increasingly global marketplace.
American music, movies and TV bring in talent from other places then recast and produce
them. More foreign stars are showing up in Hollywood films: director Ron Howard plans to
cast foreign actors alongside Tom Hanks in their adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code.
For the first time a Japanese moviethe horror flick "Ju-on: The Grudge"was
remade for American audiences by the same director, Takashi Shimizu. And don't forget a
New Zealand filmmaker, Peter Jackson, directed the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, using New
Zealand talent. "Seinfeld," at the peak of its U.S. ratings strength in the mid-1990s, earned
only a late-night slot in Britain and Asia because its American style of comedy just wasnt
funny.
More than 70 percent of the most popular shows in 60 different countries were
produced locally in 2001, Mr. Freund says, with American programs struggling in prime-time
slots. American TV shows in Korea are still only on Cable, which cannot compete with prime-
time networks that produce local TV programs.
Whose Culture?
It's sometimes a thin line between American pop culture and "global" culture. Some
critics would look at Pizza Hut in Korea and say this is American cultural imperialism. But
wait a minutewhere did pizza come from? We're a country of immigrants. Our culture is
constantly changing, and we often repackage things that were cultural exports to this country."
Optimists say globalization means more cultural choices for everyone, not global
homogeneity. "No American artifact will 'Americanize' a foreign user any more than playing a
Japanese-produced video game will make you Japanese," another critic argues. Here is a
question I have often asked Koreans: If a Korean eats at McDonalds, wears Levis jeans and
Nike shoes, listens to Madonna, while talking about Leonardo Dicaprio, are they still Korean?
So what makes a Korean, Korean? The pop culture or something else?
Remember, in order to make moneyand the making of money is not the problem
companies like McDonalds have to make small changes with the taste and customs of the
local culture where they operate. Eating at McDonalds in Korea is different from eating at
McDonalds in England. Some fast food chains offer Kimchi Burgers on a rice bun. In Cyprus,
you can drink a beer with your Big Mac. It can also take longer than 30 minutes to get a bite
to eat at this fast food restaurant in Korea. This undermines the whole American ideal of
fast food. (Americans go to McDonalds when they dont have time to stop and eat.
 Korean Influence?
Recently, Hollywood has looked to Korea as the place to find original stories. Last
year, Miramax started the trend, becoming the first company to purchase the remake rights to
a Korean film: Cho Jin-kyu's
Jin-kyu's "My
"My Wife Is a Gangster ( ( ),"
)," a blockbuster about a
female gang boss who marries an unsuspecting man. Not to be outdone by the Miramax,
Miramax,
MGM recently purchased the rights to Kwan Park's Park's "Hi, ( )
"Hi, Dharma ( )," another
hit about a group of fleeing gangsters who take refuge in a monastery. Even Old Boy is
getting remade
Dreamworks bought Kwak Jae-yong's
Jae-yong's romantic comedy "My (
"My Sassy Girl (
)
)," to be made by Madonna's
Madonna's Maverick Films. Warner Brothers bought the rights to
Lee Hyun-seung's
Hyun-seung's "Il ())," which tells the story of a man and woman living two
"Il Mare (
years apart who are able to communicate with each other through a time-defying mailbox.
Guess which American actors replaced the Korean ones. Do you think these are good casting
choices? For Il Mare:
Mare:
Lee Jeong-Jae = Keanu Reeves
Jeon Ji-Hyeon = Sandra Bullock
My Wife is a Gangster:
Gangster:
Shin Eun-Gyeong = Queen Latifa
While American audiences may never see the originals, the remake craze is helping
sustain a Korean film boon. In 2004, 3 Korean produced films sat in the top five box office
spots in Korea. "With the increased interest of Hollywood studios in remaking Korean films,
Korean production companies have discovered a good way to make money," states the
Korean Film Commission's
Commission's website.
Yet, is this Hollywoodization of Korean cinema a bad thing? Americans will never
watch a movie with subtitles, so the Korean movies released in America dont make any
money. They cannot be released in art house theaters that play foreign movies because most
movies are big budget action movies that do not fit the art house genre. So the Hollywood
remake is actually the only way a foreign film can get any outside recognition. When a movie
is remade, it alerts the general public to the original film. No matter how bad the remake is,
people will make an effort to rent or buy the original on DVD.
The critic reviews of just about any English-language remake and you'll see the
foreign originals held up as high markers of cinematic excellence when compared with their
inferior American remakes. This means better business for the originals and the producers of
them.
Hallyuwood
Hallyuwood is a combination of Hallyu (the current Korean pop culture wave) and
Hollywood style movie making. Whether this is good or bad is not the point here. The point is
hybridization does not end with America picking up Korean films. Korea has been eyeing
Hollywood production style ever since Shiri (). No matter your opinion of Hallyuwood
style movies, they have boosted the overall production value of Korean films. Now comes the
next major crisis: D-War!
No matter your current opinion of the movie, the aims of the director is great for
Korea. Writer, Director Shim Hyoung Rae made the film as a way to put a bit of Korean
culture into Hollywood films. "The Western world was exposed to Chinese and Japanese
culture through films like 'The Last Emperor' and 'The Last Samurai'", he said.
The problem is that he is a learning director. All his attempts have failed to capture
Korean adults attention, let alone American audiences. Mr. Shim's biggest enemy seems to be
his own over-the-top approach to promotion. He convinced many people in Korea that
"Yonggary" would be the first Korean film to be successful in the United States, scoring a
point of national pride.
Those who watched the movie realized correctly that that would probably not
happen. On the plus side, Yonggary targeted the international market from the beginning,
which was a fresh attempt for a Korean film. It was a completely new concept", said Cho
Hee-moon, a film critic and Sangmyung University professor.
It didn't. More accurately, it never got the chance to: The movie was never shown in
the United States, despite Mr. Shim's repeated claims that he had millions of dollars in
overseas contracts and that the film would be distributed by major studios. It was released on
video, however, under the name "Reptilian".
Shim said "Yonggary" cost him 15 billion won to make and only earned 4 billion won,
with middlemen in the United States cheating him of any returns on the video. "The problem
with 'Yonggary' was that it was overly promoted", said Gwak Young-jin, a film critic. "There
was a large gap between the quality of the actual film and how it was marketed".
The media criticized him for creating the "hoax of the century" and called him a
swindler. "I was heavily criticized and barraged by insults," Shim said. "People's expectations
were too high. They compared it to Hollywood blockbusters that cost billion of won to make".
"Hollywood is in a dilemma. It's running out of new ideas, which is why they're
making a series of remakes and sequels, Shim said. This is true. "If they try to make this kind
of film by themselves, it would cost them a lot of money. They need this film". I believe this
is false. What Hollywood needs are writers/directors like Shim who have the ability to turn
out high quality projects at a lower budget.
Now before you criticize D-War too much think about this. Remember that Shiri was
the first Korean blockbuster. Was it a good film? No. Was it at a higher quality than previous
Korean films? Yes. Shiri was a basic cut and paste of every American action movie moved
into a Korean setting. It was a clich. But from Shiri came better movies, and changed the
way Koreans made movies. Perhaps D-war will move the envelope that much higher. D-War
is slated for a US nationwide release on Sept. 14th under the title Dragon Wars. With plans to
release it on between 1500 - 1700 screens, it will be the widest release of a Korean film in the
US market in history. And you can guarantee that D-war will open American audiences' eyes
to Korean film making. Already, Korean R-rated films are big in DVD land. D-war is sure to
bring a younger audience into the Korean movie making sphere. And this is exactly what
Korea needs.