RELIGION AND MUSIC

Does religion affect the kind of music I listen to? I don’t think it does, or at least in a radical way. I have been analyzing this question and I am completely sure that there are kinds of music that I am never going to enjoy at all, like all these satanic, dark, aggressive bands and all that stuff.

I could consider myself as a Christian, even though I have some doubts on going to an organized church every Sunday in order to listen to a person who reads for me things that I can read for myself and make deep reflections on my own. However, I read the Bible and I try to follow its canons in order for me to grow as a human being and follow my metaphysical beliefs. Whit all of this taken, I would never see me listening to music which talks about Allah, Ganesh or anything like that. However, if we analyze all the canons that the Bible suggests for a complete human being, in order for them to save themselves and have a pure life, there’s a lot of behaviors which wouldn’t allow us to listen to some kind of additional music in addition.

I checked at my playlists and I found Wakeup call by Maroon 5: “6 foot tall, came without a warning, so I had to shoot him dead…” – As we know, the Bible states that NOBODY besides GOD can take another person’s life out, so if we were really strict, I would have to avoid this song.

Another canon that would be violated is the fact that we are forced to HELP and SUPPORT the other people, friends or enemies by equal. Santiago Cruz says fuiste mi Verdugo y la culpable de que hoy me alivie tu fracaso (…) No vengas a pedirme que te abrace y que recoja los pedazos. No vengas, porque así me sentí. These lyrics states that this guy is feeling good after his ex’s failure, and he is not going to give her the support she is looking for. Bible is clear, and he would be forced to support her, or at least avoid that betrayal behavior (me sabe bien tu pesadilla).

The last canon, and probably the most relevant and violated is the sexual behavior. Bible FORBIDS ANY KIND of sexual encounter between a man and a woman unless they are already married, so if we take that to music, we will see that a large list of songs should be eliminated: Esta noche haremos el amor bailando; I know you see me looking at me and you already know I wanna f** you; Girl I got you so hot and I know you like. We can go on, because sex is the topic with the widest reach in music, and almost every artist use sex at least in one of their songs, even if it is not explicit there. If we were strictly compliant with the Bible, I shouldn’t be listening to any of the Reggaton, Hip-Hop or Salsa artist, because they use sex in almost every song.

Religion does not affect my musical taste, and if I were forced to modify my playlists in order to be coherent with the Bible, there would be a really serious change there, because there is a touch of SIN inside almost every song.

IS THERE COLOR IN MUSIC?

I know this is going to look really out of any academical but my answer is going to show how sure I am about this thesis: Sure, of course, no doubt! There’s color in music, and there’s color in everything until black people stop using racism as an excuse to feel abused, threatened and hurt. Why am I so sure about the color in music? Let’s use a really problematic word: the N-word. I know this word is a really delicate term, and I am aware about all the repercussions about this topic, however, I feel it is necessary to get over it and analyze the color in music, using this word as an example. Before my analysis, I want to clarify that I am going to take that word out from the lyrics, and every time I use it, is because I am going to quote the song, even though I am not feeling uncomfortable with it, because it’s just a word, and its power is measured with the power you give to it.

Why do black people feel so comfortable using the n-word EVEN IN THEIR SONGS? What would happen if a white rapper use it in a song? Here are some examples:

I WANNA F*CK YOU (Akon) – You ain’t lonely, handful of niggers and they all got cheese…

DILEMMA (Nelly) - I know how niggers start actin trippin out here about their girls…

P.I.M.P (50 Cent) - I ain't that nigger trying to holla cause I want some head, I'm that nigger trying to holla cause I want some bread…

YOUNG, WILD AND FREE (Wiz Khalifa) - Keep it real with my niggers, keep it playing for these hoes

As we can see, they are COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE using that word, they use it in order to talk to a friend, to themselves, even to unknown people. So, if they sing and the use that word even in MOVIES (Bad boys, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, to put just one example: they use that word 10 TIMES in one single scene) without any harmful purpose, why do they feel bad when a white person use that word, even when they don’t want to be offensive or discriminative? They are getting the right to use the n-word just because they have an African lineage?

Unfair, and that’s a clear example of why I think there’s color in music, because black people keep feeling discriminated when a white person use that word: Can you picture Eminem using the n-word in one of his songs? What would happen if he goes I got a gang of niggas walking with my clique (Jay-Z)? Can we even picture it? I’m sure we can’t, because that would be racist, but if a black guy goes and say it in a hit of the size of Empire State of mind, that’s completely okay: double standard.

This word is making people get the wrong concept about race, and the music itself is affected by their own discrimination. Can you picture a white guy listening to this kind of music, and singing it in front of black people? That would be racist, even if the record has been made by a black guy? White people avoid this kind of music, because they have fear to this word, and it has become too powerful nowadays.

THE AUNT JEMIMA ICON

I really did not know anything about this controversial product logo, I only know this mix makes really good pancakes. When I got the message, stating that “In 1989, the image of Aunt Jemima was updated by removing her headband and giving her pearl earrings and a lace collar” I thought that was some kind of racial thing against black people and their traditions. But I always get surprised when I read something about race in America: this time, black people felt that the image of Aunt Jemima was being offensive and stereotypical, and they pushed Quaker until they finally changed the outfit of this lovely and worldwide recognized lady.

The Aunt Jemima topic is really deep, and I think this is a great opportunity to know even more about the American society. The evolution of the logo has shown how race is extremely delicate in America, and a harmless product can make such a controversy, even though the brand members didn’t want to.

The image of the “mammy” was created by the owners (RT Davis Milling Co), when they hired a freed slave lady to dress like a mammy, and offer the product with the flavor and tradition they needed, in order to get people and customers all over America. The image of the mammy, with the overweight, the dress, the bandanna, etc. was used for a very long time, and the product became famous nationwide: They succeeded, and the product got into every American household. After Quaker bought the brand (1926), the stereotype became more aggressive, and I think the problem began when they used language the way they did: Time fo’ dee-licious Aunt Jemima’s (…) ready-mixed fo’ you! Or Folks sho’ cheer for fluffy, energizin’ Pancakes! I mean, it’s really good that the product image is a black loving lady, but why do they have to write the ads that way? I think they were really offensive, and black people reacted, stating that they feel offended by the product image. The Aunt Jemima concept was getting offensive, and people were using it as a stereotype, so the brand needed a change, in order to stop race conflicts between the American cultures.

There's no need to put this kind of written language there

Black people were heard around 20 years later, and Quaker put some earrings and an elegant outfit on Aunt Jemima, removing some extra weight, the bandanna, and all the stereotypes. Some people didn’t understand the change, because they were used to the stereotypical image, even if they didn’t picture her that way. The important result here is that black people were quiet, and they felt completely comfortable with the new Aunt Jemima, and I think that’s the important thing: to get all the society to feel good with the brand, and to eliminate stereotypes which aim to any race, or any kind of people who are different, think different, act different, etc.

This is the current Aunt Jemima icon

I think I’ll keep the brand the way it is, because we can see an elegant black lady, who makes her pancakes with love and warmth. In addition, the brand logo is not showing any stereotype and everybody feel good and comfortable with it, so the last update works, and that’s the only thing that matters.

Source: Aunt Jemima: Negative Stereotype or Iconic Brand? Through Zena’s eyes, 2011.

http://zmblackhistorymonth2011.blogspot.com/2011/02/feb-13-aunt-jemima-negative-stereotype.html