Music in America

I chose to view this presentation because it's a topic that I think everyone recognizes and can relate to. Music is so powerful in many different ways. Like it was said in the presentation, it brings people together, tears them apart, and inspires. My favorite quote on Jill's third slide was the one that said, "Music is what feelings sound like." It's true because what one can't say, they can express it in music form. It relates to every age, race, and gender because there are various music genres and artists who express various ideas and opinions through music. The cool thing is not only does music entertain, it shares ideas and thoughts with others, especially when it becomes something global. I liked how one of the videos described the tragedy in Haiti and its relationship with music. Music brought all of those people in the audience together to recognize and pray for those who have suffered in Haiti. The song was sung in America and in Haiti as a meaning of hope which brought people from both countries together to hope for a better future. The topic of gangsta rap and the violence that many listeners relate it to is an issue that I've heard about, but never really looked into because I think people disregard it as something that's harmless. I learned that the reality of it, however, is that it's creating these misconceptions about rap music and creating this image that says that rap is just a genre that's only involves violence and other vulgar themes. There's the question of, "Is rap just an expression, or an actual threat to American society?" In my opinion, I think it's both. It's an expression and I think it does affect, though not threat, American society because fans could interpret the meaning of the song differently. Sometimes it's hard not to because I do know a lot of songs that are vulgar, but I also know a lot of songs that have different meanings behind them other than violence. At the same time, people aren't going to change their interpretations or opinions on rap for a long time because as long as rappers keep rapping about violence, then the misconceptions will never end.