#jaylin roebuck

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Feminist Masculinity: Liberation Pt.2

“It was difficult to face the reality that the problem did not just lie with men. Facingthat reality required more complex theorizing; it required acknowledging the role women play in maintaining and perpetuating sexism.”-Bell Hooks Feminism is for Everybody

I believe that Bells Hooks best illustrates her idea that feminism is for everyone when she speaks on feminist masculinity. Through this chapter she fleshes out the idea that the societal problems feminism hopes to overcome are not individually a male problem. The perpetuation of ideals such as sexism and male domination are not only performed by men but by women as well. Even if all the women in the world came together under the flag of feminism it wouldn’t solve the problem. The patriarchal institution breeds and grooms more men and women that internalize their ideals. This is where I believe we fine men hating feminist who are often made out to be the group of the whole by the media rather than outliers. I believe their ideology stems from the same place as the patriarchy just on the other side of the spectrum. For women to be free from man she must adopt the characteristics of man, but this only leads to female domination which is not the answer. This is not to cast aside powerful women feminist but there is also value in women that embody the characteristics that are divine within feminine. Feminism is not built on hate, feminism is built on a foundation beaconing for equality among all groups and classes. Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native, and White men and women living together in harmony along both sides to act as they so choose and accept them for who they are. Where the media hopes to tear us apart and turn us against each other feminism allows us a banner to stand together under for everyone in liberty and justice for all.

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YOU GET LIBERATION!

“Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty we are free at last”

Feminism has a similar essence to that of religion or just the idea of God. Let me explain, feminism is a very personal idea that can mean many different things to different. Rather than it being something one believes in or doesn’t feminism shall exist without your belief in it but its meaning is derived from what you believe it to be Feminism is an ideology of liberation unlike many ideologies it does not set itself upon limitations. Feminism invites many conflicting ideals to converge and coexist. For example, such is the thinking that being anti-abortion makes you not a feminist.

  Feminism is not based on a particular set of ideals but on the ability for one to choose the ideals they believe in while respecting the ideals of other. Feminism is pro-abortion it’s just not anti to the idea of choice. When applied to men it can even workout to how do you choose to portray masculinity. Where masculinity in the traditional mean is limiting to the ways in which men can act and express thoughts and feeling. Masculinity like many aspects of modern day society constructs a binary for people to follow, feminism chooses to deconstruct that binary through critical thinking and questioning. Feminism introduces the freedom for men to act and behave however they so choose. In Hook’s own words “Feminism is everything for everybody” this key distinction is what makes the meaning of feminism so hard to pin down give that it is not limited to a single distinction.

We are still in the midst of a second wave of the civil rights movement.  Where we are reconciling the issues either not yet addressed or outright ignored by those before us as well we hope to maintain the ground we have already treaded and forged a path of equality on it.  There will continue to be unrest in the application of feminist theoretical so long as we lack full equality. Even after these theoretical lenses don’t just fade into obscurity or we risk returning to our past mistakes.  The shifts and changes How can “theory” be put into action? As Hooks mentions theory is in all we do it is put into action not just through activism and protest it is through day to day life these theories are put into practice and it is this questioning of the past patriarchal order that propels us forward as a society.  

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9 Months of Knowledge in 9 Weeks: A Trimester in Review

I think in addressing what I’ve experienced from this class I have been awoken to say the least. What I mean by this the lens of critical analysis, scrutiny and skepticism I began to approach class work with is now what I’ve begun to view the world through. Less and less as I find myself growing as an academic do I find myself taken in every helping of media that is presented to dosing a healthy layer of salt on each meal. In these past nine weeks of deconstructing the foundation of both organizations and ideals where I had originally thought there was only the surface level content I had been fed, I have unearth had whole world of filled with new ways of approaching our modern day society. In conversation I find myself picking apart today’s popular culture giving further deeper meaning whether it be positive or negative for the content at hand sharing this new found perspective with my either annoyed of fascinated friends.

For example, one weekend I intently watched the LCS world championship an e-sports competition for a game hold dearly to my heart. The following week I’m looking back at the replays and drawing comparison between the broadcasting of the championship and how its misrepresentation of women as broadcasters and analyst harkens back to the broadcasting of traditional sports broadcasting on networks like ESPN. I would go on to conclude that this gender divide only underlines the overarching misrepresentation in video games and its subsequent culture presenting a version of gaming being heavily male dominate when the gender divide among gamers internationally is closer to a 50/50 split but that in not represented in the content of the games or the culture in which they have been packaged into.

As both this class and the years past election comes to a close I don’t think this class could have come at a better time for me. Given how many surprising developments have been made in this past year of things people either had no idea of their existence or there was skepticism that had little evidence. One of the major development of this past year has been the deconstruction of the democratic party with many of the party leader showing obvious bias to one candidate over another. Throughout the election there was a certain level of skepticism to the idea of both candidates have a fair chance of gaining the nomination, not based on their merit or policies just on the political hierarchy that has been this past year’s democrats.

This has cause man on the left to feel like they have been betrayed by the institution. Feeling as if the party was in service to its constituents rather it has been show to been anything but democratic. Which comes off as ironic given the current tide of Republican party being led by a president elect who throughout his campaign has been counter to the overall institution of the party. What I think I will ultimately take away from this class will be present in how I go on as a budding journalist and analyst not of media but of media itself but the society that populates the media's world. Hopefully I can continue this ascension within my life and the literary works that are birthed as a result. Look forward I seek to future develop the essays I’ve produced over this past semester from full fledged essays to easily digested articles and tumblr post then into mini documentaries and video essays so this level of information can reach a mass media audience. I can only hope that my work is not glossed over or overlooked but nevertheless I shall continue the best my mind has to offer. This has been an enlightening semester and in moving past it I leave you with a glimpse of the level of content you can expect in the not so distant future. ~ Jay

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Sticking the landing

Hello my fellow bloggers if you have been with us for the last three years you have seen us through a troubling dark age, especially those that have survived this past year. Though we can look with heads to the sky our praises have been answered, Yahoo and by proxy Tumblr has been purchased by Verizon a deal to be put into effect in 2017. Here’s what his means for Tumblr, first and most importantly Tumblr’s new grandparent company has expressed that they have no plans to shut down the site, so you all may rest easy as we make our way towards a bright new future. Verizon hopes to further establish itself within digital advertising in adding more media properties to its portfolio that already includes former tech powerhouse AOL. Verizon has also noted that they seek to split up Yahoo from its subsidiaries meaning that Tumblr will once again be able to operate as a standalone organization so you can happily say goodbye Marissa Mayer.

Now not to say that the Verizon buyout doesn’t have troubling possibilities for the site is completely incorrect, to Yahoo’s credit they did recognize the fact that they don’t directly know how to deal with the social media platform. Ultimately their fumbling in handling Tumblr has result in stagnation of the momentum the site once had in 2012 but that doesn’t mean that it is too late to reinvigorate the platform and raise it past its former glory. Now intending for Tumblr to easily beat out the likes of Facebook may be a stretch but that doesn’t remove that possibility. I can already hear your simultaneous groans at the thought of Tumblr becoming a Facebook size platform causing for many new members flocking to the site because it has become the cool thing to do. I understand in your pessimism you find popularity to only lead to the site ultimate downfall but before full accepting that distinction I must first direct you to the case of Vine. Vine being the short form video platform a smaller branch of the already successful platform Twitter is going to be shutting down in the coming months.

The reason I direct you to Vine is in how it may have survived new has recently come out that a meeting between the top viners and Vine executive where content creators demanded for Vine to pay Viners 1.2 million as well as making a few changes to the site to better suit content creators in exchange Viners would produce 3 Vines a week for the next year. Ultimately when fans of Vine found they immediately began to criticize Viners for being entitled seeming that 1.2 million is more than enough to make a six second video, though they don’t see the bigger picture. Now no one will ever know if bringing back the top Viners would have saved the app but maybe further negotiation should have been made on the matter. A social network investing finances into its top content creators is essential to the longevity of a that depends on people to produce new interesting content the best held example of this is YouTube who manages to have strong working relationships with the majority of its most successful members. This has ensured that even as time progresses the while still be content creators making new and exciting content which bring in revenue for both the creators and company.

How does this investing in content creators apply to Tumblr you might say bloggers on Tumblr who are successful don’t get paid by the site they find other streams of income. This is exactly the case with Tumblr Viners weren’t being paid by the platform so they interacted with third party advertisers as a way to bring in income. The position Tumblr could play is in seeking out emerging bloggers and circumventing that process being a middle man between advertisers and creators allowing them to leverage the platform to advertisers by offering them niche markets they may thrive off of. The issue many companies have when approaching the idea of making revenue off of Tumblr is that their approach is very much driven toward reaching as many people as possible not trying to market to more specific demographics which is what makes up Tumblr, large fairly close-knit communities. Take for example Tumblr’s art community filled with many young artists in both traditional and digital art mediums.

These people are able to develop a rather wide audience of fans that through Tumblr they can interact with establishing a more human connection this is the same way many musicians have been able to showcase their talents leveraging the platform in their favor to gain dedicated fan bases. If Tumblr hopes to gain revenue from advertising they must do so in a more organic fashion. Tumblr needs to reach out to it biggest and emerging bloggers in the many different communities and work out a deal that allow them to do more than they would have alone in exchange for producing a certain number of original post a week. Such as let’s say you’re a digital artist that wants to be able to do a big giveaway where they send out multiple prints to winners that art autographed and can be shipped to even international fans in a timely fashion, this an immense task for one person to handle but under a corporation it’s child’s play. Now the gain Tumblr can use the audiences of bloggers they make advertising deals with businesses that would be relatable to community like Adobe or Wacom. 

Companies that are easily to integrate as advertisers on artist blogs put being able to present it in a way that maintains Tumblr’s “authentic” nature that make the current advertising method an eyesore. Internet users are constantly bombarded with all types of ads they have become a custom to ignore and none has been more obvious than Tumblr. If ads are constantly being scrolled over and ignored because users already are being alerted that they are being sold something that is bad marketing. For Tumblr to succeed as a business they need to reach out to members to find a better way in which to integrate advertisements to ultimately increase audience retention and as a result increasing revenue gained from advertisers. The best course of action is to bring in popular graphic designers on the site working to create advertisements that mesh seamlessly with the platform and creating these in many different forms for different communities. Take for example an ad for a craft brewery owned by Budweiser where the ad is gif of a beer being poured into a glass but instead of it being manufactured by some designer from the ad team it is crafted by someone who is familiar with creating perfectly looping gifs that have a certain human made quality to them these are a lot more effect casue they grab a viewer’s attention for the right reason. Tumblr is a platform born of internet niche culture and for it to survive in the future it must adapt at a corporate level to maintain that. This progressive practice I predict will soon become the norm as companies shift from advertising to the masses to advertising to the communities of already perspective buyers. If Verizon hopes to turn a profit on Tumblr it may want to aim more towards this model of marketing or it may find itself replaced by a platform able to adapt to this way of thinking though these next few years show a bright future for Tumblr

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Melvin: The father that carried a flask

“Bitch you better listen when I speak my mind” – Nate Staples. Toxic masculinity proliferates all corners of American society all corners of American society but its most potent form resides within the black community. This only further underlines real acts of violence with black communities creating a state in which sons want to be like their fathers believing that their father’s actions define what it means to be a man. This ideal is only further expressed through the hip-hop sub-genre gangster rap

. The archetype of the gangster rapper has evolved over the years but still takes on distinct characteristics having manifested itself in many of the most revered artist within the genre with the Notorious BIG being one of the most notable but you can also look to artist like Meek Mill for a more modern interpretation. Embodied through young men growing up in urban neighborhoods where poverty is more than likely higher than other areas forcing them to commit crimes as a way to survive within their given environment. A lot of these stereotypes within rap have ingrained themselves within the overall stereotypes that plague black males. Tropes like growing up fatherless and as a result struggling to figure out what it means to be a man can be seen throughout even the most mainstream of rap songs.

Art is an extension of one’s self and a result rap has become an extension of the black experience given that most of the genres most prolific musicians are black. Art is a medium by which people can express their inner thoughts and feelings with a basis in poetry having a heavy focus on lyricism and wordplay, rap is a great soapbox for which MCs can air out their grievances as well provoke critical thought. A strong example of an emcee that manages to both give incite gained from his own decision along the way posing provocative is the ever so elusive Vince Staples. This young unorthodox rapper with his Da Vinci like precision and a flow that is comparable. He has in his steady rise to fame managed to perfect his craft faster and to a degree higher than many of his contemporaries.

One of his earliest examples of this prowess is in his song Nate on his second mixtapes Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2. The fourth notch in Staples belt when it comes to releasing musical projects. This song tells the story of Vince’s father Nate Staples and Vince’s perspective on him growing up. The song paints a vivid portrait of his surrounds as a child with a music video that metaphorically breathes life into the colors personifying the narrative at hand. From the first line you are in capsulated within Vince’s inner thoughts, the music video plays out in the day in the like for a young boy living in the same conditions as Vince having grown up in a troubled area with the vocals of the songs giving the viewer further context.

The songs place you into the mind of an adolescent Mr. Staples from the first line you become immersed into this world with eerie lyric “As a kid all I wanted was to kill a man”. A line that gets stuck into your head like the rest of the chorus. Throughout the song Vince’s interpretation of his young life gets bleaker as Vince plans out his actions once he becomes a man and justifying in a childlike mindset when he must take such actions. For example, the initial line is followed up by the justification of being like his father’s friends as behave as they do even if that means hoping out of mini vans armed with weapons one intends on shooting rapidly. 

One aspect consistent throughout the realm of masculinity is the idea that it is okay to resort to violent actions because that is what is necessary when the time comes. The visual take you down a similar though different path than the song, the child in the song does not resemble a young Staples and that’s not just from analyzing his lack of similar features these two mediums juxtapose one another the film follows the methodical rhythm of the beat but at its own lighthearted pace. Darker tones are consistent throughout Staples’ visuals both directly and indirectly but Nate stands out. The song is from the perspective of a twenty-year-old Staples where the music video takes the approach that might be more akin to a childhood Vince Staples playing out less gritty and violent more like that of a BET made for television movie. As well this isn’t the exact experience of a Mr. Staples but is a both similar and relatable one with strong character depth. In the context of the music video the song is more of a song the young protagonist might have heard on the radio that relates to him.