India Arie feat.Akon

Hey guys and gals! I don't know if any of you still come here, but I thought you might find the following song interesting. It is by India Arie featuring Akon - and relates to what we were discussing this week in class.

Konvict
Konvict Music uh huh

See I can kinda recall a lil ways back
Small tryin to ball always been black
And my hair I tried it all I even went flat
Had a gummy curled on top and all that crap (o oh)
Just tryin to be appreciated
Nappy headed brothers never had no ladies
Never hit the barber shop real quick
Had a mini lil twist and it drove her crazy (crazy)
Then I couldnt get no job
Cuz corporate wouldn't hire no dreadlocks
Then I thought about my dogs on the block
Kinda understand why they chose to steal and rob
Was it the hair that got me this far?
All these girls these cribs these cars?
I hate to say it but it seem so flawed
Success didnt come til I cut it all off

[India.Arie: Verse 1]
Little girl with the press and curl
Age eight I got a Jheri curl
Thirteen and I got a relaxer
I was a source of so much laughter
At fifteen when it all broke off
Eighteen and I went all natural
February two thousand and two
I went on and did
What I had to do
Because it was time to change my life
To become the women that I am inside
Ninety-seven dreadlocks all gone
I looked in the mirror
For the first time and saw that HEY....

[Chorus]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations no no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within

[India.Arie: Verse 2]
Good hair means curls and waves
Bad hair means you look like a slave
At the turn of the century
It's time for us to redefine who we be
You can shave it off
Like a South African beauty
Or get in on lock
Like Bob Marley
You can rock it straight
Like Oprah Winfrey
If it's not what's on your head
It's what's underneath and say HEY....

[Chorus]

[Akon: Verse 2]
Who cares if you don't like that
With nothin to lose postin with the wave cap
And the cops wanna harass cuz I got waves
Ain't see nothin like that in all my days (o oh)
And you gotta change all this feelings
They be judging one another by their appearance
Yes India, i feel ya girl
Now go 'head talk to the rest of the world cuz...


[Bridge]
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend? Oooh
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
I am expressing my creativity..
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)

[India.Arie: Verse 3]
Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy
Took away her crown and glory
She promised God if she was to survive
She would enjoy everyday of her life ooh
On national television
Her diamond eyes are sparkling
Bald headed like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole wide world like HEY...

It's a vicious circle

I've watched "The Merchants of cool" twice: once in my "Media and Youth" class with Heather Wallace at Dawson College and a second time during my first year of university.

I don't define myself as a "cool" person and I don't think that cool hunters would come see me EVER! I'm a very ordinary, simple, and natural girl and I would consider myself to be part of "the late majority who plays it safe." I don't spend a lot of money compared to some of my "cool" friends and I really have to think twice before I buy something expensive.
However, I do wear brand names and if I had the money I would probably spend more time shopping and trying on different styles.

I went shopping over the weekend at the same kind of store I always go to. I tried on a top and it looked pretty good. I wasn't too sure about it because it kind of made me look pregnant. The saleswoman kept telling me that I shouldn't worry, because it's going to be in fashion this summer and EVERYBODY will look pregnant with me. Then I asked myself: do I really want to be like evrybody else? No! I'm different. But again...I am not. I am surely not the only girl shopping at that store, so there must be plently of other girls out there who look just like me.

Then I thought, if EVERYBODY is going to wear the pregnant style this summer, it is probably because all the stores will have it in stock. Therefore, I won't be able to find anything else different.
So to the question "Do you think that maybe it's not your choice, that we are being programmed in some way?" I say: it's a vicious circle.
Even when it comes to explicit material in the media. It's there, we consume it. Since we consume it, we give ratings, consequently they give us more, then we consume it, they make money, hence they give us more.
I have a choice to not buy the top, and instead go to Jacob and buy myself a plain regular white t-shirt. I have the choice to turn off the TV; to switch channel. I have the choice to buy a certain record or not and encourage certain artists.
But in the end, to get more choices, whether by acquiring satellite radio or TV, sometimes means more money. And when one spends more money for something more expensive, then we are considered to be "cool."

It's a vicious circle.

Here is a URL where you can find interviews with cool hunters, Eminem's Grammy controversy, and comments from teenagers on the documentary and the cool culture.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/

culture jamming

You have a mac I have a PC. We are different.As a matter of fact, as carducci explains in his article Culture Jamming: "in postmodern consumer society, brands are said to represent a kind of authenticity; they are part of a consumer's self-identity, indications of a self-appointed claim to a certain position in the social system."
You have a mac, I have a PC...who's better? What's your personality? Who are you? Are you defective? Am I?
Here is an ad in favor of macs that defines who you are. Maybe I should get a mac...after all i am an artist.





Now, if we continue with what Carducci says, culture jamming is the attempt to get at the authentic nature of goods, in order to pass sovereign judgement over them.
You have a mac, I have a PC. But aren't ALL computers doomed to fail us at some point? A computer is a machine, it's electronic pieces put together, and no matter how extraordinary the new technology might be, no matter how revolutionnary, the bottom line is: there is no one perfect computer out there. The truth is ALL will eventually fail us. The jammed ad below tells us that that mac's grandiose turn in technology will probably blow up in your face at your most glorious moment.

Printable Cold Sores

A few days ago, Boing Boing reported of this cool culture-jamming device. Go here for your step-by-step how-to.

Get your tactics on! (and then send photos here.)

Cynical Advertisers

The people in the advertising industry know what they're doing. And they're disgusted with themselves. But they still do it!

Click to see this neat short vid. In French.

Dans la publicite
envoyé par yom_

Saint Valentine's...

Hey, i just wanted to show you what I found on the History Channel's webpage.

"Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

St Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14 of each year; the reason why it is celebrated on this day is because this was the day that the Patron Saint of Lovers "St Valentine" was supposedly executed on. On this day lovers all around the world mark this occasion as a day for sending poems, cards, flowers or candy, etc. They might also be a social gathering or ball to mark the occasion."

Benetton Ads

I found both these links to many of Benetton’s shocking / controversial ad campaigns. Check it out…
http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/list/
http://www.museedelapub.org/pubgb/virt/mp/benetton/pub_benetton.html

Also, a frank interview with Toscani, former creative director: http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/toscani.html