Messages on the Good & Meaningful Life from Pop. Culture Pt. 2

"J0hn", I think that you raised some good point about what Kanye defines as a good life. To add onto a point that you made, you were talking about highly urban areas in the U.S., and talked about the urban subcultures present in them. However, these cities also tend to have many rich people living in them which adds on to the overall message that money makes life meaningful. -Gavin

I never considered the logic behind the stylistic view of the video. I think that that is very insightful of you and a valid point, because that would make logical sense. I also think that him not mentioning friends or family is an interesting commentary on the way that celebrities may define importance as only superficial things. Adding to your point on Kanye contradicting himself (with the diamonds being free), Kanye also says that "money isn't everything, not having it is", so what do you think he meant there? Is a poor life more or less meaningful than otherwise? -Marco

I think that your points on Kanye saying criticism is not important is an interesting one and a unique interpretation. Adding on to what you said about the hands waving, could you also say that because the hands are all just rough drawings and not individuals that he doesn't care about his fans / thinks that they are interchangeable? I also think that your point about the women he wants to "get with" are not on TV, breaking stereotype. - Yu Xi

Messages on the Good & Meaningful Life from Pop. CUlture Pt. 1

Lip Gloss

 

1. What is the song basically saying about how to live a good life?

The song is basically saying that physical possessions, such as Lip Gloss, make you popular and happy. Therefore, it implies that having expensive or nice possessions will make you happy, more popular, and that it will make your life “good”.

2. What lyrics particularly speak to that perspective?

To support the message that possessions make you more popular, the song says “My lip gloss is cool, All the boys keep jockin’, And chase me after school”. This basically says that she is suddenly desirable because of her lip gloss. There are also multiple lyrics throughout the song that talk about how she is suddenly popular and all the girls now want to be her, implying that she now has a “good” life. She then says (in regards to her lip gloss): “I be lovin’ it, I be, I be lovin it”.

3. How do the video images support, re-orient, or challenge the dominant theme of the lyrics?

In the beginning of the video, when Lil’ Mama is doubting herself and talking about how she wants to be popular, she is wearing a plain black jacket with a plain black hat. Then, after applying her lip gloss, she is wearing hip clothes, with no signs of anything bland or plain. This is interesting because she is now happy and cool, just because of her wardrobe change and lip gloss.

4. What else do you notice that’s interesting? Look for internal contradictions, aspects of the message that resonate with other messages from pop culture, points that connect to your own perspective, etc.

What I find interesting is that the lyrics essentially say that nobody knows anything about this girl, other than that she has nice lip gloss. The lyrics “What you know ‘bout me? What you, what you know, Is that my lip gloss is cool, my lip be poppin’”. That explicitly states the superficiality of the relationships she has with her classmates. The video also starts with her in a car, saying that she “just wants to be part of the cool crowd” and feels she “doesn’t have what it takes”. This adds to the message the song gives out, in that the lip gloss makes her suddenly cool and popular. An interesting note though, is that very quietly, at the end of the video, her mother says “It wasn’t the lip gloss, it was you all along.” Lil’ Mama however quickly covers this up by saying “I know, but wow”, which defeats the purpose of that line even being there. That one lline by her mom contradicts Lil’ Mama’s entire song, so obviously Lil’ Mama is going to cover it up and imply that it was the lip gloss.

Assignment #3, Final draft

“Meaning is slippery” -Andy Snyder

 

One of the few things in this world that can go un-argued is that a definition of meaning is non-existent. It is impossible to determine a definition for meaning that covers a large group of people, simply because every person has there own perception of meaning and two are rarely the same. This makes it impossible to generalize these definitions into one that covers a large spectrum.

Patterns in meaning and things related to it can be determined though, through interviews. For this reason, I conducted a series of interviews with people of various backgrounds, ethnically, religiously, and economically. My questions ranged from what wisdom is to how meaningful a person’s life is. The results of the questioning showed exactly what I thought, no two people have the exact same opinion. I was able to find answers that were similar to one another though, and because of that I was able to draw conclusions that led to patterns.

The first pattern I found was that all people interviewed seemed to determine their own meaning based on the way others perceived them. When asked what the most meaningful parts of their lives were, all people interviewed said that their friends and family were two of the most important part of their lives. People said things such as “they shape who you become”, “they raised you during your developing years and shaped you”, and “you spend most of your time with them”. This leads to the conclusion that family and friends are just as responsible for your meaning as you are.

This is how one person defines their own meaning

Another pattern I found was that things unseen, such as the supernatural or God, also have an important role in people’s lives. 50% of participants said that God or supernatural parties (A.K.A. Beliefs) were very important to their lives. This is important because it helps you to guide your life. For Chris R., religion is important to him because it provides the guidelines for good living in his eyes.

The other 50% said that helping others was meaningful, and helping others is a common aspect of various religions, so these can be related in that sense. The reason people said that helping others was important was because it is making the world a better place. Specifically, it is meaningful to set a good example for those younger than you. Marco G. said that teachers those younger is meaningful and that “They are our future”.

Of those interviewed, 80% of people under age 18 said that their lives were only moderately meaningful. On a scale of 1 through 10, people said that they were between a 4 and 7. The reasons tended to focus on this point put well by Elvis M.: “I’ve grown a lot but I still have a lot to do and grow into.” An interesting note on this question however, is that those who said their lives were an 8 or higher on this scale, were people who do not regularly examine meaning or have a “strong” understanding of it (For example, taking the “Your Life Doesn’t Have to Be Meaningless” course at School of the Future”). This could be because they have a different understanding of meaning or do not know how to appropriately answer the question.

Things forced onto people, such as the media and school, were also found meaningless by 75% of people interviewed. The reason is that it is not always something that they want to take in, rather it is something that is unavoidable. In the case of school, people have to go to school until they graduate high school and therefore, even if what they are learning is irrelevant, they must stay in school. Many people who are in school do not like school specifically because they have to be there. With the media example, the media is all around and unavoidable, no matter how hard one tries to keep it out. The media’s whole job is to advertise and inform people, and because of this it is everywhere. Everything is in one shape or another, an example of the media.

Wisdom often goes hand in hand with meaning, and many think that having wisdom will help them to make their lives more meaningful. For this reason, people were also asked about wisdom, and what they thought it was and how it was gained. Wisdom, according to interviews, is: “The ability to analyze things and find solutions, A.K.A. common sense” (Marco G). People interviewed also said that just because somebody is wise, that does not necessarily mean that they have knowledge. Knowledge and wisdom are different things. The way that this was gained was through life experiences. 75% of people thought that wisdom was gained through past experiences and that these experiences would help them in the future.

As is clearly shown here, meaning varies highly from person to person. There is no definition for meaning, and every person will have there own interpretation of what it is and how to try to live meaningfully. That is specifically why Andy Snyder’s statement, “Meaning is slippery”, is so relevant and true.

Assignment #3, Rough draft

“Meaning is slippery.”

 

One of the few things in this world that can go un-argued is that a definition of meaning is non-existent. It is impossible to determine a definition for meaning that covers a large group of people, simply because every person has there own perception of meaning and two are rarely the same. This makes it impossible to generalize these definitions into one that covers a large spectrum.

Patterns in meaning and things related to it can be determined though, through interviews. In my interviews, I found that no two people could answer more than one question alike. However, I was able to determine some patterns of people of various backgrounds, ethnically, religiously, and economically.

The first pattern I found was that all people interviewed seemed to determine their own meaning based on the way others perceived them. When asked what the most meaningful parts of their lives were, all people interviewed said that their friends and family were two of the most important part of their lives. The reasons for this varied, but essentially the general consensus was because they have a large impact on who you are and they are there for you.

This is how the camera-man defines his meaning

Another pattern I found was that things unseen, such as the supernatural or God, also have an important role in people’s lives. 50% of participants said that God or supernatural parties (A.K.A. Beliefs) were very important to their lives. The other 50% said that helping others was meaningful, and helping others is a common aspect of various religions, so these can be related in that sense.

            Of those interviewed, 80% of people under age 18 said that their lives were only moderately meaningful. On a scale of 1 through 10, people said that they were between a 4 and 7. An interesting note on this point however, is that those who said their lives were an 8 or higher on this scale, were people who do not regularly examine meaning (For example, taking the “Your Life Doesn’t Have to Be Meaningless” course at School of the Future”). This could be because they have a different understanding of meaning or do not know how to appropriately answer the question.

            Things forced onto people, such as the media and school, were also found meaningless by 75% of people interviewed. The logic behind this is that it is not always something that they want to take in, rather it is something that is unavoidable. In the case of school, people have to go to school until they graduate high school and therefore, even if what they are learning is irrelevant, they must stay. With the media example, the media is all around and unavoidable, no matter how hard one tries to keep it out. Everything is in one shape or another, an example of the media.

            Wisdom often goes hand in hand with meaning, and many think that having wisdom will help them to make their lives more meaningful. For this reason, people were also asked about wisdom, and what they thought it was and how it was gained. The majority of answers for what wisdom was, was the ability to examine things are determine a probable outcome, or in simpler terms, common sense. The way that this was gained was through life experiences. 75% of people thought that wisdom was gained through past experiences and that these would help them in the future.