roundtable: Re: Gangsta Rap and the Public Interest

roundtable: Re: Gangsta Rap and the Public Interest

Re: Gangsta Rap and the Public Interest

Jeff Briggs (jbriggs@capital.edu)
Tue, 27 Jun 1995 04:12:08 -0400 

Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 04:12:08 -0400
From: jbriggs@capital.edu (Jeff Briggs)
Message-Id: <9506270812.AA26383@athena.capital.edu>
To: roundtable@cni.org
Subject: Re: Gangsta Rap and the Public Interest


Faye Anderson's comment re "Gangsta Rap" is a surface analysis that 
doesn't begin to penetrate to the true cynical nature of American 
corporate mass media. This art form does in fact demean women, and it 
also gives voice to social frustration. But as far as the media being 
"corporate good citizens" - give me a break.

     The American mass media is a means of control. It is an un-
conscious self-portrait of the corporate forces that control it - forces
that have dispensed with any recognizable human values in place of
exploitation of the populace for profit, with the concomitant political
spin doctors telling us what to believe in matters of public policy.

     The American people need to take control of their mass media.
How? That is a matter of debate. The emergence of the media as the
crossroads of money, political power, and information control - at least
in its currently dominat TV manifestation - is a relatively recent
phenomenon. It rode a wave of technological and then sociological and
cultural change - all without debate, permission, or control by 
representatives of the people. Now it seems impossible to change, and 
the recent auctioning off of more public bandwidth, as well as the 
Pressler telecommunications bill simply will solidify corporate control 
of the American mind. This is deeply dangerous for our society, and for 
all the other societies whose television channels reflect the same 
spiritual, intellectual, moral, educational, and aesthetic poverty 
that emanates from the corporate media producers of the USA.

     The news, docudramas, made-for-TV movies, sitcoms, and the
relentless capitalist propaganda of the commercials are all 
manifestations of deeply sick, uncaring human beings who do not value 
love, respect, education, or enlightenment, and who have no regard for 
their fellow man. Of course there are many decent people working in the 
media, but this does not change the nature of the system in which they 
work. Hence the constant violence, the sneering tits and ass in place 
of sexual love, the 11-year-old content, the incessant triviality, the 
tongue-clucking talk shows, the right-wing slant to all political 
discussion, the refusal to tell much truth about either American history 
or the elite that runs our country in spite of our nostalgic democratic 
wishes, the surpression and censorship of information needed to analyse 
the ownership and control function of the media, and the absolute 
refusal to use the media in its highest natural function: to educate.

     I make TV programs of a different kind. I made a documentary
called "El Charanguero" about Argentine charango player Jaime Torres that
brought tears, respect, and expressions of gratitude and love from the
Argentinians who saw it. It languished in limbo until Terry Dugas of this
list was kind enough to facilitate a showing with SECA, a non-profit
educational satellite distributor who will send it up in August nation-
wide - but for no money, and each sation is free to use it or not as they
see fit, at any time of night or day. I am grateful for the exposure of
this culturally valuable work, but cannot help reflecting on the low
profile and lack of interest in a show that is a real alternative to what
we are used to being exposed to - a program that deals with a culture
and music that is faced with extinction.

    The essence of the question of our media is simple: whose values
will it embody? It has been the domain of the capitalist long enough.
It's time we take it back and try something better.

    J'accuse.

Jeffrey Briggs
<jbriggs@capital.edu>

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