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Letter to the free

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Letter to the free is a music video which possesses cultural and social significance.

Common is an Oscar and Grammy award winning hip/hop rap artist who wrote Letter to the Free as a soundtrack to The 13th – a documentary by Ava DuVernay named after the American 13th amendment and is stated laws which seem to discriminate against impoverished ethnic minorities who are then more likely to be convicted of a crime and imprisoned. It is related to the context of a variety of social and cultural movements aimed at raising awareness of racism and its effects in US society.

Awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, Common’s “Letter to the Free” speaks out against a justice system which helps to perpetuate the terrible inequality endured by many African Americans.

Common is an advocate for criminal justice reform and is the founder of Imagine Justice, a non-profit organisation dedicated to “empowering communities and fighting injustice wherever it appears”.

Youth Cultural as Political Protest

The political, personal and cultural are always intertwined.

Overt political protest is uncommon. When it occurs, it often results in a backlash. Even if overt political protest does results in changes in legislation, it won’t necessarily change public
opinion. Culture is what influences people’s hearts, minds and opinions. This is the site of popular change.

Cultural Hegemony: power, rule, or domination maintained by ideological and cultural means.

Cultural hegemony functions by framing the ideologies of the dominant social group as the only legitimate
ideology. The ideologies of the dominant group are expressed and maintained through its economic, political, moral,
and social institutions. Oppressed groups believe that the social and economic conditions of society are natural and
inevitable, rather than created by the dominant group

Prison is a business, America’s the company
Investing in injustice, fear and long suffering – I have chosen to use this quote of the song to illustrate how Common wants to create a non-profit organisation dedicated to “empowering communities and fighting injustice wherever it appears”.

Black bodies being lost in the American dream – This is also a good quote to use as it refers to the racism and slavery that Black people suffer in.

Letter to the Free, Moving Image, Notes, Postcolonialism, Uncategorized

Letter to the free

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Music Video – Letter to the Free is a product which possesses cultural and social significance. It will invite comparison with other music videos allowing for an analysis of the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.

His output is highly politicised, existing in the context of a variety of social and cultural movements aimed at raising awareness of racism and its effects in US society.

resistance a political protest:

Key idea: the political, personal and cultural are always intertwined, Culture is what influences people’s hearts, minds and opinions. This is the site of popular change.

Cultural Hegemony:

Antonio Gramsci: Italian philosopher writing in the 1930s developed this theory.

Hegemonic culture: the dominant culture
● Cultural hegemony: power, rule, or domination maintained by ideological and cultural means.
● Ideology: worldview – beliefs, assumptions and values
● Cultural hegemony functions by framing the ideologies of the dominant social group as the only legitimate
ideology.
● The ideologies of the dominant group are expressed and maintained through its economic, political, moral,
and social institutions (like the education system and the media).
● These institutions socialise people into accepting the norms, values and beliefs of the dominant social
group.
● As a result, oppressed groups believe that the social and economic conditions of society are natural and inevitable, rather than created by the dominant group.

Key Concepts:
● Cultural resistance: the use of art/literature to challenge or fight oppressive system or power holders.
● Cultural hegemony: domination or rule maintained through ideological or cultural means. It is usually achieved through social institutions.
● Subcultural theory: Cohen’s subcultural theory assumes that crime is a consequence of the union of young people into so-called subcultures in which deviant values and moral concepts dominate. Subcultural theory became the dominant theory of its time.

Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13
Not whips and chains, all subliminal – amendment states that you can still be a slave if you are a criminal even though we don’t see it with whips and chains it is still apparent in society.

We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again
No consolation prize for the dehumanized- no great version for those that’re dehumanised and treated differently, questioning who the great America is for and wanting it to be elaborated.

Post Colonialism:

-Has a hook or link to empire and colonialism, it occupies the shadow of slavery.

the power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming or emerging, is very important to culture and imperialismEdward Said Culture and Imperialism, 1993: xiii

Overall, POSTCOLONIALISM operates a series of signs maintaining the European-Atlantic power over the Orient by creating ‘an accepted grid for filtering through the Orient into Western consciousness‘. (Said, 1978:238). Or as Paul Gilroy puts it, ‘a civilising mission that had to conceal its own systematic brutality in order to be effective and attractive’ (2004:8)

Post colonialism deconstructs and asks how we are measuring good or bad, post colonialism political thought postcolonial criticism challenges the assumption of a universal claim towards what constitutes ‘good reading’ and ‘good literature’; questioning the notion of a recognised and overarching canon of important cultural texts – book, poems, plays, films etc

Orientalism: The idea of stereotyping the middle east in a way they are exaggerated to be something worse so that the west can stay in power. Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world.

Jacques Lacan: “The Other”.

 we cannot actually see ourselves as whole, we use a reflection to understand who we are / who we are not. Lacan proposed that in infancy this first recognition occurs when we see ourselves in a mirror. Applying that theory to culture, communications and media studies, it is possible to see why we are so obsessed with reading magazines, listening to music, watching films, videos and television because, essentially, we are exploring ‘The Other’ as a way of exploring ourselves.

WE can not explore ourselves and will be constantly misunderstood, we are always looking for assurance.

Linking the two together the Other theory can be used to show how people compare others to us to justify a class and reinforced stereotypes.

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letter to the free

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Common, byname of Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., (born March 13, 1972, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), American hip-hop artist, actor, and activist who became a mainstream success in the early 21st century, known for intelligent and positive lyrics that were performed in a spoken-word style. He was the first rapper to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and an Emmy Award.

Common is an advocate for criminal justice reform and is the founder of Imagine Justice, a non-profit organisation dedicated to “empowering communities and fighting injustice wherever it appears”. “Letter to the Free” is his rally call against racism and the different forms of slavery still being used in America.

Music Video – Letter to the Free is a product which possesses cultural and social significance. It will invite comparison with other music videos allowing for an analysis of the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.

● Cultural hegemony functions by framing the ideologies of the dominant social group as the only legitimate
ideology.
● The ideologies of the dominant group are expressed and maintained through its economic, political, moral,
and social institutions (like the education system and the media).
● These institutions socialise people into accepting the norms, values and beliefs of the dominant social
group.
● As a result, oppressed groups believe that the social and economic conditions of society are natural and
inevitable, rather than created by the dominant group.

The caged birds sings for freedom to bring
Black bodies being lost in the American dream
Blood of black being, a pastoral scene
Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13
Not whips and chains, all subliminal – this resonates

Letter to the Free, Uncategorized

LETTER TO THE FREE

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Music Video – Letter to the Free is a product which possesses cultural and social significance. It will invite comparison with other music videos allowing for an analysis of the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.

Key Concepts:
● Cultural resistance
● Cultural hegemony
● Subcultural theory

What is a subculture?
● Working-class youth culture
● Unified by shared tastes in style, music and ideology
● A solution to collectively experienced problems
● A form of resistance to cultural hegemony

Antonio Gramsci:

Key Terms:
● Hegemonic: dominant, ruling-class, power-holders
● Hegemonic culture: the dominant culture
● Cultural hegemony: power, rule, or domination maintained by ideological and cultural means.
● Ideology: worldview – beliefs, assumptions and values

Cultural hegemony functions by framing the ideologies of the dominant social group as the only legitimate
ideology.
● The ideologies of the dominant group are expressed and maintained through its economic, political, moral,
and social institutions (like the education system and the media).
● These institutions socialise people into accepting the norms, values and beliefs of the dominant social
group.
● As a result, oppressed groups believe that the social and economic conditions of society are natural and
inevitable, rather than created by the dominant group.

Prison is a business, America’s the company –

Black bodies being lost in the American dream – This suggests that black people are being killed in the American dream, the American dream can be seen by a dominant group of skin colour.

Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13 –

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letter to the free

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letter to the free is a social political cultural prostest song similar to the ghost town nea that we did although this song focuses on the inequality of the social stading between races and how the past shapes a bleak future.. the abolishment of slavery came withan uprise of discrimination even they were just people like we are people the song tries to tear back the curtains on the dark past of history and to make it known and seen and to make an example of what we can not go back to.. the black and white pictures of the vidioe represent the white americans and black americans and the clash between the two shades create a grey area within the subject

COMMON –

Common, byname of Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., (born March 13, 1972, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), American hip-hop artist, actor, and activist who became a mainstream success in the early 21st century, known for intelligent and positive lyrics that were performed in a spoken-word style. He was the first rapper to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and an Emmy Award.

the lyrics quote I used

Instead of ‘nigga’ they use the word ‘criminal’
Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country
Shot me with your ray-gun
And now you want to trump me
Prison is a business, America’s the company

the lyrics suggest that slavery is just under a new name and the old terms we use to use has been replaced with something different although they have the same meaning they created the prison business in order to gain the power they lost after slavery and The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” saying that slavery is okay if they did something wrong first as if we are still in the same old mindset that is really dated and old. the trump me is where the make America great again but for who and how is this great America going to affect the minority’s that are within their jurisdiction are they going to be as slave but under a new name a criminal for they aren’t white and they are different to them makes them a criminal?

We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again
No consolation prize for the dehumanized
For America to rise it’s a matter of Black Lives

this quote highlights the dehumanisation of slavery and that they are not human and are being dehumanised by all the hate and the subjugation of those who still live in the past and the thought of black lives are less than a pipe dream for greatness and the black lives that are layed down and used are for the greater good for the best america… but for who does this great america suppor those who are white and those in power or the equality of black people and white people..

Gramsci a theorist of hegemony says that cultural resistance is also hegemony or a form of hegemony

the politican and the personal and cultural are always intertwined – https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/media23al/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/2022/01/Music-as-Political-Protest.pdf

POST-COLONIALISM

Letter to the Free

LEtter to the free

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Awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, Common’s “Letter to the Free” speaks out against a justice system which helps to perpetuate the terrible inequality endured by many African Americans. With a disproportionate number of ethnic minorities incarcerated in prison, the lyrics criticise the money-making “business” of the “prison” system when these institutions should be a tool for positive reform and rehabilitation. Released in 2016, the rapper also worried about “staring in the face of hate” of Trump’s vision of America.

COMMON

Born: March 13, 1972 (age 49 years), South Side, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Net Worth: £45Million

First rapper to win an academy award

Common was formerly known by common sense

Commons genre of music he records is Hip Hop, Neo Soul and Progressive Rap.

LYRICS

“Prison is a business, America’s the company” linking to how Americas prison system is just a money making business, and how instead of rehabilitation they focus on punishment. The Documentary 13th explains how people of colour were incarcerated for simple things like ‘loitering’ and how since crack was more popular was more popular with people of colour having 10 oz of it meant more jail time than 100 oz of cocaine even though thy are the same drug.

“No consolation prize for the dehumanized” links to how ethnic minorities are dehumanized and wouldn’t get the same benefits as other ethnic groups. Furthermore, “dehumanized” relates to how poorly ethnic minorities are treated.

Antonio Gramsci

Cultural Hegemony:
● Antonio Gramsci: Italian philosopher writing in the 1930s
Key Terms:
● Hegemonic: dominant, ruling-class, power-holders
● Hegemonic culture: the dominant culture
● Cultural hegemony: power, rule, or domination maintained by ideological and cultural means.
● Ideology: worldview – beliefs, assumptions and values
● Cultural hegemony functions by framing the ideologies of the dominant social group as the only legitimate
ideology.
● The ideologies of the dominant group are expressed and maintained through its economic, political, moral,
and social institutions (like the education system and the media).
● These institutions socialise people into accepting the norms, values and beliefs of the dominant social
group.
● As a result, oppressed groups believe that the social and economic conditions of society are natural and

https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/media23al/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/2022/01/Music-as-Political-Protest.pdf

Postcolonialism

But here it is specifically looking at identity and representation through the lens of Empire and Colonialism.

The Shadow of Slavery

In other words, postcolonial criticism challenges the assumption of a universal claim towards what constitutes ‘good reading’ and ‘good literature’; questioning the notion of a recognised and overarching canon of important cultural texts – book, poems, plays, films etc – much of which is institutionalised into academic syllabi.

The Link between culture, imperial power & colonialism

“the power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming or emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism“

Edward Said Culture and Imperialism, 1993: xiii

He asked if ‘imperialism was principally economic‘ and looked to answer that question by highlighting ‘the privileged role of culture in the modern imperial experience’ (1997:3)

Jacques Lacan

The ‘other’

Letter to the Free, Music Video, Postcolonialism

Common – Letter To The Free

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Common is an advocate for criminal justice reform and is the founder of Imagine Justice, a non-profit organisation dedicated to “empowering communities and fighting injustice wherever it appears”. “Letter to the Free” is his rally call against racism and the different forms of slavery still being used in America.

Awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, Common’s “Letter to the Free” speaks out against a justice system which helps to perpetuate the terrible inequality endured by many African Americans. With a disproportionate number of ethnic minorities incarcerated in prison, the lyrics criticise the money-making “business” of the “prison” system when these institutions should be a tool for positive reform and rehabilitation. Released in 2016, the rapper also worried about “staring in the face of hate” of Trump’s vision of America.

Common’s “Letter to the Free” was written for a documentary exploring this criminalisation of African Americans. Directed by Ava DuVernay, The “13th” also focused on the “systems of racial control” and state laws which seem to discriminate against impoverished ethnic minorities who are then more likely to be convicted of a crime and imprisoned. For instance, despite making up 13% of the total US population, black inmates account for nearly 40% of the prison population.

Why is letter to the Free in black and white? The marches were a non-violent protest to demonstrate the desire of black Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Common returned to the theme of protest with Letter to the Free – highlighting the mass incarceration of black Americans.

Quotes

‘Black bodies being lost in the American dream’ – This quote portrays the meaning that black people living in America are being forgotten about in the ‘progress’ of America.

‘Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13’ – Common believes that slavery is still alive no matter how hard America are4 trying to push down the actual word ‘slavery’. He provides evidence for the modern day slavery with the 13th amendment.

‘Not whips and chains, all subliminal’ –

Who is Common?

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known by his stage name Common, is an American rapper and actor. He debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?, and gained critical acclaim with his 1994 album Resurrection. He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s.

American hip-hop artist, actor, and activist who became a mainstream success in the early 21st century, known for intelligent and positive lyrics that were performed in a spoken-word style. He was the first rapper to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and an Emmy Award.

Common quit college to devote his time to music. He originally performed under the name Common Sense, but a band with the same name sued, and in the mid-1990s he shortened his stage name to Common.

Youth Culture as Political Protest – Jodie’s PowerPoint.

1 in 4 people are locked up in America.

Postcolonialism

Specifically looking at identity and representation through the lens of Empire and Colonialism. The Shadow of Slavery. Postcolonial criticism challenges the assumption of a universal claim towards what constitutes ‘good reading’ and ‘good literature’.

ORIENTALISM:

The Link between culture, imperial power & colonialism

the power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming or emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism

Edward Said Culture and Imperialism, 1993: xiii

He asked if ‘imperialism was principally economic‘ and looked to answer that question by highlighting ‘the privileged role of culture in the modern imperial experience’ (1997:3)

Edward Said – He argues that Orientalism is “a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction between ‘the Orient’ and ‘the Occident’ (2003: 2). In this way, Orientalism tends to rely on a binary opposition between the West and the East that most of times is misleading and destructive.

Jacques Lacan – The ‘Other’

Moving Image, Music Video, Postcolonialism

letter to the free

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https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/media23al/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/2022/01/Music-as-Political-Protest.pdf

Awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, Common’s “Letter to the Free” speaks out against a justice system which helps to perpetuate the terrible inequality endured by many African Americans .The lyrics criticise the money-making “business” of the “prison” system when these institutions should be a tool for positive reform and rehabilitation. Released in 2016, the rapper also worried about “staring in the face of hate” of Trump’s vision of America.

Common’s “Letter to the Free” was written for a documentary exploring this criminalisation of African Americans. Directed by Ava DuVernay The “13th” also focused on the “systems of racial control” and state laws which seem to discriminate against impoverished ethnic minorities who are then more likely to be convicted of a crime and imprisoned. For instance, despite making up 13% of the total US population. black inmates account for nearly 40% of prison population.

common

Common is an advocate for criminal justice reform and is the founder of Imagine Justice, a non-profit organisation dedicated to “empowering communities and fighting injustice wherever it appears”. “Letter to the Free” is his rally call against racism and the different forms of slavery still being used in America.

Common eventually teamed up with Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper to create “Letter to the Free,” a powerful track off his latest album Black America Again that delves into slavery and mass incarceration. “We dealt with the whole subject matter from slavery to Jim Crow to mass incarceration which is what we’re dealing with right now,” he explained. “We wanted to make something that was strong, unapologetic, but that was also hopeful.” 

common is worth 45 million dollars.

lyrics

‘We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again‘ – when was America great? do you need to turn black people into your slaves to make it great again?

‘No consolation prize for the dehumanized
For America to rise it’s a matter of Black Lives’ no comfort for the black community who have been dragged through the mud

‘Blood of black being, a pastoral scene
Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13′ pastoral meaning used for the keeping or grazing of sheep or cattle. implies that black being were treated more like animals instead of human. amendment 13 = Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

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Letter to the free (csp)

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  • Written by Common
  • Common is an Oscar and Grammy award winning hip/hop rap artist
  •  Wrote Letter to the Free as a soundtrack to The 13th (Documentary)
  • Lynn (Common) began rapping in the late 1980s, in Chicago
  • Common is an advocate for criminal justice reform
  • Worth $45 000 0000
  •  “13th,” addresses the issue of mass incarceration in the United States
  • The 13th is an amendment that says slavery is abolished unless someone commits a crime
  •  “Letter to the Free” is his rally call against racism and the different forms of slavery still being used in America.

Quotes

“We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again“

-referring to how certain politicians talk about making America great but their plan is to incite unfair rules and plans.

“Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13
Not whips and chains, all subliminal”

-Talking about how slavery still exists in America but its just in a different form

“Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country”

-Saying how America is supposed to be land of the free but its not really


“Shot me with your ray-gun
And now you want to trump me”

Presentation

Postcolonialism

is specifically looking at identity and representation through the lens of Empire and Colonialism

Postcolonial critical thought emerged as a distinct category in the 1990’s, with an aim to undermine the universalist claims that ‘great literature has a timeless and universal significance [which] thereby demotes or disregards cultural, social, regional, and nations differences in experience and outlook’ (Barry, 2017: 194). In other words, postcolonial criticism challenges the assumption of a universal claim towards what constitutes ‘good reading’ and ‘good literature’; questioning the notion of a recognised and overarching canon of important cultural texts – book, poems, plays, films etc – much of which is institutionalised into academic syllabi.

the power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming or emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism

-Edward Said Culture and Imperialism, 1993: xiii

He asked if ‘imperialism was principally economic‘ and looked to answer that question by highlighting ‘the privileged role of culture in the modern imperial experience’ (1997:3)

Edward Said-

  • known for the book Orientalism (1978), a critique of the cultural representations that are the bases of Orientalism
  • Said’s theory was that Western writings depicted Orient as an irrational, weak, feminized ‘Other”

Jacques Lacan- The ‘ other’

The Shadow of Slavery

Letter to the Free, Moving Image, Music Video, Postcolonialism

Letter to the Free

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Letter to the Free was released by Common in 2016, and it was less for entertainment than it was for sending out a political message. It was made for a documentary called the Thirteenth which documents black American culture and the legacy of slavery, and highlights the mass imprisonment of black Americans.

Common is an American Hip-Hop artist and rapper, known for intelligent and positive lyrics that were performed in a spoken-word style.

“Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13
Not whips and chains, all subliminal” – References the law that you can become a slave if you commit a crime, and how he believes this to be morally wrong and constituting to slavery’s resistance to dying.

“Barren souls, heroic songs unsung” – talks about how so many people, particularly of the black community, could have achieved a lot more if not for how they are treated – “heroic songs unsung”

“Tied with the rope that my grandmother died” – depicts how the slavery of old is still in effect today with similar principles.

Jodie’s powerpoint – https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/media23al/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/2022/01/Music-as-Political-Protest.pdf

Cultural hegemony: power, rule, or domination maintained by ideological and cultural means. Letter to the Free’s lyrics could be seen as cultural resistance in response to this.

Post – Colonialism

Postcolonialism is specifically looking at identity and representation through the lens of Empire and Colonialism.

The Shadow of Slavery

Postcolonial critical thought emerged as a distinct category in the 1990’s, with an aim to undermine the universalist claims that ‘great literature has a timeless and universal significance [which] thereby demotes or disregards cultural, social, regional, and nations differences in experience and outlook’

The Link between culture, imperial power & colonialism

Edward Said was a respected academic. He asked if ‘imperialism was principally economic‘ and looked to answer that question by highlighting ‘the privileged role of culture in the modern imperial experience’ (1997:3) He came up with orientalism.

Jacques Lacan

THE ‘OTHER’