Stereotypes and Prejudices Essay Example for Free

Stereotypes and Prejudices Essay Everyone uses stereotypes in one way or another. (CX) People tend to judge from their first impressions, but prejudices do not get very dangerous until they lead to stereotyping and discrimination. The victims of prejudices and stereotypes may lose their own individual personalities, and they retreat into their own groups. Both Chopin, in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby,† and Piercy, who writes â€Å"Barbie Doll,† bring up this problem in their writings. Chopin and Piercy write about stereotypes and prejudices because they want people to think about the devastating effects of stereotypes and prejudices. To develop their theme, they write about the victims of prejudice, how they are treated differently, and how they end up in life. (S) Appearances influence many people. One day, when Desiree stands â€Å"against the stone pillar,† Armand â€Å"ride[s] by and see[s] her there,† and he soon falls in love with her (Chopin 346). (CC) Not knowing much about her characteristics, Armand falls in love with Desiree, and he marries her not long after that, which can be seen by the fast transition in Chopin’s story. Similarly, the â€Å"girl child† in â€Å"Barbie Doll† is described by her classmate as having â€Å"a great big nose and fat legs† (Piercy 352). Piercy writes that although she â€Å"[is] healthy and tests intelligent,† she keeps â€Å"[going] to and fro apologizing† for her body (352). People care about how she looks more than what she has in her heart. Being victims of prejudices, the characters in Chopin’s and Piercy’s works are treated differently. The way that Desiree, her baby, and the girl child have to face prejudice is not identical. While talking to her daughter, Madame Valmonde does not stop looking at the child; in addition, she â€Å"[lifts] it and [walks] with it over the window that [is] lightest,† and she â€Å"[replaces] it beside its mother† (Chopin 346). No one uses â€Å"it† to call a baby, and Desiree’s son is regarded as an animal because he is not white. From being the â€Å"proudest father in the parish†, Armand turns cruel as he discovers that his child â€Å"is not white; it means that [his wife is] not white† (Chopin 347). (CC) Chopin brings readers back to the age of slavery, which is a shame in humans’ history; the slaves cannot live as humans because they are distinct from the majority of the Whites. (S) Obviously, being different is the end of their life. (CX) On the other hand, the girl child in â€Å"Barbie Doll† has a chance to live if she gives up her personality. The author writes that she â€Å"[is] advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle† (Piercy 352). She is given a chance to live the life of a machine, not a human, which is programmed according to the social standards. â€Å"Her good nature [wears] out like a fan. So she [cuts] off her nose and her legs, and [offers] them up,† writes Piercy (352). The fact that she has a choice is ironic. Chopin and Piercy also come to the same ending for their characters. Desiree and the girl child finish their lives in the same way. Desiree does not take the â€Å"broad beaten road which [leads] to the far-off plantation of Valmonde,† but she walks â€Å"across a deserted field† (Chopin 348). Readers may ask themselves whether Desiree does not take or is not allowed to take the broad road. She disappears among the â€Å"reeds and willows†, and she never comes back (Chopin 348). Likewise, the girl child ends up her life â€Å"in the casket displayed on the satin she [lies] with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose† (Piercy 352). â€Å"Is everyone satisfied? † asks Piercy. (CP) The victims of prejudice are not happy, so they choose the death to cease their misery. It is the time that people have to be aware of stereotypes and prejudices. Both Chopin and Piercy signify that stereotypes and prejudices are destructive. â€Å"Consummation at last† is a sarcastic way of Piercy to tell the truth (352). It is the consummation of people who judge others through appearances. (CP) Prejudice is no longer accepted in modern societies; however, it still exists in the nature of humans. Stereotyping prevents people from learning the real facts about themselves, and it allows them to discriminate and commit various crimes against all kinds of people. In pursuit of a better society, everyone should patiently fight against the unfairness of stereotypes and prejudices.

Free Grapes of Wrath Essays: Religion in The Grapes of Wrath :: Grapes Wrath essays

Religion in The Grapes of Wrath  Ã‚      In The Grapes of Wrath the author, John Steinbeck, presents religion in several ways including the fanaticism of the Sin Watchers, Jim Casy’s parallel character to Jesus Christ, and through the use of symbolism throughout the novel.   Through these methods, Steinbeck weaves a web in which religion is presented as a double-edged blade; one can go to the path of being truly a devout, kind person, or one can choose the path of zealously, condemning all who would oppose or go against their views.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Sin Watchers represent the epitome of religious zeal.   They force their ideals upon others, and they point out the sinful ways of their fellow camp-mates.   These people Steinbeck presents as evil aberrations who disrupt the otherwise peaceful life at the government camp.   The most viewed Sin Watcher was the woman who berated Rose Of Sharon for her â€Å"sinful† ways.   This horrid woman told Rose Of Sharon that because of the hug-dancing and other fun activities, the baby would be stillborn.   Sadly, the baby was born dead, but not necessarily due to Rose Of Sharon’s activities.   This woman instilled in Rose Of Sharon the idea that it was her fault that the baby did not survive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jim Casy’s actions bore a close resemblance to the actions of Jesus Christ.   In the time the book was published, this was viewed as an act of blasphemy.   As discussed in class, many of the acts, trials, and tribulations of Jim Casy (along with the ominous JC initials) parallel those of Jesus.   Jim Casy represents the epitome of personal reverence, despite his renunciation of preaching.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout The Grapes of Wrath, religious symbols crop up, further explaining the significance of the section.   One use of symbolism is that when on the road to California, Tom encounters a snake.   Already established in the novel is the fact that to the Goads, California represents a place of great wealth, freedom, and prosperity.   It is a Garden of Eden, so to speak.   The Garden of Eden had a serpent who brought the Wrath of God upon Adam and Eve.   The serpent supplied them with the forbidden fruit.   California is forbidden to outsiders and migrants.

Hypothetical Research Proposal Social Psychology Essay

Understanding media in today’s world is more than intellectual exercise, it is essential survival skill in a world that has been absolutely changed by mass communication. Hundreds of studies have shown that viewing violence in the media can influence destructive behavior. This paper will review research involving the relationship between the media and violence. Since, women’s issue to violence embodies many areas of social life and is very much rampant and relevant in our society today; violence to women will be used for the representation for this paper. After taken into account, the finding will show that the rising of media and the violence among women in the society has strong significant effect. Introduction In 2003, Allan Menzies stabbed his best friend, drank his blood and ate part of his skull. Utterly this murder was different from the many horrible murders that are committed. Menzies claimed that the character, Akasha, from the vampire film Queen of the Damned had told him to kill his friend as a way of gaining immortality. Menzies was possessed with the film and had viewed it over 100 times before â€Å"acting on the orders† of the vampire queen (Robertson 2003). The case of Menzies certainly demonstrates the intimate relationship between media and violence. However, violence news is often selective and distorted, giving an inaccurate picture of violence in society. This observation has led Warr (2000:482) to argue that â€Å"violence rests on highly uncertain information about risk† In fact, Fields and Jerin (1999) carried out a comparative analysis of violence coverage in newspapers in fourteen different countries. In the US, they found evidence of misinterpretation, overrepresentation of violent, heavy reliance on â€Å"official† sources, false image of police effectiveness, uniform crime coverage, lack of educational value, racial prejudice and/or stereotyping, and little coverage of corrections. This is a significant finding as the majority of citizens only have symbolic rather than experiential knowledge about violence. Consequently, when the media are the primary knowledge distributors about violence, distortions such as these are readily available to construct public perceptions. And because the consequences of violence can be severe, these perceptions can lead to an increased concern about violence victimization. This â€Å"resonance† hypothesis argues that the media â€Å"cultivate† a threatening view of the world, which compounds preexisting violence (Bagdikian, 2000). Literature Review This literature review will introduce the theoretical perspectives that will guide this study in understanding the construction of a gendered crime â€Å"reality†. The key concepts of social constructioinism and feminist criminology will be explained and will be illustrated in relation to fear of crime. The connection between the media and fear of crime will be explain with an emphasis on the distortion of knowledge, audience effects, and media content and claims. Further, the effects of political economy on discursive transformations in the presentations of crimes will be address. Impact of the Media The media has the potential for far greater impact than interpersonal communication, if only because of the larger audience and the professional nature of the messages. The impact might be seen in audience pleasure or buying behavior or it might be seen in an unintentional effect such as young child’s imitating the violent behavior seen in a favorite T. V. show or video game (Rodman, 2006). This impact becomes the part of the feedback sent to the source, perhaps as news reports about studies into effects of media. Social Theory, Media, and Violence The relationship between violence and the media is complex. For example, Barak, (1994) finds that although the press does not present a consistently biased impression of media and violence through their process of selection, he discovers little evidence to suggest that this is very influential on public perceptions of, and opinions about, these phenomena. On the other hand, Sheley (1995) argues that the media responds to and stimulates violence and are probably the single greatest influence on public attitudes about the topic. However, both social constructionists and radical feminist criminologists see the mass media as particularly relevant when studying violence, as the meaning and significance attached to a violent event during its commission can be transformed entirely once it is communicated into society. As Stanko (1992:14) notes: The full social and personal consequences of violence can never be deduced from the simple enumeration of risks. Like other human experiences they necessarily involve representation, communication and attribution of significance and it is for this reason that the understanding of the character and uses of mass media may be able not simply to help explain the distribution of expressed fears but also to illuminate their nature and implications. The significance of this violence as it relates to culture needs to be taken into consideration in order to understand the transformations commonly found in media narratives over time. In addition, a â€Å"lack of sensitivity to media-generated reality-constructing processes has serious real-world implications† (Surette, 1998:271). Heavy violence coverage in the media can not only increase public fear, it can also direct much public discourse on the violent issue which leads to stereotypical views of violence, shapes certain violent as social problems, and limits violence control options (Barak, 1998:44). Working within the social constructionist paradigm, I argue that effect of violence is a social process rather than a social fact: reactions to violence are subjective and dynamic. Not only are these reactions based on the actions of certain social groups who have the power to set forth their own interests over others, and who employ â€Å"experts† to offer professional credibility to support their claims, but they are also based on dominant cultural ideologies. In turn, the media disseminates these â€Å"truth† claims as they see fit, creating a â€Å"conceptual reality† for public consumption. I consider this constructed reality and its relation to violence exploding: Who are constructed as deviant â€Å"outsiders? † What claims and claims-makers are central to the discourse? What preferred rules does the media maintain? Who is given the most voice to speak authoritatively? In the hierarchy of violence, what is the â€Å"master of offence? † Do the violent messages discuss possible solutions to violence? Are the violent messages sensationalistic? Are random violence reported the most often? Research Question and Aim of this Research This proposal will examine how the media constructs fear of crime for women, and explains why. It will employ both content and textual analyses to evaluate media representations of crime and their role in facilitating images of fear and safety. Moreover, I will utilize feminist criminology and social constructionism to allow an evaluation of claims-making activities and gendered crime myths. Ultimately, the aim of this research is to examine how the media are constructed as sites of fear for women. To accomplish this, I would like to answer the following questions: 1. Do crime messages signify fear of crime? 2. How do the media define fear and reveal its meaning to audience members? Is this â€Å"reality† contested over time, and if so, why? Hypotheses: The meaning associated with women’s danger and safety in news narratives are socially constructed through claims, sources, content and culture, making the â€Å"social reality of crime† a human accomplishment. Method Design I will analyze an issue of a three popular women’s magazines as my primary data for violent messages since it embodies many areas of social life, making it culturally significant. Moreover, magazines give a less fragmented picture of the total violence phenomenon than say newspapers, and their documentary style gives a more elaborate perspective than the information oriented style of newspapers. The analysis will be done through content analysis. Data Collection Procedure Magazines represented a variety of violence narratives as â€Å"newsworthy. † That is, these magazines found violence to be interesting or exciting enough to attract and inform consumers, and therefore violence narratives were considered important elements when producing the news. Among the violent messages such as; sexual brutality received almost one-half (50%) of the coverage. This included; rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment/discrimination. The reporters often evinced the personal accounts of those who were victims. This added an emotional dimension to the narratives; bringing to the reader an â€Å"eyewitness† account, rather than an â€Å"objective† report of the facts. Child abuse, which included physical and emotional abuse, followed closely in frequency (25 %), while domestic violence (8%) and murder (7%) remained minor but persistent narratives. Magazines reporters also wrote about criminal justice issues such as the death penalty and victimology (3. 5%). Violent such as burglary (3. 0%), juvenile delinquency (2. 0%), and illicit drug use (1. 5%) were infrequently in the news stories, and other crimes, such as fraud and kidnapping, were not mentioned in all three magazines. News, Sources, and the Production of Meaning Various sources of knowledge about violent, law and violence justice were represented in the news making process to create meaning. There were five types of sources used by reporters to construct violence narratives. First, government sources were cited in 60 percent of the violence articles. Representatives of the violence justice system, such as police, lawyers, judges, and correctional officials, were used as sources in nearly one-third (33%) of all violence articles. Less frequently, other government agencies, such as social workers and child welfare/ protection services were offered as knowledge sources by reporters (5%). As well, politicians, or elected officials, were occasionally used to supply knowledge (2%). Gender and Violence Narratives Media violence depictions were consistently gendered and women’s fear of violence was constantly constructed and reconstructed. â€Å"Intimate danger† was portrayed in 62. 6 % of the violence messages; â€Å"stranger danger† was highlighted in only 23. 2 percent of the news stories and 14. 2 percent of the narratives did not mention danger in all. In all time frames, intimate danger was more commonly constructed than was stranger danger. Intimate danger was present in over half of all articles. Overwhelmingly, familiar dangers were most newsworthy. Sex was ultimately connected to danger in the media discourses with over half (60%) of all violence messages signifying it. Over different time frames, sexual danger was present in 62. 5 % of all articles. A discourse of sexual inequality in an issue of the three different popular women’s magazines also contributed to the gendered nature of violence. One-fourth, (25%) of all crime articles connected sexual inequality to violence. This suggests that women’s fear of violence was linked to their subordinate status, and can best be understood in the context of broader social inequalities. In sum, the media instructed women to be most fearful people they knew in their own home, to fear violence of sexual nature and foremost, and to fear for themselves, but also for others. Violence and Media Coverage The crime reports in an issue of the three popular women’s magazines consistently supplied readers with the resources needed to understand and comprehend violence, particularly on a social and environmental level. By explaining the source and foundations for violence, journalists did not leave readers asking â€Å"why. † And by demonstrating how to cope with violence, audience members were given solutions that could ultimately be used to exert some control over their own lives. As a result, the news narratives presented violence as both avoidable and manageable. Further, violence accounts were presented in a manner that kept the audience informed about violent and violence justice issues without relying on dramatic flair. In sum, violence and violent justice was framed, in form and content, around an ideology of violence against women, this constructed a gendered nature of fear. This required sourcing the news in a specific manner in order to produce journalists` preferred meaning. For the most part, a central objective for journalists was to inform the audience about the broader social forces that influenced violence as it related to women: the violent event was a means to educate the reader about the foundation of crime and its prevention. Data Analysis and Expected Results In the production of news, news coverage was shaped according to the journalists` particular conceptions of violence. Extensive and various sources merged to define violent danger, establishing a version of the social reality of violent that differed considerably from other mediums of knowledge. For example, a sense of societal responsibility to end violence against women often guided the newsmaking process, unlike the majority of mainstream newspaper and television violent reports that individualized the predator criminal (Surette, 2004). The violence accounts in an issue of the three popular women’s magazines had a definite feminist agenda: to acknowledge the obstacles and inequality inherent within law and violence justice practices, and to support social and legal resolutions that eliminated male violence against women. By providing violence coverage from an experiential standpoint, and exposing myths commonly associated with women’s violence, journalists helped to reconstruct alternative violence news. In sum, two distinct patterns of news reporting will be observed throughout this research. Both patterns communicated violence and violence justice according to the journalists` â€Å"sense† of the issues: their preferred meanings, constructed through particular discursive arrangements, helped to construct different versions of the â€Å"reality† of violent risk. The dominant reporting style of the news in an issue of three popular women’s magazines promoted a feminist critique of women’s fear of violence based on women’s own experiences that downplayed indicators of fear and encouraged an informed understanding of the violence phenomenon. Rather than constructing random men as the source of danger, the â€Å"true† offenders will be reported to be sexism, ineffective laws, and a violence justice system that supported male violence against women. However, a minor and subordinate pattern of news reporting emerged that â€Å"mystified† the issue of violence and prohibited the consideration of contexts or alternatives. These constructions in the news coverage eventually reflected information and interpretations that supported official sources, changing the underlying ideology of social reform to self-responsibilization for violence. Conclusion In summary, by pursuing these research directions a greater understanding of the complex issues surrounding violence in the media will be advanced. Further knowledge about readers, news workers and policy makers will explicate the effects of gender, news production processes, and political influence on media images. Such multifaceted analyses serve to extend the understanding of media violence as a social construct. References Bagdikian, B. (2000). The media monopoly, 6th ed. Boston: Beacon Press. Barak, G. (1998). Newsmaking criminology: Reflections on the media, intellectuals, and crime. Justice Quarterly 5: 565-87. Barak, G. (1994). Media, process, and the social construction of crime. New York: Garlan

How the backout 1977 effect on Hip Hop - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2038 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/08/12 Category Music Essay Level High school Tags: Hip Hop Essay Did you like this example? Over the last thirty-seven years Hip Hop has slowly but surely become a staple of American society and has achieved notoriety all over the world. Not only is Hip Hop music consistently one of the highest selling genres of music of any kind on the market today, but Hip Hop as a whole is highly influential in dictating trends of all kinds as well. On a macro level, large corporate entities use Hip Hop as a productive means of product promotion, marketing, and advertising. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How the backout 1977 effect on Hip Hop" essay for you Create order On a micro level Hip Hop dictates fashion, hairstyle, dialect, car choice, everyday mannerisms, musical preference, and even common greetings. The term Hip Hop itself has almost become a synonym for popular culture. Hip Hop is not a phenomenon. As it enters its fifth decade in existence, it is safe to say that Hip Hop is here to stay. With this in mind, the question becomes what is Hip Hop and where did it come from? The region known as the South Bronx is actually not a specific singular neighborhood but rather it is a group of neighborhoods located in the southwestern portion of New York Citys Bronx borough. While there is debate over which neighborhoods exactly constitute the South Bronx, it is clear that sections of the borough such as Hunts Point, Mott Haven, and Port Morris each make up the South Bronx. According to former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, the term the South Bronx did not exist before the 1960s. He contends that in reality the term was really just an inve ntion, a shorthand way to describe physically decaying neighborhoods, rising crime and rising poverty. Before the 1960s, the Bronx was divided into the West Bronx and East Bronx. In essence, the term South Bronx originated during the 1960s as a racial construct used to define areas in the southern portion of the borough containing nearly homogeneous populations of low-income African Americans and Latinos. Therefore, most of the borough south of the Cross Bronx Expressway and west of the boroughs Castle Hill section is designated as the South Bronx for geographically, socioeconomic, and racial reasons. Virtually all notable Hip Hop scholars recognize that beginning with Sugar Hill Records in late 1979 small independent record companies, some previously in existence and others newly formed, began signing MCs and releasing rap records on vinyl, which allowed audiences outside of the South Bronx to consume Hip Hop as a recorded, tangible commodity for the first time. Most also acknowledge that the culture has become completely commercialized over the years by corporations and used as a ma rketing tool. This thesis contends that initial investments in Hip Hop by local New York City and New Jersey based independent record companies and other small corporate entities paved the way for large corporate conglomerates to use Hip Hop for profit as well. Between 1973 and 1979 Hip Hop culture, with the exception of graffiti art, was not visible outside of New York City. DJing, MCing, and breakdancing were restricted to the Bronx and parts of Upper Manhattan. At first, youth in these areas experienced Hip Hop by attending DJs parties at local Boys and Girls Clubs, school gymnasiums, community centers in public housing projects, and multipurpose rooms in apartment buildings. As Hip Hop expanded, DJs began to perform at outdoor block parties, in parks, and at local nightclubs. According to Hip Hops first photographer Joe Conzo Jr., during this period the goals of Hip Hop had nothing to do with making money. In fact on a telephone interview from his home, Conzo stated, it was a young group of ki ds rebelling and playing their moms records at local jams throughout the desolate South Bronx.17 Michael Holman, creator of the television show Graffiti Rock, a show that got cancelled after one episode, furthers Conzos claim by contending, Hip Hop was truly a response to these kids being marginalized. It was a way of them saying we are not nobodies, we are somebody. Hip Hop is really look at me.18 Hip Hop was a lifestyle aimed at having fun, garnering respect on the streets, and indulging in inexpensive forms of artistic self-expression. It had no connections to the corporate music industry whatsoever. However, in 1979 this all changed when Sylvia Robinson of Sugar Hill Records conceived the idea of recording MCs raps and distributing them nationwide as a new genre of popular music. In order to understand the argument that beginning in 1979 independent record companies, most notably Sugar Hill Records, commodified Hip Hop culture by recording MCs raps onto 12-inch vinyl records for retail distribution and damaged the cultures authenticity in the process, it is necessary to comprehend the importance of authentic 1970s cultural institutions in the Bronx and Harlem. For example, Hip Hop was born in an apartment building located at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. The building, which was erected in 1969, served the Bronx community by providing affordable housing to low-income residents and keeping them off the waiting lists for high-rise public housing projects. According to the spokesperson for Save 1520, an organization founded to combat gentrification efforts threatening to make the buildings affordable housing status obsolete, throughout the early 1970s 1520 Sedgwick Avenue made it possible for working families like DJ Kool Hercs to thrive and create the commu nities that gave rise to hip-hop.19 It is clear that this apartment building served a very important purpose to its South Bronx community during the 1970s, a decade in which the Bronx witnessed unparalleled urban decay. 1520 Sedgwick Avenue existed as an authentic Bronx cultural institution by providing both the socioeconomic and physical settings that made Hip Hops creation possible and by standing as a strong, private-sector affordable housing complex that did not fall victim to arson or condemnation during the most turbulent of years. In addition, nightclubs and local parks functioned as authentic cultural institutions in the Bronx and Harlem during the mid to late 1970s as well. In 1974, a variety of clubs throughout sections of the Bronx and Harlem began to embrace Hip Hop as a performance art and contracted DJs, most notably Kool Herc, to hold jams in their establishments. In Cant Stop Wont Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, Jeff Chang describes this process. After becoming well known for his house parties on Sedgwick Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood, Chang writes that local clubs such as Twilight Zone, which was located on Jerome Avenue, and The Hevalo Club often featured DJ Kool Herc and his crew of MCs.20 Soon other local Hip Hop DJs, who had built their reputations up throughout the house party scene in the Bronx as Herc had before them, began spinning at clubs such as Harlem World, Savoy Manor, Your Spot, Plaza Tunnel, and many others.21 These clubs were cultural institutions within their Br onx and Manhattan communities. They provided neighborhood DJs, which were Hip Hops central figures throughout the 1970s, with a place to hold organized jams, demonstrate their artistic skills, and solidify their reputations within the close-knit Hip Hop community. In order to be allowed to deejay in such a cultural institution, DJs had to be established within the inner circle of the local Hip Hop community. If not, people would not attend the functions. The arduous process of becoming well known and respected as a DJ on the local Bronx house party circuit granted DJs a sense of authenticity. Once established, playing in the clubs gave Bronx DJs a further sense of authenticity, legitimacy, and notoriety within their communities. Soon, as Chang explains, Hip Hop jams moved to outdoor parks in the South Bronx, most notably Cedar Park, which was located at the corner of Cedar Avenue, Sedgwick Avenue, and West 179th Street. This occurred during the summer months both because of the nice weather and because gangs made club jams unsafe.22 In order to hold a highly attended, successful park jam at a cultural institution such as Cedar Park, DJs had to have a well-established, positive reputation within the South Bronx Hip Hop community. At first, DJ Kool Herc dominated the outdoor jams at Cedar Park because of his impeccably large sound system and status as Hip Hops founder. However, over time other DJs learned from Herc and began holding large outdoor jams as well. During the mid to late 1970s, the Hip Hop community bestowed authenticity upon DJs based on the size and volume of their sound systems, the rarity of their records and quality of their breaks, and the crowd excitement generated by their MCs. Performing i n parks like Cedar Park granted a sense of authenticity to DJs and MCs. These performers statuses became even more authentic if their jams garnered large crowds, if their parties lasted for long-periods, and if their names were well known throughout the community. This authenticity was central to Hip Hop culture between 1973 and 1979. Without it, it would be nearly impossible to become recognized within the culture. Before various corporate entities realized the high marketability of Hip Hop, enabled its commercialization, distributed it as a tangible commodity, and transformed it into one of the most popular music genres and forms of entertainment in the world, Hip Hop existed as a localized artistic musical, social, and cultural phenomenon born in the South Bronx and eventually spreading to other areas of New York City. The cultures beginnings date back to 1973 when eighteen year old Jamaican immigrant Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc, threw a back to school party for his little sister Cindy in the recreation room of an apartment building located in the far western portion of the South Bronx. As Chang indicates, by the time DJ Kool Herc threw this party he had already been heavily influenced by the sociopolitical and musical cultures of his native Jamaica. He grew up in Jamaica between 1955 and 1967, a period in which the country endured severe political conflict, violence, and unr est. However, through all of this turmoil, music remained a critical part of Jamaican culture. Musicians often threw outdoor parties and concerts where they showed off their tremendous sound systems. These parties gave young people the opportunity to temporarily escape from the violence around them. As a young boy, Clive Campbell witnessed all of the struggles plaguing his native Jamaica and learned from the islands sound system operators and musical traditions.35 An analysis of Changs arguments makes it is clear that both his experiences as a young boy growing up in an extremely turbulent sociopolitical climate and his exposure to unique Jamaican musical traditions prepared him for life in the South Bronx and enabled him to create an innovative musical culture in his new environment. On August 11, 1973 DJ Kool Herc created Hip Hop in the recreation room of an apartment building located at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx and deejaying became the first element of Hip Hop culture. DJ Kool Herc moved to the South Bronx in 1967, three years before street gangs composed of misguided, marginalized youth began to terrorize the area, which had already suffered from the effects of deindustrialization, arson, and other socioeconomic and physical ills of urban decay36. These gangs made many aspects of life in the South Bronx difficult for youth, including recreational and social activities. For example, teenagers often frequented disco-oriented clubs throughout the city beginning in the late 1960s. However, according to Hip Hop author and journalist Peter Shapiro, street gangs had a serious, detrimental effect on this club scene after 1970. He argues that gangs made disco clubs intolerable with their menacing presence.37 Discos failed to draw large crowds from the South Br onx and other low-income African American and Latino neighborhoods, not only because many of the teens in the area did not identify with the culture surrounding disco, but more importantly because many of the most prominent clubs cover charges were too expensive for South Bronx youth to afford.38 It is evident that as of 1973, adolescents and young adults from the area were eager for a new musical culture and affordable recreational activity to embrace. Therefore, when DJ Kool Herc threw his back to school party in August of 1973, a party with cheap admission and no disco music, teenagers from all over the predominantly African American and Latino, low-income sections of South Bronx were excited to attend. They were not disappointed.