Remembering Selena 22 Years Later

Selena Quintanilla, the queen of Tejano music who created a space for the celebration of Mexican culture with both Mexican-American and white American audiences, died 22 years ago today. I am a big fan of Selena, both because I love her music and also I admire how authentic she comes across in her interviews. John Brammer of Buzzfeed posted a lovely and insightful article on how important Selena has been for the development and acceptance of his identity as a mixed, gay Chicano: "I am reminded that, before we are Spanish speakers or Mexicans or Americans, we are alchemists. We take what little we are given, and we turn it into conchas, or into a song, or into a joke. We turn tragedy into joy" is a quote on the article that touches on the continued celebration of Selena's legacy to this day. Selena's music reminds me of happiness, of joy and of the beauty of my people. 

Although she died far too early into her rising stardom, her music and style remains relevant and celebrated to this day. I think this speaks both to our obsession and admiration for celebrities who die young, but also how Selena was able to bridge the gap between Mexico and America through music that fascinated both audiences in a way that had never been done before. I am a gay mixed Mexican-American with a Mexican dad and a white mother, just like the author of this story. Early childhood memories include dancing around my abuelas house while Como La Flor blasted from the speakers, sweeping the floor and singing along. I think my love for Selena served as a way for me to love the Mexican aspects of my identity, that for some time I tried to distance myself from. Now I take great pride in my mixed identity, and continue to love Selena. While I am white and therefore have a privilege not granted to many of my family members who immigrated here, I have learned to celebrate and admire Mexican culture while simultaneously recognizing  how aspects of my identity will always prevent me from truly understanding the Mexican-American experience. 

Selena remains one of the few Latinx celebrities to launch into stardom. Her lasting impact is a testament to the desire that we have for fresh voices and perspectives, but also to how she was able to bridge divides that existed through her infectious melodies, sequin costumes and authenticity. I encourage you to read the article, since it showcases how celebrities are important in the construction and development of our identities. 

Kendrick Lamar: Beacon of Body Positivity?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTRZJ-4EyI

Since Kendrick Lamar dropped his latest single "Humble" yesterday, the track's music video has garnered more than 5 million YouTube views, as well as 357,000 Twitter mentions and counting. The video is laden with rich religious iconography, featuring visual references to Pentecostal tongues of fire, a Last Supper tableaux, and Lamar garbed in long papal robes. Once again, Lamar's hyper-literate, socially critical stylings open up an expansive field of entry points into his latest work. However, conversation in online publications and music reviews has largely centered around a particular verse of the song which has been received as alternately body positive and body policing.

In the verse, Lamar raps: "I'm so fuckin' sick and tired of the Photoshop / Show me somethin' natural like afro on Richard Pryor / Show me somethin' natural like ass with some stretch marks / Still will take you down right on your mama's couch in Polo socks." While the Internet has responded with resounding appreciation for Lamar's appreciation for girls who rock natural beauty, his approach to body positivity also highlights his unfortunately male-centric perspective. Many pointed out that the model that appears on screen during this portion of the song conforms to mainstream beauty standards, sporting long hair and clear skin even without makeup. In addition, commentators have pointed out that praising black women's bodies and features based on how attractive a man perceives them to be is far from championing feminist ideals. I would be interested to hear people's thoughts on the implications of the video and its lyrics. Do you think Lamar's stance amounts to body positivity, body policing, or an ambiguous hybrid of both?

Light Turner? Really, Netflix?

https://www.buzzfeed.com/susancheng/netflixs-death-note-film-adaptation-or-whitewashing?utm_term=.tsoreLwzA#.pegQBwdvq

Last Wednesday, Netflix released the trailer for Death Note, its live-action film adaptation of a popular manga series of the same name. The original Death Note tells the story of a Japanese high school student named Light Yagami who one day stumbles upon a "Death Note," a notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it. Armed with the supernatural killing device and a healthy dose of self-righteousness, Light begins executing criminals in what he believes is an attempt to rid the world of evil. The manga has since been adapted into one of the most well-known anime series, four live-action Japanese films, a television drama, and even a musical among other iterations.

However, this most recent adaptation has sparked immediate controversy, labelled by many as an indication of Hollywood's massive blind spot: Asian representation in film and television. Producers of the film have cast Caucasian actor, Nat Wolff, to play the protagonist Light Turner, and an equally white Margaret Qualley to play opposite him as the female lead. Fans have likened the whitewashing to Paramount Pictures' treatment of Ghost in the Shell, another anime adaptation which sparked controversy after Scarlett Johansson was cast as the film's protagonist, a character who is Japanese in the source material. In Ghost in the Shell, Johansson plays a cyborg in charge of a counter-cyberterrorist task force in a fictional Japanese city.

However, I would compare this case more to the infamous type of cultural whitewashing perpetrated by 4Kids back in the early 2000s which claimed to "Americanize" certain animes for Western audiences by changing key elements such as the characters’ names, the types of food they are eating, or even characters’ genders or the nature of their relationships with each other. Perhaps changing random food items is harmless enough to a degree.  But what happens when we change a character’s name, thus also changing their identity – and, inevitably, their race? The new Death Note adaptation changes Light's last name to "Turner" and the setting to Seattle, firmly placing him outside of Japan and outside of a Japanese context, stripping him of his race.  It makes me feel as though Netflix believes that a mass American audience assumed to be watching the film cannot possibly identify with someone whose name is so vastly different from theirs. I fear that by choosing to cast all white leads for this version, Netflix is sending a message that an American version of anything must be white, when in reality Americans are more than capable of investing in Asian characters and actors. It is telling that, despite the directors explicitly championing the diversity of their cast, there are only four East Asian actors total, and none in leading roles.

Core Response - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson has been a timeless global megastar even after his death. Even in China, people in multiple generations are still listening to his songs and imitating his dance moves. Chinese singers who like Michael Jackson are marked as “tasteful.” The “Peter Pan figure (Mercer)” phenomenon mentioned in Mercer’s Monster Metaphors is the same across the sea. The media created this mysterious, ambiguous figure for people to consume like a commodity. “The definite sense of racial ambiguity writ large in his new image is at the same time, and by the same token, the site of a sexual ambiguity bordering on androgyny (Mercer).” However Michael Jackson’s image in China has more racial rumors than sexual discussion, which can be resulted from China’s more traditional views toward gender norms in star and media.

The music video of Thriller is perhaps more well known than the song itself and brought the song famous. It “does not so much seek to promote the record as a primary product, but rather celebrates the stardom which the LP has brought to Michael Jackson (Mercer)." The 13 minutes long video is structured like a musical short film, which was unprecedented at the time. The novelty of a mixture of thriller, horror, zombie, and musical, within a music video suits Michael Jackson’s star image of mixture and uniqueness. The fantasy of werewolf and zombie speaks to his Peter Pan figure who talks to the animals in the zoo, and it also adds to his masculine sexuality like how it works in Twilight. “Neither child nor adult, not clearly either black or white, and with an androgynous image that is neither masculine nor feminine, Jackson's star image is a "social hieroglyph," as Marx said of the commodity form (Mercer)” He also set a example of sexually ambiguous star, which is liberal, since that can never happen in culturally conservative countries like China.

Core Post 3/29: Black Masculinities and Popular Culture

In this weeks readings about “Black Masculinities and Popular Culture,” Mercer analyzed the intricacies of Michael Jackson’s music videography, particularly Thriller, while simultaneously tackling the pop-stars influential yet extraordinarily complex public persona. A theme that echoed throughout Mercer’s text was his claim of Jacksons self/cultural awareness, and how that consciousness was reflective in the outcome of his creative work in Thriller, both visually and aurally. Jackson, known for his very public yet somehow private physical transformation into “a more white, European look” (Mercer 306) is the product of his slow and ongoing detachment from strictly identifying as the periods public perception of what it means to be an African American male. Such an extreme physical change potentially played a major role in Jackson’s breakthrough to fans and networks such as “MTV [which] maintained an unspoken policy of excluding black artists” (Mercer 307). His androgynous yet cognizant nature, allowed other artists to explore their own identity as entertainers rather than perpetuate cultural biases and stereotypes. Although Jacksons eccentricities broke barriers for himself and others, it served as a double edged sword in Jackson accepting and embracing his own true identity. Without his transformation, would he have experienced the same success and stardom? The answer to this isn’t as important to us as fans and consumers as it is to Jackson himself. Not knowing if his success would have reached the same heights without his transformation proved to be an unfortunate influence on his life, health, and less importantly, his career.

Core Response

Kobena Mercer’s, "Monster Metaphors Notes on Michael Jackson’s Thriller" was an interesting take on the mysteriousness behind Michael Jackson and his role as a celebrity through a unique analysis of his music video of Thriller. Thriller is interesting in how it differs from other music videos because it quite literally brings the audience a sense of thrill throughout the plot and transformation of Michael from human to werewolf to zombie. The music video also is composed of various horror movie allusions as well to help connote it's tribute to cinematic horror. The effects of horror interestingly enough brings about a sense of sexuality that most wouldn't automatically assume correlates to each other but within horror films women are often viewed as the victim or "prize" in regards to the hero and the villain. When Michael undergoes his transformation into a werewolf it ties heavily to the portrayal of black masculinity as it demonstrates that there is a "real man" within Michael's likable demeanor, especially since Mercer states that "animals are regularly used to signify human attributes, with the wolf, lion, snake and eagle all understood as signs of male sexuality" (Mercer, 311). One point he made that was brought to my attention was how on the cover of Michael's Thriller album cover, the appearance of a tiger cub served as a metaphorical representation of the mystery behind Jackson's role as an African American male pop star. It is through these ambiguities that Jackson manages to parody the ideal views of what is black masculinity.

Mercer credits Jackson with "not only questions dominant stereotypes of black masculinity, but also gracefully steps outside the existing range of 'types' of black men" confirming his ambiguous role as a celebrity has many different effects (Mercer, 314). Mercer details that Jackson is “neither child nor man, not clearly either black or white and with an androgynous image that is neither masculine nor feminine” preserving his mysteriousness in the public portrayal of what defines black masculinity (Mercer, 302). This entire concept of Michael Jackson's image embodying certain aspects of ambiguity to help reinforce the contradictions of what is portrayed as African American masculinity definitely ties into the themes of star contradictions we studied throughout this class.

Core Response 2: Michael Jackson Knows Michael Jackson

In the article, “Monster Metaphors,” Mercer uses Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video to explore Michael Jackson’s stardom, spectacle, metamorphosis, and mystery as a performer: “neither child nor man, not clearly either black or white and with an androgynous image that is neither masculine nor feminine” (302).

In this post, I will focus on Thriller’s opening sequence narrative prefacing the first notes of the song, and its significance in painting Michael Jackson’s complexity and indeterminacy as a star. As Mercer writes, Thriller separates itself from most pop videos because of its opening sequence. In fact, seen on the VEVO Official Video, the music doesn’t begin until 4:13. Instead of opening with musical notes, Thriller opens with a “long panning shot on a car driving through the woods at night and the ‘cinematic’ sound of recorded silence” (307). Quickly, Michael Jackson and his romantic interest are revealed: they talk, and Michael Jackson reveals that he’s “not like other guys” before his body and face violently rip into a monster form. At the peak of all horror, we cut to a movie theater with Michael and his date.

Here, the self-reflexivity of Thriller is so in-your-face, it begs the question of why Thriller is doing it. First, as we cut back and forth between the screen and the audience, it is obvious that the actors are exactly the same. Michael’s date wears slick blue instead of cotton pink, but Michael actually maintains his red jacket – only, it’s leather now, instead of a jersey. Why change the date’s outfit, but so subtly alter Michael’s? Clearly, Michael Jackson is very firmly established as the video’s absolute and ever-present star – he is Michael Jackson, whether he’s in a movie, whether he’s a monster in a movie, whether he’s watching the movie, or whether he leaves the movie to sing about the movie. With that, viewers of Thriller are jolted out of any suspension of disbelief that comes with traditional film characterization. Despite this, we feel compelled, intrigued to know this Michael character further. The video pushes the audience’s awareness of Michael Jackson’s multiple personas with his dialogue. Watching in the movie theater, the girl says, “Can we get out of here?” Michael Jackson responds in all possible cheekiness – “No, I’m enjoying this,” as he pops popcorn in his mouth, watching his own monster superego play on screen.

Mercer argues that the opening metamorphosis from human Michael to monster Michael is a “metaphor for the aesthetic reconstruction of Michael Jackson’s face” (313). I would like to go further to suggest that Michael is aware of this metaphor, more so than anyone surrounding or analyzing him post-mortem. In the theater, Michael reacts to himself on screen in a way that’s different than anyone else in the theater. Michael grins a toothy, self-assured grin while everyone else screams at the monster with shock and uncertainty. This idea may be applied to Michael in real life: Michael’s perception of himself, and his evolution of himself, is more introspective and secure than anyone in his personal or professional life. As fans and viewers, Michael is elusive and ambiguous, but to Michael, at least in Thriller, Michael is cognizant of the worlds he creates, and the levels of disbelief he pulls audience members through – perhaps best seen at 4:17, when he spins out of the theater and into song and dance, and takes us with him…

YouTube Celebrities' Influence

For my IML 201 – The Languages of Digital Media class, we had to create a digital argument by transforming found video and sound footage into a new expression. Interested in new media, my goal with my remix video was to start an in-class conversation about YouTube celebrities, their sense of authenticity and how they shape today’s youth.
YouTube videos have a sense of authenticity, which is what ultimately asks us to see ourselves within them and within YouTubers. It is because vloggers seem real that we see ourselves in them. Looking at YouTube celebrities of the particular subgenre of beauty channels, my video looks at the duality in YouTube performance that constructs authenticity to ask how it might be influencing youth.

I chose to look at the beauty genre not only because it is very popular at the moment, but also because these videos explicitly teach viewers how to behave, how to perform and put on femininity, displaying their influence more evidently.

The view count of each video that shows up on screen is from March 14, 2017. The videos with a + next to their view counts are videos that were reposted on other channels and their original view counts could not be found.

Rather than proposing a single interpretation of this world in the new media, my desire with this remix video was to spark questioning, something that we are not used to doing when watching YouTube videos since vloggers feel so authentic, like they are our friends.

Some questions that came up in developing the project were: how is a YouTuber celebrity’s authenticity constructed? Does crying on camera spontaneously balance more polished videos? Are these vulnerable videos completely authentic? How are YouTube celebrities/beauty gurus influencing youth? Is this community solidifying a stereotypical femininity or evolving it towards fluidity?