Monday, February 21, 2011
Lauryn Hill: as seen through bell hooks' rhetoric of love
After reading the handout "Lauryn in Love," please take a moment to reflect on the way in which this article may echo some of bell hooks' ideas as expressed in the introduction to Salvation that we read in class, and in the quotes from the book in your handout. Consider that all celebrities, through their publicists, their clothes, their photo shoots, their political activism, their responses to interview questions, and their general image, are constructed. What is the underlying message of Lauryn Hill as an icon? How do we articulate her meaning as a symbol in the world of music? As a prominent figure in the history of black female celebrities? Use one quote from the article "Lauryn in Love" and one quote from the bell hooks' quotes handout in your response.
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Once having read the article, "Lauryn in Love." i am able to see a couple of connections between Lauryn's spiritual and ethical moral and Bell Hook's thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHook says,"Through out our history, African Americans have poured energy into the struggle to acheive material well-being and status, in part ot deny the impact of emotional woundedness. Truthfully, it is easier to acquire material comforts than to aquire love." With this she speaks to her theory that African Americans historically since the time of slavery have had a struggle to love. Wheter its becasue of being torn apart in slavery or other things through out history up unto the present. She believes that status and fame or fortune are not truley what is important in life but love is the ultimate goal.
Lauryn Hill seems very much to share this thoery of the importance of love with Hook. She says, "I dont feel like my money or my succes defines me. I've always been very happy just being me." What this wuote is saying is that she really doesnt care to much about the fame or fortune that comes with her position as a preformer. She is just happy with the love and support of her loved ones.
In Bell Hook’s introduction to Salvation, she states that black communities do not believe in love. This could be based on the way media is portrayed in music or television because celebrities are talking negatively about love. One way of media that we are focusing on is rap music. In Bell Hook’s essay she writes, “The vast majority of the images of black people we see in the mass media simply confirm and reinforce racist, sexist, and classist stereotypes.” Current artists sing about hate and un lovingness in the world sending a message that love and other great things are hopeless. Some artists for example that we listened to in class today, Nicki Minaj, sings lyrics that are downgrading on herself and to other women who look up to her. Since there is a good beat playing in the background, the negative lyrics are dismissed so it seems ok to listen to it. I do not believe Nicki Minaj is a bad person, because I myself listen to her music, but taking things into perspective of how negative her lyrics were gave me a new outlook on her. It seems like women do not see themselves as valuable then during Lauryn Hill’s time. Lauryn Hill did the opposite of Nicki Minaj in singing and followed her dream of inspiring others by music. Lauryn Hill is not only in love with Rohan Marley but is also in love with music. Music and singing has been an important part of Lauryns life. She would like to change the world with her songs because music is one easy way to get across to people. Hill says, “I think now people feel a little more comfortable playing with the parameters”. What Hill must have been interpreting was that people understand now that there is hope in love based on her lyrics. Hill is an inspiration to women who thought before that there was no such thing as love. From the essay on Hill, she seems like a humble, strong woman who is kind and respectful helping the world. I think there should be more singers like Lauryn Hill because she was a good influence on woman unlike some of the artists that we listen to on the radio today.
ReplyDelete-Noelle writer
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ReplyDeleteAs the years grow older and the music generation gets newer, music listeners are hearing a different style of music. It is very different from the old school music or parents and grandparents used to soulfully jam to because now music artists use computer type technologies to create sound bass beats and rhythm. Young people now are drawn by the catchy beat of the song instead of actually paying attention to the gruesome lyrics artists creatively write. In Bell hooks piece, Salvation: Black People and Love, she quoted “Developing positive self-esteem about our bodies and beings continues to be arduous for black females in a society that consistently represents us negatively. Promoting devaluation and hatred of black females has been absolutely politically strategic.” I feel this statement intertwines with the article Lauryn in Love Hip Hop mogul Lauryn Hill express the fact that she loves to hear her own raw voice through the microphone of her recording instead of a computer to perfect her voice. “Then she worked with her engineer ‘A sound that’s raw…I don’t ever want that taken away. I don’t like compressors and take away my textures, because I was raised on music that was recorded before technology advanced to the place where it could be smooth. I wanna hear the thickness of sound. You can’t get that from a computer, because a computer’s too perfect. But that human element, that’s what make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.” I believe this is key for all music artists to do because as we listen to Lauryn’s music we can actually hear the heart touching music she speaks that can change the world positively as oppose to artists now in generation who rap and/or sing through loud bass music exploiting negative music and views in our heads developing low self-esteem for females around which is leading them to do things that disrespects them in a manner that is unacceptable for younger kids and people around by being influenced through the music that gets played on the radio today.
ReplyDelete-Lady Hornet
Bell Hooks introduces the idea of lovelessness in the black community. She gives historical, and current, examples of the opinion that black people lack the ability to love when she states "Throughout our history, African Americans have poured energy into the struggle to acheive material well-being and status, in part to deny the impact of emotional woundedness. Truthfully, it is easier to acquire material comforts than to aquire love." Hooks feels as if this lovelessness is a crisis, one that needs to be corrected as soon as possible. She states “If love is not present in our imaginations, it will not be there in our lives.” I completely agree with this statement. It mirrors the famous saying “Practice like you play” in that if that intensity is not there when it doesn’t count, then it won’t be there when it is important. I can see why she feels this way considering that she hears children saying "love doesn't exist." Not only is it children, but she recently spoke with Lil’ Kim and she said that she does not know love. We listen to Lil’ Kim, so we are listening to someone who does not know what it means to love or be loved. This is why it is important to witness, and be influenced by, a woman in the media that believes in love. Lauryn Hill fulfills the requirements. She is in love, experiencing it first hand. Listening to someone who believes in the existence of love, projects the same believe into our minds. This leads to the minimization of lovelessness in the black community.
ReplyDelete-Special K
"The vast majority of the images of black people we see in the mass media simply confirm and reinforce racist, sexist, and classist stereotypes"
ReplyDelete-Bell Hooks
"The media have made people so accepting of war. They're so cynical, they'll believe something stupid. I was in Rwanda and we went to the places where genocide happened- yards full of bones and skulls, and it seemed like props."
-Lauryn Hill
All famous people have images made for them. Created persona's to deal with the media and their public interferences. Lauryn Hill seems to work against these mainstream media phenotypes, living her life with as much loving force behind it as possible. Understanding that we are all a part of this world, and that we must all work together to create something beautiful, and the fact that some are not working with us does not justify the lack of action from people who say they have "no part" or "cant do anything". Lauryn's reflection on the medias influence in peoples lives, and the negative disconnection that they feel from the their representation of violence, racism, sexism,and classism directly corresponds to Bell Hooks observation that the stereotypes that present themselves over and over again within media only allow the pursuance and continuation of these feelings. Because it is on television, because it is coming from a source of "understanding" and "investigation" (or so they lead us to believe) people are coerced into believing idiocracy. The fluctuation of racism, sexism and other ignorant, arrogant and elitist thoughts within our country, could be said to disperse equally in relation to the amount of stereotype represented in the media. I believe Lauryn is fighting against the mainstream, trying to show that not all African American people are disconnected from love, or are reduced to these simplistic, animalistic instincts. Lauryn stands for the new age of race, or simplistically, the disappearance of social understanding through race. We are all human, and all share similarities, to ignore this fact is to live with a curtain over your eyes. Slowly
the veil is being lifted, and the people once shrouded in elitism are beginning to emerge into a beautifully accepting world. The human race is the future, not the racial segmentation of society.
Through the media, blacks have been perceived as being unloving and materialistic, among other things. While the media builds up these stereotypes, some might say that certain black musicians also enforce these perceptions. When interviewing the female rapper, Lil' Kim, bell hooks stated, “Her attitudes about love were cynical. Her focus on life was on attaining more money and fame.” Although not every single black artist gives off the same impression as Lil' Kim, the mixture of media's perception and lyrics predominately dealing with money and other material values may cause one to believe the stereotypes. I believe this is why Lauryn Hill, among other factors, is such a well respected and talented musician. Her music combines hip-hop and soul with lyrics about empowerment and love. Hill's music acts as a breath of fresh air for the music world and allows people to reconsider their opinion on African Americans in the music industry. A reason for Hill's success stems from the fact that she is the complete opposite of the stereotype most people in her genre of music face. Although she is an accomplished, Grammy winning artist, Hill keeps her awards hidden and out of view from visitors. Instead of living in a mansion, she shares a home big enough for her five children, partner, and parents to live in. Hill describes herself as, “...I'm not in any rush to impress anybody. I don't feel like my money or my success defines me. I've always been very happy just being me.” Hill defys the stereotype of black artists not only through her original style of music, but also in her personality and attitude. Her attitude towards her music is modest and free; she doesn't feel the pressure to release a new album faster in order to stay on top. Instead, she uses her status to benefit those around her through her charity work and compassion. While one may say that African Americans in the media are cold and show little emotion, Lauryn Hill breaks this stereotype with her loving and powerful attitude.
ReplyDelete- vivusz
lauren hill's music represents how music should be. in just about all of her lyrics, there is very little swearing, everything flows and its not constantly downplaying another individual. lauren hill talked about love, life, childhood, etc. she is one of the most talented female musicians out in my opinion. her lyrics prove that she doesn't have to drugs, sex, or violence towards women to get a point across. in class when we listened to her sing, no one had anything to say! she is a highly respected individual who has set the bar extremely high for newer artists! in the movie sister act 2, her the true beauty of her voice came out! she let the world see just how powerful her voice is! in the song "killing me softly with his song" she did an excellent job of remaking it!
ReplyDeletePardon my brazen boldness, but I would like to say that I thought "Lauren In Love" did not echo bell hooks. In fact, I think it did completely the opposite. I think that "Lauren in Love" shows just how beautiful black love can be. No, we have not lost that capacity. Take for instance the passage in the text when Lauren was being interviewed about how it is to be in the business and what she does to cope. She responded elegantly and articulated, "I've surrounded myself with people who believe in what I do, because I can't do it alone." This quote shows that we are not numb to the affections of others and that we still have the capacity for caring. Another quote was rather intriguing to me, one that describe Lauren's relationship with Rohan, "Ro, who has the patience of a clam--- a clam takes one hundred years to make a pearl. I love you very much. I know it's rough, but we here." This quote is poetic in the way that it shows the very basic principal of what it takes to stay together for as long as Lauren and Rohan have, compromise. These examples highly disprove bell hooks statement, "Truthfully, it is easier to acquire material comforts than to acquire love." Lauren has the money and the fame and yet she still has love that she values more than that. I think that bell hooks has put a lens on the negative aspect of rap when there are so many more artists out there who provide a positive message. I feel that "Lauren in Love" shows us that other side of the spectrum that is so poorly represented in bell hook's argument.
ReplyDelete(P.S. I hope I didn't stray from the topic too much. :/)
-M.J. Clyde
From reading "Lauryn in Love" I learned a lot of personal information about Lauryn Hill. The author opens up with a statement saying "America is at war". What is war? War between two or more countries or people. Lauryn Hill is an inspiration for others as well for herself. Even though she has been successful she does not do her job to impress others but because she is just being herself. When talking about her thirty plaques she states, "I don't ever wanna become complacent like that. I don't feel like my money or my success defines me. I've always been very happy just bein me" (Lauryn in Love). bell hooks has a great quote on material things and love, "Throughout our history, African- Americans have poured energy into the struggle to achieve material well-being and status, in part to deny the impact of emotional woundedness. Truthfully, it is easier to acquire material comforts than to acquire love". Lauryn even said that her husband just came to her at the time that she needed someone even though she was not searching for anybody. Music was not enough for Lauryn she wanted to a figure that changed the world. Music is a strong component of the world today. Lauryn has made a huge impact in the music world. With her being inspired to do what she does helps inspire others to do what is best for them. Music needs to have strong meaning within the lyrics, a good story to tell, and can inspire someone to do good. We need Lauryn Hill back on the music scene to get to some REAL music. :)
ReplyDelete-Sweets92
After reading the article “Lauryn in Love”, I found a few similarities between hooks and Lauryn. They both want to change the world. Lauryn calls out the battle for the “souls of Black folk” through her music and hooks begs for the understanding that Black are fully capable of loving and caring as any other human being do. Lauryn has been in this battle for almost all her singing career starting with the Fugees and then with her solo album, changing people’s perspectives through her own music. Being able to keep a close connection with her family, not only Lauryn is a good singer but also is a good wife and a good mother. “People grow up, they grow apart. And just like a relationship, if things are based on the right things, they’ll come back together, and if they’re not, then they won’t”. There are a lot of things that can go wrong in a relationship but if we accept, believe and trust our partner, then at the end, we will be back together and appreciate each other more. It’s true that time sometime heals wounds, but what if the Band-Aids is too small for the wound? We all just got to live through the pain and get on with life.
ReplyDeleteMr.T
Every generation music changes and will continue to change in the future. When you hear the music that our parents and grandparents use to listen too you can in a way see how society and the behavior of people were and how it has changed and affected them. I've asked my parents and other elders how blacks were viewed and how they portrayed themselves, especially artists, when they were younger and it is clear that the media has portrayed them as negative people. Back in the day R&B and soul music was very popular and inspiring and they sang because their love for music, just like Lauryn Hill. Most adults now can not even stand the music we listen to because of how explicit and violent it seems to be. Music now is all about who is the best, doing drugs, partying, money, etc. Many Artists are not the same like before. For example, many people love Lil Wayne, and while he is a great artist he is not a great person to admire because of the way he portrays himself. He has kids with different mothers, gets arrested for drugs, and his music is very explicit to where when it's on the radio and Music videos every other word is bleeped out. Unlike Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder who are good artists but are also good role models with what people might say, "real music". Like Lauryn says in "Lauryn in Love" "Were in this war." "Well there's always a constant spiritual war, but there's a battle for the should of black folk, and just folk in general, and the music has a lot to do with it." This quote clearly talks about how media and music portray the blacks. It makes them seem as they can't love and are all aggressive and negative. Bell hooks says in salvation, "when it comes to the issue of love, the mass media basically represent black people as unloving. We may be portrayed as funny, angry, sexy, dashing, beautiful, sassy and fierce, but we are rarely represented as loving." There is more to black people than this and artists, actors, celebrities, etc need to help improve the media in order to help the people understand. Especially the african American artists. In addition lauryn hill portrays herself as a spiritual person who is beautiful because of God and who doesn't just wanna change music but also change the world.
ReplyDeleteBoth Lauryn Hill and Bell Hook are very self-confident and independent people. Bell Hook focuses a lot more on racism in her introduction while Lauryn Hill focuses a lot more on actual life situations! She does mention color but does not really address racism like Bell Hook. Bell hook refers to slavery from when it began up until modern day. "Throughout our history, African-Americans have poured energy into the struggle to achieve material well-being and status, in part to deny the impact of emotional woundedness. Truthfully, it is easier to acquire material comforts than to acquire love." Bell mixes both race and morals together. Lauryn Hill acknowlegdes that she is black but she focuses more on America as a whole, needing to change. She mixes America and morals together. However, there are some instances where Lauryn Hill does speak of race, "Black music right now is like the Star Wars battle." After saying this she names musicians and matches them from characters, matching herself to Princess Leia. I really enjoyed reading her article because you really get to see what kind of a person she is. Basically she is trying to bring the world back to the way it used to be, when there were no big companies who tried to take over everything. She wants everyone to be happy and live in peace. Through her music, she tries to send that message.
ReplyDeleteI strongly think that Lauren Hill’s essay does reflect some of the points addressed in Bell Hook’s book. These two authors both touch on the delicate issue of love, war, and women self esteem. Lauren essays reflects Bell’s book through the eyes of one prominent issues but it still addresses the same topics. Bell Hook believes that “throughout history, African Americans have poured energy into the struggle to achieve material well-being and status, in part to deny the impact of emotional woundedness. Truthfully it is easier to acquire material comforts than to acquire love.” This quote basically stresses out the point Lauren brings out in her essay. She says that when she was with the Fugees (Wyclef jean) she “stopped praying because there were some things in [her] life that [she] knew weren’t good for [her], but [she] had decided [she] needed those things.” Lauren Hill explains that she was greatly unhappy but she didn’t want to pray because she didn’t want God to take those things away and to her those things (materialistic things) brought her comfort. However, true happiness came when she met her Boy friend Ro, had her two children, and finally got her liberation. Lauren reflects Hook’s message through this quote that sometimes we focus so much on the material aspect (in this case fame and the results of it) that we forget what being loved and feeling loved is all about. We need to let the “wound breathe” (Hill) and let go of all these things because true love exist regardless of one’s “economic status” (Hook).
ReplyDelete-Rebel Flower
Both Lauryn Hill and bell hooks are both very intriguing, what I thought they both had in common with each other’s stories is that they both think African Americans do not have that love quality, and rather seek for more material objects. With bell hooks talking about slavery that, “when emotional ties were established between individuals, when children were born to enslaved mothers and fathers, these attachments were often severed. No matter the tenderness of connection, it was often overshadowed by the trauma of abandonment and loss.” This author was staying that the after affects of slavery made black people become more detached from love right after birth because they were not like white mothers and children that got to stay together and have that happily ever after bond. Lauryn Hill makes another but still similar component in her book, how Hollywood made the black folk in it not even flinch when talking about the genocide in Rwanda she is talking to her friend, “Lauryn, I thought I’d be more upset that I am.’ He was completely desensitized. He was more upset about not being upset,” and her friend adds, “Ro’s theory…is that all of Hollywood is meant to desensitize us.” They are both talking about the love and emotion that they believe are not fully developed in African Americans.
ReplyDeleteThe underlying message of her being an icon, I think is that she is trying to express that love, be a physical representation of it, and uses her voice to spread it through lyrical emotions. She is a great figure in the music world, you may not know her name, but you most like heard her voice on the radio, at least I did not know her name, but I love her songs and I even grew up listening to them. Her voice I think will live on, even when she, herself is gone.
-Rachelle Star
We live in a world full of greed. Possibly since the beginning of man, we have displayed our prized material possessions in an attempt to be regarded as higher members of society. However, this has caused us to lose sight of what truly matters in our lives, one of those things being love. Author bell hooks believes "[greed] is sanctioned by those at the top of our class hierarchies and trickles down. The rich who condone exploitation, murder, and slavery in order to maintain their wealth are no different from the poor who prey on one another in order to satisfy material longings. Greed manufactures hate." In this quote she expresses how material wealth can cause people to compete against each other in the most violent ways, allowing them to hate each other over physical objects that will bring them short-term happiness. Lauryn Hill communicates a similar emotion when she talks about the thirty plaques stowed away in her closet. Her words to the interviewer were, “I don't feel like my money or my success defines me. I've always been very happy just bein me.” That sentence demonstrates how Hill knows material wealth is not the greatest possession. She is most likely proud of the awards she received, but she could do well without them because she loves her inner self.
ReplyDelete-SRam
bell hooks' description of how black are seen and how they felt was overall negative, and she blamed it on past experiences. It appears that she definitely overgeneralized, because there are black people who do feel loved. Love and situations of people do not necessarily depend on race either back when slavery was around or today. Lauren in Love definitely refutes this. She says that she does feel beautiful because of what she has on the inside. She said that she thinks that it is "the God in me that makes me beautiful." In bell hooks' entry there is nothing mentioned about God. Lil' Kim in contrast does not know what love is which would represent a loss and misunderstanding of God in her life. Therefore, I believe that it could be the lack of the Gospel in one's life that brings about genuine love that spews everywhere.
ReplyDeleteFrom this perhaps having God in her and understanding spirituality makes her a musical symbol one of genuineness and purity in music spectrum.
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ReplyDeleteLauryn Hill is a very powerful music icon. She was the first woman to win five Grammy's at the same time. Lauryn Hill's message is that she wants to her audience to feel her music. Her meaning as a symbol in the world of music is a strong one. "The media have made people so accepting of war. They're so cynical, they'll believe something stupid. I was in Rwanda and we went to the places where genocide happened- yards full of bones and skulls, and it seemed like props."-Lauryn Hill. Lauryn wants people to question the media. And to not believe everything they say. "Through out our history, African Americans have poured energy into the struggle to achieve material well-being and status, in part of deny the impact of emotional woundedness. Truthfully, it is easier to acquire material comforts than to acquire love."- Bell Hook. Lauryn is trying to express her love through her music. Both Bell Hook and Lauryn Hill think that african americans do not have the ability to love
ReplyDeleteI believe you can some up Lauren Hill's music in two words.. CHANGE and LOVE. Her songs mainly deal with these two words. She believes her lyrics will help change come not only in a broad way but also in a way that will affect the small communities or even a change in ones self... I believe that Lauren hill was saying a lot of things that Line up with "Salvation". Salvaion basically arguing the fact that black people arent able to love. In the reading of Lauren Hill she states this during her interview: ,"Through out our history, African Americans have poured energy into the struggle to acheive material well-being and status... Truthfully, it is easier to acquire material comforts than to aquire love." She is basically saying that we fought for equally rights to gain status. But at the end we have it but are still wounded from the past. Like we got what we wanted but we are still hurt and won't let go.This ties into what Hooks was arguing. We don't know how to love. If you compare and contrast artists and people in general these days it is extremely different. This is whaat Lauren Hill talks so much about in her songs. Do I agree with the fact that black people can not love? Well all I know is that we are a group of people who are still hurt, wounded and damaged. It is not until we learn to get over (never forget) the past.. that we can actually learn to love ourselves and each other the way we shold. :)
ReplyDelete-Meeshelay
The idea that African Americans are aggressive and incapable of love is constantly pounded into our brain by the media. Whether it be music videos that objectify women, or any number of Hollywood movies, blacks are rarely represented as loving and unified. "When it comes to the issue of love, the mass media basically represent black people as unloving. We may be portrayed as funny, angry, sexy, dashing, beautiful, sassy, and fierce, but we are rarely represented as loving." bell hooks' idea is correct. Black role models are usually being idolized for the wrong reason. However, such love is shown by Lauryn Hill. From her soon to be husband Rohan, to her two kids, Lauryn is constantly showing compassion. "Raising children is a twenty-four-hour job, and making music is a twenty-four-hour job, so I have to really be careful how I do things." The use of caution in her daily life is an example of how Lauryn cares about her kids, and the family setting. Not enough stories such as this one are told.
ReplyDeleteLauryn Hill and bell hooks have similar views in what they are trying to do. They are both trying to bring about change in the world and create a greater understanding of black people. they have that similarity but the difference between them is the way they go about it. Lauryn Hill uses her music and speaks of a spiritual war and using her music to touch the people and explain to them in a loving fashion of how black life is. bell hooks uses negativity towards the way the media portrays black people and states that they are misinterpreted by the media. they both show that African Americans have worked hard to be where they are today and deserve some positive recognition.
ReplyDelete-TAPATIO87
bell hooks said "Until black people, and our allies in love and struggle, become militant about how we are represented on television, in movies, and in books, we will not see imagination work that offers images of black characters who love. If love is not present in our imagination, it will not be there in our lives." I believe that Lauryn Hill felt the same way. In so many instances, we see that there are a hand full of African Artists who lets their fame define who they are. They get their money and they just go nuts with it, but not Lauryn. She got her money and did what anyone else would, she bought a house and a couple of cars. But house wasn't hers, it was for her parents, and she stayed in that house with them. She bought more than one car, but only one of them were for her on personal use. Artist today feel like they have to purchase multiple homes all around the world, like they can be in various places at once, and buy a new car for everyday of the week, which I think is just ridiculous. They often let their fame and fortune let them forget where they came from, but not Lauryn. That house she bought was right up the street from where she was raised; she didn't move far away from home at all. She lived the life of any ordinary person although she had money up the ass. Today, as seen on MTV Cribs, many artists have their awards displayed on the walls of their homes, but not Lauryn. "I have about thirty plaques that stay in one closet," Lauryn says. "And if you saw where the Grammys were, you'd be like, 'That is a travesty!' But I can't look at that stuff all the time, because I don't ever wanna become complacent like that. This is not a museum, and I'm not in any rush to impress anybody. I don't feel like my money or my success defines me. I've been very happy just being me." Lil Kim claimed that she did not know love: "Love. What's that? I have not known any love." but Lauryn did. When Hill found out about her pregnancy with Zion, everyone was telling her to get rid of it, in fear that a baby would ruin her career. Lauren was not trying to hear that though. In her song "To Zion" she says "Look at your career they say/ Lauryn baby use your head/ But instead I chose to use my heart/" Lauryn Hill knew love.
ReplyDeleteFor a long time, I have harbored such strong negative views about the concept of love and the institution of marriage. I never saw positive examples of a romantic relationship while growing up. I have only seen individuals being cheated on, verbally abused and physically abused. I have heard a lot about "baby mamma drama" and somebody's man not "acting right". I have heard numerous times to "trust no nigga" and I have seen numerous examples of girls who did trust a guy and ended up heartbroken. With all those images surrounding me, I found it easier to connect to those who discredited love in their music. It was easier to dream about becoming rich then it was to dream about a loving last relationship. bell hook said it right when she stated, "Throughout our history, African-American have poured energy into the struggle to achieve material well being and status, in part to deny the impact of emotional woundedness. Truthfully it is easier to acquire material comfort than to acquire love." I think bell hook admires Lauryn's work because Lauryn's music has a lot of soul and positive emotion about love in it. Unlike most black artist, Lauryn is unafraid to state the positive emotion associated with love and to express her love. The article about Lauryn revealed to readers what bell hook had probably already known about her work. I am glad I read the article because both papers showed me black females admiring and appreciating love, something I have never been exposed to. Lauryn's words, "His heart is soo pure. Our meeting confirmed to me that there is a God." just showed how emotional and proud of she is of her love connection.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “Lauryn in Love” I realized that her and Bell Hooks have in common the fact that they don’t want to make just music but also change the world. In the reading “Lauryn in Love” she says “well, there’s always a constant spiritual war, but there’s a battle for the souls of Black folk, and just folks in general, and the music has a lot to do with it”. She is trying to change people’s perceptions through her own music. She has been fighting this war for eleven years now, began with the Fugees and now with her debut solo album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”. Bell Hooks in his reading “Salvation” says “when it comes to the issue of love, the mass media basically represent black people as unloving. We may be portrayed as funny, angry, sexy, dashing, beautiful, sassy, and fierce, but we are rarely represented as loving.” Lauryn and bell books have similar views on what they are trying to do and fix. Lauryn states in her reading that she thinks that she has helped people be less afraid. They both are trying to bring a better understanding of black people into the world. The only thing that divides Lauryn and bell hooks from explaning this is the way they use it. Lauryn uses the example of music and the whole sacred war that she’s been fighting. How through media she will help this war end. Bell hooks uses negativity in how the media represents black people. They both prove a point but just in a different way.
ReplyDelete-Gilbert9
After reading "Lauryn in Love" there seems to be some tie to Salvation by Bell Hooks. The way Lauryn brings out her love and her music is not the same as music is today. In Salvation, Bell Hooks states that in the black community there is lovelessness. It seems as in media protrays that black folks do not show love or give love if that but is it just the media or is it really how people feel? "When it comes to the issue of love, the mass media basically represent black people as unloving. We may be portrayed as funny, angry, sexy, dashing, beautiful, sassy, and fierce but we are rarely represented as loving," it is as if black people do not give out love the way people want it to be given according to media. It is sad at the fact some people do not get the same affection or love as others do but I do not think that black people are the only ones to not show love or get love. But the media makes it out to be kind of racist against black folks. In "Lauryn in Love" she says " But I can't look at that stuff all the time, because I don't ever wanna become complacent like that. This is not a museum, and I'm not in any rush to impress anybody. I don't feel like my money or my success defines me. I've always been very happy just being me," she implies that her success is not everything to her, her love for her family comes before all her music and other things. She puts her kids and husband ahead and shows them love. This essay really touched me about how much she cares about others and what she fights for that other artists do not. Her music defines her and what she represents. Not every female celebrity is the same but Lauryn Hill is definitly unique. Her music is not just rapping about sex and drugs or alcohol it is real and it is from her heart. Her songs are like a story or a message she is trying to get out to the world. Lauryn Hill is a inspiration to many young and older females out in this community she gives a sense to stay strong and do not stop fighting in what you believe in and never give up on love because it is out there and any one who truly cares will show you the meaning of love.
ReplyDelete-Sunflower <3
After reading the passage of ”Lauryn in Love”, I seemed to connect what she said in connection with Bell Hook’s quotations.
ReplyDeleteLauryn Hill said, ‘“3:52 a.m. “I feel beautiful not because of my features, really,” Lauryn says. “It has nothing to do with my face. I feel beautiful because of my heart. I think I have a very loving, kind of spirit. I think it’s the God in me that makes me beautiful. It doesn’t really have anything to do with my physical features. That’s not the emphasis here. Right now I feel beautiful because God is in me, and when people are happy with themselves they’re happy, period. Sometimes they use other things to mask what’s going on inside, but I feel beautiful inside. That’s what I really try to maintain. It there was an ‘inside pomade,’ I’d buy some. Grease my insides, slick ‘em down…”’ This quote of Lauryn Hill made me connect to my life, how it relates to something my father always says. This quote was one that grasped my attention and just makes me believe in what my father tells us; my sisters and I.
For the Bell Hook’s I related it to this quote, “Developing positive self-esteem about our bodies and beings continues to be arduous for black females in a society that consistently represents us negatively. Promoting devaluation and hatred of black females has been absolutely politically strategic.” This makes me see how Lauryn makes herself stronger by not letting her appearance go in her way. She’s happy and she doesn’t care what others may say or think, she is happy and no one can get in her way.
--- Diana Raquel Garcia
Dianita
Lauryn Hill is portrayed as a symbol of black elegance. She has been through struggles just as a normal person has, but she keeps her faith and sticks to the strong spirit god has given her. "Lauryn in Love" illustrates how Hill's life has, not only, impacted her social life, family life, and career, but also the ones around her. She uses the quote of how "'Ro came into [her] life in the exact time that [she] wasn't looking for anyone and also the exact time that [she] needed someone very badly'" to explain how the love of her life is truly evident throughout her everyday struggle and how loves and faith keeps her prospering forward to greater things. Hill proves that bell hooks' quote of "'When it comes to the recent issue of love, the mass media basically represent black people as unloving. We may be portrayed as funny, angry, sexy, dashing, beautiful, sassy, and fierce, but we are rarely represented as loving,'" is in a sense correct because the media does represent black people as unloving, but she is an example of the opposite accusations of hooks' statements. Black people are unloving humans, and just because of our past and where we have came from through books and stories told by other races, people believe us to be something that we are not.
ReplyDeleteAFter readin Lauryn in LOve and quotations from Salvation: Black People and Love by bell hooks I found out that what she is similar about both of them is that they are tatlking about how black people try to get rich than find love. "I don't feel like money or my success defines me. I've always been very happy just bein me." This means in her mind that for her that the money does not matter to her like for other people it will. "Throught our history, African-Americans have poured energy into the struggle to achieve material well-being and status, in part to deny the impact of emotional woundness. Thruthfully, it is easier to acquire material comforts than acquire love". SHe has point because if you offer anyone alot of money or love most people would choose the money beccause they want the material things.
ReplyDeleteHook says,"Through out our history, African Americans have poured energy into the struggle to achieve material well-being and status, in part to deny the impact of emotional woundness. Truthfully, it is easier to acquire." Lauryn Hill is an artist who embodies both the glammor and high bstatus but as well exhibit a loving and positive persona that we dont get to see in one artist nowadays. Hill is not just a celebrity she is wise big sister, your mother, your comfort and idol. She is an artist that seems to be more attainable and relate able to her audience. Lauryns Hill's positive messages and smooth ballads aren't perceived open heartedly by everyone do to the overflow of negative messages that desensitizes and detaches us from real emotion. Alot of which of the negative messagescome from media and music. "Is that of all Hollywood is meant to desensitize us(Hill)?" Hill makes a good point because the amount of these messages seem to build daily throgh our subconscious mind that we never question the junk being put into our heads. However through people like Jill Scott, Floetry, and Common to name a few black entertainers we can make more efforts to support these kinds of artist and stop accepting quantity over quality music! -asiatc
ReplyDeleteFrom the story Lauryn in Love I chose the quote, “ I feel beautiful not because of my features really,” “it has nothing to do with my face. I feel beautiful because of my heart. I think I have a very loving, kind spirit. I think it’s the God in me that makes me beautiful. It doesn’t really have anything to do with my physical features. That’s not the emphasis here. Right now I feel beautiful because God is in me, and when people are happy with themselves, they’re happy period. Sometimes they use other things to mask what’s goin on inside, but I feel beautiful inside. That’s what I really try to maintain..”. I think that this has a lot to say about the type of person she is, not only as an artist but as a spiritual being, and its so different from the artists in the media today. Through the reading and her words, I actually got a sense of peace and serenity coming from her, she manifests her happiness and inspiration in her writing, as well as in her lyrics. From the same reading, I also like the quote, “ I just cant do anything if I’m not inspired,” “I always sorta wait for the inspiration to come, and if the spirit doesn’t drive me to do it, then I wont do it. Cuz I definitely know that what I’m doin is sorta bigger than me. Its something that I’ve bee assigned.” Because I can relate to that, when I write, if I’m not inspired, or if I’m not interested in what I’m writing about then I feel like it’s not good, so as odd as it sounds I like to wait for that moment. And I like that about Lauryn Hill, I never really knew who she was until last class, and I’ve taken a lot of interest in her, in her writing. She is so different from all of other the artist out there. She talks about love, and peace, and things worthwhile, its very inspirational. Its very true that in school, they teach us about war, and stuff like like politics and arguments, and nobody ever teaches us anything about love. I feel like through her work and her lyrics, she tries to change that.
ReplyDelete-Grizzly
After reading Lauryn Hill’s “Lauryn in Love” story, I have come to feel that her underlying message is to do what makes you happy, don’t worry about the money and fame. And if what you want comes with the money and fame don’t forget of who you are and where you’re from, because that is what makes you, you. Lauryn didn’t not let her fame take over her, “I don’t feel like my money or my success defines me. I've always been very happy just being me”. The way we articulate her meaning is by think about all the people we listen to and stop and think if they really do it because they love it or just because it come with money and fame, also taking it into consideration the we all should do what really want to do and be happy regardless if you really don’t get nothing out of it. A quote that caught my mind from “Black People and Love” by Bell Hook was, “Throughout our history, African American have poured energy into the struggle to achieve material well being and status in part to dent the impact of emotional woundedness. Truthfully it is easier to acquire material comforts then to acquire love”. Sounds to me like they are trying to say that African American struggle to become successful and achieve stuff. From “Lauryn in Love”, “by the second week word of mouth and television exposure was so deafening that record stores demanded anther 450,000 copies”. They are talking about Alicia Keys new album where people where demanding more of her and her album. So that quote from “Bell Hooks” was proven wrong, many African American have became very successful and have achieve thing in life.
ReplyDelete-liltunechi
"I've surrounded myself with people who believe in what i do, because i can't do what i do alone. I am a regular person. I am not a corporation. I need a baby sitter sometimes." This is one of the most humble and most sincere and truthful quotes i connected with throughout the story. She shows that she doesn't and therefore will not allow her money and fame to get to her. Personally, I thought that this had a lot to say about the type of person she is, not only as an artist but as a regular citizens. And it also sI think that this has a lot to say about the type of person she is, not only as an artist but as a regular person that she would have been if she didn't have that fame. It also shows her uniqueness from other artists in the media today. Reading her words made me get a sense of peace and serenity coming from her, she portrays her inspiration in her writing, as well as in her lyrics. Through the reading and her words, I actually got a sense of peace and serenity coming from her, she manifests her happiness and inspiration in her writing, as well as in her lyrics. An opposite feel that i got from "Quotations from Salvation: Black people and Love by bell hooks" which exactly is what she doesn't want to be was "Greed is sanctioned by those at the top of our class hierarchies and trickles down. The rich who condone exploitation, murder and slavery in order to maintain their wealth are no different from the poor who prey on one another to satisfy material longings. Greed manufactures hate." This is a deep and very strong quote but also very realistic in our world today. And this is exactly the image she is avoiding. And i feel that its an image that should be avoided.
ReplyDelete-FresshDWizzy
I didn't get a chance to read the article, but from listening to Lauryn Hill in the past, I can come to the conclusion that she is an amazing artist who puts you into a calm state of mind. She is different to other artists, because she speaks about the true things in life and not the material things that most other people do. She doesn't feel like she needs to go out and show her body for her videos and songs to attract more viewers. The way that she sings and raps, has a lot to say about the person she is inside. She isn't afraid to go for the serious topics that happen in everyones daily life and the stereotypes to races. Her music speaks so loud to people and makes an impact on their lives, I know it did on mine. Although she was a solo artist, she later linked up with other people to form the Fugees, and if you ever get the chance, they make just or even more of an impact. Lauryn Hill is a wonder and I wish she never walked away from the music that shook so many peoples lives.
ReplyDelete-Kicker32