Bob McDaniel asked:
> Are you suggesting that rapping is an assigned function, whose role is to
> detract from, say, ongoing globalization? If so, then could you briefly
> outline what might be the process by which this assignation is implemented
> and by whom?
These 'artists'(&'lyrics') get selected and built up by the music industry.
Whether the diversion industry is 'alone' or whether it is being 'told'
by other 'agencies', may be an academic question. Considering the CIA's
role in the "Cultural War" during the cold war decades (see article below),
everything is possible...
> It seems to me that one could argue that the "role" of rappers is to condition
> susceptible youth to challenge corporatist dogma, to view "generally accepted"
> values as outmoded and exploitive, and thus to welcome the opportunity to
> commit mayhem against the purveyors of those goods and services produced by
> the back-breaking toil of the poor and powerless masses.
Could you cite some rap lyrics that do this ?
It seems to me that they preach violence and destruction against "small
folks", *not* against the bosses or causes of exploitation. (Btw, I'm not
singling out rap music. Other genres are involved too (e.g. MarilynManson).)
> Of course, I may have the process backward - it may be that rappers and their
> ilk (as artists sensitive to societal trends) are reacting to what they
> perceive to be the kind of music that a significant segment of young people
> crave to release their pent-up energies. They may indeed be following the
> entrepreneurial creed : find a need, and fill it.
Making money is certainly a personal motivation for Eminem et al. (see e.g.
his position against Napster). The question is: *which* "segment of young
people" is their customers ? Not the kind of people that go to the protests
in Seattle, Prague etc., it seems! Rather the sort of the Littleton
shooters...
Chris
___________________________________FWD___________________________________
from The San Francisco Examiner, page E-11, Thursday, September 21, 2000:
When the CIA waged cultural war
===============================
Foundations passed out agency money to promote U.S. values
{"The Cultural Cold War," by Frances Stonor Saunders. New Press. $29.95}
by Philip Seib
Dallas Morning News
During the early years of the Cold War, the Central
Intelligence Agency ran a program of cultural propaganda
in Europe.
It was designed, says Frances Stonor Saunders, to
"nudge the intelligentsia of Western Europe away from
its lingering fascination with Marxism and communism
toward a view more accommodating of 'the American way.'"
Stonor Saunders, a British editor and independent
film producer, presents a thorough catalog of the U.S.
governement's pervasive efforts to co-opt artistic and
other intellectual enterprises and turn them into
tools of U.S. policy. The CIA, she reports, maintained
a "Propaganda Assets Inventory" of individuals and
organizations that it subsidized and could rely on to
disseminate the official gospel of the moment.
A crucial part of this process, she says, was the use
of philanthropic foundations to pass along CIA funds
"without alerting their recipients to their source."
The Pentagon joined the CIA in urging Hollywood to
produce films that embodied "militant liberty" --
depictions of strong, positive aspects of the free
world and the evils of communism. Actors such as John
Wayne and director John Ford readily subscribed to the
effort.
The CIA's efforts were successful largely because the
agency was able to enlist not just political
conservatives, but also moderates and anti-communist
liberals in its efforts. Organizations such as the
Congress for Cultural Freedom and magazines such as
Encounter were in many ways little more than CIA
subsidiaries.
When congressional and news media investigations in
the early 1960s uncovered the CIA's role, many of the
leading intellectuals tried to convince the public
that they had not known about the agency's
involvement.
As part of her exhaustive research, Stonor Saunders
interviewed some of the most important participants in
these goings-on. Although governmental manipulation of
culture can be seen as a threat to intellectual
freedom, she does not demonize the men and women who
participated in the CIA effort. Most of them believed
that they were engaged in a noble and essential
struggle against an insidious enemy.
(c) 2000, The San Francisco Examiner
http://www.examiner.com
