Project 1

For my project I will be analyzing the identity of being an African American. I chose this

identity because of the current events around the country and the recent conflicts on racism. I

thought it would be interesting to analyze how other genres view being African American. The 4

genres I will be using are, Movie called Madeas Big Happy Family, a clip from a TV show

called Black-ish, a song called I Am Not My Hair by India.Arie ft. Akon, and a video called

The Black People Song on Youtube. I think a pattern seen in the genres (except the Black

People Song) is that the identity of an African American is diversity, pride in our skin color, and

an importance of togetherness and support of one another.

I Am Not My Hair is a song written by India.Arie that has a very strong view on how

others view African Americans; specifically how they wear their hair. As a statement of telling

the world that her hair does not define who she is, some of her lyrics say I am not my hair, I am

not my skin, I am the soul that lives within. Akon, who is featured in the song raps lyrics such

as Cause corporate wouldnt hire no dreadlocks. I hate to say it but it seem so flawed 'Cause

success didn't come till I cut it all off This lyric is very profound because it shows that certain

jobs wont hire someone with an African American hairstyle. The general message of the song is

telling the world that they shouldnt judge someone for how they wear their hair. Even though

hair is one of the things that individualize African Americans, and make them unique, India.Arie

wants to be judged as the person she is inside, not for the way her hair is styled. I think this song

has both pathos and ethos. It has pathos because it mentions things such as slavery, a woman

with breast cancer, and many racism related things that can appeal to peoples emotions. It has

ethos because it is 2 African Americans talking about things that affect them and their race

personally. For me personally, the style of my hair has always been something very dear and
unique to me. Ive always been self conscious about wearing my natural hair, so I always got it

done at the salon or straightened it myself. However, as I got older I realized that I should

embrace the hair was born with and be proud of the skin Im in. The tone of this song would be

proud in ones skin color or hair and the audience would be the general public or any African

American man or woman that feels ostracized for the way their hair is styled.

The Youtube video by ZFLONetwork called The Black People Song, mentions all the

things that stereotypically identify a black person. It is a catchy, fun sounding tune but has

some of the most offensive, racist lyrics about African Americans. Someone wanting to know

about the identity of an African American would get an extremely negative answer if they

happened to come across this song. The chorus says Black people, I'ma steal your shoes, You

better hide your wallet Cause I'ma take that too. It labels all black people as dumb, democrat

thieves that are violent, eat fried chicken and smoke weed. Theres another lyric that says They

tried to keep us out the White House again, But just like all white houses, one of us broke in.

Speaking about Obama, this lyric assumes that, since black people are thieves and criminals,

Obama broke his way into the White House as well. Along with the song, the video has visuals

as well that go along with the song. It shows images of a black cartoon with an afro, shows

picture of fried chicken and watermelon, as well as guns, and the KKK. The purpose and tone of

this video is humor and it contains both ethos and pathos because it is a racist video describing

black people, but it was made by a black person. Though it is called The Black People Song, I

think this video was meant to poke fun at the stereotypes put upon African Americans and not

meant to be taken seriously. Watching this video saddens me knowing that this is how the world

views and identifies them.

 Film is one of the biggest genres and one of the biggest entertainment industries in the

world. Within film, the genre of comedy is one of the most loved categories because it brings joy

and laughter to people. Within the genre of comedy, Madea (Tyler Perry) is one of the biggest

names within the African American comedy world. His movies bring families together to not

only laugh but also to learn a lesson. One of the movies that I think encaptures being an African

American is Madeas Big Happy Family. It is about a very complicated family that has many

issues but are eventually brought together by the sickness, and eventual death of their mother.

This movie truly shows the diversity of the African American community. From children, to

successful business men and women, to teens who chose the wrong path, and also the elderly and

how they all work together as a unit. Before the mother passes away, the family constantly has

their own individual conflicts and as a result they ignore the fact that their mother is deathly sick

with cancer. At the conclusion of the movie, after their mothers death, it is Madea (the

disciplining figure of the family) who talks to each of the family members individually, brings

them to their senses and gets them get their act together. to The purpose of this movie is to bring

humor to its audience of the general public, but to also teach a lesson to those families with

conflicts of their own. The tone of this movie would be humorous, and also a reminder to other

families to put their differences aside and love each other. As an identity, this film shows African

Americans as complicated, diverse, unique, but above all a close knit family that would do

anything for one another.

The last genre is a TV show called Black-ish. Its a humorous show that presents a

modern African American family. This particular episode shows the family talking about the

current black oppression and police brutality and how the family deals with it. I think this is a

perfect representation of black people especially in this current day in age because it shows the
main character Andre talking to his wife Rainbow about how The system is rigged against

them (meaning African Americans) and that their children should know the reality of how the

word is. The character Andre starts to speak about the inauguration of Obama and how proud he

was knowing that things were finally going to get better, but he was also deathly afraid that

someone was going to take that hope away. I think this is a perfect representation of how African

Americans feel around the country. For myself and my family it was hard to watch the news

when it featured something as horrible as police brutality. Though it was a tough subject to talk

about, my father always kept me educated on the current events so that I was aware of the

current state of the world. I think the tone of this TV show clip is realization, or coming to a

sense of reality as well as a teaching moment. This clip definitely appeals to pathos because

Andre expresses so much emotion and passion when speaking about hope within the African

American community and can affect the emotions of all who watch it. The audience of this is

black families similar to the one presented on the show with children or just the general public.

In general, I think this clip is trying to show how a black family attempts to cope with the current

issues within the African American community and how it affects not only the victims of police

brutality and their families but also black families around the country in their own homes.

The 4 genres I chose were a song, a Youtube video, a film, and a TV show clip and all 4

had something to present about the identity of an African American. The song showed that

African Americans have hair that is different and unique, and we are proud of it. The Youtube

video showed the many stereotypes that exist about black people which showed the identity that

the world sees. The film showed that the African American family is diverse, unique, and bonded

with strong love. Lastly, the TV show clip showed that even though blacks are being oppressed,

we want the best for our children and our community. I think a pattern seen in the genres (except
the Black people song) is that the identity of an African American is diversity, pride in our skin

color, and an importance of togetherness and support of one another. I am excluding the Youtube

video because it is a negative representation of the way Black people are viewed and is an

example of how African Americans should not be identified. In conclusion, just like any other

race of other ethnicity, Black people are all different and should not be put under the same

umbrella as those who cause violence. All in all, we want what is best for our community and for

all children just like any other.

 Self Analysis

I struggled with making the word count in this paper because I was running out of things to

talk about and I didnt want to sound repetitive. However, after I met with the teacher for

conferencing, she helped me with more ideas and to incorporate my own experiences which then

helped me make the word count. I also struggles with sounding listy and making the points in

the paper flow. I realized after meeting with the teacher for conferencing that this might not be

something I can avoid, and as I kept revising, I found ways in which I can make the ideas flow

more. Throughout this paper, I learned how to cite things in MLA format for things such as

Youtube videos and songs. I also learned how to use pathos, ethos, and logos and apply them to

different genres. Finally, I learned how different genres shape our views on identities.
 Works Cited
India.Arie - I Am Not My Hair ft. Akon. Youtube, uploaded by IndiaArieVevo, 26 Jan 2017

The Black People Song. Youtube, uploaded by ZAFLONetwork, 26 Jan. 2016

Madeas Big Happy Family. Directed by Tyler Perry, Lionsgate, Maple Productions, Eagle Films,

Tyler Perry Company, 2011.

The "Black-ish" clip that every American should see Youtube, uploaded by The Grio, 26 Jan.
2017