We have hit the middle of the course and now it is time for the mighty midterm! In this blog, I will be discussing the arguments presented by four speakers from The Aspen Institute’s State of Race 2013 panel on Media and Popular Culture. The multi-cultural panel featured Anna Deavere Smith, Thomas Chatterton Williams, Brian Yang, José Díaz-Balart, all respected personalities and educators. The discussion was about racial and cultural attitudes in media, and how different types of media stir up public awareness. The moderator, Diaz-Balart, starts off the discussion with stating “Entertainment has a wider impact on the young than the news.” Unfortunately, I would have to agree with this in terms of all of the social media we experience in our everyday lives. From Youtube to TMZ, movies, and especially music, entertainment media has a profound effect on the lives of the younger generation, and this brings up the focus of the discussion on how it shapes our racial and cultural outlooks.
Anna Deavere Smith argues that stereotypes are obvious in today’s society, and are almost expected by the people, bringing up at one time the well-known Trayvon Martin case, in which she says, “everyone wears a hoody and he was killed for it.” She continues by saying, “We are suffering from a moral crisis.”
Bryan Yang is an actor that experiences a lot of stereotypical roles. He said he is known for playing a doctor or knowing martial arts. He brings up a very good point about Asian Americans being recognized for their work on Youtube. I am familiar with this, and recommend watching this upload by kevjumba, a Youtube star who frequently uses those Asian stereotypes as his main spoofs on his channel. There is humor to stereotypes, and I agree that although they are a serious issue in today’s world, there is humor in them as well. We can all benefit from a little laugh, and sometimes I laugh because it is true!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSCOPvPJ7g
Jose Diaz Balart addresses the genre of hip Hop, and states that, “There is no us in hip hop.” From my own personal experience, I would have to agree. Hip Hop music nowadays is portraying this thug-like person to raise above all the “haters.” Language barriers are brought up as well by , saying that parents determine the language at home, and Yang commenting that he learned Mandarin from his home. I have grown up in a Spanish-speaking household, and the way I learned English was through television and going to school. I have noticed the cultural shifts that have occurred in both of my racial backgrounds, and this only strengthens Diaz Balart’s statement.
Thomas Chatterton Williams argues that the African-American community wants a better representation for themselves as a culture. He states that “Blacks are moving away from the stereotypical box,” and are in need of self-definition. He also addresses the hip hop genre, as it “Functions as a secular religion to voice marginalization.
I thought this was pretty interesting too. It shows the types of characters actors play all the time.
http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/typecast-actors/
“We cannot expect culture to deliver changes in society,” Smith states. Anthems are needed in the “revolutions” we experience today, and music seems to be aspirational to many, but if the music was missing that objective, then we are left in despair.
Mass Media and popluar arts 
I really liked the video of “My Asian Dad” and your totally right, “You laugh because its true.” I had an Asian friend in High School and I remember how often she said that you couldn’t do anything because she had to study and I remember one incident when she said that she was grounded for getting a B on a test instead of an A.
I enjoyed your post; you seem to grasp the concept of the discussion very well. Your point that all forms of media influence young people is spot on. The examples given; TMZ, YouTube, and the image of the social media sites are what the younger people are using to gather information. They would much rather watch a episode of TMZ to learn current events than to read the paper or watch the news; however with this type of injection of information they are sadly misinformed and misguided about what is really happening in the world.
As far as stereotypes and what young people know about them, I don’t think they would acknowledge that their personal behavior is stereotypical, but if all they listen to is hip-hop or rap and watch only The Jersey Shore or Housewives, they are not looking at themselves or their social group objectively, therefore they cannot make the distinction between influenced behavior that falls into a stereotype and personal choice.
I liked reading your midterm blog. I think that you make some good points about each of the panelist. I enjoyed reading about what you had to say in regards to Brian Yang. He is right that Asian Americans have the most subscribed channels on YouTube. I had never thought about that until after watching this video. I’m glad that yo talked about needing a little bit of humor in our lives. This is true. The media that you put into your blog was interesting. The video My Dad is Asian was great. Do you think that we are becoming more culture diverse in the media?
I think we are definitely coming more and more diverse in media. The panel discussed how show “Kelly and Michael” is so different than before, in terms of a black man even being in the same frame as a white woman! Its very eye opening.