Throughout the years, the power of culture was used to shape and form alternative worlds of critique, restoration and resistance (Sanchez 19). The directors of the films “Do the Right Thing” and “Krush Groove” wanted to portray the evolution of African American stereotypes in reflection to the zeitgeist of the African American communities during the time, with music as its catalyst. Using music as a narration of the films, they integrated political, social, and economic issues through the lyrics and beats of the songs.
The major genres of music during this time were jazz, orchestra, rap, R&B, and Hip-Hop. Rap music was typically used to enhance specific kinds of character traits from males, and were associated with subjects relative to politics and undermining. R&B, something newly introduced, was used to depict communal associations (Ramsey 319); jazz was implemented for the identifications with class, culture, or to enhance the audience’s emotional state. …show more content…
For example, in Do The Right Thing, Mookie’s neighborhood was predominantly full of minorities. Cops who came in the neighborhood, all Caucasian, were depicted as already disliking the people in the set area. Lyrics such as “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death, we’ve got to fight the powers that be” (Fight the Power), expresses how police violence was a subject touched not just in this movie, but during that time of history. Songs such as “Can’t Stop the Street” from “Krush Groove” and “Don’t Shoot Me” from “Do the Right Thing” highlighted other African American experiences, such as the hardship of making money, raising a family from low-income areas, et
The major genres of music during this time were jazz, orchestra, rap, R&B, and Hip-Hop. Rap music was typically used to enhance specific kinds of character traits from males, and were associated with subjects relative to politics and undermining. R&B, something newly introduced, was used to depict communal associations (Ramsey 319); jazz was implemented for the identifications with class, culture, or to enhance the audience’s emotional state. …show more content…
For example, in Do The Right Thing, Mookie’s neighborhood was predominantly full of minorities. Cops who came in the neighborhood, all Caucasian, were depicted as already disliking the people in the set area. Lyrics such as “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death, we’ve got to fight the powers that be” (Fight the Power), expresses how police violence was a subject touched not just in this movie, but during that time of history. Songs such as “Can’t Stop the Street” from “Krush Groove” and “Don’t Shoot Me” from “Do the Right Thing” highlighted other African American experiences, such as the hardship of making money, raising a family from low-income areas, et