Highbrow Heavy Metal?

      Heavy metal has long been an unspoken interest of mine. It is not like I am ashamed of it; I am not ashamed at all. It has been the only consistent favorite genre of mine for the past eight years. The only issue with being a fan of this genre is the social stigma attached to its universally lowbrow, or unsophisticated, status. Public disapproval of the genre manifests more prominently in the mostly resistant Middle Eastern societies, which are tremendously cautious of introducing typically "Western" cultures.

"People are constantly being typed by their cultural allegiances, respected or dismissed because of the music they like...we internalize these categories."

- Robert Walser, Heavy Metal and the Highbrow/Lowbrow Divide 

      Similarly to how the media associates the genre of rap music with black gangsters, heavy metal is also associated with undisciplined "white trash." One may assume that such negative depiction justifies the majority's detestation of the musical genre. In fact, it is quite easy for anyone to make such an assumption. It is even easier to completely disregard exceptions and disturbances in one's preconceived judgments of a particular culture that is seemingly beyond one's comprehension.

      Does the stigmatized view towards heavy metal diminish, though, when the typically highbrow, sophisticated genre of classical music "breeds" with the lowbrow genre of heavy metal?

       Symphonic metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal that is characterized by operatic voices, poetic lyrics, and the heavy use of keyboards and orchestral music. The sound is often described as "epic", like a blow to the face...or to the ears, with popular approaches to symphonic metal sounding much like film scores. Pioneers of this particular take on the genre include the Finnish band Nightwish, whose success inspired the inception of other prominent bands in the genre, such as the Dutch band Epica. An excellent example of such style is Nightwish's song Ever Dream (a personal favorite), albeit only a gentle taste of Nightwish's typically lengthy and elaborately orchestrated songs.

Ever Dream by Nightwish

      In addition to the classical and operatic undertones of this genre, many symphonic metal albums often include power ballads that could easily appeal to audiences who are more fond of the "symphonic" elements of the genre as opposed to the "metal" elements. Examples of such songs include the Nightwish song Sleeping Sun and Abandoned by the American symphonic metal band Kamelot, sung by the operatically trained Norwegian singer Roy Khan.

Sleeping Sun by Nightwish

Abandoned by Kamelot

      Despite the significant presence of typically highbrow musical characteristics in the genre of symphonic metal, and the unusual variety offered with the inclusion of power ballads in the genre's albums, symphonic metal is still categorized as lowbrow music. Kamelot's concept albums Epica (the namesake of the Dutch band Epica) and The Black Halo, based on the classic German legend Faust, are still considered as lowbrow forms of music despite the traditionally highbrow status of the German folk tale.

Clearly, I am a fan.

      It seems that the universally shared social stigma towards heavy metal, which the media successfully reinforces into the public's preconceptions of the genre as diabolical and detrimental to society's wellbeing, ruthlessly applies to all of its sub-genres, regardless of the presence of highbrow musical elements. The power of the media instills this preconceived notion of the genre so effectively that it almost leaves no room for exceptions. This is particular for Middle Eastern countries, who have notable sensitivity towards controversial Western cultures or behaviors. The extreme Middle Eastern stigma towards the genre, though, could be on the verge of gradual decline. With the recent introduction of heavy metal concerts in Abu Dhabi (such as Metallica's upcoming concert on the 19th of April, and Megadeth's concert this past October), tolerance or even acceptance of the genre may finally be welcomed by Middle Eastern societies, perhaps even ending discrimination towards fans of heavy metal. I am almost certain that it should not be a difficult feat to accomplish when the Middle East has so amiably welcomed the lyrical genius Nicki Minaj in a recent Dubai concert.

      After all, we are all nothing but...

Stupid hoes.

Romeo, the zombie

For several years, and increasingly in these past couple of years, the appearance of violence in movies has become a trend and a point of attraction to film spectators.  Last week, all my friends were talking about the new movie in the cinemas, Warm Bodies. So we decided to go see the movie. However, while watching the movie, it occurred to me that it’s a mixture of the movies: Twilight, Avatar and Romeo and Juliette. At the beginning of the movie we’re introduced to the main character as the outsider and after almost 15 minutes of the film it’s very predictable that the main issue being discussed is inequality but in the context of a more “cool” fictional theme, which is the theme of zombies.

According to Robert C. Bulman in chapter 3.2 of the book Cinematic Sociology, “The jungle metaphor conveniently summarizes the imagined differences between middle class suburban Americans and the poor urban students portrayed in the films.” What Bulman says applies to the film Warm Bodies if we closely examine the plot of the film from a sociological perspective. The living dead are the minorities or the “low brow” while the humans in the movie are the superior bourgeoisie who are doing their best to protect themselves from the danger that those corpses oppose on them. The movie highlights the issues of inequality and discrimination while using violence as a technique to achieve profitable success.

Furthermore, the similarity between the plot of Warm Bodies and Romeo and Juliette could be drawn in terms of the conflict that is being represented. Two families/groups are in a state of war against each other and the two lovers, who each belong to a different group, are the ones who bring those two families/groups together. On the other hand, the similarity that could be drawn between Warm Bodies and Twilight or Avatar is that all three movies are “sensation driven” meaning that they seek profit through the representation of “popcorn” violence. Although it could be argued that the representation of violence in the three movies is very minimal, it’s still evident that those movies are not aimed towards audiences who seek an intellectual experience while watching a movie.

Qatar portrayal in American Media

In the history of movies black people have always been portrayed as poor, stupid, and uneducated. All of those are unfair discrimination that have been attached to the dark skinned people. An example of that is the large collection of movies in the 80's about being a gangster, where the qualities that come with being a gangster are violence, murder and rape. Also, black women are over sexualized in almost all of the movies.

Arabs, also, have always been discriminated at. You have a long beard, you wear a headscarf or if you wear the traditional abaya and thobe. You are immediately discriminated at. It is truly upsetting how much the media have the prejudice against my own country Qatar by portraying it as the country of the poor, bad and uneducated. Two examples to prove that are:

1.     In Transformers which was a blockbuster released in 2007. There was a scene where the aliens are in Qatar. In this scene the movie changes the country from the “modern” America to the “poor” Qatar. The Americans come with their big fancy weapons and modern suits. They start fighting the aliens in what is supposedly called “Qatar.” And the Qatari citizens run for their lives with their sheep while they’re wearing old dirty thobes! This was very problematic due to the massive number of people who watched this movie and formed this FALSE idea about Qatar. 

2.    The Second example comes from another U.S. blockbuster called Taken. It was released in 2008. This movie is about a retired CIA agent traveled to France after his daughter got kidnapped. He discovered she was going to be sold to become sex slave. In one of the final scenes in the film, his daughter was in an auction to be sold. The father purses her buyer in a car chase. Here they showed the shocking part; the car that the father was chasing to get his daughter had the licence plate of Qatar!!! As a citizen of that country I find it very upsetting that my country is being portrayed like that. As a place with low morals where they would buy a human being for sexual pleasure. 

 

Those previous examples can only prove one thing. The media is feeding the public and the audience these prejudices. A personal example to show how this is working is a situation that happened to me back in 2009. I was volunteering for the WSDC schools championship. A British guy approached me saying he was very surprised of how modern Qatar was. He thought that he would debate in a tent! He also thought that he would move from tent to tent on a camel. Personally, I thought that was hilarious because it is far away from the truth. Qatar is a very modern state. If you haven’t lived or seen Qatar before, this picture should give you an idea about the modernity of Qatar.  

I hope one day those stereotypes would disappear, but deep down I know this is not going to happen anytime soon. After all it’s only human nature to put people and judge them into boxes.  

                            

The significance of Ethnicity

The world today identifies an individual by reading their I.D (identification card). However, not all people feel understood by the limited information provided in that piece of plastic. The cultures in our society have developed this sense of insecurity because of their different perspectives. There are three kinds of sociology concepts or theories, though this social issue is an example of a symbolic interaction.

The reason why I chose this topic is because I have experienced a case of nationality misjudgment for a long time, and it has created a scar within my mind, allowing me to feel insecure in society on a daily basis. People approach me and ask me “where I’m from?” There is no harm to answer the question, but when people make assumptions about my race I get paranoid. I am ashamed when people assume I could be from Kerela or Srilanka, which I am not. There is no reason to be demoralized, but the media has portrayed discriminating points of view for these cultures.

Culture is the way of life of a person, and this video discriminates the accent of the people of this country, and some aspects of their life style, which does not apply to everyone. What is intriguing is that the people who are making the video are from that country. Stereotypes portray many cultural downfalls on Youtube. Thus, some people dislike the label of a country that is not appreciated. A third component of a nonmaterial culture is norms, and it is an obvious norm to refuse an assumption of being classified a wrong ethnicity. The social situation that provokes this behavior is grasped from media. People are proud to be of a race that is looked up upon. Media has and will always influence the way we look at a person’s social status.

System of Untouchability

More than 160 million people in India are considered Untouchable – people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure and less than human.

Indian caste system is a system of social stratification in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called jatis. The values and ethics are strongly held by the people belonging to the castes. Their life chances, context, choices and social status in the society largely depended on their caste. There are 5 different levels of the Indian caste system followed over years:-

The untouchables or dalit faced non prejudiced discrimination and were not considered as citizens. Historically, they were associated to odd jobs such as butchering, removal of waste and animal carcasses. They were called untouchable as they were not allowed to come in contact with the other castes. This system has worked in Indian history. But present-day India forbids discriminating and practicing untouchability. Along with this law the government allows positive discrimination of the depressed classes in India. But positive discrimination have created new problems in the Indian society.

The video below is a brief description on the prejudice and discrimination faced by the dalits. The video gives us examples of movements held to destroy the system of untouchability.



Indians have become more flexible in their caste customs. In urban India, the people are less strict about the caste system than the rural. The biggest challenge in India is to overcome the violent clashes connected to caste tensions in remote villages. This will be a big leap to a more developed India.

Formal Organization- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent

In order to fulfill the basic needs and promote diverse interests of people, a large number of organizations have come up with modern complex societies. These organizations are of two kinds-the formal and informal organizations. There are economic, political, educational, industrial and other kinds of formal and informal organizations. Due to the growth and demand of the societies, the number and size of the formal organizations have increased tremendously. A formal organization is a group that is deliberately constructed to achieve the objectives through explicitly defined roles and specified rules. One such organization is the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent(IFRC). This organization belongs to the sub category of voluntary organizations (aka voluntary associations) that draws people who give time, talent, or treasure to support mutual interests, meet important human needs, or to achieve a not- for- profit goal.

Every organization, whether profit or non- profit have a definite purpose or goals which bring individuals together to establish a definite pattern and a system of interaction. The IFRC vision: to inspire, encourage, facilitate and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activites by National Societies, with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering, and hereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world. They have seven fundamental principles which guides the actions, attitudes and behaviors of individuals and the organization as a whole. Below is a video that states these seven principles.



The IFRC have come a long way. It was born in 1859, when Henry Dunant, a young swiss man, came upon a bloody battle where 40,000 men lay dead or dying on the battlefield and the wounded lacked medical attention. Below is a short film combining animation and images, which brings life to the history of Red Cross Red Crescent from Henry Dunant till today.

The IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, providing assistance without discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. Their strategy in the future aims to save lives and change minds.

Bombers, Belly dancers and Billionaires

Arabs have been stereotyped as sub-human throughout history and still are today to the west. They have been portrayed as barbaric, vicious and even as terrorists. Ironically enough, the power of the media industry still embraces these false mythologies. The power of both the media industry and Hollywood play a massive role in portraying these false images of Arabs to the western world at most times. Media tends to be a tool of propaganda as it is another means of expressing stereotypical and discriminatory views.


As a result of discrimination and stigma, Arab-Americans tend to be targeted the most. In this case, being an Arab is deeply discredited as it over-shadows all the other attributes they possess. In most cases, the stigma of being an Arab dominates interactions and the way others think of them. They are the minority group that are systematically excluded from participation in the American community and denied equal access to valued resources at most times. Sociologist Peggy McIntosh identifies a number of privileges that the members of the dominant group take for granted, however, the one that stood out the most was, “ I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race [or ethnicity].” This may be one of the greatest examples, as Arabs are stereotypically known for their bad timing, especially in the eyes of the west.



Racism against Arabs has increased along side the tension between the American government and the Middle East. Discrimination and racial violence increased towards Arabs following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The proposed development of building a mosque near Ground Zero of the former World Trade Centre site was another contributory factor that provoked the American community to anti-Arabism.



In reference to the documentary of “Reel bad Arabs,” by media analyst Jack Shaheen, Arabs have always been the “butt of a cheap joke.” Within the entertainment industry, Arabs have been looked at as the stupid but rich, wanting to buy chunks of American land. They’re often associated with not only living in exotic places where the men enjoy their time and money with the company of belly dancers, but also where the population is uneducated and surrounded by massacres. For instance, Dr. Shaheen insists in his documentary that the movie of “Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986),” portrays one of the worst images of Arab stereotypes. The movie represents Arabs as terrorists who want to set the place on fire, while killing millions of people and being ‘America’s most wanted’.



As once said by director of media relations for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, “ Arabs in TV and movies are portrayed as either bombers, belly dancers, or billionaires.” More often referred to as “the three B syndrome.”

Some Americans have gone as far as removing nine Arab-Muslim passengers from flying with AirTran Airways in 2009. Is this the real democracy promised? What happened to equal rights?

Studies about the Discrimination Against African Americans in the U.S.

In 1947, Kenneth and Mamie Clark did a classic experiment to test prejudice and self-esteem. They offered young girls a choice between taking a white doll or a black doll to play with it. The majority, including African American girls, chose the white doll and rejected the black doll because they though that the white doll was prettier and superior. These researchers demonstrated that young African American girls were thinking at this very young age that it is not desirable to be black, which highly affects their self-esteem.





In 1954, Thurgood Marshall succeeded before the U.S. Supreme Court in ending legalized segregation in public schools, and he used the previous experiment by Clark to back up his argument. However, even after the ending of legal segregation, many people argue that prejudice and stereotypes against African Americans still exists in the United States.

In 2002, Correll and others did a study to test stereotypes about race and weapons. They used a video game that showed different people, half black and half white, in different places like parks, train stations, and city sidewalks. Half of the men in each group, white or black, carried a gun and the other half carried the non-threatening objects like a cell phone, a camera, or a wallet. The participants were asked to play the role of the police officer and press a button “shoot” if the character in the video game was holding a gun, and press the button saying, “don’t shoot” if the character in the game was not holding a gun. In addition, to make their role very similar to the role of the police officer, they were given very little time to decide to press “shoot” or “don’t shoot”, which was a bit over half a second.






The results from this experiment showed how participants were most likely to press “shoot” when the man in the picture was black, whether he was holding a gun or not. When the characters were white, the participants made about the same number of errors when they were armed or not. They did the least errors when the characters were black and armed, and did the most errors when the characters were black and unarmed.





This study shows that discrimination against African American still exists in the United States, even if its not legalized. And it also shows that status value is assigned to each race, black being dangerous, and white being not dangerous.


Reference: Aronson, Wilson, Akert. (2010). Social Psychology.

Should the rights of the individual or the concerns for the wider society take precedence?

Nowadays, people are penetrating for equal rights and more opportunities. No one should be wretched from any type of discrimination, but unfortunately they are. Discrimination is commonly found in the work place among women. In a workplace where discrimination against women is prevalent; the choices are not made based on the ability of the person, but their gender. The reason why it is a big issue for women in the workplace is because women are looked at as part of the household committee instead of in the economical world. It is a major factor in how some stereotypes are derived. Women are perceived as delicate and are definitely the only part of the human population capable of bearing children, therefore, working conditions that were set for men were considered to be too dangerous for women. However, some do ignore the working conditions and go. This new role in the work place is not so readily accepted in society.

The three major obstacles that are stopping the woman to extend her intention at her career are men, media and the society. According to Bob Enyart "Women are not made to manage things. Men can manage everything instead. When women try to run things and take over the authority of men they mess things." This kind of attitude is what keeps women outshine the men in the world. Most men view women only as housewives, and nothing else. They suppose that women are meant to stay at home and clean the house, raise children and cook meals. However, even if the woman decided to join the workforce they have slight career choices. It was not until the late 1980s that women were accepted into the higher paying careers by men who were already dominating the workforce.

Even today when they are accepted to the workforce they are still not paid as much as men for equal work. A 1998 study shows that a woman in the same job as a man with the same expectations and responsibilities, the woman is paid ten to fifteen percent less than men. The media and television programs are also responsible for the image that is given to the woman. Women play passive roles in films and even television sitcoms. Even sitcoms on TV today women are cast in a career that men stereotyped as women belong in the kitchen or shopping.

American society can be very temperamental in their belief system and not willing to change their minds. Using politics as an example, there has never been a woman President or Vice President. This is because the American society's unwillingness to change this form of discrimination.

Until the society as a whole is adjusted, then the discrimination against women will continue. However, because of men, media, and the Society, women in the past and still to this day continue to be the countries greatest percentage of second-class citizens. Often, many women today withdraw, house and feed their families without the help of men, on an income of less than two thirds that of men doing the same job. For women to be equal in this society they need to earn equal payments for equal work and have everyone accept them into the workforce. When the society as a whole undertakes the awareness rising about the importance of women in the workforce, then we will have achieved equality between men and women.