Rap and Country: More similar than different

Obviously rap and country and very different from each other. Their general fan bases are as far apart as can be, their sound is on opposite ends of the spectrum and the lifestyles of the artists are very different, or so they appear to us in their advertising. I'm sure there are many people out there that listen to both rap and country. But there are many fans of both that have a great divide. Some diehard country fans would never listen to rap, and a lot of rap fans completely reject country. This could be because of the difference in sound. Country and rap both have unique musical styles. Country is normally more of a slow and subtle musical style. You can understand what they are saying in their songs and any normal person could relate to it. Their songs are more about the lyrics and the story. Rap seems a little more exaggerated. Many rap songs are so fast you can't understand what they're saying and even if you can hear the words you may not know what they mean. They're more about the beat than lyrics. Rap artists portray themselves and being flashy with their expensive brand names and jewelry. Country musicians seem to try and keep themselves low key. You often see them in just jeans and a button up shirt and a cowboy hat on.
But with all these obvious differences, there are many not so obvious similarities between the two that makes them more similar to each other than any other genre of music. First off, country and rap are both "southern". They originated in the south and when you think of the mainstream artists from both genres they're from the southern states. This gives them a similar background with similar influences. Another similarity is their ability to exaggerate. Though country sounds "tame" and "innocent" it really isn't. A lot of rap songs talk about shooting people, doing drugs and having sex with loads of women and they get criticized for being so crude. But, country songs also often talk about shooting people, drinking a lot and having sex with women and it isn't seen as so bad. Yet another similarity is that both genres of music are very unpopular with certain people. Many people have an EXTREME hatred for either one or both rap and country. Both are extremely popular, but equally hated at the same time. And a last large similarity between the two is that they both have a stereotype for their fans. People are often surprised when they find out someone who doesn't fit that stereotype listens to that kind of music. To listen to country you need to be black and dress a certain way. To listen to country you have to be a hick living in the middle of nowhere. But that isn't really the case at all, people just try to ignore the reality of it and deny they listen to it as Klosterman said.

Results of Pop Culture Media

In a way popular culture has made us all smarter, stupider, nicer, meaner, healthier, unhealthier, gentler and more aggressive. I want to focus on the meaner aspect though, because I feel like today kids are a lot meaner than they were 50 years ago. Even 10 years ago. There's a lot more bullying out there and this IS due to media. Because of the internet bullies can find you and target you at home too. With this bullies have become smarter. Not necessarily book smart, but tech smart. They know how to manipulate better and bully without being caught. They don't get caught mainly because physical fights have now turned into technological fights. When you're fighting on the internet or through texts you don't get black eyes and cuts, you get emotional trauma, which doesn't heal nearly as quickly.
Another reason kids are meaner is because movies and shows they're watching. My cousins are 5 and 7. One night we were watching Disney Channel and a movie came on about a girl who was turning 16. She was the main character and she was HORRIBLE. She did mean things to everyone and treated her "bestfriend" like dirt. In the end she ended up "learning her lesson" as always in kids movies but I felt the ten minutes they spent on the lesson didn't really make up for the 50 minutes of torture she reigned down on others. They also made this main character the best looking in the whole movie and this reminded me of the movie Mean Girls. I personally love that movie but all the bullies were the popular girls who were the prettiest. When a ittle kid watches a movie like that, or with any situation like that (which happens often) they likely won't pay attention to the ten minutes at the end where they learn their lesson and "change their ways". They're more focused on the rest of the movie where the mean "pretty" girls get ahead the whole time and have control over everyone else. I believe these movies, ontop of everything on the internet is teaching younger and younger kids that it's okay to be mean because it gets you ahead of others and that there really aren't any real consequences to acting that way.

Masculinity=Violence?

In the "Tough Guise" video many examples of men putting on an act of being violent were given. I believe that the relationship between violence and masculinity is something to be concerned about in our society. I feel like more and more boys have to prove themselves through sports or playing violent video games. If they did more "girly" activities they would be made fun of. Just a month ago a gay student committed suicide due to a hate crime against him and his privacy. Many school shootings happen by students who are teased and made fun of for years. All boys. I believe people are pressured to feel manly by society. If they aren't tough enough they're made fun of and some end their lives or feel that stepping up with guns and shooting people is the only way out. I feel that in more recent years this is becoming more and more prevalent. More men are being murdered by other men, there is more violence on television. Video games and children's toys are becoming more violent as well. It's spreading fast and it's having a negative influence.