Media Homework - The Representation of Men in Rap Videos

The Representation of Men in Rap Videos

Hip hop presents a very rigid and narrow version of manhood - one that suggests that to be a "real man" you must be strong and tough, you must have a lot of women and money, you must always be in control, and you must always dominate women and other men.

If you do not live up to these ideals, you will be ridiculed for not being man enough. You will be called names like "soft, weak and wimp".

This need to conform to the narrow definition of manhood in hip hop is a trap for men, boxing them into a restricted, unhealthy style of manhood and masculinity.

I do not agree with the statements above, no matter what you do or how you behave you are still a man. The videos that state that you have to be strong, rich and have lots of women are false, they shouldn't tell you what you have to be like or what to look like.

There are lots of videos (not just music videos) that depict men as being big, muscly, tattooed, gangsters, which in most cases is far from the truth, take Bromley for example, I hardly see anyone who fits the description given in gangster shoots.

The sad thing is that 50 Cent is a dad and still tries to portray himself like the stereo typical council estate gangster. There are also lots of fathers who do the same thing, showing them selves not as a dad but as a gang leader.

However there will always be people who will say that the style of manhood shown in these films is the way things should be. They may argue that it is their culture and that you shouldn't judge them by the way they live, but this so called culture encourages violence and crime.

Also, another bad thing is that just because some people are like that means there are others who even though they are not, people judge them and assume that they are; vicious, rude, self loving and criminal. This way of behavior has created a stereotype that even though in most cases it is not true, people believe it and it will never be broken, only strengthened.