Freaks

     The piece "Because My Father Always Said He Was The Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play "The Star-Spangled Banner" At Woodstock" by Sherman Alexie demonstrates how music can be used to cope with feelings of isolation. The narrator's Native American father is segregated against, due to his race. This causes him to relate to Jimi Hendrix, who, being black, was also discriminated against. Additionally, Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is a distinct distortion of the usual, melodic version of the song; this is symbolic of the feelings of isolation the country makes both Jimi and the narrator's father feel. Similarly, rock n' roll is a genre of music that is not conventionally accepted, similarly to certain races.
     Today while watching a season seven episode of the TV show "Supernatural", there was a quote that reminded me of Alexie's piece. In a flashback, a girl said to young Sam, "Sam, you are a freak. But so was, I don't know, Jimi Hendrix, and Picasso. All the coolest people are freaks." Doesn't this have some semblance of truth? People that are considered freaks by society are people that go against the norm, people that do things that are not conventionally accepted. But without freaks, we wouldn't be where we are now. Throughout history, it has been the people that had dared to go against the norm that have accomplished the most.
     Jimi Hendrix was definitely considered a freak, what with his unique music interpretations and lyrics. In one of my favorite Jimi Hendrix songs, "All Along the Watchtower", he illustrates an inflexible power hierarchy from which outsiders, namely the Joker and the Thief, two archetypes that are generally isolated from society, are secluded from. This relates to the constant struggle of races to achieve equality in the rigid power structure that is society.
     The Walking Dead is returning in a few minutes, so I'm going to end this post with a powerful quote from Jimi Hendrix: "You have to go on and be crazy. Craziness is like heaven."

"All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix

   

Media Representation (And How it Sucks)

     The media plays a huge part in our lives. It is everywhere, and it greatly influences the way we view many of the major issues in the world. The impact of media on our lives can be a good thing, like with the social justice blogs that have educated me and many others on important issues. However, it can also be a huge disaster, a prime example being the nonsense propaganda that Fox News babbles about, and that somehow people (old, straight, white men, usually) internalize. In "Disability", Nancy Mairs comments on how the media's representation of people with disabilities can be overall harmful, stating that the lack of dynamic characters with physical disabilities causes "self-degradation and a subtle kind of self-alienation" to be experienced by the disabled.
     This type of effacement does not only occur with physical disabilities, but also with mental ones. It is rare in today's entertainment industry that you come across a well-developed, correctly portrayed character that suffers from a mental illness, but is not defined by it. And on the rare occasion that this character exists, chances are that they are not given the justice that they deserve.
     Take Beth Greene from "The Walking Dead" for example. When the reality of the zombie apocalypse set in, she went into shock, followed by depression, which ended in a failed suicide attempt. Her decision to live, along with her unwavering hope and strength took her from a background character to a dynamic, perfectly developed representation of a woman who had struggled with depression and made it- in an apocalypse no less. This gave many people who had struggled with depression hope as well- if she could do it, why not them? However, due to terrible writing, (SPOILER ALERT), she was shot and killed (probably), dying along with her my admiration for the show. (I mean, it killed off the two characters that had suffered from depression for shock value..? A++ representation AMC.)
     Media portrayal is very important- it gives the people represented a role model and feelings of normalcy and belonging. The entertainment industry has improved, but it still has quite a long way to go in terms of the representation of females, sexuality, people of color, and people with disabilities. In short, it kind of sucks. Really badly. I need to start watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Orphan Black" to get my fill of representation, because these mainstream media shows just aren't cutting it.

"It's just so pointless"