BlackStar (Mos Def and Taleb Kweli)

The subject of this week’s post is the rap album written by Taleb Kweli and Mos Def named Blackstar. The blog will discuss the different issues that the album raises: Modern-day issues, Philosophical ideas, and the toughness of life in Brooklyn.

Blackstar is more than just a rap album made for lucrative purposes, or fame.  Recorded by the two rappers their aim was to make people aware of what is really happening, about social issues in society, discrimination, but also criticizing the general way of thinking

Intro: the intro shows that both rappers are not rapping to get rich or only for the purpose of music, they are telling a story describing themselves as documentarian brining the truth to their listeners, introducing their album as a documentary.

8th light:

The first track of the classic 1998 album Blackstar, which united rising underground heroes Mos Def and Talib Kweli, this song features the two rappers exploring the meaning of “blackness” through rhymes that are both poetic and playful, indeed in this song they are praising the black colour that is always perceived as bad.

Definition: the song highlights the violence in hip-hop and its effects on rappers as the death of 2Pac and Biggie as they were both shot dead

Brown skin lady:

This song is about Mos Def and Talib Kweli’s admiration and appreciation of brown skin ladies, which include but aren’t limited to Latinas, Indigenous women and African American women. They are praising the coloured women and their beauty

Thieves in the night:

Thieves in the Night” challenges the beliefs as it says we shouldn’t change ourselves to conform to stereotypes and let ourselves be oppressed and judged. But instead, we should be proud of who we are and not seek the approval of any type of oppressor.

This album had a meaning to Kweli and Mos Def as they both decided to hold their solo albums so that they could work fully on Blackstar. Blackstar is not a conventional hip hop album; it does not praise the gangster lifestyle. This is an album made from normal people proud of their African origins, and their dark skin. Both, also are against all sorts of violence, they are promoting peace. As we listened to this album, we noticed a resemblance in problems that black Tunisians are dealing with, and the awful things done and said to them. From the common words used as ‘Kahlouch’ to describe a black skinned man, to different buses for black persons, but also to violence made against them. It made us realise the hard times the black community has had, the long journey full of sadness and oppression by the white man, but also the tremendous effort of generation to change their state from slaves to man of wisdom, speaking the truth, unveiling, the horrible acts made against them till this day. This album is not only tracks full with beats and words having the same end so that it rhymes. It’s a weapon, made by two great person seeking for freedom and equality. They used their words as sharp blades denouncing truths that everyone refused to believe. Mos Def and Kweli are not trying to create a racial revolution, they are only describing their anger and hatred toward different types of mind sets, stereotypes and lies.  

Pink Floyd : The Wall

This blogpost is an introduction and an analysis of the album “The Wall”. The Wall is the 11^th album written and performed by the rock band Pink Floyd, released on the 30^th of November 1979. It’s a set of songs that are mostly linked to intrigue, mystery and considerable imagination. The music has a unique characteristic, since it actually tells the story of the life of an individual called Pink Floyd. It mainly focuses on the theme of loneliness and isolation.

            

           The album starts by Pink losing his father due to war and starting to develop phobia and psychic problems due to his overprotective mother. The starting point explains how his difficult childhood hugely affected his adulthood afterwards. The boy becomes anti-social and rejects all forms of relationship with others so that he doesn’t get emotionally hurt. The single “Another Brick in the Wall” explains how all events in his childhood were like bricks participating in the development of the wall that isolates Pink. He didn’t have to only face his father’s absence and his mother’s presence but also a failing education system. Teachers are described as being constantly trying to make their students all the same. Pink becomes completely insane at some point and develops hate towards the war that took away his boyhood and his nation’s common sense.

            The first part entitled “The happiest days of our lives” is full of violent sounds and was more of warlike music with screaming. The production of videos was also dark to successfully complete the music. It described for example teachers as being cruel and hurting the children so they become disciplined like soldiers. The second part called “Lack of Freedom and Individuality” is actually the normal succession of indoctrination. With its calm rhythm and the lack of variation it perfectly describes how fear cancelled freedom. Students became brainless and without personality and it’s demonstrated by scenes of children in line listening to the teacher’s instructions. They all wear masks with the same forms, which represent the lack of individualism. Pink shows that students are not happy with this situation with the lyrics “We don’t need no education; we don’t need no thought control.” But these are the only lyrics in this part, which is a sign to tell the listener that the speaking faculty is being shut down. But in the end of the part, the words become repetitive and the tone changes from calm to violent again. But this dramatic change to violence again is not like the first part since it’s impacting the children. The third part “Rebellion” follows; the students begin to revolt against the system represented by the teachers and the music becomes solo. Visually speaking, the students throw their masks and get freedom again.

The alliance between the music, the lyrics as well as the image perfectly described the atmosphere and the philosophy meant by the story. It mainly criticizes the use of education to implement the government’s dictatorship.

References : http://www.thewallanalysis.com/main/   

http://stanford.edu/~cstein15/Music32N/Musicvidanalysis.pdf

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Being encouraged by Ella to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, free from the doctrines of Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm x decided to follow the true path of Islam on his own.

In his trip to Mecca, Malcolm describes his admiration of the Islamic world and the lack of racial divisions in it. He then highlights his changed point of view on racial problems he had to face in the United States. While in Mecca, Malcolm X came in contact with many white Muslims who were friendly and helpful toward him and who treated him as equal. He then began questioning himself and his knowledge about Islam after noticing that racial problems were more a matter of attitude than of color. Which led him to think that being white did not make a person evil, but being white in America generally meant a person who had been brainwashed and frightened, with its mind full with racial prejudices imposed by the American society. According to him (in his press conference), after his trip to Mecca, the people living in Saudi Arabia were "white" but only in skin color, they did not treat him the same way that white people in the United States did. In fact, he says that he was astonished by the variety of races making their pilgrimage in total peace and harmony as they   seemed to be able to get along in the holy city. He writes: I said, "The brotherhood! The people of all races, colors, from all over the world coming together as one! It has proved to me the power of the One God." (17.103). Which proves his point of view of the religion of Islam which is capable of making people forget racism and accept other people as human beings. All Muslims are restricted by Al-hajj rules. Their main aim is the search for redemption and to cleanse their sins. Any form of discrimination is forbidden in the holy Mecca. Which can be slightly compared to world war two, When America entered the war in December 1941, and black people participated in the war and fought alongside white soldiers sacrificing themselves for their homeland. Which proves that, when the aim of peace is shared in society, prejudices, discrimination and racial problems disappears leaving only the pure and honest will of fighting together for a common purpose. Another point is Experience as it is vital, as Malcolm X says "what I have seen and experienced, has forced me to re-arrange much of my thought patterns previously held". Those words showed the importance of experience, which allows us to rethink our thoughts and readjust our position towards a problem or a given information. An example that is relevant to this situation , (Muatasem Bellah Saker) “As a Libyan, I personally thought that it will be hard to live with Tunisians, to become friends with them, as I assumed that they will always see me as a foreigner. However, having been in Tunis experiencing the life of a student in Tunis among my fellow students, I noticed that my prejudices vanished and it also made me readjust my opinion, as I realized  how wrong I was, and now I’ve became friend with a lot of Tunisians.
After his trip to Mecca, Malcolm X radically changed his point of view. Not only in his religious beliefs, but also his thoughts about the “white man” as he noticed the harmony and the lack of racial divisions in Mecca.

Link to video :
MALCOLM X RETURNS FROM MECCA (Complete Press Conference)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0wnV0EsmqA

The Guest by Albert Camus ( Text Analysis )

The Guest is a text that communicates the feeling of alienation and desire of confinement that humans experience, it also explains the idea of absurdity and the sense of moral distress.

The environment in which the story takes place, creates a sentiment of isolation and solitude. The school where Daru teaches is located on top of a plateau in the cold mountains. The isolation of the school shows how every person is truly disconnected from everybody else.

Daru the protagonist of the story is an enigma. He is a hero, to others he is an agent of French oppression, but still he is something in between. The resemblance is noticeable when we take the author of book Albert Camus himself as an example, unable to reconcile between being French as he is born and raised in Algeria, he find it hard to make a choice, so he chose none.

All these different perspectives demonstrates how strange Daru is. He is in a constant battle through the story. Daru shows resistance while cooperating with Balducci when he asks him to deliver the prisoner.

Daru supports the man’s freedom, he then asks what the prisoner crime was and Balducci says he killed his cousin in a family quarrel. This can demonstrate that the murder he did was justified but yet he was captured not according to the Arab justice that he lives by, but by French colonial law.

“Daru felt a sudden wrath against the man, against all men with their rotten spite, their tireless hates, their blood lust.”

A brief reading of this part and one would think that Daru was disgusted by the Arab’s act, however a closer reading shows that he was talking about Balducci.

It appears that Daru comprehended the logic in the prisoner’s act of murder and understood that he is not by any means guilty, but simply misunderstood.

Since he couldn’t communicate in the French language he was not able to defend himself.

Daru is the only one that still sees that Arab as human. By trying to avoid the responsibility of having him executed. Daru gives the Arab the chance to make his own decision by untying his hands and giving him plenty of opportunities to escape.

But despite that, the Arab declines the offer. The choice that Daru made is similar to the German policy towards the Syrian refugees, as the German government keeps them in camps when they arrive, by doing so they will avoid interfering in Syria, which in this case the refugees are the "guests" of Germany.

Many would think of the Arab as a primitive, brutalized, and dull character, but if we take in consideration his background, then he is by all accounts a remarkable, decent man, and his action only seem absurd when looked from the perspective of Daru.

First let’s look at the reason why he killed his cousin. When Daru asks him the reason for his crime, he says “he ran away. I ran after him.”

Could it be that the cousin's act of running away, instead of taking full responsibility which constitutes shame and dishonor to the family, and that the Arab was only acting following his customs.

Seen from this point of view, the Arab made the best decision executing his cousin. And we can also understand the reason why he did not run away which is because he refuses to be like his cousin and desert when false accusations are made toward him.

The ethical understanding of the Arab is different than the world he is in, and this isolates him because he doesn't comprehend that what he did was a crime. When Daru asks him if he was sorry for what he did the Arab found no logic in the question, should he feel sorry about the killing if it was the honorable thing to do? Sadly his way of thinking leads to his death, because he did not understand that to the French mind, he is evil.

He then deliver himself to the police expecting to have a fair trial and to be found not guilty.

If the Arab ran away and became sheltered with the travelers then he would see himself as the weakling and criminal. And his action of delivering himself is explained by his experience as a guest of Daru's where he received honorable treatment which seems to have inspired an emotional response in him which made him believe he will be treated fairly, when judged for his crime.

Which show the tremendous mistake that Daru made by choosing to be passive and to not make a choice, which is resembling to the case of Rwanda’s genocide in 1994, where the world watched thousands of people dying but did not intervene to stop it because it was between the people of the same country in this example (The Arab prisoner).

In the world of Camus, a person can attempt to give meaning and nobility to his life through decisive, even rebellious, action to counteract immoral activity, but without a perfect, and fair judgement, there is no morality or immorality.

6th chapter 1984 by George Orwell '' Big Brother is watching you "

This week’s post is about a part of the 6th chapter of 1984 by George Orwell. It will mainly focus on the internal fight that Winston is going through, especially his ambiguous feelings and memories. The post will also discuss the impact of the situation of the country on the protagonist, and how it affected his life.

The whole fragment of the text is happening at the Chesnut Tree Cafe. Winston Smith is being tormented by his memories and feelings while drinking his usual Gin and playing chess. He is being interrupted numerous times by propaganda announcements on the television about the outcome of the war and will finally feel excited and accept the fact that he accepts the party. He concludes that he finished being confused and discovers that he loves Big Brother.

Winston is thinking about how he became an ally to the Party, and how he abandoned his revolutionary thoughts and decided to become like every other citizen. After being tortured for a certain period of time, he finally discovered that if he wants to be happy, he needs to become part of the masses and accept facts and decisions imposed by the Party.  We conclude that in this situation, the system is more powerful than liberty and won over critical thinking, and it’s illustrated when Winston wrote on the dust of the table: 2+2=5. The brainwash and torture were successful in changing who he was.

Although he is clearly determined and convinced of his new life, he is constantly having an internal fight in his mind, because of some memories that keeps haunting him. The gin that he keeps drinking may be involved in the apparition of these thoughts, because it shows the real personality of the character. A main thing that he remembers is an old meeting with Julia, his old love. He recalls how torture changed her physical appearance, by becoming thin, undesirable and totally undesirable. He discovers that their betrayal was mutual, when they were interrogated in the rooms of the ministry of love. The way their discussion is going shows that they both became indoctrinated by the system; especially when they repeated each other’s words just like robots.

One party ruling: When there is only one party that represents the authority in a country, this can lead to a absolute totalitarianism, as it enables this party to rule over the masses by channels that are available to the party . In the story the party was watching the citizens from their TVs, which we can relate to today governments as they use technology to control over their citizen "mind" . For instance , they can use social media to expose the people to certain kind of messages, so they can be mislead and directed towards what the government's wants . When one party rules, the individuality of each citizen can be effected by that, as the party wants everyone's to see with the eye of the party. In other words, there's no need for you think because we think for you . In the same sense, such way of limiting ones freedom will by time cause some rebellious acts, such as what Winston did ! Those who are willing to think for their selfs and see things different from the government's point of view, surely will face two options: either to learn to love big brother or die fighting against big brother.

The drama continues and memories keep showing up in Winston’s mind. One other thing that he remembers is an event of his childhood. The scene is describing how he was playing with his mother and sister at home and how he was truly overjoyed. But he quickly changes his mind and convinces himself that these are false memories and that he shouldn’t think about it. One main thing that influences the antagonist is the propaganda diffused on television about the Party and what’s happening in the war between Oceania and Eurasia. In the end, the ultimate news that impacts him is the announcement of victory. Winston feels excitement and joy, and thinks that he is now done being confused about his position: He now loves Big Brother once and for all.

 This text illustrates how mind control can have a strong effect over a person as we see the effect of the news on us, they can change our point of view and make us believe whatever we are told. The power of mind control and the ways a message can be delivered are unlimited, everyone’s judgment can be changed and played with, indeed a mind is a toy, if its weak it will break and will be easily malleable.

Alice in Wonderland Chapter V-III

Alice in Wonderland Chapter V-III

(Advice from a caterpillar - Looking glass insects ) 

The story of Alice in wonderland is this week post. The blogpost will discuss the following issues that the story raises: the identity crisis, the metamorphosis of oneself, the change around us that affects us but also the links between the story and culture and religion.

Alice in wonderland is a story about a girl who went to a different universe from hers, where creatures, labels, significance of words and also the power of language is different from the one we know. Alice during the story makes conversation with these creatures which made her abashed but also amazed, as she experienced changes physically and mentally.   

Alice in Wonderland, Advice from a Caterpillar, where Alice meets a caterpillar smoking hookah. The caterpillar questions Alice and she admits her present personality crisis, which is demonstrated by her powerlessness to remember the poem which is “Father William” (also known as “The Old Man’s Comforts”), by Robert Southey, which is a poem about the importance of living in moderation, and many Victorian children were required to memorize it. We can see that the character displayed as a caterpillar is well picked since its known for its transformation from a slow moving, fat and hideous animal to a beautifully colourful winged butterfly. In this respect the ‘Caterpillar’ character transmits the message to a reader to not to be afraid of a fundamental metamorphosis in his or her self. The Greek word ‘metamorphosis’ means ‘change in form’ and the Caterpillar himself is a proof of the transition of the self since he will change into a chrysalis and later into a butterfly. We also notice that this scene contains a few references to the oblivious. As we notice the Caterpillar smokes a water pipe, which is utilized in several cultures as a method for transcending conscious awareness. Additionally, the Caterpillar seems to have clairvoyant capacities, which appears from the accompanying section: One side will make you become taller, and the other side will make you become shorter.

In the Second part of the text Alice in Looking-glass. Alice and the Gnat talk about how one’s name should relate to one’s identity or physical characteristics. As they talk about the different names of various insects in their separate universes, the Gnat asks Alice about the purpose of names if the insects do not respond to the names when called by them. Alice explains that the names are not necessarily for animals and objects to identify themselves by and respond to, but rather, names help those with powers of language to label, classify, and organize what they experience. But in Looking-Glass World, people are not the only species with the power of speaking and language, which changes Alice's point of view about naming and the properties of names. Alice’s interactions with the Fawn are initially friendly, but then after discovering her human child identity he became hostile. And this fear of the Fawn towards Alice is similar to the Christian beliefs. As in Genesis, the forest is Eden, in which humans and animals coexisted. Then Alice and the Fawn exit the forest just as Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden after tasting from the Tree of Knowledge. Just like the story of the Fall of Eden, the Fawn becomes afraid once it remembers that Alice is a human and that she presents a threat to his safety.

Alice in wonderland is a story that describes the journey of every normal person, we tend to relate to it, due to the metaphors used in it, it shows our constant and infinite battle for finding and defining ourselves, but also our struggle to adapt when put in different environments. It is an amazing story but also a great lesson given by a wise Caterpillar and a fearful Fawn. 

The Dewa Ruci The Book of Cirebon

The Dewa Ruci ; The Book of Cirebon

The Dewa Ruci from The Book of Cirebon, is a wonderful mixture of Javanese syncretism with Sufism, Hinduism and Javanese philosophy, it is a story and a puppets play which contains advices about life delivered by Dewa ruci to Wrekudara.

It illustrates the efforts of Wrekudara and his struggling to find the fullness of life. In addition, this story also describes how Wrekudara get advices from Dewa Ruci.

 As the topic of this week’s blogbost, we will analyze the moral message that is actually contained in the story, as well as the mystical teachings contained in the Dewa Ruci story (the colors), which is built upon the interaction that occurs between the two main characters and figures, Bima or Wrekudara and the dwarf god Dewa Ruci itself.

Keywords: Wrekudara, Dewa Ruci, Life Perfection.

The power of mind is not only represented in learning but also is represented in the power of repressing ones ego and desires such as to dominate. Having such ego and self-interests desires can blind our eyes. However, through the power of our mind can overcome them and help us to see things clearly as written in the text "The power of mind, its function, is its ability to see, to discern that which is genuine.” Therefore, our mind has the power that allows us to master ourselves and free our soul from any sin and when we reach that state of mind which is called in Sufism (fanāʾ) which means the death of one’s self (ego) we become able to reach enlightenment and represent god. Dewa Ruci advised that, in every action there must be awareness, which is based on conscience. He explains how humans act on the control of their Lord, and act in awareness. In other words, the will to act on the basis of conscience, is the same as acting on the blessing or the will of God. The four colors present in the story, named, black, red, yellow, and white are the colors seen by Wrekudara when inside the body Dewaruci. Each color is a symbol of the basic properties found in human beings. The black color is a symbol of anger. The color red is a symbol of lust, which is often misleading people. The yellow color is a symbol for the confusion that often disorients humans, so it is often misleading and damaging. Finally, the white color symbolizing purity or clarity, contained in man. And they can be interpreted in the way that even when a person is away from God, away from what is in his heart, the color white, as a symbol of goodness, should be able to fight the three vices contained in the human body. But In a real fight between three people against one man, it is very difficult to imagine him winning against them. In life, perhaps, it’s also hard to find people that can beat anger, lust, and confusion, and attain their inner peace. If indeed they were able to defeat their evil qualities, well, undoubtedly they reached perfection.

Therefore, being aware of our acts is the key to a life of truth. Awareness is the beginning of the truth, what is done consciously; it will be done with full consideration of good and bad.

In addition mysticism, in this story there are some moral messages that can be learned by the reader. Mainly, the big and strong determination of the Wrekudara figure, who show a aware and vigilant attitude on what has happened, and will happen, as well, as the call of the Dewa Ruci, to always be humble in life. Arrogant attitude is an attitude that is not commendable, because man is never higher than the Almighty. And finally a reminder that we that we should remain alert to always be able to control our behavior and acts.

This paper is far from perfect, if there is a shortage or a mistake to rethink in the writing of this article, the authors apologizes. Feedback on this work are more than welcome for a future evaluation and a better learning.