“The Get Down” has grown on me in ways I never expected. Through these last few episodes I’ve seen so much growth in characters like Zeke, Shao, Mylene and Dizzee that I have become very attached and able to connect with them. I sympathize with Zeke in his attempt to simultaneously live in both the world of The Get Down as well as the world of the white man being offered to him by Mr. Gunns. I feel the same way for Mylene in the sense that she’s trying to do right by all the people who’ve supported her but also struggling with keeping herself happy.
In relation to the article “Hip Hop is Not Responsible for Sexism” by Tricia Rose, misogyny is perpetuated through many forms in our society with hip hip hop being one of them. This is clear throughout episode 8 of “The Get Down” where the label looks to exploit Mylene and use sex appeal to sell her records. Using women as mere sex objects is nothing new in the context of misogyny or in our society. Also, during the record label meeting Mylene’s Uncle and Mr. Asheton took it upon themselves to delegate how Mylene’s career is gonna go and what kind of artist she would become. Not allowing women to make decisions for themselves is yet another key factor in our misogynistic society.
Within the article Tricia Rose pointed out the significance of hip hop lyrics in relation to misogyny. After examining the lyrics of the top 5 songs from a 2008 hip-hop/ R&B playlist Rose concluded, “This lineup reflects a distortion of youth music’s long-standing and perfectly acceptable focus on sex and courtship into sexist and objectifying tales of male conquest. The lyrics for these catchy top-five songs do not distinguish between male sexual desire and the sexual objectification of women. In these songs and many others, women are valuable only because they are sexually desirable and willing.” Regardless if it is intentional or not many listeners of hip hop especially the young ones internalize these meanings as they fuel the already existent sexist and misogynistic values in our society. Although, I don’t blame hip hop for the birth of misogyny I don’t believe it should be absolved for perpetuating it. But at the same time it’s difficult to blame one source for its sexism when there’s sexism found in most facets of our society.
