After our discussion today, I rewatched Jay Z's 99 Problems video and I was able to see so many similarities between the urban African American culture portrayed in this song/music video and the Dominican culture portrayed in Oscar Wao.
First, both seem to be obsessed with letting it be known that they do not have any problem with the ladies, but that pretty much everything else in their life is screwed up. Where the Dominican's are oppressed by the tyrannical rule of Trulijo, Jay-Z feels like the blacks are the targets of racial profiling (2nd verse) and unfair judicial practices (3rd verse). However, with all of the oppression, they still vehemently let it be known that their hyper-masculinity should never be questioned.
Second, both seem to have a sense of pride for where they grew up. Even though Jay was born and raised in the ghetto of Brooklyn, he exudes that Brooklyn swagger. Meanwhile, the Dominican's, even though Oscar's generation has been transplanted to Jersey, are proud of their Dominican home. Again, this goes back to being proud of one's culture (black and Dominican), and the areas that they have so much pride in exemplify these cultures.
Lastly, and this may be somewhat of a stretch, but Jay is gunned down at the end of this video in a very Trulijo-esque way. While Jay is obviously not a dictator, he is one of the titans in hip hop, and is thus the one who is being "gunned" after. Just as Trulijo is at the top of the political system, Jay is at the top of the hip hop culture. I made the argument today that Trulijo actually feels immense pressure from his underlings, and he is eventually taken down, as all dictators have in the past. Jay must also feel this pressure from up-and-coming rappers, and thus uses the shooting scene to metaphorically express this fear.
You can take it as you will, but I definitely think there are strong connections between the hyper-masculinity of the urban black culture and the Dominican culture. I will provide a link to the music video here. Please be aware that there is explicit content, so be aware of that before viewing. (And I'm not even going to comment on the video hunnies in the background, as that would be a separate, very long blog post).
If you get some time, watch the video and see if you can come up with any other connections between the two pieces of art.
Ryan, I have to admit that I couldn't help but laugh inside at your suggestion upon first seeing the title of your blog post. However, after reading your argument, I think you may be onto something. Oscar's sense of pride certainly does relate to that of Jay-Z's. Although I question how authentic Jay-Z's feelings are toward females, especially in "99 Problems". I can't help but feel that Oscar is a little bit more of a romantic. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteOscar is definitely a hopeless romantic. I was thinking more along the lines of the typical Dominican views toward women, as expressed by Yunior, the Gangster, and Trulijo. The title is a little confusing, I wasn't referring to Oscar the character, but just shortened the book title so it fit. Sorry for the confusion with that.
ReplyDeleteYou've brought up a very interesting point about the idea of hyper-masculinity. I think it is notable that both Jay-Z and Oscar fall into the minority category. It seems that the expression of hyper-masculinity may function as a form of overcompensation with regards to oppression. This would certainly explain why such masculinity is only shown in families of lower socioeconomic statuses and minorities that feel " kept down" by the controllers of the realm of society/politics/etc. I think Jay-Z (just like Oscar) is expressing his masculinity as a response to the suppression of his culture.
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting post and discussion. Well done, guys.
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