OK. So I have to admit that last nights class threw me for a bit of a loop. I keep thinking about rap, (ah rap) and whether or not Fifty Cent IS in fact stepping outside of his repressed African American male ideology and re-appropriating power. While I don't buy the essentialist claim that we can understand invidivuals simply based on the characteristics of their "group", it is also a challenge to LIVE the idea of constantly questioning identity politics and refusing to shut myself off from any ideological group. While I don't want to limit my experiences or close my mind to new ideas or possibilities, it is also difficult to understant how to identify myself without falling into certain ideological groups.
Hook's concept of "shared sensibilities" through being empathetic toward one and other and trying to understand each other's lived experience is something that I would like to believe we could all live by. In the article she notes that it is not just a frame of mind, but also a way of life, that you need to "give critical attention to nurturing and cultivating our ties" in order to share knowledge. This can be done through engaging with popular culture and sharing various forms of art, literature, and cultural practices. Does this mean that I should open my ears and my heart to Fifty Cent as a way of living these "shared sensibilities?" I don't think it will be pleasant, but I guess I could try.
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I agree with you that I too cannot decide whether or not 50 was stepping outside of his money-and-ho grabbing ideology and into one more aligned with reappropriating ancient discourse. I think it would be insanely intellegent and go against everything we know and "love" about 50 if infact he was aware of this power shift he was creating. However I'm afraid only Taps is 100% on that theory, and we all know by her dance moves on Thursday how much she loves him. In regards to Hook's thoughts on "shared sensibilities" I think that although it would be nice to have everyone unbiasdly "understand" where everyone else is coming from I think it is a very unrealistic idea. You cannot avoid stereotypes, personal opinions or traditional ideas long enough for understanding to slip inside people's minds. Not to sound pesimistic (even though I do), its just I believe that there are few people in this world without reservations and opinions (whether positive or negative) about everyone else in the world no matter their ethnicity, religion or their sex. However I do agree with you and Hooks in that understanding can be reached by way of popular culture. Art, food and cultural practice in general are great ways to find out more information about an individual and their practices, hence ideologies. I think if everyone decided to "open their ears and heart" to these things, there would be alot more shared sensibilities benefitting the world we live in today.
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