Cultural Artifact

There are many different types of cultural artifacts that apply to every type of race. One particular type of race that has a lot of cultural artifacts that apply to them is African Americans. One particular example of a cultural artifact is music. The type of music is actually the cultural artifact because there are so many different kinds. In particular for African Americans they type of music that is a cultural artifact is rap, hip hop, soul, jazz, and R&B type of music. These specific genres of music are typically considered as African American cultural artifacts. They are considered cultural artifacts for African Americans because these are the genres of music that this particular race tends to listen to. Jazz music is considered a cultural artifact for African Americans because African Americans were the first ones who tried playing this particular type of music and they were also the people who created this particular style of music. They made this style of music during the Harlem Renaissance during the blues area, when they were talking and creating new music about their troubles. Rap is considered a cultural artifact because this specific genre of music because they are the ones who dominate this specific genre of .They are also considered cultural artifacts because this type of music is dominated by them and some of these were made by them. Hip Hop genre of music could also be considered a cultural artifact for African Americans because it is one of their major music genres. Hip hop is slowing moving to become more of a diverse genre of music, however it is still dominated by African Americans. R&B can be considered a cultural artifact for African Americans because like hip hop it is a style of music that is typically dominated by African Americans. These specific styles of music are considered cultural artifacts for African Americans because it defines some of the African American population. This is a cultural artifact because it is what the race usually listens to and it could be used to define them. Even if someone who was an African American and didn’t listen to or liked these particular styles of music, someone on the street who saw them or someone who has just recently met them would assume that they like and listen to these particular styles of music. These people who usually listen to these styles of music are usually stereotyped as a gangster. They would be stereotyped as a gangster or a trouble maker because of the lyrics at is in most of these songs. Almost all of the lyrics to rap, hip hop, and R&B songs are either offensive or mean. The lyrics in these songs also usually classify the listener and African Americans as gangsters because a hand full of these songs talk about being in a gang and doing things gangs usually do. Also the lyrics in these songs are usually about hardships and troubles that people are usually going through, like losing a family member at a very young age. They intend to do this in order to relate to African Americans because the artist feels like the African American society would be able to relate to these particular lyrics. African Americans usually tend to relate to these lyrics that the artist are making, so it is usually related to them, whether they like it or not. This makes it a good cultural artifact for the African American race because it tells the story of a good amount of African Americans, that race dominates the specific styles of music and are stereotyped because of it. They are considered cultural artifacts also because they are usually associated with this specific race, and helps associate them with a specific stereotype.

Masculine Ad

There are many different forms of advertisements all over the world.  These advertisements are displayed in many different places. Some specific places where these advertisements were seen are in magazines and online. The advertisements that were displayed, either in magazines or on the computer displayed a major theme of masculinity or femininity. Aaron Devor classifies the theme of masculinity and femininity in his article entitled, Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes. One example of an advertisement that clearly displayed this concept in its advertisement was an advertisement for Mustang cologne. This specific advertisement displayed the concept of masculinity and the behaviors and attitude that was displayed with it. The advertisement displayed a man wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket looking away from the camera with a mustang in the back ground. The way the man was looking in the ad shows him looking to the bottom right corner. This displayed that he has an attitude because he wasn’t making eye contact with the viewer. This is typical for a man who was trying to look more masculine than he really is, because he is showing off that he doesn’t care what others think about him. The man was not smiling and he didn’t show any expression. This means that he is being secretive and mysterious, so women would typically go after the “bad boy”, which he was further classified as because of the leather jacket. The mustang in the background on the dirt road also gave off a sense of masculinity because a mustang was typically labeled as a masculine car. A mustang also has a lot of horsepower, so it is a powerful car which also is another sign of men and masculinity. On top of that the mustang was the car in the ad, the color of the mustang was black, which is a color that is usually associated with men and power. In the reflection of the man’s sunglasses you see a mustang, the horse this time, which was yet another manly image in this advertisement. The mustang, the horse, could have been seen as a reference to the cowboys. Since this was cologne for men and cowboys were very manly men, who would travel across the county side chasing Indians, drinking whiskey, and ruling the town where they came from. The setting of the advertisement is the desert, which showed that the man in the ad can survive in harsh climates. This shows that men who can rough it in the desert are shown as the typical masculine men. Also he was not just surviving in the harsh climate of the desert but instead he was excelling in that particular climate. Another piece of the setting that show masculinity was that the car was in the in the wild also because it just further proves that the car is manly. On the bottom of the advertisement the worlds “Mustang the new fragrance for men” also helped show off the key message of masculinity which was displayed in this ad. The ad saying that it was the new fragrance for men means that there were previously other fragrances that men used, but this fragrance was better than the other colognes that were around. It was the dominate smell for men so it further proves the message of masculinity because it was the best smell so it overcame all other smells and is the new major smell. This product’s ad shows only signs of masculinity, with no signs of anything feminine in it. The writing isn’t asking you to try the cologne it is telling you that it is the new fragrance for men so that is masculine. Also it is telling you that if you want to smell like a man you should use this cologne. This ad was pretty much showing you that in order to be a man you need this cologne, also without even showing or mentioning a women it is implying that if you want to be able to get women or if you want to get nice cars you need to have this fragrance. This ad showed many different messages of masculinity, but the man concept of this whole ad was that masculine men wear this cologne and if you want to be one you should to.

Cholos and Surfers

In Jack Lopez's personal article entitled Of Cholos and Surfers he explored the idea of a Latino male child who wished that he could become a surfer in East L.A. In this article the speaker had a favorite surfer magazine that he loved reading, entitled Surfer Quarterly. This magazine was the typical magazine that all the surfers would read and would have a subscription to. For the speaker to get this magazine was a big deal to him since he always wanted to become a surfer. It was also a big deal for the speaker to have the magazine in the eyes of the Latino community of East L.A. When the speaker went out to purchase the newest edition of Surfer Quarterly, his father and a Latino male who was working at the register were making fun of surfers and the surfer magazine. They were making fun of the surfer magazine because they do not accept surfers in their community. They do not understand and respect surfers because that was the way that they were brought up. Even though this magazine had a deep spiritual meaning to the speaker his father still mocked it. As a father he should have accepted the fact that his son wanted to be a surfer. This just proved that the barrier between Latino and surfers was huge. When people in the neighborhood saw the speaker with the magazine they visioned him as a typical surfer, with Bermuda shorts, flip flops, and a t-shirt. In his neighborhood they saw surfers as inferior citizens when compared to the Latino community. Even if the surfers were in fact of Spanish decent, like the speaker, and wanted to surf the Spanish community would still look down on them as if they were not one of them. One example of this is when the speaker walked down the street one day when a "cholo'' who wore ''typical cholo clothes", a wool cap, a long  Sir Guy shirt with only the top button buttoned and baggy khaki pants, tried to fight the speaker just because he was dressed like a surfer. It wasn't until the speaker said that he was a Mexican that the cholo accepted him as one of his own and walked away from the fight. Another time when surfers or non Latinos were discriminated against was when a kid was stabbed and killed because he wasn't colored. This further proved that the Latino population believed that their race is higher up in the social pyramid than non-colored people. This is wrong and messed up, the Latino picking a fight with someone because he is not of the same race as him, or because he is wearing something different or for just being different. Once they can finally accept the fact that everyone is equal they can work together to make East L.A and the rest of the world a better place for everyone. The surf magazine was truly an cultural artifact to resemble surfers and how they are seen as by the community around them. This magazine is like a cosmetic magazine for a beauty paler, it resembles them as someone who deeply cares about their beauty. This article just shows that you can't judge a book by its cover, because you never know how they are under neath.