In this week’s passion post, I want to focus on the film industry in the United States and Nigeria. Specifically focusing on black representation in Hollywood, and Black domination in Nollywood.

So, what exactly is Hollywood and Nollywood?

Hollywood: the film industry of the United States which is largely known and recognized by many. Each year hundreds of movies are produced from Hollywood centered around political issues, violence, controversy, life and more.

Nollywood: the Nigerian film industry that produces hundreds of movies primarily focused on drama, social, and political issues, while avoiding majorly controversial topics. 

Starting with Hollywood, some of the world’s most well-known and loved movies have originated from Hollywood. Some of these include the Spider-Man and Star Wars series. In this post however, I want to highlight movies and shows like Us, Get Out, Blackish, Black Panther, and That’s So Raven. 

You may be wondering what each of these have in common, and that is that these productions highlight incredibly talented Black actresses and actors in Hollywood. Unfortunately the film industry often fails to showcase Black talent, with just about 11% of leading film roles going to Black actors, and films with largely black casts are more often to receive lower investments in production and promotion.  

These unsettling statistics and the lack of Black representation in film, makes situations where Black actors are featured more powerful and impactful on the Black community. For example, Black Panther, which came out in 2018, was Marvel’s first Black-led superhero film. It successfully brought attention to Afrofuturism and the progression of technology with the evolving African diaspora. The movie also helped to draw attention to incredible Black actors, providing them with opportunities to shine on-screen. 

Personally, I remember when Black Panther originally came to theaters and watched it with my family. I also recall when the second movie was released, my high school planned a trip for members of the African American Student Association to watch the film. Both films greatly impacted Black communities positively. 

Furthermore, I distinctly remember watching shows like Blackish and Grownish with my mom. It wasn’t often that shows featured Black actors and could accurately discuss and draw attention to Black issues and the Black experience in the United States. These shows and films however opened the doors to introducing these kinds of productions to Hollywood, which is incredibly necessary for the future of the US.

On the other hand and across the world, Nollywood has continued to produce movies and shows like The Set Up and Jenifa’s Diary. Entirely Black casts are not uncommon in Nollywood productions as they are produced in Nigeria, a country with a high Black population. 

Despite these differences, the constant refreshing Black representation in film productions from Nollywood and the continuously increasing Black representation in Hollywood movies is significant to Black American communities and Nigerian communities. Experiencing a sense of belonging and relatability to the media we consume is incredibly important to every community, so it’s nice to see the representation of people who are like me on the big screen. And as always, more representation would always be appreciated!

If you think back to the early 1900s, what did the typical classroom in the United States look like? If you guessed that they were filled with high achieving, wealthy white men, being trained to be carbon copies of each other, then you would be correct! 

If you take a snapshot of a classroom now, anywhere across the country, the demographic of its students will most likely be more diverse and implement new technology to supplement students through a more individualized and personal education. 

In Evolving Ideas speech, I hope to discuss how education and access to it in the United States has changed. I plan to start in the early 1900s and split the timeline into 5 major sections.

1. The Early 20th Century (1900-1949)
2. Mid-20th Century (1950-1999)
3. Late 20th Century (2000-2009)
4. Early 21st Century (2010-2019)
5. The Present (2020-present)

In each of these sections of time, I hope to analyze the desegregation of schools making them more accessible to wider populations of Americans, the shift from learning specific content to a more personalized approach, and the introduction and use of technology in school settings, amongst other topics. 

Personally, this topic interests me as I feel that I have lived through some major changes in the US education system. Specifically, I remember back in 7th grade getting my first school issued laptop, living through the pandemic and having a school issued Zoom account to facilitate off-campus learning. Additionally, currently living through the rise of AI and its benefits and harms to traditional learning experiences. 

From this, I’m interested to do a bit more research to see what changes have been made to education before the major changes that I have lived through. I think that doing a deep-dive into these topics can help us make predictions and better understand how education may continue to change in the near future and accurately predict what the future may look like.

One book that I found in the PSU library was American Education: A History by Wayne J Urban and Jennings L. Wagoner, Jr.

From what I have read and seen thus far, the book breaks apart different eras of US history and analyzes what education looked like during these eras. These detailed breakdown and description will serve me in analyzing how the education system has changed over time in the US.

I also found this to be a reputable source as the authors were Professors of Education at the University of Alabama and the University of Virginia. Thus, they have some recognition and are relevant to the subject matter. 

I’m really interested to see how the past has impacted education today, and I look forward to analyzing the changes that have occurred thus far. 

Welcome back to this week’s blog post!! This week, I’ll be taking a deep dive into the significance of dance and its role in building community within the African American and Nigerian communities. 

The Wobble, the Cha Cha slide, and the Cupid Shuffle. What do each of these have in common? They are all dances known and loved by the African American community. They are dances that have been passed down from generation to generation, with each putting their own unique spin on the dances while keeping the traditions the same. These dances connect generations, families, and entire communities, but how? 

These dances are typically performed at Black cookouts. These are times that are sacred to the Black communities and spaces where they can be unapologetically black. Here, they are surrounded by family, love, communion, friendship, support, and good music. 

When communities get together these dances are performed by everyone, regardless of where people originate from, everyone seems to know the same dances and can perform them seamlessly together. Even those who are unfamiliar with the dances can catch on rather quickly, making these spaces enjoyable for everyone. 

In Nigerian culture, once again dance also plays a significant role in building community. At weddings, birthdays, and celebrations of all kinds, good music and a lot of dancing can always be accepted. 

In Yoruba culture, a series of dances such as the Gese dance and the Bata dance are performed as part of religious and traditional practices. Similar significant dances can also be seen across different tribes throughout the country. 

In this post about dance, I particularly wanted to focus on the dollar dance that is often seen at birthdays, weddings, and other celebrations. As discussed, dance in both Nigerian and African American culture, is used to represent culture, community, tradition, and much more. The money dance, dollar dance, or money spray are all the same thing and are another example to dance in Nigerian culture. 

In Nigerian culture, this dance originated in the Yourba tribe and as described by the title, guests at a celebration, like a wedding, circle the celebrants and dance as they ‘spray’ the celebrants with money, as they place money on their foreheads and allow the money to rain down upon them. The action of spraying money and dancing happiness is used to symbolize happiness, good fortune, and affection between everyone involved. 

Having gone to many Nigerian weddings and celebrations, this has to be one of my favorite aspects of Nigerian Yoruba culture. The energy and positive vibes that can be felt in these dance circles can not be put into words, but it is simply an amazing experience!

In both Nigerian and African American culture, I have a great appreciation for the dances that they have produced. When with African Americans, I love that everyone can connect over a series of dances and the energy of Nigerian dance circles is incredible. 

Being able to experience these two cultures and environments is truly a blessing and has helped me and many others to establish community with many others.

This week, the TedTalk that I watched was called Sleep is Your Superpower and given by Matt Walker. He is a British writer and scientist whose research examines the impacts of sleep on human health and disease. 

The main theme of the TedTalk was to encourage people of all ages across the world to put a greater emphasis on sleep and recognize the significant impacts that sleep has on every aspect of human life. In the talk, Matt is preaching that sleeping for 8 hours every night is essential for optimal living and should be an experience for all people. 

He effectively conveys this idea through the use of relatable facts and research studies to further support his claims. In the opening of the speech, he begins with the shocking statistics that men who sleep 5 hours a night have significantly smaller testicles than men who sleep for 7 hours or more. He also goes on to discuss that not sleeping enough ages men about 10 years, and provides similar freighting statistics for women’s reproductive systems. 

In the speech, Matt then goes on to talk about how poor sleeping patterns negatively affect the immune system, cardiovascular system, genetics, the body, memory, and brain functions. Again, everything that he mentions is backed up by research and studies which he displays in a condensed way, making it easy to focus on the important details and statistics. 

As he closes out the talk, Matt shares two main points for how we can achieve better sleep:

1. Establishing a routine and regularity
2. Keeping areas of sleep at cool temperatures 

The point of the speech was not just to spread fear and leave viewers to think that their existence is doomed due to a lack of sleep. Instead, Matt is encouraging us to prioritize sleep, rather than simply viewing it as a luxury, and he offers practical tips and advice to help us all achieve the necessary hours of sleep that he speaks about. 

I think that Matt is a stronger speaker with a straightforward presentation style. He conveys each message in a very straightforward and understandable way. Matt’s TedTalk is a good example of how to effectively deliver a speech and present a presentation, as he effectively speaks directly to his audience. His use of common experiences and statistics to speak to the human audience ultimately helps his speech to be effective in shifting the minds of people. 

So, all in all, TedTalk effectively shifted the audience’s minds and emphasized the importance of getting a good night’s rest. Based on the data presented, I definitely will be aiming for 8 hours of rest, and so should you!

In this week’s passion post, I wanted to focus on the significance of jewelry in Black American culture as well as Nigerian culture. 

One element of jewelry that is significant to Black American and Latinx women is hoop earrings. These earrings originate in  20500 BCE in the Nubian civilization, which is now present day Sudan located in Africa. In ancient Egypt, royalty like Cleopatra and Nefertiti showcased these pieces and today, hoop earrings can be seen as symbols of resistance and strength. 

In many Black communities, hoop earrings are a right of passage and often symbolize growing up, stepping into a new identity, and celebrating one’s ethnicity. The simple piece of jewelry could be passed down from generation to generation and serve as a cultural and family heirloom with so much sentimental value. 

In the late ‘90s, hip-hop, R&B, and rap significantly influenced fashion trends within the Black community. Popular artists like Salt-N-Pepa influenced many women to adopt hoop earrings as a form of beauty, power, and as a symbol of femininity and sexuality in a mainstream way.

For women in Black American culture, hoop earrings play a significant role in their sense of self and identity. For me however, hoop earrings were not passed down to me as a family heirloom and I never really gravitated towards them in stores, as they were usually not my typical style. Despite having not grown up wearing jewelry like this, I always recognize the beauty in others who chose to wear these styles. I really admire the earrings and the many different ways they can be styled and personalized to match the woman wearing them.

On the other hand, I’d like to discuss some jewelry from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, as this aligns with my upbringing and experiences a bit more. 

Jewelry plays a big role in Yoruba culture, as it is a way to express one’s femininity, wealth, and status to the world. Growing up, I can always remember my mother always reminding me to wear earrings and a necklace when I left the house. Before going to weddings and special events, I can also remember sorting through boxes of jewelry with my mom to find pieces that would match with the Nigerian clothes I would wear. 

At weddings and special occasions, jewelry is also used to highlight the importance of the event. At weddings, beaded necklaces sets are often worn by the bride and groom as well as close family members to express status and happiness for the celebrants. 

It has been really interesting to see the similarities between how Black American culture and Nigerian culture view jewelry and its importance. Both cultures recognize the importance of it, yet style them differently which I really admire and have an interest in.

This week’s RCL post asked us to find and analyze a bumper sticker with a pithy statement that advances a particular viewpoint. After scrolling through several images of bumper stickers, I settled on this one. This bumper sticker draws attention to the political situation of the United States and calls the American people to action by voting in the upcoming elections. 

With just a simple glance at this bumper sticker, the sticker is drawing attention to the divide between the Democrat and Republican parties within the American political system. In fact, the sticker is implying that Democrats are the superior political group and encourages the viewers of the sticker to adopt similar beliefs

The sticker’s main goal is to influence viewers to vote in favor of the Democratic party. Through the word choice and comparisons to driving a car, the sticker emphasizes the idea that Democratic party has more progressive ideas and beliefs that will allow the country to move forward, similarly to a car in drive.

On the contrary, the stickers suggest that an individual’s choice to vote for the Republican party will hinder the progress that the nation has made and set the United States back in the goal of progressing in moving forward. This message is conveyed again through word choice and comparison as the sticker reads “To go backward, choose R”. Thus, the sticker says that if one wants to undo the progress that has been made, vote for the Republican party.

The sticker also assumes that all of the policies passed by the Democratic party will lead to the progression and advancement of the entire nation. The sticker also implies that the only way for the United States to continue to advance is under the power of the Democratic Party, which can only be made possible from the votes of the American people.  

The sticker also acknowledges that voting for the Republican party will lead the country backwards, forcing us to regress. It is common knowledge that the condition of the United States several years ago is not an experience that many would choose to return back to. The past was an undesirable time where large groups of the population faced discrimination and had their rights stripped away. The sticker suggests again that a vote for the Republican Party is a vote in favor of returning back to the previously undesirable conditions of the United States. 

All in all, the bumper sticker does a good job at encouraging its viewers to vote in favor of the Democratic Party and the progression of the country as a whole. The sticker is effective in doing this through the implied common understanding of conditions in the US in the past and the analogy created between voting and driving cars.