joe's+final+project+page+2

For the second page of my project, I chose to discuss American dreams, and the limitations of American society. My first addition to the wall was a short clip from the Civil Rights movement in America. The clip shows non-violent protestors being arrested, and ends with Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech. I added this because I felt that it showed the horrible inequality in the country at the time. For Martin Luther King, equality was just a dream, and not until after his death, was there anything close even close to true racial equality in the country. Racial equality is something that is still a very present issue for America, and still seems like something that we’re far from obtaining. The second Clip on the page is the video for the rap song “Dreams” by the Game. The song is primarily about the artist’s personal dreams and struggles, but there are many references to the dreams of fallen musical artists and political activists. The Game uses these references as a way of presenting the tragedy of death. Many of the people who he mentions in the song such as Martin Luther King, Eazy E, Jam Master J, Aalyah, Left Eye, Huey P. Newton, Biggie Smalls, Marvin Gaye, and Yutandey Price, are all people who died early, or were murdered and were unable to live out their dreams and live a full life. The third clip that I added to the page was the trailer for the recently released “Cabrini Heat” movie. It shows a great deal of love and violence that many of the tenants of the Cabrini Green housing projects are faced with regularly. I added this clip because I feel that it shows a different side of impoverished living as well as many of the burdens that it brings. My final addition to the page was a reference to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, and the Louis Armstrong Song “Black and Blue.” The Armstrong song is featured in the book because it clearly references the difficulties of being black in America. I added a quote from the song because I think that it helps emphasize the struggle for racial equality in America, and show how hard it is for people to deal with a racist society.

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