I love this video. In fact, I sat here for like an hour trying to compose my thoughts about this video. There is so much I can say (read: shout) about this, because I think it's so fantastic, but I will let you see for yourself. Don't forget to write comments below! Warning: There is a lot of adult content in this video.
So the first thing I thought when I watched this was a judgement, because I'm pretty much the queen of being judgemental. "What the HECK," I thought, "Lil WAYNE made this?" But then, I realized that if anyone had the opportunity to observe the pain that comes from of prostitution, he would know. And why wouldn't an incredibly famous rapper who doesn't make a video without two or three hip hop honeys on his arm be incapable of recognizing the emptiness and pain living such a lifestyle incurs? Which leads me to my next point...we all grow and change, and this video shows that beautifully. I know a lot of people are going to watch this and only see a pair of breasts or that glass of vodka and gasp with horror at such trash being promoted. They'll completely ignore that girl who's going to watch the next video of her favorite rapper, only to experience the exact same situation she's in currently in her own life. They won't think about that girl who's sitting there, remembering her abused mom, or her mom's abusive boyfriend, completely ignoring the daily choices that this girl is going to make. Even worse, they'll ignore the message that Lil Wayne just gave 1.3 million people.
This very message is the reason I am so passionately in love with this video. Somehow, in 5 minutes and 22 seconds, he promoted the stability and beauty of marriage, the impact good men have on society and little girl's hearts, the strength of the victory of stepping out of an abusive relationship, the horrors of having no avenue but selling your body, the utter despair that comes from this, how hard being a single mother is, how important community is in supporting each other especially single moms, how wonderful it is to sacrifice for someone, how beautiful and profitable education is, how being a nerd is awesome, and finally, the beautiful of choosing life and giving someone the opportunity to love and be loved.
From someone who's worked with kids very much like the the girl in the video, I can not express how much good I believe is going to come out of this. I know it's only one music video, but we continually underestimate the power of subconscious messages from the media. I know that every single one of my inner city girls have already seen this and I know that they will think about this. I know what sort of families and situations they come from, but I don't know what they are going to do, or what choices they will make. I PRAY that they won't go through anything like this, but someone isn't always be there to support them when they go through life. I hope when they experience the harsh reality that is this world, they won't forget the final image of love that Lil Wayne so beautifully, wisely, and courageously portrays.
I guess the morality of it comes down to the fact that evil occurs in the world and although we shouldn't promote it, I don't think this video does. I don't think anything is glamorized, and I don't think it's fair for us to stand up in our ivory towers and proclaim the pro-life message. The majority of girls getting pregnant are girls like these, as you know with all the statistics about minority targeting by PP. I think that if someone like Lil Wayne is going to put such strong messages in his videos, we need to support those good messages in order to support a culture of life. I also believe that this is an effective way to show the beauty of choosing life and the horrors of sin, evil, and a culture that objectifies and doesn't support the vulnerable in our society.
So the first thing I thought when I watched this was a judgement, because I'm pretty much the queen of being judgemental. "What the HECK," I thought, "Lil WAYNE made this?" But then, I realized that if anyone had the opportunity to observe the pain that comes from of prostitution, he would know. And why wouldn't an incredibly famous rapper who doesn't make a video without two or three hip hop honeys on his arm be incapable of recognizing the emptiness and pain living such a lifestyle incurs? Which leads me to my next point...we all grow and change, and this video shows that beautifully. I know a lot of people are going to watch this and only see a pair of breasts or that glass of vodka and gasp with horror at such trash being promoted. They'll completely ignore that girl who's going to watch the next video of her favorite rapper, only to experience the exact same situation she's in currently in her own life. They won't think about that girl who's sitting there, remembering her abused mom, or her mom's abusive boyfriend, completely ignoring the daily choices that this girl is going to make. Even worse, they'll ignore the message that Lil Wayne just gave 1.3 million people.
ReplyDeleteThis very message is the reason I am so passionately in love with this video. Somehow, in 5 minutes and 22 seconds, he promoted the stability and beauty of marriage, the impact good men have on society and little girl's hearts, the strength of the victory of stepping out of an abusive relationship, the horrors of having no avenue but selling your body, the utter despair that comes from this, how hard being a single mother is, how important community is in supporting each other especially single moms, how wonderful it is to sacrifice for someone, how beautiful and profitable education is, how being a nerd is awesome, and finally, the beautiful of choosing life and giving someone the opportunity to love and be loved.
From someone who's worked with kids very much like the the girl in the video, I can not express how much good I believe is going to come out of this. I know it's only one music video, but we continually underestimate the power of subconscious messages from the media. I know that every single one of my inner city girls have already seen this and I know that they will think about this. I know what sort of families and situations they come from, but I don't know what they are going to do, or what choices they will make. I PRAY that they won't go through anything like this, but someone isn't always be there to support them when they go through life. I hope when they experience the harsh reality that is this world, they won't forget the final image of love that Lil Wayne so beautifully, wisely, and courageously portrays.
I guess the morality of it comes down to the fact that evil occurs in the world and although we shouldn't promote it, I don't think this video does. I don't think anything is glamorized, and I don't think it's fair for us to stand up in our ivory towers and proclaim the pro-life message. The majority of girls getting pregnant are girls like these, as you know with all the statistics about minority targeting by PP. I think that if someone like Lil Wayne is going to put such strong messages in his videos, we need to support those good messages in order to support a culture of life. I also believe that this is an effective way to show the beauty of choosing life and the horrors of sin, evil, and a culture that objectifies and doesn't support the vulnerable in our society.