How do these newer themes raised by debates about national and sexual identity expand or detract from our understanding of race?

1. In the early 20th century, the blues was labeled “devil’s music” (Links to an external site.) by devout Christians. Using some of the blues lyrics and songs in the hand out and others you find in your research, compare and contrast the blues musicians with some contemporary rap musicians and argue whether rappers are carrying on the blues’ devilish ways. Whatever you think the relationship between the blues and rap is, how do you evaluate the two genres and their impact on American popular culture and society?2. Alice Walker’s “Nineteen Fifty-Five” (Links to an external site.) is about the appropriation of black folk culture by white popular culture (Links to an external site.). However, perhaps the divisions between black and white, men and women, or folk and pop are not as simple as they first appear. After thinking about what the story says about these differences, develop your own evaluation of some contemporary white performer(s) making a career out of using black cultural forms and life: Vanilla Ice, The Beastie Boys, Eminem, Weird Al Jankovich, Madonna, Quentin Tarantino, etc. You could focus your research and argument on one white artist or group, or you could contrast and compare different ones to establish what you think are legitimate and illegitimate uses of black culture.3. Consider Do the Right Thing as a commentary on the political philosophies of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X (Links to an external site.). Besides the overt references to the two men (like the quotes from their speeches that end the film), Lee manages to weave together a rich tapestry of allusions to the two men and/or their political philosophies (Mookie’s Jackie Robinson jersey, Smiley’s photos, Radio Raheem’s rings, Buggin’ Out’s boycott, Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” The Mayor, Señor Love Daddy, etc.). How do these references and characters help us to understand the film’s ending with its explicit contrast between King and Malcolm X (Links to an external site.)? Does or should the film suggest any way to reconcile their apparently opposing points of view?4. How does The Crying Game broaden a viewer’s understanding of racial difference by putting it in the context of postcolonialism and heterosexual normativity (Links to an external site.)? How do these newer themes raised by debates about national and sexual identity expand or detract from our understanding of race? Do you agree with the movie’s premise that one’s sexual identity is tied to one’s national, ethnic, and racial identity? Although there are other ways to organize your discussion, you might want to focus on the protagonist, Fergus, and follow how his character is forced to rethink who he is on both a sexual and political level.5. In “African-American Humor: Resistance and Retaliation,” Joseph Boskin outlines an evolution of African-American humor. Citing the Comedy Act Theater’s response to the violence in Los Angeles that followed the Rodney King verdict, he concludes that contemporary African-American humor reflects the fact that African-Americans have “liberated themselves from the past and moved into a space beyond defiance and retaliation”(157).