Day: September 16, 2019

Part 2 of Dark Princess made me think of Wyclef’s “Welcome to the East”, which uses musical instruments and themes from India, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Wyclef also repeatedly states “sometimes I ask myself will the violence ever cease”. I thought of this song especially when Jimmie was lynched on the train. Wyclef’s qualms with the consistency of violence and discrimination around the world while still wanting to come together as one people resonates Matthew’s feelings throughout the book.

Not only relating to Part 2, when the princess is speaking to Matthew about how his dream of the emancipation of people of darker races will come true with time, but also going back to Part 1, with the initial dinner, I believe We Are the World pays tribute to the different viewpoints and types of people at the dinner through the different genre artist coming together as one for one cause but also speaks to the hopes and dreams that the princess has tried to instill into Matthew. I find it rather amazing that We Are the World has so many different artists and song styles morphed into one song, which I also think relates to Matthew’s view points on America.

Here is a song from the German musician Patrice.

I thought about this song when I read Du Bois’ “To the Nations of the World”, but also several times in Dark Princess, because this song is about the rise of Great Civilisations, which ruled the world and are like called to raise again in the Future.

It also reminds me José Esteban Munoz’ Cruising Utopia, in which he says Hope is crucial for Queers of Color to stay alive, still struggling and building Futurities. He says this in opposition to Lee Edelman’s view, who claims “No Future” for Queer people ; Munoz argues that it is a White privilege to say “No Future”. Maybe Nihilism is a Luxury, but Hope isn’t. It’s just as crucial as Poetry.

Please enjoy the music and also the video, which is really great.

Alex

For this weeks reading, the song Brackets by J.Cole seemed to play in my head when thinking about a song to pick. This song alludes to this idea of still being empty after wealth. J. Cole puts himself in this narrative, he often times speaks about his experiences living in the hood, being a black man in America and his life now with money. Now he’s got money but he’s still playing into this colonial system. The one that teaches the wrong history, circulates guns in hoods and where white teach black and brown kids.

Part 2 of Dark Princess, is a lot about wealth, “negroes” moving up in society but still playing into the same system the white middle class people do.

 

 

 

I found M.I.A.’s “Borders” connected with some themes in Dark Princess. “Borders” addresses boundaries in modernity in general: national borders, gender/sex/sexuality categorizations, and racial oppression. As an English singer of Sri Lankan descent, M.I.A. often discusses the theme of migration in her work. The refugee boat in her MV might refer to refugees who travel to Europe in recent years, but it also reminds me of how Matthew travels to Berlin to leave his American dream behind. “Guns blow doors to the system” signifies Matthew’s attempt for a violent revolution and his determination for a fundamental change in racial borders. Elements such as police shots, identities, privilege, and new world also speak to the theme of Dark Princess, which explores the Afro-Asia fusion, the definition of race and national identity, and White supremacy/imperialism. M.I.A.’s assertive message also reminds me of Matthew’s deterministic voice when he argues why a revolution on the color line is urgent.

Sherrie Chen (sc2289)

In Part II of Dark Princess, Matthew replies to the minister: “Yes, yes, all that; but not simply that. Fear; the hushing of loose slander and insult; the curbing of easy proposals to deprive us of things deeper than life. They look out for the Indian’s war whoop (war cry), the Italian’s knife, the Irishman’s club; what else appeals to barbarians but force, blood, war?” (Du Bois 49)

Through the conversation between Matthew and the minister, Du Bois explores the necessity of violence in the revolution on the color line. Matthew imagines the possibility of blowing up the Ku Klux Clan convention as a response to oppression and lynching. Sensing the closing space of African Americans, he believes in immediate actions that abolish the European and American imperialism. The minister and Matthew use definitive terms to label each other’s ideology: the minister calls Matthew’s proposal bloody revenge and renders his political vision irrational, whereas Matthew thinks that the minister’s indecisiveness represents his fear. In this passage, Du Bois employs juxtaposition to stress the intensity of control imposed on ethnic groups such as Native Americans, Italians and Irish people. Additionally, Du Bois represents each ethnic group with their unique characteristics (such as club for Irish people), suggesting that White imperialists will actively seek to eliminate the subjectivity of minorities. The minister continues to describe Matthew using emotional terms such as “morbid” and “impatient,” dismissing his urge for revolution as untimely concerns.

Matthew’s belief in reconstructing the racial hierarchy parallels with Du Bois’ speech “To the Nations of the World,” where he called “let the world take no backward step in that slow but sure progress which has successively refused to let the spirit of…a striving human soul.” (Du Bois 1) The idealistic characteristic of Matthew hints that Du Bois himself longs for swift and fundamental changes in racial dynamics. Additionally, Matthew’s frustration with how the minister uses Christ to justify passivity also suggests Du Bois’ dissatisfaction with Western religions. Similar to Du Bois’ argument that reliance on faith does not cloak exploitation, Matthew hints that the minister uses his religion to hide an unwillingness to change.

Sherrie Chen (sc2289)

“We’re tired of the cryin’ and people dyin’
Let’s take all the guns away.”

In response to Dark Princess Part II, this specific phrase of the song made me think about Matthew’s disagreement towards Perugia riling up the crowd and insisting to bring violence and murder into their efforts.  I believe when the song speaks of taking ALL the guns away it includes guns and brutality from all sides, to find a resolution that does not include bloodshed.