Latin American Culture: 'Letter To The President'
February 5, 2013
Latin America Culture
Duma Salas
LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT
In this movie they reveal themselves to be extremely creative, literate, and thoughtful people who are trying to get something positive done.
The one word that kept on coming up was "community." That's where the music began, and that's why it keeps on going. It's where the rappers came from, it's where their heart still is at, and it's why they are trying to change things.
Many black communities are in dire need of change. Ever wonder why the people there steal and do drugs? Poor people need to eat and they need to be human. If they don't have food, they're going to have to steal. Letter to the President explores deeply into President Ronald Reagan's
policies that negatively affected minority communities and inspired pioneer rap artists such as Grandmaster Melle Mel and Run DMC to tell the whole world about it in song. Then in the "glamorous" '80s, as some people prospered and many minority communities suffered, artists such as Russell Simmons struggled to get laws overturned that targeted those minorities. It starts off by stating the reasons hip hop came about. It also shows the direct effect that politics had in the community. At times it doesn’t delve into detail when it should which is probably why it put a lot of people off because they have no idea what living in poverty is only people who have an understanding of what poverty is can relate. They explain how the political injustice they faced during President Ronald Reagan's candidacy forced drug deals and police brutality. The story digs deep into the truth of how hip-hop artists, and about violence, guns, and drugs but offered people a real sense of what life was like for them through their music. A professor from the film even quotes one of Biggie's rhymes in the film and explains that what he is saying in his poetry is a sociological analysis of life in the slums. The interviewees are truthful and speak from the heart about the history of hip-hop. Overall the film does a good job at explaining the history, progression, and the transformation of the genre from birth until present day. Hip-hop lovers and American history supporters alike will find Letter to the President shocking, informative, and entertaining because of the films overall deep meaning into exploring the truth behind hip-hop culture in America.
Latin America Culture
Duma Salas
LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT
In this movie they reveal themselves to be extremely creative, literate, and thoughtful people who are trying to get something positive done.
The one word that kept on coming up was "community." That's where the music began, and that's why it keeps on going. It's where the rappers came from, it's where their heart still is at, and it's why they are trying to change things.
Many black communities are in dire need of change. Ever wonder why the people there steal and do drugs? Poor people need to eat and they need to be human. If they don't have food, they're going to have to steal. Letter to the President explores deeply into President Ronald Reagan's
policies that negatively affected minority communities and inspired pioneer rap artists such as Grandmaster Melle Mel and Run DMC to tell the whole world about it in song. Then in the "glamorous" '80s, as some people prospered and many minority communities suffered, artists such as Russell Simmons struggled to get laws overturned that targeted those minorities. It starts off by stating the reasons hip hop came about. It also shows the direct effect that politics had in the community. At times it doesn’t delve into detail when it should which is probably why it put a lot of people off because they have no idea what living in poverty is only people who have an understanding of what poverty is can relate. They explain how the political injustice they faced during President Ronald Reagan's candidacy forced drug deals and police brutality. The story digs deep into the truth of how hip-hop artists, and about violence, guns, and drugs but offered people a real sense of what life was like for them through their music. A professor from the film even quotes one of Biggie's rhymes in the film and explains that what he is saying in his poetry is a sociological analysis of life in the slums. The interviewees are truthful and speak from the heart about the history of hip-hop. Overall the film does a good job at explaining the history, progression, and the transformation of the genre from birth until present day. Hip-hop lovers and American history supporters alike will find Letter to the President shocking, informative, and entertaining because of the films overall deep meaning into exploring the truth behind hip-hop culture in America.