Stopping the Stereotype

I was thinking about how to create a blog post about stereotypes and Thanksgiving when I thought about how Native Americans are amongst the several frequently stereotyped groups in America. This got me thinking about the controversy over University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's mascot, Chief Illiniwek. I found the article released by the University in 2007 regarding the NCAA's banning of the mascot. I personally don't mind the name "Fighting Illini" or the outfit of the mascot. When the Chief was first installed into the University in 1926, I think it would have been if anything an empowering and encouraging sentiment towards the natives of America. At that point, I don't think it was ever an insult nor a stereotype.

However, over time things change. Native American culture is sadly slowly fading and as the younger generations are becoming more integrated into Westernized America, they are losing touch with their native tongue, traditions, and ideals of their ancestors. Native Americans my age dress like me, talk like me, and are apart of the same school systems as I am. I can see how it would be offensive to a Native American if they saw Chief Illiniwek as representative of their culture, especially now. The article talked about how the half-time dance was offensive as well. I had never seen the dance so I did a classic youtube search and I now completely understand why the NCAA would want to ban the performance. For me, the dance portrays a mocking attitude towards Native American culture as a whole. We live in an era where stereotyping of any kind of culture is incessant and yet intolerable. I wish I could hear the perspective of a Native American because hearing their view might change mine. I think U of I has their own personal right to keep the mascot they've had for 81 years, but if the culture it represented was outraged, then I would have to respect that and let go of the tradition. At the same time, I'm sure for Illini alumni and current students, it might hurt a lot, but it being a tradition doesn't make it any less of a stereotype.

I'm clearly still very mixed on this issue...what do you think?

Metaphorical Mysteries

In class we read chapter one of "Metaphors We Live By" by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson who talk about how metaphors are mechanisms for our perceptions of the world. They shape how we understand concepts, make meaning out of ideas, and relate to other people. I never really thought about how I just naturally incorporate metaphors not only into my everyday language but also into my writing. Metaphors shape our thoughts and have become so intrinsically involved in our language.

I took this idea further by thinking about how often musical artists use metaphors as their overarching idea for a song. I scrolled through the music in my iPod and here are some songs I found that may have some underlying metaphorical meanings:

Straightjacket Feeling- All American Rejects
Life is a Highway- Rascal Flatts
Skinny Love- Bon Iver
Broken Strings- James Morrison
Boulevard of Broken Dreams- Green Day
Just Like a Pill- Pink

How effective is a metaphor in the way that we relate to a song or an artist?


For example, Broken Strings is a song that is largely about the broken relationship between a man and woman and how it's hard to make up for the mistakes just like how strings of an instrument are unplayable when they are broken. The reason why I like this song (and why I like many songs) is because of its lyrical appeal. In my head I get the image of someone struggling to play a song on a guitar with a few snapped strings. I see frustration and I can only imagine the awful sound it would produce. Only then can I understand the struggle between this man and woman. From a songwriting perspective I've learned that it's best to take a simple idea and say it through abstract or profound lyrics which make the song more interesting. The listener then has an image attached to the idea or at least something to compare it to in order to fully understand and appreciate the meaning of the song.

Here's a psychology blog called The Metaphorical Mind that I stumbled upon. Would you agree with the blog's author, Christopher Ramey, that metaphors are a way of achieving some kind of poetic syntax which makes a text flow more easily and create an emotional or imaginative attachment? I would like to know from you to what extent do metaphors shape our thinking, learning, and overall understanding of this world? Until next time...