POP-CULTURE AND PARENTAL ABUSE 5
Running head: POP-CULTURE AND PARENTAL ABUSE 1
Nexus of Pop-Culture and Parental Abuse
Students Name
Date
Introduction to Psychology
PSYC-101L
Section
Dr. Haley Dillon
Marist College
Introduction
Parental abuse is a broad term that is used to express forms of violence or neglect that children are exposed to by their parents. Parental abuse results from a poor parent-child interaction which leads to the parents abusing their children either physically and emotionally. Parent-child relationships determine the kind of behavior a child will have. Some of the key aspects of parental abuse are child neglect, physical beating, and emotional torture, which are aspects that expose the child to forms of mistreatment as well as lack of parental care. Child abuse is disastrous, as children who have no attention from their parents tend to seek it from the outside world. Broken marriages or abusive husband-wife relationships serve as good examples that contribute to parental abuse. Parents adopt various parenting styles to their children even though not all styles are effective. Children who face domestic abuse regard these issues differently, which is defined by the social context they are raised in. Hip-hop music is one aspect that affects their growth into adulthood. Consequently, this affects their behavior.
Thesis Statement: Hip Hop music influences the behavior of children and youth who have been exposed to parental abuse. Children and youth who have been exposed to parental abuse have high chances of adopting negative behaviors as portrayed by Hip Hop music lyrics and violent video.
Hip-hop music stands to be significant when having a nexus between it and parental abuse. Recently, Hip-hop has had many issues laced with it, especially because it has had relations to murder and a rise in youth violence. All these aspects are tied to their historical and social history. According to Blanchard (1999), “If rap music appears to be excessively violent when compared to country-western or popular rock, it is because rap stems from a culture that has been seeped in the fight against political, social, and economic oppression.” The violence in Hip-hop has focused on addressing inequalities that exist in the world, be it racial, economic and even social. Parental abuse is a social problem, which is why the listeners of Hip-hop can attribute it to finding their peace.
Many psychological issues can be attributed to music, and in this case, hip-hop music. The reasons for this is that music stands to be cathartic, as it has didacticism, where whatever issues conveyed within it affect its audience to a great degree. Hip-hop has been observed to have therapeutic effects, which is why youth tend to go for it as a way of consolation as well as trying to forget their misery. In turn, they may end up indulging in aspects, which at most times tend to have a negative inclination. Hadley & Yancy (2012) make this clear stating that, “Hip-hop’s journey begins through the activation of the archetype of the orphan. On a literal level, the orphan is a child who has been abandoned, victimized and neglected by his/her parents. Many orphans do not feel emotionally or physically safe” (p.62). The authors state that to curb such feelings youth find themselves moving away from banishment and having a tendency to be rebellious, as setting themselves as outlaws, which is a trait that they get from the personas that the rappers seem to adopt. (Hadley &Yancy, p.62). They do all this in an endeavor to flee from innocence, the reason being that they do not find it peaceful in being good and nice, especially to the harsh conditions that they have experienced from harsh parenting.
The negative attributes are purely psychological, as they stick into the consciousness of those abused, and they try to gain a different identity. The society has providence for various traits. It shapes how one behaves, which is why the contextual disposition of hip-hop sets in to be a way that helps them control the Id.There needs to be the control over the Id for one to fit in a social context. The ego and the superego do not set in to help channel the energy that the youth have in the right way since they are in a social setting that is suppressive and that which is not fit for positive development. Hip-hop music is a way of getting gratification and settling the conflicts that they have, as well as dealing with frustrated wishes which are bred from the social norms. According to Hadley & Yancy (2012), the characteristics of the orphan gradually lead to what is known as the orphan shadow. The orphan shadow has some characteristics, which include resisting rescue, sadism, masochism, and feelings of betrayal, and all this may end up as a result of trying to fit in society. (p.62). All these negative traits are bred form the characteristics found in the hip-hop genre, which is attributed to misogynistic gangster rap. The youth get themselves in such a situation as they try to build the ego container, and attain a feeling of safety and contentment. The peace that they do not get from their upbringing and their parents is channeled to some different place. They go to Hip-hop as it has already acknowledged violence as something fit for survival. Those who have been abused regard themselves to be heroes, which is why they get to Hip-hop for attaining a sense of safety. The reasons why they get to Hip-hop is because it portrays what the real world is to them, as they do not know peace. They are used for violence. To them, hip-hop is violent, real, emotional, cheap, abrasive, emotional, engaging and also fun.
Examples of music which those who have been abused by their parents would listen to include J.Cole’s, 3 Wishes. This is a song where J.Cole narrates of how the social environment shaped his life, leading him to a negative path. He uses violent words, as she states, “I wish I would bust through that door my fucking self, and grab the Glock right off the fucking shelf if nothing else.” He goes ahead and celebrates the death of his father, being happy that he had met somebody of his size. This song is violent, and it has an appeal of violence, which makes those abused by their parents to have the same beliefs.T hey can end up imitating them. LL Cool J, in his song Father, narrates of how he was abused by his stepfather. He has an outcry, stating that all he wanted was a father, but not the man who would abuse him and his mother. He also narrates of having to see the blood of his mother, as a boy of four. The Last To Say by Atmosphere is a narration on the nature of domestic violence. He sees it as a cycle which has no end. The song has an emotional appeal, as it states, “He beat her ass up until the day that he died. The biggest beating was the day that he died” He wonders why his father would not help his mother, and advocated for leaving home in the case of abuse. Eminem and Rihanna have a song, I Love the Way You Lie, which is meant to be against domestic violence. However, the video has imagery and a vivid description of violence, as well as derogatory words. One even gets to wonder if such a song is to promote domestic violence to fight it. The scenes cannot have good indoctrination on those who have had abuse, as they may see that as the solution to their troubles. When one considers this, and they are abused, they are motivated to seek freedom and liberation from the abuse. The music has an emotional appeal.
In conclusion, there is a connection between Hip-hop music and domestic violence, especially parental abuse. With such type of abuse, be it physical and emotional, there is a tendency for anxiety and depression to set in. The illustrations above are proof that Hip-hop can stand in the way of depression and the abuse, as they help one in dealing with their problems. However, the Hip-hop songs are not ideal for such, due to their violent essence. They advocate for drastic negative changes, and such changes can affect the lives of those involved. Therefore, pop culture has hurt the psychology of children and youth, as they tend to adopt negative behaviors.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2009, November 1). Impact of Music, Music Lyrics, and Music Videos on Children and Youth. Retrieved from https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/5/1488
Anderson, C. A., Carnagey, N. L., & Eubanks, J. (2003). Exposure to violent media: The effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and feelings. Journal of personality and social psychology, 84(5), 960.
Atmosphere – The Last To Say (Official Video). (2011, July 19). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uEJi0x-49E
Blanchard, B. (1999). The social significance of rap & Hip-hop culture. Retrieved from Ethics of Development in a Global Environment (EDGE) website: http://web. Stanford. edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/social significance. htm.
Eminem – Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna (Official Music Video). (2010, August 5). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U
Hadley, S., & Yancy, G. (Eds.). (2012). Therapeutic uses of rap and Hip-hop. Routledge.
- Cole – 3 Wishes (Music Video). (2016, October 6). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErnIfl53wBc
LL Cool J – Father (Extended Version). (2009, June 16). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJuVWf9mlLU
McArthur, S. A. (2014). Beyond Your Perception: An Exploratory Study of Black Parent-Daughter Relationships and Hip Hop Influences on Adolescent Girls.