Family Guy & 9/11

Everyone knows that September 11th, 2001 was a very serious and tragic event. The attacks on this day have affected the media and will continue to do so. Although this was a very unfortunate event, several television shows and cartoons have been making light from it. Cartoons such as Family Guy, South Park, and The Simpsons has uplifted America as a whole from its humorous characters and content in each episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOh-rpvjYg&feature=related

In the introduction of Melnick’s 9/11 Culture, there is a Doonesbury comic strip where the pressperson, Scott answers to every journalist’s question with the words “9-11” (Melnick 3). In Family Guy, there is an episode where Louise is put into the same position. She is at a presidential press conference and Brian gives her the advice to answer every question with a short response. One man asks, “Mrs. Griffin, what are your plans for cleaning the environment?” She responds with “9-11” and the crowd starts cheering. Another person asks “Mrs. Griffin, what about our traffic problem?” Again, “9…11”. This was a remake of the Doonesbury cartoon that not only shows that 9/11 has been the answer to many questions, but also shows how the Bush Administration used 9/11 as a way to get votes for reelection. This also reveals how dim Americans were to understanding certain issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zeJkG6IBGg&feature=related

Melnick speaks on limits of discourse in his book. In chapter 3 “Snapshots”, he speaks on the limits of discourse and sanctified images. One of the characteristics that these accepted images carried was patriotism. Post-9/11, there was patriotism rose throughout the people in the United States. In this clip of Family Guy, the scene starts off with Brian confronting Peter about how he didn’t know about 9/11 until three years after. A flashback occurs to the day of the attacks and Louise is sitting on the couch, crying, while Peter enters the room and sees the plane hitting the World Trade Center on the television. He then makes a smart remark by saying that the person driving “must have been a woman pilot”. This was a very shocking but humorous scene. Me, being a woman, still found it hilarious although he was making fun of my gender. This comes to show how the media can turn a heartbreaking event into something entertainment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ch33FfKaCY

In post-9/11culture, there has been several times that Osama has been made fun of. There was a game called “Cokehead 2” that Melnick spoke upon in his book. The object of the game was to “fill Osama with enough cocaine to withstand nuclear holocaust” (12). In this clip of Family Guy, Peter is telling a monkey about how much he missed, “like when America was attacked by mentally challenged suicide bombers. The scene then switches to Osama riding a bicycle, at top speed, right into the World Trade Center. This pro-American scene illustrates our feelings towards Osama. It compares the plane attacks on the World Trade Center to Osama riding a bike into the same building…stupid move.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpP7b2lUxVE

In this clip of Family Guy, the Griffins are on a road trip to the Grand Canyon and happen to stop by Ground Zero, which is where the World Trade Center used to be. Peter begins to name different people that he thought made the attack on the towers but Brian explains to him what Ground Zero is and who attacked the buildings. Peter basically thought that the 9/11 terrorist attacks had to do with Iraq. Just like America, Peter believed that we should invade Iran because he didn’t believe that what Brian was saying. The funny thing is, when Brian was explaining who did the attacks and why, he never mentioned “Iran”. Even though we did invade Iran, the terrorist attacks didn’t have anything to do with them. This was also an issue in America, how we were going to war but some weren’t aware of why we were actually going to war for, which Peter gives a good example of.

Post-9/11the security in airports has grown a tremendous amount. If there were anybody who looks of Middle Eastern decent, the security process will take much longer. In Melnick’s book, this can connect to the “us” versus “them”. There was a comic that was made by Aaron McGruder titled “We’re Number Three!” on page 111 in 9/11 Culture. There are two African American kids who finds out that African Americans are no longer number one on the list of America’s most hated ethnic group. Now it is people from East India and the Middle East/Arab. Since they are the top hated ethnic groups, there has been discrimination towards them, especially in airports. However, in Family Guy they show how they weren’t discriminated against and also how easy it was to get through security in a humorous matter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoLkTQBDmO4&feature=related

So basically, in this clip they are making fun of the National Guard. It shows how easy it was for the terrorists to carry out their plan. The lack of security before 9/11 caused the terrorists to hijack airplanes and kill thousands of lives.

Street Art and 9/11

STREET ART

New York is known for its tremendous amounts of street art on numerous buildings and subway stations. After September 11, 2001 there has been a great amount of artwork done in remembrance of the attacks not only in New York, but also around the world. In chapter 3 of 9/11 Culture, Melnick speaks about the numerous amounts of photography that was taken during the terrorist attacks and just like these photographs, street art also became a “city-wide work of art” (Melnick 67).

This picture was shot in New York City by leojam. The red and white paint signifies the red and white stripes on the American flag. The writing on the red paint says “I’m scared from the 9-11-01. I will never forget” and ends it off with a quick drawing of the Twin Towers. Just like the photographs that Melnick spoke on, each street art has its own story (70). Judging from the handwriting and the way this is written, it looks like it was written by a child. It shows how significant this attack was towards everybody, no matter what age.

Another picture of street art taken by leojam in New York City (right). This wall of street art has many tributes to 9/11. On the top left it asks “do you love USA” and towards the bottom left it says “God Bless Da USA”. This shows the patriotism that rose within the people after the tragedy. The drawing of the World Trade Center with the word “unbreakable” at the bottom illustrates that these two buildings still remain even without their physical presence.





Like I stated earlier, post-9/11 street art was not only found in New York City but all over the world. In Weimar, Germany a picture was taken of a stencil of the Statue of Liberty (left). However, instead of the tablet reading July IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776), it reads September XI MMI. This signifies that 9/11 was just as important as the date of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

In 9/11 Culture, Melnick spoke on the limits of discourse. He mentioned that there are certain images that are sanctified/legitimized images. Images that are show “militaristic nationalism” or in other words, patriotic and heroic images were sanctified images. There were also images that showed people who died so that it would justify the war. These images were acceptable post-9/11 because it’s what people wanted to see whereas the torture photographs in Abu Ghraib were not acceptable (77).

This mural (top) is located in New York City and was made by Pink, Smith, and Emi. As you can see, the patriotism is definatly portrayed through the colors red, white, and blue. The United States flag is painted right in the center of the mural and with the firemen, who were looked upon as the 9/11 heroes, holding up the flag. The bald eagle to the left of the painting, which represents the freedom we have as Americans, also shows the patriotism that was flowing throughout the people of America after the 9/11 attacks.

In 2001, the Wallnuts Crew painted this mural in Queens, New York titled “Remember 9-11-01” (top). This mural focuses on the heroes of 9/11 while still having its patriotic features. The image of New York City with the World Trade Center still present is painted in front of an oversized United States flag. To the right is next the scene of the burning Twin Towers next to a crying bald eagle, which represents this tragic day. There are four types of badges which represent the 9/11 heroes: police, firemen, and nurses. Once again, the images of heroes, like this one, were sanctified images.


In the introduction to Melnick’s book, he talks about post-9/11 games with Osama being the main character. “Osamagatchi” and “Cokehead 2” were games where the goal was to basically get revenge for what he did to our country (12). Connecting this to street art, there were also images that showed the hatred that we, Americans, have towards Osama. In Middletown, New York, Pmer, Prop, and Fule created a mural titled “We Will Survive & American Graffiti” (bottom). There is a portrait of Osama with devil horns and a missile heading right towards him. In Argentina, Jazz and Teko also had a portrait of Osama in their mural with the words “Wanted Dead or Alive … Osama bin Laden … For Mass Murder in New York” around his picture (top). The 9/11 attacks not only raised anger towards Osama in the United States, but also other countries in the world. One drawing that poked fun at Osama was “Don’t Hate Your Neighbor”(right). In the center of the picture is a construction worker choking Osama. On the left is a New York fireman smiling at the fact that Osama is being choked and on the right is a policeman who is grinning for the same reason. The well known quote “Save the drama for your momma” was remade into “Save the drama for Osama”. Since the heroes couldn’t do as much as they wanted to, this drawing shows how they feel towards the terrorist who made this all happen.

In Sarasota, Florida, there is a mural created by the UTC Crew which poked fun at Bush (top). The image of one of the airplanes about to collide with one of the buildings is illustrated. While that is happening, Osama is smiling and pointing at this disastrous image with Bush right next to him with a clueless look on his face. This links to Jadakiss’s song, “Why” because in one of his verses he suggests that it was Bush’s fault for the World Trade Center being attacked and not Osama (47).

Female Hip Hop Ideology

Trina, Lil’ Kim, Eve, Destinys’s Child, Nicki Minaj, Mary J Blige.

These are all females that are in the hip hop industry. They are all looked highly upon throughout this world by their fans, especially young women. Ideology, which Ruddock defines it as "a network of values and beliefs", is portrayed in the hip hop industry, as well as other types of media. As we learned in Chapter 5 of Ruddock, ideology is recreated everyday and our everyday rituals reinvests with us. These female artists have demonstrated this idea through their music, music videos, and appearance.

“Soldier” is one of Destiny’s Child’s most successful songs in 2004. This song is primarily about the group members defining what type of man they want in their lives. Throughout the song, they define what a “soldier” is and explains that this is the type of person that women need in order for them to feel complete.

Here is the full official video of "Soldier" by Destiny's Child.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzQUaDiIYrU
The beginning of the video is the rapper T.I. explaining himself as being “the hottest around” because he has a luxurious car. This shows that if a man has a fancy car that is always kept clean, then that will appeal to women. Then it shows Beyonce, Michelle, and Kelly dressed in flared miniskirts, high heels, and glittering, alluring tops. This indicates that the way that a woman is dressed will have an effect on how men will view them. The more glamorous a women is dressed, their desires in a man will be more easily fulfilled. Kelly then begins her verse which starts off the “soldier” characteristics: a man with a fancy and clean car, southern slang, and somebody that is good in bed. She ends it off by saying that she wants “a rude boy that’s good to me, with street credibility,” indicating that it is attractive when a guy who has street authority has an attitude but at the same time is good to his woman.

Then, the girls’ outfits change into lavishing fur filled attire, with a good amount of skin being shown. It is now Beyonce’s turn to characterize a “soldier”. Once again cars and money is mentioned but she then begins to talk about a physical trait: “low cut Caesars with the deep waves". Other than being wealthy, men should be able to look like he is wealthy by keeping his hair on point.

Now Lil’ Wayne comes into scene who is placed to embody this “soldier”. He speaks on how he is the “sergeant” of the army, which he refers as money and that he is from the “hood”. He ends off with, “Now every time she hear my name she salute.” This signifies the difference between male and female when it comes to power. Throughout the song, the chorus continuously shows that the most important qualities that any woman’s “soldier” should have is somebody from the streets, with money, and “carries big things” … if you know what they mean.

A recent music video came out with two well known female rappers featuring in it: Trina and Nicki Minaj. This video, “Five Star Chick,” explains how being a “five star chick” is what men want. It also has numerous signifiers within each female artist.

Here is the full video of "Five Star Chick" by Yo Gotti featuring Gucci Mane, Trina, and Nicki Minaj
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA2OBrQZKzg
(begin watching at 2:10)
Both women in the video have very long and well-done hair. This is a signifier that signifies how important of a factor a woman’s hair is towards their appeal. Both of their outfits are a bit revealing; Trina has everything covered up except her upper thighs while Nicki Minaj has everything covered up except her chest area and upper stomach. Once again, just like in Destiny’s Child’s video, the more revealing a woman’s outfit is, the more attention they will get.

In Trina’s verse, she explains how she’s a “five star chick” because all her life, she’s had money to buy her anything she wants; shoes, food, and name brand bags. The chorus to this song is a male’s point of view and how he wants a woman with money, good in bed, and keeps herself looking good. This is the same exact things that Nicki Minaj raps about in her verse.



Wealth, sex, and status are significant patterns in both songs. In the song “Soldier”, when girls see that this is what Destiny’s Child wants in their men, then they will use the same criteria when it comes to men. Not only does the semiotics in this song/video refer to young women, but it can also refer to young men as well. If they see T.I. and Lil’ Wayne as the epitome of Destiny’s Child’s “soldier” then they will strive to be it. In the song “Five Star Chick”, Trina and Nicki Minaj are the epitome of being the “five star chick” that all men want because they have the wealth, appeal, and “good in bed”. Overall, these ideologies may become so dominant that we see it as common sense. That means that it is hegemonic.


One more item that can be looked at is album covers. Just like women on the covers of magazines, these album covers contain many signifiers. Nicki Minaj came out with a mixtape named “It’s Barbie Bitch” where she in sitting in front of a toy house with a nice green car in the back. There are colorful flowers surrounding her and Nicki herself, is wearing a pink dress with black high heels. The overall signifier for this album is how a Barbie doll is thought of as a toy that young girl plays with. Barbies embody what every girl should be. When Barbie is dressed as a certain worker, then that becomes her job. She has the perfect body, perfect hair, and perfect lifestyle. This doll is controlled by the child and does whatever the child wants it to do. Now, with Nicki Minaj labeling herself as “Barbie”, she may be encoding herself as being perfect and how everybody wants to be like her. But others may decode it as giving out a message to men that they can do whatever they want to her. This is how semiotics can decode things for us.

Subliminals in Hip Hop

Subliminal messages are used throughout the media. In the hip hop industry, artists like 2Pac, Jay-z, 50 Cent, and DMX, carry subliminal messages in their music, album covers, and signs.

One technique that is used to identify subliminals in songs is called backmasking. This is when a recording is reversed and played backwards. In 2Pac’s song “Life I Lead” it has been played backwards and an unsuspecting message occurs.

Here is the link to the subliminal message in "Life I Lead" By 2Pac:
http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/1747655/2pac_yes_im_alive_subliminal_message_full_audio_and_vid.swf
The words that are said backwards are “Yes I am alive and me missing you”. Ever since September 13, 1996, there has been controversy about his death. People continue to believe, to this day, that 2Pac is still alive. So this subliminal message in his song is something that may cause more people to believe that he did not die and that he is still living.

Here is the link to Chart Topping Subliminals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A9rVzXX0Ns
This video shows the subliminal messages in popular music today. The artists that are in this video are Baha Men, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Lil Kim, and Usher. The main, constant pattern throughout all of these subliminals is that they all have to do with sex. Referring to McLaren and Torchinsky’s “Subliminal Seduction,” sex is also a continuous pattern in advertisements.

But there are other patterns in backmasking music. A pastor by the name of G Craige spoke upon Jay-Z and one of his songs.

Here is the link to Jay-Z Exposed: The Truth Behind Hip Hop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9MjIOdjFw
(begin at 0:55)
The remix version of “Lucifer” made by DJ Dangermouse was the song that was played backwards. The hidden message said “six, six, six” (which is the “devils numbers), “murder, muder Jesus”. Jay-Z is also called HOV, or Jay Hova God. His connection with God shows that he wants people to think that he is God and that he is on the same level as God. Then there is the message in “Lucifer”. He believes that Jesus should be murdered so that he can take his spot. Like "Hidden Persuaders", this subliminal caused great controversy, especially in churches.

Album covers are also subliminal. 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” has 50 Cent as the focus with red in the background. There is a glass in front of the picture that has been shot at with a bullet and right in the middle of the bullet hole there is a cross. Is it saying that God means nothing to us? Or is it saying that the cross can protect us? It all depends on how you view it. Another album that is looked at as subliminal is DMX’s “Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood”. On this cover, DMX is standing with his body covered in blood. But if you look closely, the “M” from the “DMX” gives the effect that he has horns on top of his head just like a devil. The devil-look can be looked at by DMX being a devil himself.


Going back to Jay-Z, he owns the clothing brand Rocawear. There has been controversy that the Rocawear logo is “satanic”.

Here is the link to Rocawear logo is Satanic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mjQA9pLeBw
The logo is compared to the virgo sign which represents the virgin daughter of the Greek God Zeus who was the most idolized God. The triangle hand gesture that Jay-Z uses is also compared to the Eye of Providence. It represents the eye of God which watches over us.