Deck 8: Aesthetics

Question 1

When employing your sociological toolbox to perform a triple reading on artistic practices, which of the following would you perform?

A) relate to other works, relate to structures, relate to ethnic traditions
B) relate to other works, relate to events, relate to structures
C) relate to other works, relate to racial traditions, relate to ethnic traditions
D) relate to other sculptures, paintings, and existing photography
E) none of these

Answer 1

relate to other works, relate to structures, relate to ethnic traditions

Question 2

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, art was associated with which of the following people?

A) poor, uneducated blacks
B) middle-class whites
C) poor, uneducated Europeans
D) white, educated leisure class
E) middle-class Dutch

Answer 2

white, educated leisure class

Question 3

Which material was preferred by neoclassical European and American sculptors to exalt a racialized notion of purity and fidelity?

A) cut onyx
B) gypsum
C) white marble
D) pure limestone
E) sandstone

Answer 3

white marble

Question 4

Minstrel shows, where whites controlled the dominant image of blackness, ran for how long in the United States?

A) 15 years
B) 30 years
C) 50 years
D) 65 years
E) 80 years

Question 5

Which of the following stock characters were performed for audiences in minstrel shows?

A) the "dandy" - the presumptuous "uppity" black
B) a happy and content slave in chains
C) an "Aunt Jemima" mammy figure
D) the lascivious mulatto seductress
E) all of these

Question 6

Amos 'n' Andy, a creation inspired by minstrel shows, could still be found as late as what decade in the United States?

A) 1900s
B) 1920s
C) 1930s
D) 1940s
E) 1950s

Question 7

What label is given to the blossoming of black literary and artistic life that occurred during the 1920s and 1930s in the United States?

A) Great Awakening
B) Freedom Creation
C) Harlem Renaissance
D) Chicago Rebirth
E) none of these

Question 8

In the world of high fashion, the vast majority of new clothing displayed was hung on which of the following bodies?

A) average, brown-skinned brunettes
B) skinny, white blondes
C) skinny, African Americans with braids
D) heavier, dark-skinned Latinas
E) average, white brunettes

Question 9

Although country music long has marketed itself as the music of the "American working man,"it would be really hard to find a country ballad dealing with which of the following?

A) racial discrimination in the labor force
B) racialized wage inequalities
C) migrant workers' oppressive conditions
D) hardship of migrant fathers' saving for kids' college
E) all of these

Question 10

Ethnic plastic surgery for adults increased by what percentage between the years 2000 and 2005?

A) 5%
B) 15%
C) 25%
D) 45%
E) 65%

Question 11

Companies such as Abercrombie and Fitch are not really selling clothes as much as they are selling:

A) useful utility gear.
B) a black urban lifestyle.
C) the white leisure class.
D) style for the working man.
E) style for Latinas.

Question 12

Which of the following is true regarding the white aesthetic?

A) presents itself as an un-raced representation of the social world
B) it desires to speak for all people
C) it desires to speak for nature
D) it tries to lay claim to "the universal"
E) all of these

Question 13

For which of the following purposes is Saracenic architecture normally used for in the United States?

A) grocery stores
B) synagogues
C) post offices
D) shopping malls
E) donut shops

Question 14

The racist aesthetic misrepresents the very nature of racial domination in which of the following ways?

A) it blunts the sharp edge of past wrongs
B) it replaces nonwhite heroes with white heroes
C) it pretends domination does not exist
D) it depicts domination as a purely psychological issue
E) all of these

Question 15

Antiracist art, in seeking to somehow throw a wrench in the grinding gears of racial domination, performs which of the following?

A) forces the audience to confront racial history courageously
B) provides a direct response to the racist aesthetic
C) forces the audience to confront racial history honestly
D) corrects distorted representations of nonwhites
E) all of these

Question 16

Mexican immigrants have embraced corridos to document their current struggles; this term refers to:

A) personalized written diaries.
B) Mexican folk ballads.
C) short films projected on sides of buildings.
D) lengthy editorials in local papers.
E) Mexican public access 15 minute shows.

Question 17

Rap represents which of the following according to Trisha Rose, author of Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America?

A) open social reflection on poverty
B) fear of adulthood
C) desires for absent fathers
D) frustrations about black male sexism
E) all of these

Question 18

Choose one of the following as the reason hip-hop is turned away from its political roots?

A) white corporate media executives
B) marketing power of MTV
C) ability to merchandise dissent
D) minstrelized black image is marketable
E) all of these

Question 19

Which of the following would be an example of "merchandising dissent"?

A) protesting with spoken word in the street
B) buying a Bentley
C) getting laws changed to help others
D) organizing a boycott against an organization
E) building needed resources for the needy

Question 20

Which of the following groups has been the most represented as winners in the category of Best Director at the U.S. annual Academy Awards for film?

A) white females
B) black males
C) Asian males
D) white males
E) Asian females

Question 21

Which of the following would be considered naïve art?

A) handmade quilt by a poor black Alabama woman
B) a young white girl who sculpts
C) handmade pottery by a young white man
D) acrylic painting by a white middle-class woman
E) a white grandfather who carves wood

Question 22

Which of the following would be considered an example of a "un-stereotype"?

A) a black woman who is good at her job but a bad mother
B) a black man who is intelligent but not very coordinated
C) a black woman who is pretty, wealthy, and not a criminal
D) a black man who is a good father and architect but a lousy husband
E) a black young woman who excels at math but has emotional issues

Question 23

Sociological thinkers should approach the study of art by spiritualizing it.

Question 24

The job of the artist is to demystify the mystery, while the sociologist's job is to deepen the mystery of life, according to Francis Bacon.

Question 25

Throughout most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the American and European aesthetic fields were dominated by whites.

Question 26

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, U.S. citizens would entertain themselves by visiting human zoos where primitive cultures were on display.

Question 27

Ota Benga was an African-American artist who toured the United States with his provocative work on race and culture.

Question 28

Although minstrel shows died out after the early twentieth century, minstrelsy-white control of the representation of blackness in particular and nonwhiteness in general-carried on throughout the twentieth century.

Question 29

Nineteenth century U.S. sculptor Mary Edmonia Lewis's self-imposed exile to Rome was common for U.S. artists of color who wanted to produce work without racial restrictions.

Question 30

According to your textbook authors, black culture provided America with the musical genre "the blues"but really white America gave blacks "the blues."

Question 31

White America has produced no equivalent to the "blues impulse."

Question 32

For centuries, whites have accepted and appreciated nonwhite art forms yet have never accepted or appreciated the people who created them.

Question 33

Spanish radio is a relatively new enterprise coinciding with the recent rise in immigration patterns from Latin America.

Question 34

The Cosby Show appealed to a significant slice of American viewers precisely because it neglected to confront racial domination or problems such as racial barriers to economic advancement.

Question 35

Our task as sociologists is to examine critically whiteness in art so as to better understand how our deep-seated racial dispositions fail to treat nonwhite experiences as a central part of American life.

Question 36

Shows such as The Brady Bunch were disconnected not only from most white peoples' experiences of family, but more importantly to the racial uprisings occurring in major cities during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Question 37

Psychologists show that when given a choice between a white or black doll, African-American preschool and elementary school children are more likely to choose the white doll.

Question 38

Regardless of whether country artists consciously recognize it or not, many of their songs breed a kind of racist nostalgia.

Question 39

The racist aesthetic seeks to normalize whiteness while the white aesthetic seeks to depict people of color in negative ways.

Question 40

Only white comedians' perform material which is blatantly racist.

Question 41

Shock jocks on the radio often use offensive racist humor during their broadcasts, but that's okay because they "take shots at everybody."

Question 42

Subversive art is propelled by the antiracist aesthetic.

Question 43

Sociologists have found African Americans who listen to rap to be more likely to harbor homophobic and misogynistic attitudes than those who do not.

Question 44

Hip-hop is multidimensional; it encompasses both racist and antiracist aesthetics.

Question 45

With the recent explosion of reality-based fashion shows on television currently, pick a show or host of shows you are familiar with and discuss how the show deals with visions and images of nonwhite beauty compared to white ideals.

Question 46

Choose three popular clothing stores found in an average shopping mall and evaluate their marketing campaign, store design, and clothing along the intersection of fashion and race. Supplement this analysis with an observation from your own closet and evaluate which ideals you may consciously or subconsciously be buying into.

Question 47

Analyze any visual arts and/or music you are familiar with and attempt to tease out any racist nostalgia embedded within its text. This may be an art form or product you have recently seen and can analyze it easily OR it may be a form you know very well but now might want to take another look at it with your sociological imagination. In addition, think of the authors' intentions behind the work - is it subconscious or conscious? What forces are at work to birth this form or product?

Question 48

Discuss your favorite comedians and how they deal with race within their work. Compare their treatment of race with the comedians mentioned in the chapter such as Jeff Dunham, Carlos Mencia, Mancow, or Nick Di Paolo. If one of the comedians mentioned in the chapter is your favorite, then attempt to look at their material in a new way utilizing your sociological toolbox.

Question 49

Discuss commercialized gangsta rap as both an art form and commodity. How does it compare to other forms of hip-hop and other commodity genres of popular music. What do teenagers and young adults take from the lyrics and music from commodified genres as opposed to lesser known genres in regards to race, gender, and capitalism?

Question 50

Construct an essay detailing the ramifications of merchandising dissent not only for racial inequality but political change in general. Look around your individual life/world for methods of expression and protest that are not manufactured and sold as a commodity. Where should/could you look to find "genuine"or at least organic forms of political protest for change in racial inequality?

Question 51

While some would argue commercial radio's once dominant power is slipping due to the emergence of digital technology, for many it is still a source of entertainment and news especially when driving. Discuss the size, replication of station formats, and oligopoly status of some radio networks across the country. What effects does this have on racialized conceptions of art? What playlists are repeated over and over? For whom are they played? Why? Also, think about the different genre labels given to music. Where does race come into play here?

Question 52

Write an essay detailing your experiences at companies and in public spaces where hip-hop fashion has been frowned upon due to people linking it to negative behavior. In addition, compare it to other clothing styles you have also seen either officially banned or informally frowned upon. What styles of dress are usually promoted? Whose culture is represented most often by these forms?

Question 53

Utilizing both data contained in the chapter and your own knowledge, answer the question which acts as the title for Bakari Kitwana's book: why do white kids love hip-hop? Be sure to compare this art form to other musical genres both contemporary and from previous eras.

Question 54

Choose a work of art you are either familiar with or something new you want to explore and make a first attempt at performing a triple reading of it. It will not be perfect as you cover the three contexts, but even imperfect, this analysis should allow you to see the piece from an entirely new perspective and perhaps a richer understanding of it.