Does anyone remember MCM sweat suits from back in the day? The ones with MCM all over. I seriously thought it stood for "Making Cash Money," but it's an acronym for "Mode Creation Munich."

To the point:

I was reminded of the acronym while I was in class this morning. In addition to Geography I'm taking Communications: Journalism, Race, and Gender (Dope class, 8 in the morning and I can't wait to get there). So far we've talked about how we get our values, beliefs, and worldview through communication. Today we get most of our communication through Mass Commercial Media, or what I call MCM. MCM's purpose is to maximize profits by supplying 'viewers' to advertisers. We get our culture from MCM, whose sole purpose is "Making Cash Money."

Another way to look at it is through the art of storytellin' (shout to outkast). Before there was media people got culture through stories. People picked up their values and beliefs within their villages. With 'Electronic Storytellin' advertisers are telling the stories, giving us our values and beliefs. And advertisers don't know or give a fuck about us. It's all about "Making Cash Money."

Closer to the point:

Back to today's class... we were talking about the way women are portrayed in media. Women have always been portrayed as either sexual objects or as mothers/caregivers in mass media. I immediately thought of how rappers are always criticized for objectifying women. In mainstream rap (that which is packaged and sold for mass consumption), when a woman is mentioned she's either a Bitch or a Mother. Today in class we talked about how that objectification of women is as American as apple pie. Matter fact we spent two hours talking about it, and hip-hop or rap music was never mentioned. It is my belief that rap music is a direct reflection of our society. Not so much the lyrics, but the misogyny and machismo, the violence, the gluttony, the obsession with money, and more and more and more of all of the above.

The Point:

When MCM got a hold of hip-hop it didn't take long for them to find its most commercially viable form. It was the same campaign that had worked for every other successful product. A campaign that appealed to values that were proven to 'Make Cash Money:' Sex, Drugs, and Violence. Cut, cooked, packaged, and sold to the masses.