Very good ethnography that I feel helps overturn so many misconceptions through its detailed and personal approach.
Namely, it is easy to criticize gangs and drill music, yet in part, it comes from the same desire for dignity and recognition that exists in "safer, economically stable neighborhoods" where "privileged residents are free to engage in rabid online self-promotion—posting pictures with their diplomas, videos of their European vacations, or status updates from their prestigious internships—without worrying that this content will ever threaten their lives."
drill music exists in this superposition where it feels impossible to talk about without recapitulating its violence through your own voyeurism. this book approaches this challenge with a gaze that is all at once scholarly and personal, critical and empathetic. it is a reminder of what ethnography can do at its best
I almost never rate non-fiction books, but this was just an incredible exposition of perception versus reality of crime through stories of violence-related music and music videos in Chicago. I read it as a response to the question of why perceptions of crime have increased even though actual crime rates have gone down in Chicago. Also appreciated the fascinating and generative analogies to Bourdieu’s “autodestructive homages” and Meyrowitz’s context collapse of media. Glad I read this!!!
En bra etnografisk studie på gängkulturen i Chicago och dess påverkan av sociala medier. Stuart fångar alla de delar av platstagande, risktagande och intryckesstyrning för att förklara drillrapparnas vardag, och hur passerandet är den viktigaste överlevnadstekniken i gängkulturen.
En spännande bok som kan läsas som en skönlitterär bok och som inte kräver en djupare förståelse för kriminologiska teorier för att få en inblick i gängkultur på nätet.
Read for a sociology class, pulls the reader into a world that is unfamiliar, and paints a portrait of young black men who are often characterized as “hyper-violent” as individuals with lives and families. Provides a compelling argument for the concept that black and white teens use and benefit from social media in very different ways.
Incredible book that unpacks the reality of the influence of music on youth in Chicago & the reality of violence in our city. If you want to understand the Southside of Chicago, read this book.