Whitney Houston was one of the most popular singers in the 1980's. She was popular for her ability to hit just about any note she looked with timeless class. She will go down into history as one of the most influential female Black artists of all time. Her ability to combine shocking vocals and the style of the 80's made her a hit. She was also a poster child for drug abuse and relapse. Her sudden death at age 48 has shocked the nation. Read the article below and refer to the questions as you write your comments.
After reading the article, try to answer at least one of the following questions:
1. How does the author express the influence of Whitney Houston on American culture by looking back on the history and Houston’s life?
2. How does the author use the example that Whitney sings the National Anthem prior to Super Bowl XXV to support his argument?
3. How do the words and the way the author writes the article help paint the reader an image of Whitney?
4. What is the structure of the whole article and what is the purpose of the author to set up such structure?
5. How does the author portray Whitney's accomplishments and her contributions to the American Music Culture?
18 comments:
The words and the way the author writes this article help paint the reader an image of Whitney by walking the audience through her life accomplishments and how she has changed music forever. The author goes to the extent of presenting Whitney almost as a saint or someone with high authority and prestige. For example, her statement "one might presume that this Whitney is meant to "heal and nurture" a nation -- even though her rights and privileges as a black woman in America remain deeply circumscribed by legacies of racism and sexism". The author is creating a powerful image for the viewer, portraying Whitney to someone as magnificent as Mother Theresa or Rosa Parks, for example.
The authors intent of creating this powerful image is very intriguing to the reader and is purposely done in attempt to establish a positive culmination for her career.
The author says a great dedal about Whitney's accomplishments and her outstanding contributions to the American Music Culture. The author has nothing bad to say about Houston, but rather praises her efforts and achievements. She is portrayed as though she can do no harm, and is nothing but an excellent example of greatness. The author discusses her great successes, and how her success has encouraged others as well as made a memorable name for herself. The author is merely mentioning all of the wonderful aspects of Houston's life, reminiscing as it comes to an abrupt end.
The author lists nothing but her greatest accomplishments. The author talks baout how Whitney achieved greatness in the facde of adversity. During her time, not many people cared to listen to Black female singer, But Whitney proved herself to be worthwhile, and went on to make great contributions to the music industry, adding a new flavor of culture. Houston was the beginning of a new era of music appreciation and successes.
The author talks a lot about Whitney’s talent as a singer. With her ability to sing high notes, she was able to nail the note of the word, “free” in the National Anthem that most people can’t hit. Her voice inspired many people regardless of being a black female. For example, the author claims, “Whitney Houston… willed herself into America’s narrative of freedom and democracy through the sheer crushing command of her voice.” Being able to hit that note, she was freeing herself from the issues of racism and sexism. She didn’t let those issues hold her back from being a successful singer.
The author in this article expresses how Whitney Houston was a woman of her own. She was almost a combination of all the other famous African American female singers of that time. Although she was not like the other singers she was still special and influential in her own way. Many viewed her as an illegitimate star and that she really didn’t deserve any fame. Whitney may not have been as famous as the other singers, but she impacted many during the hard times of racism and stereotyping through her musical work. The author suggests a metaphor that as Whitney was able to hit such high notes in her singing she was able to hit such high notes in her rights as a woman. And although in the beginning of her career she might not have been accepted by all Americans or liked, but by the peak of her career and from then out she made herself recognized but America. She made herself the image of an independent woman who had talent and was not afraid to use it. She was able to make it clear to more women the rights that they had and because of this many people benefited from the work and influence of Whitney.
The words and the way the author writes the article about Whitney Houston helps paint a picture to the reader of a music artist who was truly unique. By opening the article by saying "She wasn't Etta or Aretha, and she certainly wasn't Diana... She lacked the dangerous energy of Tina's high-octane routines and the erotic funk of Chaka..." at first makes the reader think the author is putting Houston down. However, in the very next line the author states she was more of a combination of all of them and that is the picture that the reader now sees. This picture helps portray Houston as an idol in the music industry and the fact that her music ability was so powerful only helped her become so influential. Overall, the author portrays Houston's accomplishments and talent as a very large contributer to the American music culture and her contributions will live on in music for a very long time to come.
The author of this article strongly expresses her feelings on how Whitney Houston forever changed American culture, from her battle with a racist culture to the singing of the national anthem at the Super Bowl. There are countless examples the author includes on Whitney Houston’s influence on America, and one of the best involves how Houston’s “voice holds for us the history of post-civil rights era womanhood as it defiantly, regally and audaciously weaves its way through a world of both legislated racial equality and lingering systematic discrimination”. This is a courageous statement as the author defends Whitney Houston’s lifelong mission to change the script of musical culture and public attitude towards black singers and pop culture. This article was written with the intention of bringing back all of Whitney Houston’s colorful moments in music history and repeatedly touches on how she defined a generation through the highs and lows. By recalling the flood of memories Whitney Houston shares with America’s history and culture, the author stands behind Houston’s legacy as one of the best there ever was in pop culture.
The author portrays Whitney Houston as an icon and that is exactly what she was. She was able to take, bits and pieces of famous soul singers before her and add them all together to create her own unique singing style. Against all odds, being an african american women she was able to become one of the most well known successful singers of her generation. The author uses the superbowl image to really hammer his point across. She was able to unite a nation and captivate their souls by singing. By being able to hit so many octaves, people were amazed and she was able to calm everyone in attendance. She was much more than just a singer, she was almost a political icon. With racism still evident, she was one of the pioneers that really helped ease that racial tension. Even though she will be remembered for the horrible drug abuse, noone in this world can take away the fact that Whitney Houston was one of the greatest, most influential singers of all time.
The author almost uses a comparison technique to talk about Whitney Houston. He starts off each paragraph with critisms of her work from sexist, racist, etc. people and then goes into how she was inspiration. It kind of goes back and forward between the negative opinions of others and his positive claims.
The author makes the audience see the influence of Whitney Houston and her voice on America, especially through the National Anthem example. The audience pictures Houston as an independent, not going to be told what to do, African American woman with an incredible voice. She made her own unique pop hits and worked her way to the top of the chart. The Super Bowl was around the time of the Persian Gulf War and Houston presented a version of the National Anthem that truly sang nationalism and pride in her country and freedom. Racism and sexism didn't affect her mentality and she helped unify the nation.
Throughout the article, the author presents Whitney Houston as a symbol of American culture. Though she was not widely accepted for several years, Whitney continued to persist with her music, until she became popular. This example demonstrates the American Dream, overcoming challenges in order to reach success. According to the author, Whitney’s embodiment of American ideals came to life during her performance at the Superbowl of 1991. During the “Star-Spangled Banner” Whitney “-a black woman born just weeks before the March on Washington […] willed herself into America’s narrative of freedom and democracy through the sheer crushing command of her voice.” This woman had overcome barriers of race and gender in order to sing. Through this performance the author implies that she embraced not only equality, but also success, both of which are American values.
The use of wording in the article encourages the reader to view Whitney as both talented and classy. The author described her voice as “astonishingly supple and formidable, sinuous and striking, evok[ing] an increasing fullness, warm sophistication and playful maturity.” This string of compliments seems to also be the author’s description of Whitney. The article portrays the singer as a star. Throughout the entirety of the article the author illustrates Whitney Houston only in positive light. Her talents are brought into the article as rare for she was able to sing a wide range of notes that many people find difficult. The author also portrays her as a sophisticated woman for she reached celebrity status through her work. The use of wording in the article presents Whitney Houston a strong woman, deserving of her high status.
The author portrays Whitney Huston’s accomplishments as for the whole African-American community not only for herself. The author mentions that her gender and her race were playing against her, but she over came both of them to be one of the most influential singers there ever was. She inspired many African-Americans and every thing she did was a push for equality. For example, the author says some people may still be upset by her rendition to the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl, but nobody can deny the greatness of it. Also, she knew even though she was being discriminated against because of her race she never gave up and continued to fight for her dreams. Overall, Whitney’s accomplishments broke many racial borders and had an impact on all of America.
The author goes a long way to provide readers with a background of Whitney Houston. He does this in several ways that all serve the purpose of building her up as a symbol for black entertainers. As the article continues to go into depth about Whitney’s accomplishments, a picture starts to become painted in the reader’s head of what a truly inspiring person Whitney made herself out to be. The author is portraying Whitney not only as a music icon to whom people listened to, but also as an image for up-and-coming artists to strive for. In these ways, the author does Whitney justice and does a good job getting across what a devastation it is to have lost music’s own, Whitney Houston.
I think the way the author related Whitney to so many other historical figures in music played into how her contributions to American Music Culture were portrayed. The author does this to show how Whitney was an icon and deserves to be recognized among the best. I think the authors mentioning of the Super Bowl XXV National Anthem helps this argument greatly too. Watching the Super Bowl is tradition in America and the National Anthem is can be one of the most memorable moments. Whitney's performance is regarded as one of the greatest of all time and the author is pointing that out. Being that this took place at the tail end of the Persian Gulf War, America already had a reason to feel patriotic and hearing Houston belt out the National Anthem was a perfect fit. It gave her a place not only in music history but in American history as a whole.
As one of the most famous singers in the US, Whitney Houston influenced a generation of people, including the author. The author tried to compare her to some historical figures as Etta, Aretha, Diana and etc., which enables her have a significant position in history, as thousands of other great people. Comparing with great figures is not affordable to anyone. Men seldom compare a normal person with someone who is powerful and influential like Dianna. Who’s Dianna? The princess of The Great Britain and was highly expected by the world.
The essay also points some great achievements of Whitney Houston, including her music career and “the first black female artist to take the technical virtuosity of her skills culled in the church and successfully transpose them onto Arista-industry driven, market-tested Top 40 pop arrangements.” The words “ first”, “ successfully” and “top” indicate the glory. The quote “it was Whitney who emerged at the very center of '80s pop and then subtly and yet fundamentally changed its landscape forever” uses all the adjective and adverb words “ subtly”, “fundamentally”, “forever” to describe Whitney and these words improves the level of her achievements.
Whitney Houston's abrupt and sudden death shocked the nation, as most celebrity deaths do. However, the authors painting of Houston in an only positive light takes away from her character as a whole. From reading this article, the viewer only sees Houston in terms of her accomplishments; we see none of the struggles or her fall into drug use. Houston is shown as a hero, but she would be a more believable one if all aspects of her character were adressed, perhaps explaining why she may have overdosed would allow the reader to be more empathetic to the situation. The author does a good job of showing how Houston overcame obstacles in her life in terms of critics, but does nothing to show how she overcame her more important personal flaws ie drug use.
Structurally,the author does a good job of setting up the story with the introduction, because he begins by using negatives to create his end final positive image. This allows the reader to see that Houston is more than just an ordinary singer.
The author of this article does a great job of talking about Houston in a positive light, and exlplaining how she changed music in America for the better. He compares her to many other artists saying how she was "no Etta or Aretha" but she truly was someone different. She was a mixture of those unforgettable singers, and made her own mark on the world. The fact that she was a poster child for druge abuse and relapse did inhibit her appearce and role to the country, but she worked towards defeating this struggle everyday. Unfortunately the drugs were too powerful in the end to be stopped, and brought her life to a quick end. This article does not focus on the negative things Houston had going on in her life, but instead the amazing accomplishments she left for the world.
The author raves over Whitney's great success, strength and all of her accomplishments. The author is very postivie when talking about Whitney, and nothing bad to say about her. The words and the way the author writes the articles helps paint an image of Whitney for the reader. The author describes Whitney's accomplishments in grand detail, describing the power she had in her "three-octave range" voice. The author describes the struggles Whitney went through as she was rising to the top of the music world at the time when blacks were still highly discriminated against. For example the author states, "one might presume that this Whitney is meant to "heal and nurture" a nation -- even though her rights and privileges as a black woman in America remain deeply circumscribed by legacies of racism and sexism". He describes the grand impact Whitney had on the music industry and America in general in this time period. She devied all odds and rose above racism and sexism, becoming an idol for many. In this description of Whitney, the author is painting a powerful image of a strong-willed woman who overcame every adversity thrown at her. The author is very successful in painting a beautiful and long lasting image of Whitney in the audiences minds. The author makes sure Whitney is remembered as the amazing, talented, impacting woman she was.
As many have mentioned, the writer used many examples to paint a good image of Whitney. The tone that he used strong supports Whitney’s work and accomplishments when she was still here. He portrayed her as an achiever by citing facts throughout the various years of her life. Comparing her to many other artists, he created a strong contrast to show how she has distinctively became the first black woman to do all the things he reemphasized.
Though true in many cases, that whatever the writer mentioned is lacking, in trying to paint a complete picture of Whitney’s life, he achieved the purpose of showing that a person, through effort riding on talent, can impact not just a person, a place, but the whole world. Whitney may have fallen to certain vices, may have had struggles that were beyond her ability to overcome, but at this time, when she is already gone, is it necessary to sweep all her dirty secrets out from under the carpet?
The writer, in attempting to create a good way to remember Whitney, does it in a good way of starting with what she’s not, then slowly through her life, introduce her, and how she progressed to the successful state she became in. The use of the Super Bowl example was pretty adequate in trying to demonstrate his point. Painting out the scenario, the setting of the time then, the struggles not just she was facing, but the nation was facing, he brilliantly pushed forward the effect of her presence.
The build to the essay is good towards the end, making a really large claim. People may or may not agree with him, but the way he advanced the essay make people less likely to disagree as much with him.
The author started this article by saying that Whitney wasn’t like Etta, Aretha, or Diana which starts to paint a picture that she was pretty unique. As the article goes on, the author wrote about how amazing her voice was and the range she could sing. Also, the author talks about how large of a contribution she made to the American music culture and that we will never forget her. The word “Free” in the national anthem is a very hard pitch to hit, and the author used it as an example of Whitney’s unique vocal range by talking about how well she hit the note.
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