Black Spectacle: An Important Part of the Public Sphere

Spectacle is an important factor when considering potential prospects for the public sphere. Spectacle has been accused of losing its "rational, logical, literate debate" and "encourag[ing] passivity in spectators" (McKee 105, 108). An example in the public sphere of spectacle is rap music. The chapter has a great amount of discussion on the idea of rap music being either a rational or emotional approach for the public sphere , the argument being that one is more reasonable, and therefore better. A 'modernist' would cancel out the emotional response because it is considered irrational thinking. However, a 'postmodernist' would argue that emotion plays a resourceful characteristic of rationality. In my personal opinion, rap music has been a great influence to my life opening up a culture that is not known to me except through literature. One reason I feel that rap music should be considered part of the public sphere is similar to McKee's point that blacks have developed an oral rather than literary approach to communicating throughout history. It is different from Habermas' ideal public society in that it is not, for the most part, literary. Oral tradition has multiple patterns of commentary on politics and other parts of life such as "praise singers", "narrative poems", and "verbal jousting" (McKee 110). These have all played necessary roles in African American culture and have earned their way into the public sphere through cultural roots. If this belief is enforced, then it makes sense to take a 'postmodern' approach and consider all types of information to make a rational decision in the end. This would include spectacle in the public sphere which some argue "distract from the workings of the mental process" (from Habermas, found in McKee 107). I think that an emotional response should be considered when observing all conditions as rational. It may not be the correct response for the situation but it sparks emotion for a certain reason.