YSU Forum speakers say good art has no boundaries

The discussion was one in a series to be held throughout the year.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Hip-hop music, racial melding and dealing with the changing demographics of America were among topics discussed Thursday at a forum at Youngstown State University.
Mel Watkins, a Youngstown native, author and editor for the New York Times Sunday Book Review; Alison Carey, co-founder and resident playwright of the Cornerstone Theater in Los Angeles; and Terry Stewart, president and chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, spent an hour going over the issues as part of YSU's Colloquium 2002.
In discussing the influences of various forms of music on people and society as a whole, the three panelist talked about whether one generation or culture could completely understand the music and art forms of another.
In other words, would Ozzie and Harriet really understand the work of P Diddy?
The unanimous answer to that question was yes. Watkins said understanding any foreign art form is a learning process. Classical music was at one time a learning process for him, he added, but good art transcends cultural and generational barriers.
According to Watkins, rap music is a good example of the acceptance of an art form across cultural lines.
The panelists offered varied explanations as to why rap and hip-hop music has become so accepted by suburban and white teens, given its urban street roots.
Acceptance
Carey said the question should not be why white teens and young adults like rap music. "We should be asking why wouldn't they?" She said all the elements of rebellion against what their parents would listen to are present in rap music.
Watkins said there is more to it than a form of rebellion, because teens can find other ways to rebel against their parents and what is seen as acceptable behavior. He said there is something special about the music itself that is all-inclusive.
According to Stewart, that something special is the hyper beat and energy behind the music. The bottom line, he said, is "people, in particularly young people, just like it."
The panelist agreed that the demographics of the country are changing and whites may not be a majority here in three to four decades.
That posed the question of whether white Americans are willing to give up supposed luxuries of being a majority without some sort of future backlash.
The transition will probably go somewhat unnoticed because those changes, according to Watkins and Stewart, are already in the works. They said it is a very slow process that has been happening for years and therefore may not be seen as a change at all.
"If someone told me I would live long enough to see the changes that have occurred in my home state of Alabama, I would have said 'you're nuts' -- but those changes have taken place," said Stewart.
As for the future, Carey said society would be better off if we would do away with the "color blind" mentality. She said it is all right to recognize the differences among people, so long as those differences are celebrated instead of frowned upon.
Watkins said certain areas, such as sports and music, already have a large black presence, but society will have to be willing in the future to accept that presence on a larger scale in television, movies and in the visual arts.
jgoodwin@vindy.com