Meet the warriors of the MTV Generation
HANDS ON POVERTY: Wyclef Jean, leading the nonprofit Yele in Haiti, left, goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie, and her husband Brad Pitt visit a slum in Haiti earlier this year.
The MTV generation lives in a world where Jessica Simpson's reality shows get higher ratings than CSpans live cast of a congressional hearing, but on 9/11, a few miles away from the MTV headquarters in Time Square, the attack against the World Trade Center that inflammated the war against terror may have been too loud to ignore.
The MTV Generation (1975- 1985) is driven by technological advances, a priority for convenience, violent video games and a hunger for reality television. Ignorace seems to be bliss.
"9/11 changed me. It makes you wonder what could drive some one to do that, and then you learn about their poverty and stuff, and you notice something went terribly wrong," said Daniel Hernandez, 25, a student at the University of Miami. "Things are changing, we can no longer live in our little video bubble."
Artists like Kanye West, Angelina Jolie, Shakira, and The Black Eyed Peas' embody the social dissent style of the MTV generation.
The Black Eyed Peas' conceal their lack of trust toward the government in colorful images, sexy clevage, and hip-hop:
"But we still got terrorists here livin in the USA: the big CIA the Bloodz and the Crips and the KKK," says their song Where is the Love. "The wars' going on but the reasons' undercover. The truth is kept secret swept under the rug ... Wrong information always shown by the media. Negative images is the main criteria. Infecting their young minds faster than bacteria."
West follows in the accusatory tone of The Black Eyed Peas: "And I know the government administered AIDS," in his song Heard Em'say.
In his song 'Dimonds from Sierra Leone' he seeks to bring attention to the slaves of the dimond market.
"This [Sierra Leone]ain't Vietnam still people lose hands, legs, arms for real ... Over here, its a drug trade, we die from drugs Over there, they die from what we buy."
This is relevant because for years hip-hop stars have been known to wear "bling bling" as a symbol of social status and success.
The sad news is that West not only did not change the "bling bling" trend -- he joined it -- and recently launched a line of Jesus Christ pendants with diamonds and other prescious stones made by Jacob the jeweler.
This is a generation that defines activism with a uniform. A generation that enlisting in the U.S. Army or the Marines to have access to a college education, and eventually to the so called "bling bling."
A generation of heroes, who are fighting an enemy without a uniform, and kills to prevent killing, for the sake of security.
"Yo, We at war, We at war with terrorism, racism ... We rappers are role models we rap we don't think," sings West in a song he titled Jesus Walks.
Pop-star Shakira takes her role seriously. She runs a couple of orphanages in the Northern coast of her native Colombia, and has expressed her support toward the undocumented migrants in the United States. At the latest MTV awards she performed with Haitian Wyclef Jean.
She shook her hips to a highly sensual song wearing a middle eastern belly dancing outfit.
"Why the CIA wanna watch us? Colombians and Haitians ... Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats ... No fighting -- No fighting."
In the front of giving millions, to non-governmental organizations and making others aware of world poverty are goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie and her husband Brad Pitt. They recently took part in the Davos Economic forum where they met with world leaders.
"I think they are making it hip to help others," said Natalie Rodriguez, 13, of Coral Gables. "They are forcing us to see those children, the suffering and stuff that we just want to ignore."
HANDS ON POVERTY: Wyclef Jean, leading the nonprofit Yele in Haiti, left, goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie, and her husband Brad Pitt visit a slum in Haiti earlier this year.
The MTV generation lives in a world where Jessica Simpson's reality shows get higher ratings than CSpans live cast of a congressional hearing, but on 9/11, a few miles away from the MTV headquarters in Time Square, the attack against the World Trade Center that inflammated the war against terror may have been too loud to ignore.
The MTV Generation (1975- 1985) is driven by technological advances, a priority for convenience, violent video games and a hunger for reality television. Ignorace seems to be bliss.
"9/11 changed me. It makes you wonder what could drive some one to do that, and then you learn about their poverty and stuff, and you notice something went terribly wrong," said Daniel Hernandez, 25, a student at the University of Miami. "Things are changing, we can no longer live in our little video bubble."
Artists like Kanye West, Angelina Jolie, Shakira, and The Black Eyed Peas' embody the social dissent style of the MTV generation.
The Black Eyed Peas' conceal their lack of trust toward the government in colorful images, sexy clevage, and hip-hop:
"But we still got terrorists here livin in the USA: the big CIA the Bloodz and the Crips and the KKK," says their song Where is the Love. "The wars' going on but the reasons' undercover. The truth is kept secret swept under the rug ... Wrong information always shown by the media. Negative images is the main criteria. Infecting their young minds faster than bacteria."
West follows in the accusatory tone of The Black Eyed Peas: "And I know the government administered AIDS," in his song Heard Em'say.
In his song 'Dimonds from Sierra Leone' he seeks to bring attention to the slaves of the dimond market.
"This [Sierra Leone]ain't Vietnam still people lose hands, legs, arms for real ... Over here, its a drug trade, we die from drugs Over there, they die from what we buy."
This is relevant because for years hip-hop stars have been known to wear "bling bling" as a symbol of social status and success.
The sad news is that West not only did not change the "bling bling" trend -- he joined it -- and recently launched a line of Jesus Christ pendants with diamonds and other prescious stones made by Jacob the jeweler.
This is a generation that defines activism with a uniform. A generation that enlisting in the U.S. Army or the Marines to have access to a college education, and eventually to the so called "bling bling."
A generation of heroes, who are fighting an enemy without a uniform, and kills to prevent killing, for the sake of security.
"Yo, We at war, We at war with terrorism, racism ... We rappers are role models we rap we don't think," sings West in a song he titled Jesus Walks.
Pop-star Shakira takes her role seriously. She runs a couple of orphanages in the Northern coast of her native Colombia, and has expressed her support toward the undocumented migrants in the United States. At the latest MTV awards she performed with Haitian Wyclef Jean.
She shook her hips to a highly sensual song wearing a middle eastern belly dancing outfit.
"Why the CIA wanna watch us? Colombians and Haitians ... Refugees run the seas 'cause we own our own boats ... No fighting -- No fighting."
In the front of giving millions, to non-governmental organizations and making others aware of world poverty are goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie and her husband Brad Pitt. They recently took part in the Davos Economic forum where they met with world leaders.
"I think they are making it hip to help others," said Natalie Rodriguez, 13, of Coral Gables. "They are forcing us to see those children, the suffering and stuff that we just want to ignore."
