Micheal Jackson’s and Janet Jackson’s song “Scream” was a groundbreaking song for it’s time and was a way for Micheal and Janet to express their anger against the press and the media. I chose this song because I saw a connection to Lost Notes 1980 and how Grace Jones also faced criticisms from the media but used music to respond to backlash such as her song “Private Life”, where she states continuously “Private life drama baby leave me out”. I think this correlates to Screams theme of just wanting to be left alone, “Stop pressuring me makes me want to scream”. For black artist it is common to come under scrutiny when you start making an impact in the music industry but artist like Micheal Jackson and Grace Jones both used their music to send a message to the public and show their resilience.

Michael & Janet Jackson Scream Lyrics. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved May 16, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixP01fXXyj0

Grace Jones – Private Life (1980). (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved May 16, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvLn_qC7QAs

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  After listening to “Basketball Warriors” from La Brega. We discussed in class how a basketball game could represent something much more significant to the Puerto Rican people when matched up against the U.S. We discussed how through sports, Puerto Rico could finally claim itself as sovereign, and also in a symbolic way they could face the country that owns them. In the “La Brega” series we witness how Puerto Ricans are known to rise up against the odds that were stacked against them, even through corruption and unfair treatment . Basketball was one way to send the message to the world that the Puerto Rican people weren’t afraid to fight for their respect. But even with these victories on the court, the real fight for respect and dignity was at home where their own government did not respect them. We see this in Episode 6 “Bankruptcy Letters”, where we discussed the debt crisis in Puerto Rico and how those who worked for the government never received the claims that were promised to them. We also spoke on how badly they were treated in the court, only being allowed up to 5 minutes to dispute their claims .     

Question~ How does Puerto Rico compare to the 50 states, and how could funding from the U.S help dig Puerto Rico out this financial hole,