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Kanye West and Racism in Internet Folklore Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Plan B and other Reports Graduate Studies 5-2017 Hanging From the Poplar Tree: Kanye West and Racism in Internet Folklore Magen Olsen Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports Part of the Digital Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Olsen, Magen, "Hanging From the Poplar Tree: Kanye West and Racism in Internet Folklore" (2017). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports. 970. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/970 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Plan B and other Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HANGING FROM THE POPLAR TREE: KANYE WEST AND RACISM IN INTERNET FOLKLORE by Magen Erin Olsen A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in English Approved: ______________________________ ______________________________ Lisa Gabbert, Ph.D. Lynne S. McNeill, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member ______________________________ ______________________________ Christine Cooper-Rampato, Ph.D. Mark McLellan, Ph.D. Committee Member Vice President for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2017 ii Copyright © Magen Erin Olsen 2017 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Hanging from the Poplar Tree: Kanye West and Racism in Internet Folklore by Magen Erin Olsen, Master of Arts Utah State University, 2017 Major Professor: Lisa Gabbert Department: English Folk ideas regarding African-Americans in nineteenth century America fueled racially charged stereotypes that served to promote segregation into the 1960s. Despite the belief of many Americans that the Civil Rights movement has ushered in an era of “postracism,” artifacts of digital culture prove that racism is still prevalent in American culture. Members of online social groups spread rumors and memes of popular African- American figures to propagate old racist stereotypes and spread conspiracy rumors among younger audiences. Folklorists Bill Ellis, Gary Fine, Véronique Campion-Vincente, and Patricia Turner provided foundational scholarship on rumors, conspiracy theories, and how they divide ethnic groups in wider American culture. This paper applies their works to an analysis of several memes and YouTube videos regarding Kanye West, an African- American rapper. It also considers how stereotypes of African-Americans as discussed in Marlon Riggs’ documentary Ethnic Notions still hold influence over current American attitudes towards African-Americans in the broader culture. (69 Pages) iv PUBLIC ABSTRACT Hanging in the Poplar Tree: Kanye West and Racism in Internet Folklore Magen Erin Olsen Americans have long used rumor, conspiracy theories, and humor to socially divide Americans based on ethnicity. Despite the positive outcomes of the Civil Rights era and the efforts of socially conscious Americans to develop a more inclusive society, racist folk ideas dating are still found in pockets of modern culture. This thesis will explore the way that racism persists in memes and YouTube videos featuring Kanye West, an African-American rapper. It also discusses the use of racist stereotypes through history and the accusations against African-American celebrities as members of conspiratorial groups. This paper illustrates how Americans continue to unknowingly perpetuate racist ideas in digital culture. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My interest in Kanye West as a person was previously nonexistent and based on little more than a passing awareness that he was often the subject of Internet folklore. I did, however, have an interest in celebrity culture as a phenomenon to be studied from a folklorist’s lens. I wanted to write about how celebrities manipulate folklore to serve their own motives, but after digging deeper into Kanye West lore I found that the conversation between celebrities and fans is far more complicated. The resulting narrative suggests many things about West and his fans or detractors, but the theme of racism stood out. For this project I want to acknowledge the ever-patient Dr. Lisa Gabbert, who has mentored me through the past few years. She has put in a great amount of time in reading drafts upon drafts, and has contributed research for this paper. She has challenged my thinking and has taught me how to focus even when I want to tackle the bigger fish. I’ve been deeply humbled by her input and willingness to stick through this with me. I also want to acknowledge Drs. Christine Cooper-Rompato and Lynne McNeill as the two other sitting members of my thesis committee. Christine for helping me keep track of goals and creating deadlines, and Lynne for her contagious enthusiasm for the craft. I couldn’t have asked for a more well-rounded group of people to help mold these ideas that I’ve been thinking about for over a year. Finally, I want to acknowledge my brother Eric for introducing me to Kanye West’s music. It’s been on repeat several times in the writing of this thesis. Magen Erin Olsen vi CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 II. NARRATIVE ACCORDING TO KANYE WEST ............................................. 9 III. OVERVIEW OF KANYE WEST FOLKLORE ...............................................18 IV. THE “IMMA LET YOU FINISH” MEME ...................................................... 24 Documentation ......................................................................................................24 Analysis .................................................................................................................31 V. ILLUMINATI CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND YOUTUBE .........................38 Documentation .......................................................................................................38 Analysis..................................................................................................................48 VI. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................55 WORKS CITED ................................................................................................................57 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 I Am A God (memegenerator.net/instance/53462675) .......................................1 2 imgur.com/gallery/D1niq ..................................................................................20 3 kideight.com/yeezy-2020-yeezy-kanye-2020-obama-yeezytaughtme/ ............21 4 Patrick Swayze (kanyegate.tumblr.com/) .........................................................25 5 Anne Frank (kanyegate.tumblr.com/) ...............................................................26 6 KFC (kanyegate.tumblr.com)............................................................................28 7 Archaic Rap (kanyegate.tumblr.com) ...............................................................29 8 Courage Wolf (kanyegate.tumblr.com/) ...........................................................31 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Figure 1 I Am A God (memegenerator.net/instance/53462675) Images of superstar rapper Kanye West accompanied by captions declaring him to be a god are commonplace in Internet culture. Memes such as the one above and YouTube videos serve as means of transmission for old cultural worldviews, or folk ideas (Dundes 1971), that predate the internet. In this case, the folk idea that seems to motivate the sharing of folklore revolving around West are racist ones that are inherent in American culture. This thesis will examine several examples of this folklore in order to argue that the Internet is a tool by which racist rumors, jokes, and conspiracy theories are resurging and driving the continuation of bigotry in the United States. The meme above is derived from a 2013 interview with the BBC’s Zane Lowe, in which West talked about why he had the habit of referring to himself as a god. The 2 interview was meant to promote West’s album Yeezus (West 2013), in which West included a track titled “I am a God” (West 2013). West’s explanation of himself as “a god” in the interview was met by implied criticism in several memes and rumors, some of which will be examined in this thesis. In the interview, West said, We got this new thing called “classism.” It’s racism’s cousin. This is what we do to hold people back… and we got this other thing that’s also been working for a long time that you don’t have to be racist anymore. It’s called “self-hate.” It works on itself. It’s like the real estate of racism, where… someone comes up and says something like, “I am a god,” everybody says, “Who does he think he is?” I just told you who I thought I was! A god… Would it have been better if I had a song that said, “I am a Nigger,” or… “I am a Gangster,” or… “I am a Pimp?” All those colors and patinas fit better on a person like me. (West
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