Step 1: Warmup

Duration: 20 minutes

Purpose: Students will examine how contemporary forms of art and expressions are deeply rooted to inspirations/ adaptations/ and cultural reflections from a diasporic community they are emulating. (e.g. Black culture and people/ roots in African practices).

Implementation:

Students will view an assortment of picture pairings depicting different artists, dance forms, and performances. They will write to the best of their ability the possible relationship each pair of photos have with one another.

The photos may have an obvious connection either visually or thematically, but they may also be connected by subtle means: through direct/indirect influences, educational (formal, apprenticeship, self-taught), and cultural.

Example: Jazz dance forms (lindy hop, tap) next to breaking (break dancing).

Connections: Forms of youth expression. Ways Black American culture manifested in the USA. Dances born out of the Black experience etc. American artforms that inspired youths and other communities of color.

The slides provided in the lesson will have notes. Photos may be swapped by the instructor to better fit the lesson.

Resources/Materials:

• Slides 1-9 (overview of lesson, skip if appropriate)

• Slides 10-14 for Warmup Activity

Assessment: Comparing video clips and photos and finding the connections they have with one another.

Step 2: Lecture

Duration: 30 minutes

Purpose: The lecture will showcase the powerful influence music had on Roy’s Life. Particularly his penchant for jazz and other forms of popular American music that are rooted in Black culture.

This exposure and willingness to explore new sounds and embrace the changing landscape of popular music would later be seen in San Jose Taiko’s collaborations with hip hop DJs and producers The Bangerz.

Implementation:

We will watch/read Roy Hirabayashi’s interview about his experiences being exposed to music, particularly the education he received through his instructors on playing jazz and orchestral music. Let’s note several things from this interview:

1. Roy is a third-generation (sansei) Japanese American who was exposed to creative forms of expression in his hometown of Oakland, CA. During this time Jazz, Rock, R&B, and Blues would be the predominant styles of popular music in America (music styles rooted in Black culture).

2. Roy had the opportunity to learn how to play music through school, private lessons, bands, and orchestras.

3. His experiences and interests pushed a counter narrative to the “model minority” myth that is often placed on Asian Americans during his time. (NOTE: Please provide a refresher if students are not aware of the model minority myth.)

4. These experiences (and more) eventually lead to the creation of San Jose Taiko in 1973, a group whose skills and artistic philosophies helped to change the worlds of taiko, music, art, and community organizing.

The San Jose Taiko 2010 performance with DJ and production crew The Bangerz is an example of the openness to blend and find relationships with different music styles, different cultures and generations, and create something new and relatable to the next generation. (Taiko + hip hop, electronic music, turntablism)

End with slides with notes about how arts & cultures influence youth culture. Whether they receive a formal creative education or create something on their own based on their interests and influences, the important lesson is that there is always a cultural connection being made, directly and indirectly.

Resources/Materials:

• Slides 15-19

• Roy Hirabayashi Oral History

• SJT x Bangerz Video

Assessment: N/A

Step 3: Musical Connections

Duration: 25 minutes

Purpose: Music has a way of inspiring the next generation through the evolution of the sounds (genres, technological advancements in home studios, digital streaming/sharing). In this exercise students will watch a succession of clips and connect the different ways music can inspire and inform the next generation sound through sampling and homage.

What is expressed intheendisa reinterpretation and/or new creation that is built on the work that came before it.

Implementation:

Have the students watch a series of video clips that display different eras and styles of jazz and hip hop.

Ask students to write about their relationship to one another and how these connections help to advance human creativity into the future. Miles Davis Quintet: Jazz and bebop. Faster syncopation and complex rhythms. Improvisation.

DOMi & JD Beck: Contemporary musicians influenced by modern jazz and hip hop music. They play a live medley of songs by the emcees and producers, MF DOOM and Madlib. Have students focus on the song “ALL CAPS” in the medley.

MF DOOM: A well known artist who donned a mask reminiscent of the Marvel Comics character, Doctor Doom. An example of hip hop’s penchant to create music and personas from sampling/remixing existing intellectual properties.

MF Doom “ALL CAPS” sample breakdown: This example shows how hip hop (and modern production) can take pieces of sounds/instruments that are unrelated to one another and create something brand new. Produced by Madlib.

Resources/Materials:

• Slides 20-22

• Miles Davis Quintet Video

• DOMi & JD Beck Video

• MF DOOM Video

• MF Doom “ALL CAPS” sample breakdown Video

Assessment: Observing, analyzing, and commenting on the thread that connects the video clips with one another.

Step 4: Discussion

Duration: 20 minutes

Implementation:

Show interview with Jeanette Arakawa (2). Note that Jeanette speaks very slowly because of her age and health. You can choose to show in 1.5 speed if necessary. Key points of note:

1. Jeanette is a second-generation (nisei) Japanese American who was incarcerated with her family during World War II (EO 9066) in Jerome, AK.

2. Later, she wrote a book The Little Exile, a work of autobiographical fiction about Jeanette’s experiences during WWII.

3. In this clip, she talks about the significance of music and creative expression and how she integrated that into her life and her book.

Discuss 2 key takeaways with students. Follow up with a discussion on “Don’t Fence Me In” by Bing Crosky. “What did she mean in her interview when she said that the song was ‘terribly appropriate’?” (NOTE: By this point, students should already know what EO9066 was. If not, please provide a refresher.)

Resources/Materials:

• Slides 23-26

• Jeanette Arakawa Oral History 2

• “Don’t Fence Me In” Video

  
  

Assessment: Class Discussion

Step 5: Reflection

Duration: 10 minutes

Purpose: Students will reflect on the lesson and think about the powerful ways creative expression through art, music, dance, fashion has one a person’s life, whether these personal changes are happening directly or indirectly.

Implementation:

For individuals like Roy and Jeanette,connecting to music allowed them to express themselves, build with others, and create a counter narrative to the one society tried placing on them (the model minority).

Show “Home” by Kamiko and Anna Macan, a song inspired by the AAPI Perspectives Oral History Project. Discuss with students that this is an example of how arts and culture can inspire us beyond borders, colorlines, and generations.

Creativity does not exist in a vacuum. It is connected and influenced by many factors.

Ask students to think about the ways they exercise their creative voice. Have them think about your personal influences and read up on their influences. They can submit this as homework if appropriate.

Resources/Materials:

• Slides 27-30

• ”Home” Music Video

Assessment: Personal Reflection