The DJ as Griot

Adam J. Banks’s Digital Griots: African American Rhetoric in a Multimedia Age calls for a repositioning of the study of African American rhetorical traditions, and seeks to do so by linking the modern DJ to the figure of the griot.  When I first picked up the book I did some digging around for a working definition of the word “griot,” which I was not familiar with.  Wikipeida has this to say, focusing on the figure as a "repository of oral tradition,” and then Banks himself extensively addresses the term in his text:

There is far more to the griot than storytelling…the griot is often a master of both words and music who is a storyteller, praise singer, and historian in many of those West African cultures.  The griot is sometimes an entertainer, sometimes a counselor to chiefs and leaders, but regardless of the range between playful and serious, the griot is absolutely essential to the life of his or her society…(22)

During our Lessig conversations we examined the ways technology has served to democratize the act of both creation and publication.  A certain question kept coming up again and again: can anybody be an author?  With this question I mind, my attention was drawn to Banks’s comments about a recently released video game called DJ Hero, which he mentions while speaking to the dangers of unsound pedagogical approaches to DJ-as-griot:

The recent video game DJ Hero and its appropriation of the DJ provide the perfect example of the danger of such isolated ripping.  The game reduces the practices of the DJ to a mere cross-fader and turntable.  While I’m not one to have a problem with a creative video game, I’m interested in far more than simply the isolated techniques of scratching on a turntable or hitting a cross-fader—for me, it is the wide range of cultural practices, multiple illiteracies, rhetorical mastery, and knowledge of traditions that DJs in black traditions represent that make them griots, link them to other griotic figures, and offer a model for writing that thoroughly weaves together oral performance, print literacy, mastery and interrogation of technologies, and technologies that can lead to a renewed vision for both composition and African-American rhetoric. (13)

DJ Hero was a later spinoff of the wildly successful Guitar Hero series, wherein players equipped with button-based guitars play along to color-coded “notes” on the screen.  While the Practice Mode of these games feature randomized notes and chords, the active playing mode features popular hits from a variety of different bands: Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Nirvana, Lenny Kravitz, Ozzy Osbourne, Modest Mouse, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger & and the Silver Bullet Band (to name just a few).  While some have maintained that the game’s drum playing mode can actually help players learn to play real drums, the guitar instrument in no way, shape, or form conforms to the mechanics of playing a real guitar.   

Here’s a picture of some guitar controllers. 

And Here’s a video a player posted of his error-free rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” on Expert Mode. 

Now, as Banks mentioned, the DJ Hero controller is a turntable and three “stream buttons” : a cross-fader, an effects dial, and a Euphoria button (a way for players to score additional bonus points).  Here is a picture of the game equipment:

And here is the commercial developers ran to advertize the game.   

So, going back to the question of “Who can be an author?”…I guess this is an overly long way to say I found myself a little confused with Banks’s mention of the game, which to me reads as a condemnation of sorts.  It is true: the video game is not going to encapsulate the importance of griotic figures.  But won’t it allow people who might otherwise have no opportunity the chance to experiment with the practice of remix—even in a limited manner?  Banks mentions shortly after his DJ Hero reference that   

   

The preacher, storyteller, standup comic, everyday black people in conversation, and the DJ can help black students see themselves reflected more genuinely in writing classrooms and theory and can benefit all students looking for a greater appreciation of the multiple connected and diverging cultural influences on writing in a society that is (very slowly) becoming more genuinely inclusive and multicultural.  (14)

Certainly video games can’t offer the DJ the full rhetorical status he or she is due, or explore the DJ’s place in oral traditions that span centuries.  But I would argue that having a mass-marketed game where students could see themselves and their traditions would at the very least contribute a little something to that sense of inclusion.   Going back to the Guitar Hero example: no, a player will not learn how to play an actual guitar, but perhaps, via exposure, they will become interested in a new genre of music.  And in fact, there has been a noticeable impact on music sales for songs included on Guitar Hero / Rock Band video game playlists.        

Question for the class:

What are some pedagogical techniques instructors can use that would help students see themselves more genuinely reflected in writing classrooms?