Prof. Murray Forman (l) with Frankfurt university students

Youth Culture in Music and Film
May 19, 2009. U.S. professors Dr. David James and Dr. Murray Forman caught the attention of over 60 American Studies and high school students as well as professors and teachers by giving insights into current U.S. youth culture. David James, film historian from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, spoke about the struggle of minorities in Los Angeles to represent themselves in Hollywood films, how Latino youth create visual vocabulary and representations and how they are shown in films. Murray Forman from Northeastern University in Boston addressed the developments in hip hop as a major part of youth culture in the U.S. and about a generational dissonance between the three generations within the hip hop community. Forman also emphazised the involvement of the hip hop movement in the U.S. in the recent presidential elections and that the hip hop community encouraged their audience to participate in the elections. Both speaker will also participate in the U.S. Embassy Fachleiter Conference in Bonn from May 20-23.