JabbaWockeeZ: A Figment of Commodification

*Image created by Me*

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!” – Lewis Carrol, 1871

“In our fascination with the highly visible show, let us not overlook the less visible business that ultimately shapes, constructs, recycles, breaks out, and distributes the show for a profit.” – Eileen Meehan, 1991

Over the past few years we have seen the rise in popularity of competitive dance shows. It seems as though every major network has their own iteration. T he focus of these shows is the competition, where individual dancers or entire dance crews compete for the admiration of the judges and the vote of the viewers. These shows have grown to incorporate B-boys and B-boy style dances, which came out of the subculture of Hip Hop. Unlike the other styles of dancing featured on the shows, B-boying has already been through a stage of mass media attention and commercialization but it seems as though Hip Hop music has taken over that role. I feel that with this resurgence of attention B-boying is receiving, we will also begin to see the resurgence of its commercialization and commodification, where it will complete its transformation from art form to cultural product, just as Hip Hop music did. Therefore I believe that through an analysis of arguably the most popular crew from these dance shows, the JabbaWockeez, we will shine a light on the future of B-boying and the commodification process. Furthermore I will also conduct interviews with B-boys to obtain the perspective of those immersed in the culture to understand how this commodification might problematize the culture and authenticity of B-boying.

In order to properly analyze and study the current state of B-boying and its relationship with commodification and commercialization, we must first understand the history of Hip Hop, with a strict focus on B-boying. Next we will observe historical events and media coverage that led to the popularization of B-boying and the first examples of commercialization in B-boying. Then we will examine the commercialization and commodification of Hip Hop music, from its beginning to its current state in order to observe the affects commodification has had on other aspects of Hip Hop culture. Finally we will briefly examine what commodification is and consider what the future holds for its relationship to B-boying.

History of Hip Hop and B-Boying

Although it has been noted that the history of Hip Hop is often shrouded with uncertainty, disagreements and grey areas that may never have an explanation or factual proof due to a lack of evidence (Pabon 18; Schloss 125), the following is a very brief yet cohesive history that contains enough facts and proofs for the purpose of this research. Firstly, it is widely understood that Hip Hop is comprised of four elements: DJing, MCing/rapping, B-boying, and graffiti (Chang 61; Cobb 3; Sachs 2; Schloss 37) and that it extends far beyond the musical genre of the same name. The fact is that Hip Hop existed as a culture and performance context through the four elements for five years (1974-1979) before becoming a genre of music (Schloss 5). Furthermore, it is also consistently noted that one man invented Hip Hop. DJ Kool Herc is the man who is given credit for inventing Hip Hop by doing one thing: he extended the musical breaks of the songs he played (Chang 61; Pabon 19; Sachs 5; Schloss 19). As will be explained later, that simple act had much more power and reasoning behind it, especially when it comes to the DJing, MCing and B-boying elements, but perhaps due to the uncertainty of Hip Hop history, it is never explained how DJ Kool Herc’s actions affected the graffiti element.

As for the B-boying element, which is the main focus of this research, Joseph Schloss’ 2009 book Foundation has proven to be a comprehensive look at the specific history of B-boying. During the early 60’s, rock music was very popular in North America, and Latinos living in New York would dance to the “rock and soul music as if they were mambo, and they called it rocking” (Schloss 153). As Schloss points out, in the late 60’s Brooklyn Latinos began combining African American and Latin dance styles with the rock style, bringing with it a confrontational attitude and insulting gestures to create what was called “uprocking” (132). The confrontational attitude and insulting gestures were incorporated into the dance because it was used as a way for the dancers to challenge and battle each other on the dance floor (Pabon 21; Schloss 132). Uprocking was soon adopted by other neighborhoods in New York, including the Bronx where Black and Latino residents began to put their own local spin on uprocking. When residents from the Bronx would uprock to a song, during the break (the point in the song in which all instruments except the rhythm section phase out) the dancers would get really wild and energetic which eventually saw them dropping to the floor to perform specialized moves, which came to be known as “downrocking” (Schloss 149). At this point in time we begin to see the importance of DJ Kool Herc and is influence on Hip Hop.

Taking note that the dancers loved and anticipated the breaks so they could show off their most devastating moves, DJ Kool Herc had two copies of the same record on the turntables so that one would play the break and then once the break was finished he would play the break again on the other copy, while rewinding the first copy so he could play the break a third time, thus making the break last longer, which as noted above is cited as the creation of Hip Hop (Chang 61; Pabon 18; Sachs 5; Schloss 29). Because the dancers loved the break so much, extending the break and manipulating the songs like that was monumental. As this new method of extending breaks began catching on, other DJs began playing just breaks, which made the downrock sections longer (Schloss 152). Eventually this dance consisted primarily of the downrock section and was framed by short periods of uprocking at the beginning and end (Schloss 152), which is what we would now recognize as B-boying.

On top of the style itself, the structure of the dance remains highly important. B-boying takes place in what is known as the cipher, the quintessential B-boy environment made up of an informal circle of onlookers where in the centre, the B-boys take their turn battling each other through their dance moves (Schloss 98). B-boys believe that battling is the most important aspect of B-boying, which speaks to the importance of the training, the discipline, and competitiveness involved (Schloss 107-108). Clearly evolving out of the confrontational attitude and insulting gestures of the uprock, battling within a cipher is now the most common format that B-boying takes.

The name B-boy itself also seems to be shrouded in some mystery and conflicting ideas. Schloss notes that he has heard different definitions but the main three being Break Boy, Beat Boy, or Bronx Boy due to its origins (63-64). What’s definitely known is that B-boying is the preferred term, much so over the more commonly known breakdancing. As discussed in interviews with B-boys, despite its gendered name, Schloss discovered that men and women involved in the dance style prefer the term B-boy over breakdancing (15). In fact, many B-boys refer to breakdancing as an ignorant word, similar to a racial slur and that a breakdancer is someone who doesn’t live the lifestyle of a B-boy and perhaps fails to appreciate it (Schloss 58-61). It is clear that B-boys are very concerned about maintaining the history and culture that B-boying emerged from. The term breakdancing was used by the mass media to give the dance a broader appeal and connotes exploitation and commercialism, disregarding the dance for its roots in Hip Hop culture and viewed as problematic as it is used as an umbrella term to address many other types of dancing (Schloss 60).

Although Schloss’ traditionalist approach to B-boying and the term itself could be commended, unfortunately his narrow perspective fails him to take note of the other dance styles that have also been categorized and more widely known as forms of breakdancing. Despite his thorough history of B-boying, Schloss does not mention the histories of other important dance styles that the average person might recognize as B-boying. However it has been noted by other scholars that these dancing styles have had an effect on B-boying. In 1969, Don Campbell, a Los Angeles street dancer, created what he called the Campbellock, a robotic funk dance style that seemingly evolved into the pop-locking style used by dance crews The Lockers and Electric Boogaloos, among others (Asante Jr 81; Pabon 22). Unfortunately, Schloss does not extend an acknowledgment to this style, which would be commonly recognized as a form of B-boying but also has greatly influenced B-boying; especially the uprock section. Due to the controversial nature of the terms, this research will use the term B-boying but will also include aspects of pop-locking and other upright styles of dance that is more commonly recognized as such.

Regardless of this oversight, Schloss maintains one important aspect of B-boying that could not be overlooked: The fact that it is an art form that is part of a distinct culture steeped in tradition. Those who created B-boying in the Bronx shared common roots as they were descendants of enslaved Africans raised in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and elsewhere. Therefore “it should not be surprising that b-boying would have profound ties to the social, cultural, spiritual, and martial traditions that precede it” (Schloss 155). B-boys are attracted the practice because they view it as complex, powerful, sophisticated, and spiritual; a way of maintaining the social, cultural, and kinesthetic tradition that B-boying was born out of (Schloss 156). As best evident through their perspective on a simple usage of terms, B-boys have a strong belief and strong ties to the culture, history, and tradition that it came from.

The Commercialization and Popularization of B-boying

Now that B-boying had its foundation, its next stage would see it rise in popularity due to media coverage, exposure, and what some would describe as exploitation. The late 70’s saw the appearance of pop-locking west coast dance crews such as The Lockers and Electric Boogaloos on TV shows such as The Carol Burnette Show, Sonny & Cher, The Tonight Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Saturday Night Live, and Soul Train (Meadows 275; Pabon 22-23). This may not be viewed as important to B-boying from a traditionalist perspective, but seeing as this was the first national media coverage of a style of dance that is commonly referred to as B-boying it is important to note. 1981 saw the first national TV coverage of B-boying involving the downrock aspect. ABC broadcasted snippets of a 1981 B-boy battle between the Rock Steady Crew and the Dynamic Rockers at Lincoln Centre, which as also covered by The Village Voice, The New York Times, and National Geographic (Assante Jr. 91; Hager 87; Sachs 7). The numerous media outlets that covered this event brought about some attention to this new style of dance, but also Hip Hop in general. The next step in the popularization of B–boying and Hip Hop was its first feature film, and independent release entitled Wild Style that was released in 1982 and focused on all four elements of Hip Hop culture which also sparked the first international Hip Hop tour in promotion of its release (Assante Jr 92; Hager 102; Sachs 7). Although Wild Style was the first feature film about Hip Hop culture, it is not believed to be the most influential in the popularization of B-boying. Many Hip Hop scholars contest that the 1983 film Flashdance was the spark that ignited the flame in the  general popularization and commercialization of B-boying (Banes 15; Hager 102; Meadows 277; Ovalle 257; Sachs 7). Although not a critical success, the film was hugely popular and grossed almost 11-times its production budget (Ovalle 256) and seeing that it featured B-boy scenes and even a section in which Crazy Legs from the Rock Steady Crew acted a body double to perform B-boy moves for actress Jennifer Beals (Ovalle 257), B-boying received attention unlike ever before.

From then on, B-boying was everywhere and its commercialization capability was beginning to be realized. B-boys were featured in music videos, the Merv Griffin Show, the closing ceremonies for the ’84 Olympics, it was being mocked on Saturday Night Live, and even animated commercials such as the Keebler Elves and Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble were B-boying (Hager 102; Meadows 277; Sachs 8). Between 1983-1985, 10 movies were released surrounding B-boying and the Hip Hop culture and not to mention the numerous how-to books and videos being released (Banes 13; Sachs 1). B-boying became a sensationalized dance craze that was exploited for the benefit of others and eventually it paved the way for the commercialization of Hip Hop music.

The Commercialization of Hip Hop Music

Despite the fact that Hip Hop and rap music has become synonymous with commercialization, endorsements, and promotionalism, its hard to believe at one point this was not the case. Just as the commercialization of B-boying was happening in the early 80’s, the same was happening with Hip Hop. But it wasn’t until 1986 that Run DMC released “My Adidas” and went on to sign an endorsement deal for $1.5 million, representing the first partnership between Hip Hop artists and non-music corporations (Assante Jr 96; Neate 27). It should be noted that despite the obvious effect that MTV would have had on the commercial unification of the dance and music of Hip Hop, such literature was not discovered but perhaps could be the focus of future research.

After the Run DMC deal, B-boying became less important and Hip Hop music and its artists took its place in the commoditized world. Now we begin to see the rise of Hip Hop moguls like Russell Simmons, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Jay-Z whose commoditized reach extends far beyond that of just music (Chang 60; Ovalle 259). Hip Hop artists now have clothing companies, soft drinks, shoes, nightclubs, movies, all worth an estimated $10 billion and their music videos are simply commercials where products advertise products (Chang 60-61; Collins 311-312; Meadows 290). Hip Hop artists have well out-sold and out-commercialized B-boying. We have a wealth of knowledge of how much money rap stars make, but no indication of how much B-boys made during their time, if they made money at all. B-boying may have played a role in the early commercialization of Hip Hop culture, but Hip Hop music artists have mastered it.

Is B-boying Impossible to Commodify?

Vincent Mosco is a leading scholar in the study of political economy of communication. According to Mosco, commodification is the process of “turning use values into exchange values, of transforming products whose value is determined by their ability to meet individual and social needs into products whose value is set by what they can bring in the marketplace” (144). In simpler terms, commodification is the process in which something that previous does not have economic value is assigned an economic value and sold as a product. Studying commodification and its affects has been a key aspect when observing the political economy of communication. In her examination of the commodification of Warner’s Batman movie, Eileen Meehan states that most cultural production in the US is done by private, for-profit corporations and that it is this profit that drives show business, not culture (48). Furthermore she states that entertainment industries are focused on the potential profitability of a range of products, where the main attraction is only one component in a line of products and licensing of images and logos and such increase in cost efficient cultural production may lead to a decrease in diversity of output (Meehan 49-57). According to Meehan, the commodification of an artifact transforms the goal from cultural creation to profit generating where many avenues are sought to exploit it, and that this process sometimes leads to a decrease in the diversity of production.

Despite the previously discussed aspects of B-boying being commercialized, Schloss is convinced that B-boying is “simply not well suited to the mass media” (4). According to Schloss, B-boying didn’t develop “substantially in those environments…because—on an economic level—B-boying was an advertisement with no product” (5) and goes on to say that “B-boying doesn’t really exist in the mass media” (9). Unfortunately, this is another aspect of Schloss’ book that fails to address all aspects of B-boying as the dance itself and B-boys have recently been featured in many competitive dance television shows. Unlike Schloss, it has been noted by Carla Huntington that B-boying can be sold, profited from, and commodified but she has a limited perspective. Huntington believes, like the early examples of the commercialization of B-boying, the dancers themselves are lost in the commodification process (43-45), that is to say that no one remembers individual B-boy’s names or their crews, making it complicated to sell a branded product. Huntington neglects the importance of the dancer’s or crew’s name within these competitive dance shows and as we will see in our analysis of the JabbaWockeeZ, just how a crew can brand a product. In a recent interview with PopMatters.com, Hip Hop choreographer and America’s Best Dance Crew judge Shane Sparks hopes to one day see B-boy crews that obtain the commercial and economic success as their Hip Hop counterparts in the music business (Dickinson). With the recent resurgence of B-boying in the media due to competitive dance television shows, it is now important to reconsider how B-boying might now be commodified in its current state.

RQ #1: Is B-boying transitioning from a form of cultural expression to a commodified, profit-oriented business?

RQ #2: How does this commodification affect the authenticity, culture, and origins of B-boying?

Image #2

To address the first research question, I will make use of a political economy of communication approach. In order to properly examine the JabbaWockeeZ crew in relation to the commodification of B-boying, I will employ an institutional analysis. Although a political economic approach to institutional analysis is often used to examine large media conglomerates (Meehan, Wasko), rather than exploring one specific text or intertext, an institutional analysis will allow a broader understanding of the historical, economical, and cultural aspects of the JabbaWockeeZ and their affects on B-boying in general. In short, I will be examining how the JabbaWockeeZ situate themselves amongst commercial media. My hypothesis is that I will find that the JabbaWockeeZ are assisting in the transformation of B-boying into a commodified, profit-oriented business.

Methodology

The analysis took the form of qualitatively examining media appearances made by the JabbaWockeeZ, popular press articles written about them, and their official website. These texts were indexed for three criteria: promotionalism, commercialization, and commodification. Because, unsurprisingly, I did not come across previous political economic analyses of Hip Hop dance crews, these indices were developed specifically for this research. Although there is much research on the commercialization and commodification of Hip Hop music that this research could be based on, as Schloss outlines in comparison to Hip Hop music “B-boying is an advertisement with no product” (5), therefore I felt it would be best to subject B-boying to its own unique standards. As will be discussed later on, these three criteria act as stages that contribute to the commodification of B-boying. For the purpose of this research, I have interpreted these terms in relation to the JabbaWockeeZ as follows:

Promotionalism – any type of media or public appearance in which the sole purpose was to promote the crew and gain exposure

Commercialization – any type of media or public appearance in which the sole purpose was to advertise and sell a product on behalf of another company

Commodification – any process in which the sole purpose is to sell B-boying as a product to be consumed

By employing these criteria to analyze the JabbaWockeeZ, we can properly conclude whether or not B-boying has been transformed into a commodified product. Before sharing the information found and the subsequent analysis, I will first give a very brief history of the JabbaWockeeZ and their relatively quick rise to fame.

Video #1

History of the JabbaWockeeZ

The JabbaWockeeZ are an all-male B-boy crew that was formed in 2003, and are named after the mythical beast from Lewis Carrol’s nonsense poem Jabberwock (BuddyTV). According to founding member Kevin Brewer, they call their style of dance Beat Kune Do (Garofoli), named after Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, despite the fact that it contains many traditional elements of B-boying, such as uprocking, downrocking, and pop-locking. Although the JabbaWockeeZ have felt the need to distinguish their particular style of dance from B-boying, being that it has traditional elements it is not absurd to assume that most audiences will refer to them as a B-boy crew. JabbaWockeeZ members have also taken this assumption and the opportunity to clarify the preference of the term B-boying to breakdancing (Bloom).

The JabbaWockeeZ first televised appearance was in 2007 when they auditioned for America’s Got Talent (NBC), seen in video #1. Their dance moves and signature white masks impressed the judges and they moved on to the next round where they were eventually eliminated. Their biggest breakthrough came in 2008 with MTV’s new dance competition show Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC) where they were now seen wearing signature JabbaWockeeZ t-shirts along with their signature masks. It was their performances on this show that earned them enormous popularity and eventually won them the crown of the inaugural season of ABDC (Beggy and Shanahan). The big win solidified their reputation of being incredibly talented dancers, but it was far from the end for the JabbaWockeeZ. From this point on, the JabbaWockeeZ were everywhere and as one journalist put it, they became “the dance crew that [wouldn’t] go away” (Ward).

Index: Promotionalism

When analyzing the JabbaWockeeZ for the indices, the most prevalent was their promotionalistic undertakings. After their win, it seemed as though they made it their prerogative to be featured in as many events as possible, simply in the hopes of promoting the crew and gaining exposure to more audiences. Some of their more obvious choices were appearances on other competitive dance shows, namely So You Think You Can Dance? and Dancing with the Stars. As these shows further progressed into their respective seasons, they began featuring special guests that would perform on their show, which often times were dancers, and both shows featured the JabbaWockeeZ as special guests (FOX 2009, ABC 2009). Furthermore, they have also returned as special guests a few times on ABDC since winning season one (MTV 2008). The JabbaWockeeZ have also made cameo appearances as backup dancers in a Leona Lewis music video for the song “Forgive Me”(J Records 2009) and a Daddy Yankee music video for the song “Pose” (Interscope Records 2008). To no surprise, the JabbaWockeeZ have also made a cameo appearance in a feature film, Step Up 2: the Streets, which was eventually cut from the final version but featured on the deleted scenes section of the DVD release (Offspring Entertainment 2008).

One of their most surprising appearances was when they accompanied Shaquille O’Neil during his introduction at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, where they performed a quick dance with the NBA star (NBA 2009). The JabbaWockeeZ were also feature performers at the 2009 Gator Growl, the University of Florida’s annual pep rally (University of Florida). They have also performed at many awards shows, sometimes performing on their own or as special guest backup dancers, including 2008 MTV Movie Awards (Chudnofsky), 2008 Much Music Video Awards (Much Music), 2008 BET Awards (BET), and 2008 Teen Choice Awards (FOX). Extending their reach to daytime television, the JabbaWockeeZ have also performed on Live with Regis and Kelly (ABC 2008) and The Ellen Degeneres Show twice (NBC 2008, NBC 2009). Finally, the JabbaWockeeZ were also featured on an episode of America’s Next Top Model where they were teaching the model hopefuls how to show emotion using their body and not their faces (The CW 2009). Despite the large amount of appearances discovered, this did not account for every single promotional appearance made by the JabbaWockeeZ since winning the title of ABDC. It seems fairly clear now just what was meant by calling them the dance crew who wouldn’t go away.

Index: Commercialization

After making their name and their signature white masks known, a move into the commercial world was as smooth as their dance moves. The JabbaWockeeZ began being featured in many commercial events to help advertise and sell a product. Some of these took the form of live events to help launch a new product or store, such as performing alongside Hip Hop music artist Swizz Beats at the New York City launch event for Hennessy’s limited line of cognac called “Black” (Concepcion). They were also enlisted to perform at the launch event for fashion house Coach’s new flagship store in China, along with John Mayer and DJ AM (Sun). The JabbaWockeeZ have also appeared in a commercial for the online concert show Pepsi Smash despite not actually performing on the show (Gray). Perhaps their most well known commercial appearances were their stints in two separate Gatorade commercials. In the one commercial called What is G? the JabbaWockeeZ appeared alongside some of sports greatest heroes such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Muhammad Ali, and Jackie Robinson in an inspirational message of overcoming odds to be the greatest (Gatorade 2008). The other commercial called The Quest for G shows the JabbaWockeeZ in a more humorous tone alongside Kevin Garnett in a spoof of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where the JabbaWockeeZ are the gatekeepers of a bridge and challenge Garnett and his crew to a dance-off (Gatorade 2009), seen in video #2. Obviously many companies felt that the JabbaWockeeZ had great potential to help sell their product and soon it wasn’t just other people’s products that they were selling.

Video #2

Index: Commodification

Schloss believes that B-boys do not have a product to sell, but the JabbaWockeeZ have managed to prove him wrong. In 2009, the JabbaWockeeZ went on tour with New Kids on the Block for their “Full Service Tour” (Vena). After the tour completed, the JabbaWockeeZ decided to carry-on its success to some of their underserved markets and went on a short headlining tour of Australia, the Philippines, and Hawaii (JabbaWockeeZ 2009). Of course, what good is a tour without any merchandise? Upon arrival to the JabbaWockeeZ official website (www.jabbawockeez.com) the user is given two options, you can either enter their site or enter their online store. The online store feature numerous amounts of t-shirts for both men and women, including tour shirts from their Aussie and Philippine tours, along with bandanas that are available for purchase, all properly branded with the JabbaWockeeZ name. If you decided to head towards their official site instead, one thing you might notice in the bottom right-hand corner is the letters “LLC” after their name and copyright information (www.jabbawockeez.com/home.html). The LLC represents the fact that the JabbaWockeeZ crew is actually a limited liability company, where the individual owners have limited personal liability for the debts and actions of the LLC as a whole (IRS 2009). In these instances, the JabbaWockeeZ have clearly managed to turn their dancing into products that they can sell.

It is my belief that through the above examples, we have seen the JabbaWockeeZ assist in the transformation of B-boying into a commodified product. This commodification process has been assisted through these three stages. Although all of the previously discussed examples do not follow a strict chronology according to the individual stages, we can still come to an understanding of how one is affected by the previous stage. Through the use of the promotional tactics taken by the JabbaWockeeZ, they were successful in their attempts at growing their audience and their appeal. Their appearances on the other dance shows solidified their appeal to audiences that are already drawn to programs centered on dance. By appearing in the numerous amounts of highly popular award shows, the JabbaWockeeZ were able to ensure that millions of people would watch their performances. Their performances on daytime television furthered their appeal by broadening their audience demographics. The music videos and movie also secured their position amongst a Hip Hop centered audience. It is also important to consider their appearance on America’s Next Top Model, which unlike the other shows, does not traditionally have performers make appearances on the show. This seems to suggest that this appearance was strictly for the promotional aspect, because there is no real reason for them to appear on the show other than to reach more audiences. Not only did these performances and appearances open them up to more audiences, it allowed them to become identifiable through their signature masks.

Once the JabbaWockeeZ developed a larger following and became identifiable, their commercial capabilities were realized. The companies that enlisted the JabbaWockeeZ to sell their products should be commended for taking advantage of their popularity, at least from a commercial perspective. Who better to sell their product than a group of guys who basically won a large-scale popularity contest and have only been growing in their appeal through numerous promotional efforts? As Shane Sparks expressed, he could imagine a day when B-boy crews would get the same commercial deals as Hip Hop music artists and it seems as though the JabbaWockeeZ are doing just that. Advertising alcohol, clothes, and soft drinks has become common practice for Hip Hop music artists (Chang 60-61; Collins 311-312; Meadows 290), yet we are now beginning to see the same for B-boys.

Furthermore, through the Gatorade commercials, we have seen the JabbaWockeeZ be put on the same level as some of our most praised athletes. This is an important aspect not because the JabbaWockeeZ shouldn’t be viewed as athletic, as their skills due require an amazing combination of technique, strength, and dedication just like the athletes, what is truly astounding is the simple fact that they were even enlisted. When was the last time that you can recall a sports drink company using dancers to sell their product? In our society, we have become accustomed to seeing sports superstars in advertisements for all types of products, especially sports drinks, but the JabbaWockeeZ are issuing a new era where dancers will be featured in advertisements. This may seem eerily similar to the early commercialization seen in the early 80’s except for one clear distinction, now it has been one crew featured in the numerous commercials. Even more important is the fact that those who see these commercials can identify them specifically as the JabbaWockeeZ.

Now that the JabbaWockeeZ have been able to sell other companies’ products, they would attempt to sell their own products. It is at this point that we see the final stage of commodification, where the JabbaWockeeZ take the art form of dance and give it economical value to sell on the market. By going on tour with New Kids on the Block, those who wished to see the concert had to purchase a ticket, and although not 100% of the profit would go to the JabbaWockeeZ alone and more than likely they received the lesser amount, fans had to pay a price to see them perform. Therefore, an economic value was placed on something that previously did not have economic value, which in turn provided the JabbaWockeeZ with economic gain. The tour was obviously deemed a success enough for the JabbaWockeeZ to attempt a brief headlining tour. In this case, the JabbaWockeeZ were the main attraction, the main reason for people to go out and purchase tickets, and certainly this time they would be earning the larger percentage.

The JabbaWockeeZ had successfully commodified B-boying, turning it into something that which people had to pay for. Of course their products extend beyond live performances. The selling of a product is so important to the JabbaWockeeZ that it is brightly displayed on their initial home screen, where a user must choose between entering their site or their online store. Here fans have the opportunity to purchase the signature t-shirts worn by the JabbaWockeeZ themselves. As noted earlier, the JabbaWockeeZ often perform wearing JabbaWockeeZ branded t-shirts, so with audiences seeing them at the many promotional events wearing these shirts, it seems a perfect opportunity to take advantage of and further commodify B-boying into a product. Perhaps it could be argued that many people pay good money to see professional dancers of different styles such as ballet, but you also do not go home from such an event with tour shirts or shop online for bandanas branded with the dancers name on them. The inclusion of JabbaWockeeZ merchandise in their product list further proves the commodification process that has taken place.

Finally, one of the most important aspects of the commodification stage is the fact that the JabbaWockeeZ are not just a B-boy crew, but a business. They are no longer a crew that simply dances for sake of art or culture, but a registered company who is out to turn a profit. Now all that the JabbaWockeeZ do will be completed as a business transaction rather than an expression of art and culture that B-boying traditionally represents. As it is clearly shown on their web site, they are first and foremost a B-boy company not a B-boy crew. Through these three stages we can better understand what Sparks was saying. Promotionalism tactics gave them the popularity and identification, which lead to their ability to be used for commercial products, and once proven to show commercial potential, opportunities were taken to commodify B-boying into a product to be sold. It now seems fairly clear that B-boys do have a product to sell and the JabbaWockeeZ are leading the way. I believe that these examples have helped to prove my hypothesis. But the further question remains: what effect will this have on B-boying, if at all?

In order to discover how this commodification process might affect B-boying, I felt it best to understand how B-boys themselves might interpret the JabbaWockeeZ and their business ventures. In order to obtain this information I conducted one-on-one interviews with B-boys. Being that I myself am not immersed within B-boy culture, I felt that obtaining a specific B-boy “insider” perspective would greatly contribute to this research. After forming my research question, I developed a final hypothesis stating that I believe B-boys would think that the JabbaWockeeZ are negatively affecting the authenticity of B-boying.

Methodology

One-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted in an attempt to obtain this specific perspective. A total of two interviews were completed with B-boys. In order to obtain this B-boy perspective, a recruitment e-mail was sent out to the McMaster Breakdancing Club (MBC), which was chosen due to ease of access. After sometime had passed, I received two responses from B-boys who are a part of the MBC and were willing to be interviewed for the purpose of this research. The first interviewee will be referred to as Matt and the second interviewee will be referred to as Zach. The interviews both took approximately 20 minutes to complete. A predetermined interview guide was used to help lead the questions. As mentioned earlier, the interviews followed a semi-structured format which allowed me to stray away from the interview guide by adding or deleting questions as I saw fit (Bryman and Teevan 186). This was important to my methodology as I was able to adjust questions according to the nature and flow of the interview, keeping the conversation natural. Furthermore, in our discussions, many questions and topics ended up being covered before the guide suggested, so adjustments were indeed incorporated. It must also be noted that with the somewhat small amount of interviews conducted, these findings may be limited and are not generalizable. The interviewees were also part of the same B-boy club, so it could be gathered that answers might be biased due to both participants coming from the same B-boy club. This research would benefit from the inclusion of more interviews from multiples clubs or crews to better address a variety of participants and perspectives.

Although both interviewees have not been B-boying for a relatively long time, Matt four years and Zach one year, both seemed to have a strong understanding of the importance of B-boying’s history and culture. Despite not being asked about the differentiation between B-boying and breakdancing, very early on in the interviews both respondents made it clear that there was a big difference, where B-boying is a culture and lifestyle but breakdancing is the media portrayed term that just focuses on the acrobatics of the dance. This clearly shows a bit of disdain for the media’s portrayal of B-boying, where both Matt and Zach felt that the media does not respect it as a culture or art form. Furthering this disdain, both B-boys said that they do not study any B-boy activities found in mainstream media as a way to improve their B-boying, yet they do study underground B-boy videos found on YouTube. Matt and Zach also clarified to me that, according to the culture, watching and studying other B-boys is a great thing but specifically stealing another B-boy’s moves, called “biting”, is considered highly disrespectful and instead one should learn but improve upon the move or add their own style to it.

This disdain is simply not strong enough to keep them from watching the competitive dance shows such as So You Think You Can Dance? and America’s Best Dance Crew. Matt and Zach both admitted to watching the shows and enjoying them, despite the improper portrayal. Matt believes that these shows manipulate the perception of B-boying by having specifically choreographed dances, where B-boying draws heavily on improvisation, and by having specific camera angles and movements, where B-boying is traditionally viewed from one perspective. Matt’s justification for watching these shows is to then appreciate the media’s perspective for what it is, rather than just knowing B-boying from his own “biased” interpretation, and to also show some support for the B-boys that do audition for the shows. Zach on the other hand watched to expand his horizons. Zach believes that these shows do mostly focus on the acrobatic moves, but watches to appreciate and to draw from the other styles of dance that are featured, trying to imagine how we could use those styles to improve his B-boying. From an outsider perspective, it does seem odd that both B-boys don’t agree with the way the mainstream media portrays B-boying yet they are more than willing to enjoy and consume this improper portrayal.

Both Matt and Zach felt that these shows are starting to bring true B-boying into the mainstream. According to them, we are beginning to see a shift of focus where both the acrobatics and uprocking aspects are being to be appreciated. One aspect that was particularly interesting is that both were a little weary about how good it will be for B-boying to become more mainstream. Matt and Zach both made reference to the first explosion of B-boying in the 80’s, where there was plenty of exploitation and misappropriation; where many people learned a few moves and called themselves breakdancers without truly appreciating the art, culture, and lifestyle behind B-boying. To Matt and Zach, if these shows only bring B-boying further into the limelight, then we will see a resurgence of what happened in the 80’s. We can begin to see an odd trend amongst the responses. Some of the information is sounding a bit contradictory, where the media is disliked because of how they improperly portray B-boying, yet both participants enjoy the shows and feel that they are beginning to pay attention to other aspects of the dance, and yet again they don’t want the media making B-boying too popular for fear that others who don’t fully understand it will attempt to participate in it or exploit it like in the 80’s. If not contradictory, Matt and Zach are seemingly begging for a middle ground, where they can enjoy these types of shows, have them properly reflect B-boying, but not to overexpose it. From what we have seen with the analysis of the JabbaWockeeZ, I believe it’s either all or nothing.

Funny enough, when discussing the JabbaWockeeZ, there seems to be no protectionist thoughts amongst both Matt and Zach. Both claim to be fans of the JabbaWockeeZ, saying that they are “sick” and “have great rhythm”. Beyond that, Matt and Zack had slightly different perspectives on the JabbaWockeeZ promotional, commercial, and commodification aspects. Matt believes that the promotional aspects are good thing for B-boying, because it is a chance to show the world that it still exists and it didn’t die after the 80’s. He also believes that them making money for B-boying is also a good thing. “Making money for [doing] what you love is a good thing, as long as you’re not a corporation’s bitch”, Matt described, going on to clarify that because the JabbaWockeeZ are not just doing acrobatics, or breakdancing, in these commercials but rather real B-boy moves, they are staying true to themselves and the culture. Where Matt’s concerns lie is over the fact that if other B-boy crews begin to get involved in the business aspect, like Shane Sparks suggested, then he is afraid that the competition between two or more crews will shift the focus to purely economic gains; battles of who can make the most profit rather than who has the best moves, fundamentally changing the reasoning behind B-boying. But to Matt one main crew on top, namely the JabbaWockeeZ, is fine, despite no mention of how they might be participating in this overexposure.

Zach also thinks it’s great for the JabbaWockeeZ to be making money and that them being on TV shows and commercials is just good exposure. Zach says that normally, this type of dance just happens in people’s basements, but now the JabbaWockeeZ have become so popular that they can sell products, so they have achieved a form of greatness. He also believes that the JabbaWockeeZ selling t-shirts on their web site is purely to serve their fans; after seeing them wear it in their dances, the fans want to wear the shirts too, so according to Zach, the JabbaWockeeZ are doing their fans a favour. Where Zach’s concerns lie is within the proliferation of other dance styles, or lack thereof. When discussing the Gatorade advertisement, Zach thought it was good for Gatorade to begin to appreciate dance on the same level as sport, but something wasn’t right for him. “It is kind of weird. I don’t know, it’s just, I don’t want to call B-boy[ing] more underground because it’s so exposed now, but I guess it’s a big step for [Gatorade] if anything if they’re putting dancers up there too, but then again that’s sort of unfair to other dance forms”. Zach is concerned that although Gatorade is putting dancers on the same pedestal as sports stars, they are favoring B-boys and not showing a true appreciation of all forms of dance as the JabbaWockeeZ were the only dancers in the advertisement amongst many sports stars. Yet still no concern over the JabbaWockeeZ participating in this overexposure that he was so afraid of.

Before completing this research, my hypothesis was that B-boys would have a problem with the JabbaWockeeZ; whether they referred to it as overexposure, commercialization, commodification, or whatever term they decided to use, I had a strong belief that B-boys would not entirely appreciate how the JabbaWockeeZ have been taking advantage of their popularity. I thought that in the minds of B-boys, the JabbaWockeeZ would be negatively affecting their personal authenticity or the authenticity of B-boying in general. According to these results, I was wrong. Both Matt and Zach said that they do not believe that the JabbaWockeeZ had done anything to negatively affect the authenticity of B-boying. As Zach put it “why not make money like Hip Hop artists”. Perhaps I am inflicting my own bias here, but I believe that Matt and Zach display some pretty obvious blind spots. Perhaps they are simply too mesmerized over the success of the JabbaWockeeZ or the final inclusion of shows that focus on B-boys and crew-style dancing, but it is hard to fully comprehend their position. After displaying some serious concerns over protecting the culture of B-boying from the mainstream media and overexposure, they had quite the idealistic image of the JabbaWockeeZ in their heads. Despite numerous amounts of promotional, commercial, and commodification tactics, Matt and Zach did not feel that the JabbaWockeeZ contributed to their fears of exploitation and overexposure.  As mentioned earlier, this research would greatly benefit from further questioning other B-boys in the hopes of determining a more generalizable opinion.

According to this research it can be concluded that there has been a transformation of B-boying from cultural art form to commodified business. It can also be concluded that the opinions of B-boys state that this commodification process does not problematize the authenticity of B-boying. In regards to the opinion of B-boys, I have taken a fond interest in generating more results and conducting more interviews, in hopes of truly defining whether this lack of concern of B-boying’s authenticity is an honest opinion or merely a blind spot from staring too long into the limelight of the JabbaWockeeZ. It should also be mentioned that in retrospect, this research would also benefit from an analysis actual economic figures for the JabbWockeeZ to better understand just what profits are being made. Unfortunately this type of information is quite hard to come by with the JabbaWockeeZ not being a publicly traded company. At the current moment, the JabbaWockeeZ seem to be the only dancers from any of the above-mentioned shows that have seen the kind of fame and attention they have. It is unclear now as to if they will pave the ways for other dancers or dance crews, or even if this attention will continue for the JabbaWockeeZ themselves. What does remain clear is that the JabbaWockeeZ have managed to prove Schloss wrong, turning their advertisement into a profit-generating product.

* Note: the works cited page has been creating using MLA 7, which states that URLs do not have to be indicated if the work can be found without it but must also include what medium the work is sourced from. This research was approved by the McMaster Research Ethics Board.

Now here’s a B-boy video, just for a good laugh

Video #3

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1.“…this analysis showcases the means by which ghetto fabulous films…equate African American advancement with individualistic, entrepreneurial investment while they, pointedly and repeatedly, undermine black historical resolve in social justice and collective action” (Mukherjee 621)

Although Mukherjee provided extensive information on how the post-soul culture affected African Americans through commodity fetishism and provided an extensive analysis of the texts of Barbershop and Barbershop 2:Back in Business, can Mukherjee come to such a conclusion despite the fact that no inquiry was taken into observing the perspectives of those who have watched the movie, especially considering Finley’s (685) summary of Eisner’s premises for art-based inquiry that there are multiple ways of in which the world can be known and that knowledge is made and not discovered? Is it important for Mukherjee’s study to include other methodologies that might infer the perspective of the audience?

2.“…one explanation for Public Enemy’s crossover success may be exactly their raw, noise, ‘documentary’ sound which aligns with what Simon Firth claims to be ‘the continuing core of the ideology of rock’, namely that ‘raw sounds are more authentic than cooked’…Nelson George (1998) also points to how well rap music ties in with some central values of rock, via its reinforcment of anti-establishment, rebellious attitudes.” (Danielsen 417)

Danielsen concludes that the raw, documentary-like sound of Public Enemy has contributed to their ‘cross-over’ success to white audiences because of its similarities to the aesthetics of rock music. Unfortunately Danielsen does not provide any statistical proof or back this up with additional research showing that the whites who currently listen to Public Enemy also or used to listen to rock music. Is this conclusion purely an assumption that white people are born to innately like rock music and that in order to enjoy other genres of music it must be similar in style? Seeing as the article was published in 2008, long after the initial submergence of Hip Hop music into mainstream, is it necessary for Danielsen to insist that there must be some underlying reason for white people to like Public Enemy’s music rather than enjoying it simply because they find it enjoyable?

3. “…is, with its heavy reliance on film, television, cartoons, popular journalism, and advertisements, ripe for the accusation of being ‘merely’ popular critique…[however] mixed methodologies, providing varying optics on the same phenomenon, act as a check on and a test of the validity of particular interpretations” (di Leonardo 205)

Just as di Leonardo considered how her research could be brushed off, could Danielsen and Mukherjee’s work be easily brushed off for its reliance on popular culture and their lack of mixed, rigorous methodologies unlike that of di Leonardo?