So I'm writing a paper on popular geopolitics, which is basically the interaction of geographical space and politics within a mode of popular culture.
I think I wanna write about a social commentary on an urban geopolitical sphere. I have narrowed it down to three potential topics...
1. The Wire - The Wire is a TV show that explores the relationships between the government, the police, the drug trade, the school system, and formal/informal (street) politics in the urban space of Baltimore, Maryland. With five seasons focusing on different aspects of the bigger picture, I'd have a lot of content to work with... Potentially too much.
2. Hip-hop music - So either I'd choose a particular album (Good Kid Mad City by Kendrick Lamar, Illmatic by Nas, or The Cool by Lupe Fiasco would be my likely choices) and write about how each album explores the American urban structure from a 'ghetto'/street/impoverished perspective (although The Cool looks into other topics as well, which I could also work into the paper). The other option would be to pick an individual song or a collection of a few songs to look into (Fuck The Police by NWA would be one option, as would Words I Never Said by Lupe Fiasco).
3. City of God - City of God is a Brazilian movie that looks into the urban hierarchy of the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Basically, the movie is about a particular slum (Cidade de Deus) and the different crime organizations that dominate the area. Very gritty and intimate look into the informal politics of a practical anarchical situation in economically disadvantaged areas.
Which one sounds like it'd be the most interesting to read from a professor's perspective? Or the easiest to write, for that matter?
