Sunday, February 23, 2020

Social Solidarity through Pop Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Solidarity through Pop Music - Essay Example Of the many artists, Bob Dylan and John Lennon exemplified the experience and in fact Jimi Hendrix had an album titled "Are You Experienced". This expressive revolution brought an audience together through a common bond and satisfied the pop music listener's quest for solidarity. It is not too much to say that the 1960s were the root of the expressive revolution of sacred realism through music. Breaking traditional forms of folk music by combining folk music and rock music, Bob Dylan was one of the most influential artists of the era and together with the Beatles were able to ignite a pop music revolution. The music was powerful and was able to unite listeners into a 'collective consciousness" by just appreciating their music together. Strangers passing on the street would be drawn together as friends by the acknowledgment of a familiar song. This collective solidarity gave the listener authenticity as well as a verification of a meaningful existence. This justification for one's life became the sacred authenticity that a generation was in search of. Breaking the mold and blending new styles opened the gates for listeners to detach from the tired past and experiment with their own identity. For Bob Dylan, unlike many artists who pursue only one style of music, Dylan did not stick with one genre. His music can be divided into many different genres such as folk, folk-rock, gospel, and country. Dylan's early music was inspired by a famous folk singer, Woody Guthrie, who had a great influence on the young Dylan. In a Los Angeles Times interview, Dylan said, "Woody's songs were about everything at the same time. They were about rich and poor, black and white, the highs and lows of life, the contradictions between what they were teaching in school and what was really happening" (Hilburn 2004). This indicated Dylan's understanding that integration meant collective. We were all one in search of a common medium. Dylan expressed current social issues through his lyrics as opposed to many traditional folk singers' upper class oriented musi c. His music was well blended with traditional instrumentation such as acoustic guitar, and harmonica. In addition, Dylan broke the stereotypical ideology that folk music cannot exist without its traditional form. By 'going electric' at the Newport Folk Festival, Dylan defied the norm and explored a revolutionary act that was widely criticized as a commercial sell out. However, Dylan had opened the door to his own identity and had invited millions of listeners to join him. Those that had been categorized for decades were free to become a part of the new consciousness. As Eyerman and Jamison contend, "The musician, songwriter, or composer must first learn the notation and the melodic and rhythmic procedures of the tradition in order to make music; otherwise it could not be passed on. But, at the same time, artistic creation requires that those rules be broken, or at least amended, so that the tradition can be rejuvenated by adding something new to it" (29). Dylan was able combine our cultures in a way that gave us an unspoken agreement and a silent bond that would soon become sacred. This bond would become a large part of our new identity. In his Los Angeles Times

Friday, February 7, 2020

Violence In Televison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Violence In Televison - Essay Example Moreover, children in society tend to emulate whatever they see on television as a means of living their life for example, with superhero movies there have been so many cases of children trying to imitate superhero powers and jumping off buildings in an attempt to fly. Violence refers to extreme aggression being executed by physical or mental force and occurs when a person gets very angry and is not able to control his anger and is depicted a great deal on television. Due to the same, it does have an impact on society and contributes to violence in society in many ways. (F, Seymour, and Robert D. Singer) 1: Therefore, the following questions is posed; does violence shown on television in the form of television shows, movies and even advertisement have an impact on the minds of both adults and children and subsequently contribute to violence in society? Television programs today have an array of subjects ranging from criminal activities to investigative shows where crimes being commit ted in neighbourhoods, among families and even on a global scale are depicted and appeal to viewers the most. (Henrey J Kaiser Foundation) From the point of view of the channel or the directors of the show, such shows are mostly in the form of thrillers and suspense which tend to arouse a great deal of interest in the minds of the audience and are thus good for increasing the ratings. However, these shows depict a great deal of violence, which is harmful for audience of all ages to watch. Moreover, the shows may also have explicit violent content which may scar the minds of people. The shows easily portray scheming, violent physical activity, criminal activities such as theft and murder and thrive on these subjects where the criminals are normal people living ‘normal’ lives by the day and committing such activities by night. This obviously has a very negative impact on the audience. These shows that display such explicit violent content tend to get ingrained in the mind s of the viewers as they begin to use the language as used in the show, however offensive it might be and tend to act in the same manner as the actors on the show in similar situations. (Anderson, Kerby) For example, if on the show a man becomes violent and aggressive in a petty issue like parking his car or talking to the traffic police, people watching the show tend to use the same angst while dealing with a similar daily situation because they feel that using aggression will get them what they want which may be equal to what treatment the actor got on the television show. (Huesmann, L.R, and J. Podolski) Moreover, if children tend to view these television series and shows the effect is even worse on them because they are at a stage in their lives where their minds are still growing and developing and they are gullible towards all kinds of situations. Many parents and older people do not think twice before letting their children sit with them and view television serials that might not be suitable for them. Violence being shown on television thus gets imprinted on their minds and this violence tends to come out in society when they deal with similar situations. 2: Are children affected worse by violence shown on television as compared to adults? Children, more than adults, are not able