To be honest, I was at first very skeptical of the class project being based on a blog. Not that at was afraid of the technology by any means, it just seemed like it would not be as beneficial as it was explained to be. This perspective quickly changed for me. After probably the first or second blog I became very supportive of this method. The blog allows us to publish our "assignments" on the internet, which makes them viewable by the entire class. For me personally, this might have made me think more deeply about the audience, and not specifially writing the assignment to be read by a single professor.
Additionally, I think it is really great to be able to read all of my classmates assignments. This method makes it very easy to see where others are going with their projects. We can also make comments and initiate conversations on the blog site which may have never been started if assignments were simply handed in on paper at each class.
Overall, I enjoyed the class and I enjoyed the blogging. This was the first blog that I have ever written myself, and I think now that I may continue using blogger socially for personal writing. Using the blog site forced me to open up my assignment to my classmates, and provided me a way to see theirs. This gave us all the opportunity to read others assignments. We received a lot of feedback and comments, which allows us as authors to see what our peers think of our writing and thought processes. A fun assignment, which was structured in a way that helped us relate the assignments to the content in class!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Postmodernism
Postmodernism to me is defined by a confusion over time and space, or where originality is ignored to pursue glamour. Postmodernism also means that there is a deliberate absence of substance or character, only to be replaced by flashy style and theatrics. The term postmodernism has many meanings depending upon the context which it is used. For this assignment, I'll be referring to postmodernism as it relates to the contemporary entertainment industry, and more specifically music in American popular culture.
As stated, postmodernism can be defined by a confusion over space and time. This characteristic of postmodernism can be seen in the entertainment industry in films or music which may combine different time periods in one piece of work. Similarly, a piece of art that is remade by another artist during a later period may be a confusion in time. The substance of the original piece may not have the same meaning in the remake as it may have in the original.
Associating the concept of postmodernism with the band Green Day is somewhat difficult for me. Based upon the various definitions and meanings of postmodernism, I don't think that Green Day represents an example of postmodernism in American popular culture. There are a few examples which may support postmodernistic tendencies in Green Day's music. To address the confusion of time characteristic, Green Day has done a couple of song remakes. Most recently, as discussed in a previous blog posted here, Green Day did a remake of the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero". Although this song did not carry the same meaning that was represented in the original performed by John Lennon, the Green Day rendition had its own independent meanings relating to current events. This is truly the strongest connection that can be made between Green Day and the concept of postmodernism. Also, Green Day is not known for their flashy music videos.
There are many other popular culture artists who can labeled as postmodernistic. Under the pretense that postmodernism can be defined as a piece of art that substitutes character and substance for glamour and special effects, I think it can be easily argued that many of the pop culture artists in American "mainstream" music have postmodernistic tendencies. To explain, I will point to the "MTV TRL artists". These are generally artists who produce songs that are consumed by the young teenage listening audience. These are songs which do not always have strong meaning or mature lyrics and messages, but they have flashy music videos and almost always a catchy tune with lots of computer generated background musical effects. These types of songs and videos tend to provide the listening audience with a feeling of an alternate reality. This alternate reality allows the listener to separate the song from reality, and they themselves are separated from reality while consuming the music. This is also a characteristic of postmodernism.
To relate back to the confusion of time in popular culture, I'd like to review a few artists who are notorious for this. During the mid to late 1990's, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and his sidekick artist "Ma$e" were making one chart topping hit after another. A common key element to many of the songs which were becoming so popular by these two artists was that many of their songs were either using variations of music from older songs from the early 20th century, or they had simply remade a song from this time period and modified the lyrics to be modern and added special effects to make the music more current. I would label these two artists as highly postmodernistic, as they pulled lyrics and music from a different time period and remade them to be popular for the current culture. The second part that justifies this statement is that these two particular artists are very well known for their flashy music videos, huge bank accounts and flashy cars. All of this glamour that was added to the music video and live appearances allows for the absence of substance. This specifically relates back to one of the defining characteristics of postmodernism.
In conclusion, I would not categorize Green Day as postmodernistic. There are several other artists who are producing or have produced popular culture songs which are very easily identified as postmodernistic. I won't say that I think it is a bad thing, because they are producing material which is meeting the demands of the people.
As stated, postmodernism can be defined by a confusion over space and time. This characteristic of postmodernism can be seen in the entertainment industry in films or music which may combine different time periods in one piece of work. Similarly, a piece of art that is remade by another artist during a later period may be a confusion in time. The substance of the original piece may not have the same meaning in the remake as it may have in the original.
Associating the concept of postmodernism with the band Green Day is somewhat difficult for me. Based upon the various definitions and meanings of postmodernism, I don't think that Green Day represents an example of postmodernism in American popular culture. There are a few examples which may support postmodernistic tendencies in Green Day's music. To address the confusion of time characteristic, Green Day has done a couple of song remakes. Most recently, as discussed in a previous blog posted here, Green Day did a remake of the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero". Although this song did not carry the same meaning that was represented in the original performed by John Lennon, the Green Day rendition had its own independent meanings relating to current events. This is truly the strongest connection that can be made between Green Day and the concept of postmodernism. Also, Green Day is not known for their flashy music videos.
There are many other popular culture artists who can labeled as postmodernistic. Under the pretense that postmodernism can be defined as a piece of art that substitutes character and substance for glamour and special effects, I think it can be easily argued that many of the pop culture artists in American "mainstream" music have postmodernistic tendencies. To explain, I will point to the "MTV TRL artists". These are generally artists who produce songs that are consumed by the young teenage listening audience. These are songs which do not always have strong meaning or mature lyrics and messages, but they have flashy music videos and almost always a catchy tune with lots of computer generated background musical effects. These types of songs and videos tend to provide the listening audience with a feeling of an alternate reality. This alternate reality allows the listener to separate the song from reality, and they themselves are separated from reality while consuming the music. This is also a characteristic of postmodernism.
To relate back to the confusion of time in popular culture, I'd like to review a few artists who are notorious for this. During the mid to late 1990's, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and his sidekick artist "Ma$e" were making one chart topping hit after another. A common key element to many of the songs which were becoming so popular by these two artists was that many of their songs were either using variations of music from older songs from the early 20th century, or they had simply remade a song from this time period and modified the lyrics to be modern and added special effects to make the music more current. I would label these two artists as highly postmodernistic, as they pulled lyrics and music from a different time period and remade them to be popular for the current culture. The second part that justifies this statement is that these two particular artists are very well known for their flashy music videos, huge bank accounts and flashy cars. All of this glamour that was added to the music video and live appearances allows for the absence of substance. This specifically relates back to one of the defining characteristics of postmodernism.
In conclusion, I would not categorize Green Day as postmodernistic. There are several other artists who are producing or have produced popular culture songs which are very easily identified as postmodernistic. I won't say that I think it is a bad thing, because they are producing material which is meeting the demands of the people.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Green Day wrote a cover of the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero". For this analysis, I've viewed and reflected on the video produced to accompany Green Day's version of "Working Class Hero". As with much of Green Day's material over the past few years, this song has a degree of political content. This song is not necessarily a chart topping hit for the band, but it is a fairly well received recording.
The original song was written by John Lennon in criticism of capitalism and the struggle of the lower class, which is stated quite clearly in the lyrics "a working class hero is something to be". Green Day carries the same meaning in their rendition, referencing the continuation of the struggle faced by the lower class of the American labor force to advance in the world. The remake produced by Green Day was made in response to the issues in Darfur. The video has short clips from actual interviews with people of Darfur where they speak of the current political issues and violence seen everyday. Although this assignment is geared towards analyzing influences in American popular culture, the Darfur crisis is an excellent example of hegemony and a dominate group trying to maintain their superiority by holding back the subordinate population.
The obvious message that "Working Class Hero" presents is the age old struggle of a lower class trying to excel and become the high class. The class structure of a labor force by nature will always have people who are subordinates of others, so this will not be a struggle that can realistically ever be resolved. This is an issue in American culture still today. The song, like many Green Day songs, is marketed towards a younger teen to adult audience. Because these are the individuals who are facing the struggle of entering a work force, making their mark and advancing, this song should have strong meaning to them and should be easy to relate to. In the song, singer Billie says "they hurt you at home and they hit you at school". This particular bar of lyrics is referring to other struggles people face, especially those in the age group to which Green Day's music is marketed. The hegemonic analyis of struggles in the labor class would describe the way that those laborers who have become successful, and are now in the upper echelon of the work force are trying to stand their ground, which can involve suppressing the advancement of the lower class. Furthermore, the stress felt by the individuals dealing with the struggle to move out of a low class status will affect all aspects of their life, including their home life. This in turn will be carried into the way that their children are treated, thus proving the lyrics in the song about "hurting you at home". These children will grow up, having been treated poorly in the home, and face the same struggle in the work force to move up from the lower class. In the end, it becomes the cliche "vicious cycle".
Aside from the overt message, the hidden message is the reference to the conflict in Darfur. As mentioned above, this is a textbook example of hegemony where one group of people is dominating another. This is, however, an extreme example because this is a very violent conflict, where a corrupt government is killing and torturing its own citizens to maintain its power and dominance of the subordinates. There are many other factors surrounding the cause of the magnitude of the crisis, however not all of them would fit a hegemonic analysis.
The video, aside from the aformentioned short interviews with people from Darfur, is actually quite simple and not flashy whatsoever. I think that the lack of extravagance is appropriate because the lyrics are talking about a struggle faced by lower class members of the American labor force. The video, although very depressing, does a good job of allowing the song and lyrics to truly express the intended meaning. This song does not really use any common stereotypes. It does touch on the cultural mythology that the rich get richer and the poor only stay poor. To an extent, this mythology is a concept that has some credibility. Enough credibility, I suppose, that two very successfully musicians in the American culture made a recording addressing the issue.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Semiotics
The Green Day album I chose to apply the semiotic method to was the American Idiot cover. To give a quick summary of this album cover, basically this CD has a full black background, with the image of a white hand holding a heart shaped grenade. The heart shaped grenade is red in color, and is dripping with a red liquid, which can be easily interpreted to represent blood. Although the images on the cover do not reveal the meaning of the songs, the lyrics of the songs on the album are filled with resent towards the American government, its foreign policies, and its actions in the world.
The bleeding heart shaped grenade on the front of the cover is littered with symbolism. As the album is mostly politically motivated, it is only natural that the band would also use the images on their album art to portray the same message they do in their lyrics. The heart shaped grenade represents the heart and soul of the American people. The white forearm and hand that is holding the grenade is representing the American government. Green Day is trying to express that the
The back cover of the album art contains the typical list of songs, and the image of a lone grenade pin. I think that the front cover is representing the current time period, and the back cover is the future. Because the pulled grenade pin is on the back of the cover, Green Day is implying that unless change is made, the government will successfully launch the grenade of destruction that will demolish the heart and soul of the American people and all positive relations that the US currently has maintained. The fact that the grenade pin is alone, and there is no other imagery, Green Day is implying that once the government has pulled the pin of devastation there will be nothing left for
These images can be applied to the model discussed in class. A grenade can literally be viewed as an explosive device, thus being a signifier in this perspective. Similarly, the hand and heart shape are literally interpreted as a body part and a common anatomical organ shape, relatively. When combined into signs and a system of signs, these common images have much different meanings, as discussed above. The heart shaped grenade is interpreted as being the heart and soul of the American people, being the signifier. In my opinion, there are two possible myths which can be derived. Because the pin is displayed separate from the grenade on the back of the cover, or the future as interpreted, this could imply that there is nothing which can be done to change the outcome. Perhaps, that is actually the point that Green Day is making; that a change must be made to avert the impending doom that the government is leading the American people into. The second myth has basically the same meaning as the first, that there is no way to change the future outcome. I base this myth upon the symbolism that the hand is already holding the grenade. If the hand is grasping the grenade and simply needs to pull the pin, it can be argued that there is no countermeasure to change the outcome. The lyrics in the Green Day songs strongly disagree with that, and promote change.
Although the images on the American Idiot album art are fairly simple, there is still plenty of interpretations which can be made. It is interesting how a single image can have one meaning, yet when combined into a system of signs the combination carries a different meaning and can yield drastically different interpretations. Overall, the band Green Day, and their album American Idiot in particular, are very politically motivated and this is quite apparent when consuming their art.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Interview with a Rock fan
As popular of a band as Green Day is, I found it somewhat difficult to come across somebody who considered themselves a "fanatic" about the band. The person I interviewed, Patrick, is definitely a fan of many music genres, and has been a follower of Green Day since the early 90's. His interests in music vary from the Rolling Stones to the little known Project 86. Although he doesn't consider himself an extremely "trendy" person, towards the end of the interview we both had new realizations about ethnography and our own consumption of popular culture.
Patrick was first introduced to Green Day in 1994 with the release of their album Dookie. In his own words, "I remember being on a field trip, and one of my classmates had the CD. We all passed it around and started listening. It was something different for me. I've been a fan of their music ever since." He has seen them play live several times over the past decade. The most reccent show he saw was at Merriweather in 2005 when the band was touring to promote their American Idiot album. The 2005 show was enjoyable, but he considers his favorite Green Day memory to be their appearance at the 2001 HFStival. The concert was held at RFK stadium in Washington, DC. Patrick finds this concert to be one of his greatest memories because the band actually set their equipment on fire. "It was crazy. People were tearing up the plastic floor that covered the grass and were crowd surfing on it. Then, at the end, the band set the drums and bass guitar on fire. That really got the crowd wild!"
Ethnography was not something Patrick was familiar with prior to this interview. During the course of the interview, we discussed popular culture, and the ways that we consume it. Being the music fan that he is, Patrick says that most of the willing consumption of popular culture he does is in the form of music. He enjoys reading sites such as Dig.com, which posts user submitted stories about news events. He generally prefers reading reputable news sources. The extent to which he follows such things as the Paris Hilton drama is what he sees posted on msn.com. That brought us to an interesting point in the interview, where we both came to the realization that although we don't really care about the absurd storyline concerning the DUI sentencing for Paris, it is completely unavoidable because she is a part of current popular culture.
Sports is another part of popular culture that Patrick enjoys. Most of the interview involved music, as that is something which means a lot to him, but we also discussed sports and other trends. Patrick has been an Orioles fan since he was very young, and has tried his hardest to continue to be a Ravens fan even through their past few seasons. He also enjoys watching college basketball and NBA championships. "I much rather see a sporting event live, but I enjoy it all the same", he says.
As a result of our conversation, Patrick seemed to have a different perspective on the way popular culture impacts him. He prides himself on his comedic personality, and stated, "I suppose popular culture and people like Seinfeld and Lewis Black probably helped shape my personality." We discussed fashion, and how we tend to dress a certain way based upon whatever the popular mall stores are carrying. Popular culture seems to affect many parts of our lives, whether we actively realize it or not.
Patrick was first introduced to Green Day in 1994 with the release of their album Dookie. In his own words, "I remember being on a field trip, and one of my classmates had the CD. We all passed it around and started listening. It was something different for me. I've been a fan of their music ever since." He has seen them play live several times over the past decade. The most reccent show he saw was at Merriweather in 2005 when the band was touring to promote their American Idiot album. The 2005 show was enjoyable, but he considers his favorite Green Day memory to be their appearance at the 2001 HFStival. The concert was held at RFK stadium in Washington, DC. Patrick finds this concert to be one of his greatest memories because the band actually set their equipment on fire. "It was crazy. People were tearing up the plastic floor that covered the grass and were crowd surfing on it. Then, at the end, the band set the drums and bass guitar on fire. That really got the crowd wild!"
Ethnography was not something Patrick was familiar with prior to this interview. During the course of the interview, we discussed popular culture, and the ways that we consume it. Being the music fan that he is, Patrick says that most of the willing consumption of popular culture he does is in the form of music. He enjoys reading sites such as Dig.com, which posts user submitted stories about news events. He generally prefers reading reputable news sources. The extent to which he follows such things as the Paris Hilton drama is what he sees posted on msn.com. That brought us to an interesting point in the interview, where we both came to the realization that although we don't really care about the absurd storyline concerning the DUI sentencing for Paris, it is completely unavoidable because she is a part of current popular culture.
Sports is another part of popular culture that Patrick enjoys. Most of the interview involved music, as that is something which means a lot to him, but we also discussed sports and other trends. Patrick has been an Orioles fan since he was very young, and has tried his hardest to continue to be a Ravens fan even through their past few seasons. He also enjoys watching college basketball and NBA championships. "I much rather see a sporting event live, but I enjoy it all the same", he says.
As a result of our conversation, Patrick seemed to have a different perspective on the way popular culture impacts him. He prides himself on his comedic personality, and stated, "I suppose popular culture and people like Seinfeld and Lewis Black probably helped shape my personality." We discussed fashion, and how we tend to dress a certain way based upon whatever the popular mall stores are carrying. Popular culture seems to affect many parts of our lives, whether we actively realize it or not.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Assignment 1
Green Day is a popular American rock band. The band has produced 10 full length recordings since their formation in 1989.
Information about tour dates and band history can be found on their official website at http://greenday.com/
Additional band info is available on their myspace profile at http://myspace.com/greenday. Music samples and band blogs can be found on their myspace profile as well.
http://www.greendayauthority.com/ is another official Green Day website, which includes more commercial information and has an online merchandise store.
I was first introduced to Green Day in 1994 when I heard their Dookie album. Although Green Day has always been, and continues to be, an alternative rock band, their style has changed over the past 17 years. Despite the changes in style, I still appreciate and enjoy the music produced by Green Day. My interactions with Green Day are not limited to only their recorded art, as I have seen them perform live more than once. Generally, I will attend such concerts with friends of mine who appreciate the same music. The music of Green Day often touches on real world issues, such as politics. The meanings in the songs have not really affected me or my personality.
I chose Green Day as the topic for this blog because they are a popular element of American pop culture that I enjoy and would like to learn more about during the project.
Information about tour dates and band history can be found on their official website at http://greenday.com/
Additional band info is available on their myspace profile at http://myspace.com/greenday. Music samples and band blogs can be found on their myspace profile as well.
http://www.greendayauthority.com/ is another official Green Day website, which includes more commercial information and has an online merchandise store.
I was first introduced to Green Day in 1994 when I heard their Dookie album. Although Green Day has always been, and continues to be, an alternative rock band, their style has changed over the past 17 years. Despite the changes in style, I still appreciate and enjoy the music produced by Green Day. My interactions with Green Day are not limited to only their recorded art, as I have seen them perform live more than once. Generally, I will attend such concerts with friends of mine who appreciate the same music. The music of Green Day often touches on real world issues, such as politics. The meanings in the songs have not really affected me or my personality.
I chose Green Day as the topic for this blog because they are a popular element of American pop culture that I enjoy and would like to learn more about during the project.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)