In 2013, Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. released “Blurred Lines” and it was a huge success in America and worldwide, peaking at number one on most top music charts and bringing in millions in revenue for them. Most people enjoyed the song for the catchy beat, or the mellow sounds of Robin Thicke’s voice, me included. But once you start to hear the lyrics more often, you start to actually listen and pay attention to what they are saying. After finally listening to what they are actually saying, and watching the extremely racy and disputable music video, you have one big controversy on your hands. This allowed for the making of “Defined Lines” by the Auckland Law Revue to critique and parody the song, to bring out the sociological impacts
One key way that the Auckland Law Revue parodied the original song was explaining how women are more than sexual animals, rather they are actual people who deserve respect. “One thing I ask of you/Don’t assume that we all just wanna screw/Gotta respect me for me to be your boo” is the opening lines to the third verse of the song. This whole verse is about getting the respect that women deserve, for being more than sexual objects. This is important because it shows how we should be treating women in our society rather than view them in a light from 50 years ago which viewed women as the cook, cleaner, and child bearer. Another way that “Defined Lines” parodies “Blurred Lines” instead of being subtle and secretive about the word choice when it refers to sexual harassment/abuse, they are very open about it considering the fact that it is a significant social problem in our society today. The Auckland Law Revue did a great job in their song when they said “If you wanna get nasty/Just don’t harass me/You can’t just grab me/That’s a sex crime/Yeah we don’t want it”. They are emphasizing women having a voice when it comes to scenarios like that and how they can get ugly real quick. Such as the song “Blurred Lines” says “Must wanna get nasty/Go ahead, get at me”. This is crucial to be known because it shows women standing up for
While “Defined Lines” is very vocal and outspoken about how these acts are important to be recognized and able to be stopped. This is important because it lets us put into context when these songs were produced, and now how we have such a large focus on these issues such as rape/harassment. Allowing for us to better as a society and work towards a goal of equal rights. The ways “Defined Lines” parodies “Blurred Lines” in exposing the truth behind the lyrics and being very clear of the message of the song rather than being subtle. It also touches on themes such as gender inequality and sexuality, which are very controversial subjects in it of itself, but being able to shed a new light on a reoccurring problem in our world. This brought a whole new understanding about these issues at hand and ways that, we as a society can
The verses each deliver a message of equality and the chorus is repeated with the intention of the audience considering their input towards reconciliation. The chorus is repeated 3 times, which is usually done to reinforce the central idea within a song. There are two separate verses, one that starts with the words “black fella white fella” and the other, which starts with “all the people of different races”. This format is repeated to help emphasise the idea that equality is important, regardless of your skin colour. The text structure is ordered in a way that tells a story about equal opportunity, and the way it is formatted is important in communicating this
Trina’s intent was to create a song that liberated women from the double standards and stereotypical views placed upon them. Her song however can cause harm to young women that listen to take this song to heart. Instead of liberation, we are moved further down into the hole of degrading and devaluing women. Trina should’ve sent the message that these things were wrong. Instead she endorsed and encouraged them.
One of Williams main topics of concerns is the wrong messages that “public airwaves” are sending to their listeners and followers. Williams claims rap and other medias are representing and sending the wrong message about African American communities. She mentions that rap music once held a positive message but now rap music is bombarding the public with the use of profanity, violence, and obscenity throughout their lyrics and music
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
3. This song portrays women’s desire for men’s love. This shows that women couldn’t reveal their love toward men. It draws a miserable love of a woman. Also, Spector,
Everyone remembers the ”Blurred Lines” scandal. The song that Robin Thicke and Pharrell William’s ended up losing thousands of dollars over. The song was noticeably similar to Marvin Gaye’s song “Got to give it up” and it turns out that the majority of the song was sampled Gaye’s song. Thicke and William’s thought it would be best to sue the gays first before letting themselves get sued, but in the end they realized that was a poor choice. The trial ended with the blurred lines men the losing the case to the rightful owners of the music, the Gay family. How would you feel if someone stole something of yours and never gave you credit. They became successful because of your ideas and all you can do is miserably watch there success. Fair use and Copyright laws prevent creators in the scenario from having to to watch someone steel from them, and with these laws creators can know what other creators can do with their creation. Copyright and Fair Use laws are essential in the music industry.
This song to me has many different historical and cultural contexts. To start with the historical context, this song has many components that are involved with the history of rock and roll. The first thing that comes to my mind about this song is that, because of the different types of music that are in this song it is clearly from current period of rock and roll. When I say current period I mean starting in the 1980s or so and onward. In the 1980s rock and roll took on a heavier sounding voice, bands such as Metallica, The Grateful Dead and many others emerged during this time. This song contains many of the same elements as those other artist music. Then in the 1980s along with the 1990s rap and hip-hop began to take off. Rap and hip-hop
In “like Eminem says, why all the fuss?” featured in The Age journalist Shaun Carney defends Eminem and his lyrics. Carny stresses that Eminem winning the category should not be so controversial when Mathers is clearly depicting a role. His contention through out the article is to convince the reader to refrain from reaching to eminem, as a parody. Carny effectively seeks the neutral role during the story. He leans neither way. Carny signifies specific word choice and language devices to shock his audience and to create an underlying sense of non-prejudice, realistic view on society perhaps to open up the views of a small-minded prejudice race.
Some artists use their music to share their social commentary, while others write music to earn money and fame. The authors of these articles stress that it is important for artists to decide if they want to “make music that might have the chance of helping me pay the bills or do I make music that represents my heart, my community, and how the country is going?” (Green p.3). Green and McCarthy both argue that it is crucial for artists to take a stand and discuss social issues and controversial topics. Being a musician allows an individual a unique opportunity to share their thoughts about the world with others. Artists should focus on important issues such as sexism, police brutality, racism, etc. The authors argue that the music business needs “more artists who aren’t afraid to tackle important social issues” (McCarthy p.2). Even though rap and country music could not be more different on the spectrum of music, both genres are used to communicate the artist's thoughts about the
The relevance of the song was portraying that using drugs and alcohol will help you escape life situations. Regardless of how hard or tough it is. All you need to do is to get drunk or get high, than your problems will flush away. But the video don’t explain the reality of the outcome of how drugs and alcohol will or could affect your lifestyle and how it could lead you to lose your job, family and life. All it shows is the fun side of being intoxicated. Which, it raises a big flag on kids or teens that do have access to the media like the
Will sexism ever come to an end in today’s society? Are women going to let men step all over them? Jennifer Mclune discusses in her article, Hip-Hops Betrayal on Black Women, how black male singers objectify and degrade black females in the music industry. The purpose of this article is to show how black women are being deceived in the hip hop industry and being used as sex symbols instead of showing them for their true colors. Mclune (2015) voices her strong argument in attracting her audience by using ethos, tones, and the use of word choices.
The use of obscenities in the ‘rap game’ is a fundamental strategy to catch an otherwise uninterested disconnected society. Meat Cleaver for example, depicts murder, cannibalism, and necrophilia. It is not necessarily a poem you could find ‘artistic appreciation’ in but it captures the attention of listeners using shock value, its particular niche. Shock value is defined from a marketing standpoint as a “technique that deliberately, rather than inadvertently, startles and offends its audience by violating norms for social values and personal ideals” (Shock Value). -“Take hoes and put ‘em in the box they may chose I hate ‘em Cook ‘em in Crisco and I filleted ‘em and ate ‘em filleted ‘em and ate ‘em.” It is an insane suggestion to consider cannibalism however Brotha Lynch has employed shock value as his niche and it has made him a small
Generation after generation, music has revolutionized cultures around the globe. Each generational trend in music greatly inspires that specific era on what to wear, how to act, and what to say. We all connect with music, and as it continues to evolve, so will society. One genre has continuously stirred up conversation and sparked debate regarding the direction it is taking its listeners. Only one genre has had the gumption to speak out against the government on a regular basis. Only one genre has found a way to make every other genre cater to its style and inescapable appeal. Since the 1980’s, hip-hop has changed the way people think, but not always in a positive manner. Hip-hop has been a trend setter and guided our culture over the last
In essence, this song carries various sociological concepts. It concentrates on the main idea about the social construction of reality and talking about how reality is changing. The song questions the actions and mentally of individuals violating the norms and values of society. The band takes into consideration various factors of why it is happening including the media and religion. As a result they talk about such influences taking control building and developing a sense of self. This is a great song about present day problems and how society changes with them.
Miley Cyrus is a cultural icon. Since the time she was fourteen the media has been scrutinizing every move she makes. From whom she is dating, to what roles she chooses and what she says. But nothing is scrutinized more than her performances; most specifically Miley’s performance at the MTV VMA’s. Miley preformed her song We Can’t Stop and along with Robin Thicke preformed his song Blurred Lines. This performance led to a huge backlash in the media. Every major new station covered it. CTV even brought in psychiatrists and experts on the media to analyze her performance. The next morning Miley’s news story had even beaten out the Syrian war crimes. The experts all came to the same conclusion that she was out of control, and a slut. Miley was most heavily criticized on her attire, and her interactions with Robin Thicke. Everyone was claiming that she was setting a bad example for young girls; CNN even went so far as to claim her “performance sets girls and women back” (Wallace 2013)