Music is a powerful medium in which artists can express themselves freely. This can come in many forms such as: Rock, Hip-Hop, Country, Pop. Whatever the genre, they all communicate a message to the listeners. The message can be as simple as entertainment and enjoying the music, or it can be something impactful like an idea or change that needs to be voiced. The meaning can be further enhanced through visual representation. A great example would be The Weeknd’s hit single, Starboy, which of today has gained over a billion views in YouTube. The music video in and of itself contains many symbols, and through these topics emerge such as society’s need for materialistic possessions, obsession with money, and competition to the top. Abel Tesfaye, …show more content…
Likewise, the same idea can be seen in the video as well. For instance, in the beginning, it depicts the inside of a big house filled with things, such as, a piano, a chandelier and multiple platinum records. This setting may imply people today only care about materialistic objects and their achievements inside their homes. Despite this, Abel begins to destroy all of it, even his accomplishments. He is not bothered by this at all, and can do so because of his new status of stardom allowing him to get anything he wants. This might even signify for newer and bigger things to replace the old ones. The same concept comes back at the end when he says, “We don’t pray for love, we just pray for cars” while the scene depicts a line of luxurious cars. Instead of asking for love or admirable qualities, he prefers cars showing he is self-interested and desires materialistic …show more content…
The video portrays many references to this idea. Abel wastes no time flaunting, “P1 cleaner than your church shoes, ah” and “All red Lamb’ just to tease you, ah” while dancing around in a teasing manner. Other than being unattainable for most people, he is essentially bragging that he is so rich he can buy cars like these without hesitation. In addition, he adds, “None of these toys on lease too, ah” indicating he is so ahead of the game and could pay it all one time without having to lease it like what most people would do. In essence, he is showing off and making people recognize the power he attains simply from having tons of
Larson uses this metaphor to send a message that the ruthless drive to succeed is harmful to the wellbeing of a civilization. The direction in which Larson is “pushing the world” towards is away from materialism and power. He views ambition as destructive to the morality of the people it inhabits, and to the people affected by those goal-obsessed civilians. Larson’s ironic statements and comparing and contrasting of people and places serve to show that you cannot have immense fame, power, and success without
Previously, he had played god and tried to make everything absolutely spot-on perfect, this transitioned into the Lego-World and led to a strict and unforgiving Dystioua. The business man did not have bad intentions to begin with. Instead, he did only what he thought was perfect, and only did what was in his best interest, and what he thought was in everyone's best interest. This can apply to and in fact is a symbol of real-life scenarios of people whom do what they believe is in the best wishes of everyone else, yet in actuality is not. This leaves viewers teary-eyed and fully understanding of the situations present throughout the story. This scene is set in real-life and is a symbol of scenarios in real-life such as dictatorships and mining communities, of which people are very likely to be able to relate
materialistic world and calls for others to try and not make the same mistake as him. Even
If one were to look back into the world’s history, one would find that an important and consistent element is the world of music. Music has presented itself in various forms throughout its spread and through our identification of its magical realm, people have been fortunate enough to come across a means of relation. Whether it is blues and reggae or rap and pop rock, there is music out there for everyone. Music can serve as a stabilizer for some, a relaxant to others, and to many a form of inspiration.
In cultures all over the world, music can be seen encompassing many aspects of life for many individuals. It is a form of mass communication that"speaks directly to society as a cultural form", and often reflects a collection and pattern of personal experiences (King 19). Music is so influential because it communicates on three different levels: the physical, emotional, and cognitive. Not only does it operate in a nondiscursive way, by affecting the physiological mode of the body, causing one to move and dance, but it also encourages one to think. This paper will explore music as a form of protest; showing how a political message, in general form, is presented through music. Protest music addresses the social, political, and economic conditions of the times and often speaks directly to the listener's experience (King 20). In the following pages, a general comparison will be made between the evolution and effects of the blues, jazz, reggae music, and hip-hop, with a focus on reggae and hip-hop.
Although artists do not create certain music to cure diseases or to make scientific or technological discoveries, music is one thing society can never live without. To both artists and their listeners, music provides an indispensible beauty that helps fulfill lives, and connect to nature. Music expresses the human condition in the purest way and affects everyone at a personal level. Plato, a well-known classical Greek philosopher once said, “If you want to measure the spiritual depth of society, make sure to mark its music.” Generally performer collaborate songs to represent the popular pop culture, and social issues, and wish for their society as well as their current era. For instance, controversial issues such as sex, violence, racism and discrimination has been represented through many musical genres including the blues, R&B, Disco/Funk, and Hip hop. When comparing previous historical periods to our current era, one can see tremendous differences in how they are exemplified in the genres have illustrated their music to address these specific issues. For instance, when talking about historical period they focus more on messages that are important to black communities such as freedom from racism, sexism and discrimination for example R&B conveyed a fight for freedom and stereotypes. On the other hand, recent genres such as Hip Hop do not portray a message, or if they do portray a message, the messages do not represent black culture as a whole.
Since the explosion of music videos in 1981, a large portion of their popularity has been due to the objectification of women and their sexuality. “Early content analyses showed that anywhere from 40% to 75% of music videos contained sexual imagery”(Arnett, 2002). Hip-hop music videos especially have a reputation of degrading women. In these videos “women are often depicted in positions of submission to men” (Sommers-Flanagan, 1993).On the flip-side Country music videos are “known for [their] socially conservative themes”(Frisby & Aubrey, 2012).
In today’s pop culture, it has become necessary for musical artists to rely on music videos to garner interest in their songs and disseminate their messages. Consequently, the phenomenon that is YouTube has had a pronounced effect in bringing music videos to viewers of all ages and has brought about a convenience of viewing never before imagined. Many Americans from Baby Boomers to Generation Z alike turn to YouTube to see their favorite videos, and to discover new artists. This visual analysis of the music video, “God’s Away On Business” 2008, performed by Tom Waits, produced by Anti Records, will examine the rhetoric used to deliver Mr. Waits message. Geared more towards the cerebral Baby Boomer than younger generations, this piece holds
Upon reading more closely, the story is revealed to present a tragic journey of a man who has lost his sanity but seeks solace in the materialistic comforts of his old life. The story succeeds in making a number of statements about human nature: that wealth is the most powerful measure of social status and anyone without it will face ostracization; that denial of one 's mistakes and unfortunate circumstances only leads to more pain; that even the most optimistic people can hold dark secrets and emotional turmoil inside them. All of these themes compel the reader to ponder their real-life implications long after the story is
Delaney, Tim. "Pop Culture: An Overview." Philosophy Now. Philosophy Now, 2007. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
Music videos originally served the purpose of creating an outlet through which artists could generate publicity for their work, broaden their popular appeal, and reach wider audiences with interesting audio-visual content (Berry & Shelton, 1999). Over the years, the visual imagery in music videos has increasingly become as significant as the music it represents, as music videos have now become major outlets for propagating views and stereotypes that influence popular culture.
Music: the art of organized noise. The blend of pitch and rhythm combined in different mediums and enjoyed by our ears. A very interpretive art, music isn’t very clearly constricted or defined by one definition. With so many varieties of music, it’s difficult to say what aspect is really the most important. Some people think music’s history and the appreciation of music are the most important aspects to take into consideration. Some think complex in rhythms and melodies make the best music. Some people devote their whole lives to studying one genre of music in order to fully understand how that genre works. While all of these aspects of music are important, none of them can truly be compared with each other on a fair playing field. Music of different genres, eras, and geographic backgrounds were written for different purposes, different people, and different settings. Still, there is still one overarching theme that applies to all forms of music new or old: the way the composer presents his or her creation. The performance and presentation of a work of music is like the icing on the top of a cake. The cake may be the best you’ve ever tasted, but if the icing on the outside doesn’t look appealing or doesn’t taste good, chances are you’ll take a different piece of cake with better looking frosting next time. The performance of music is what appeals most to people. With live performance, an artist must “sell” his or her creation. They must put smile on their face and convey to the audience that this is their music and through the music explain why it’s awesome. They must persevere through whatever the stage, the audience, and their surroundings give them and put on a good show. In today’s popular music though, this aspect of showma...
to a character that drives for success and will do anything to acquire the “earthly” possessions he
Music is can be a very complicated and delightful at the same time. Music affects our bodies in several ways when engaging with it. The complicated and delightful apparatus we call music affect people physically, psychologically, and is great with healing emotional affliction, strengthens emotions, and is known to cure illness. Music also plays an influential role in the socialization of teenagers. Mainstream music is available practically everywhere. It is conveniently accessible over the internet, radio, individual recordings and other forms of technology
Through music we are able to comprehend someone’s personality, their views, their culture, and who they are as an overall person. The music you listen to is a reflection of who you are and your own personal thoughts. As I reflect on the music I listen to I came to the conclusion that I gravitate towards songs that depict the emotions we feel through lyrics while being able to relate it to my own personal experiences.