Does our physical appearance truly define who we are? In today’s society, we as Americans have developed a forceful and unfortunate obsession with beauty. Magazines, advertisements and mass media deliberately force feed us with an unreachable standard of beauty; we as a country have become desensitized to what is truly beautiful; Pressuring and corrupting our perceptions, ideas, and even ourselves to define what is “perfect”. The whole concept of beauty has been controlled by the money hungry individuals of mass media selling dreams and false hopes; Shattering our confidence only to exploit and profit on our low self-esteems that they have skillfully created and encouraged. In the song “I am Not my Hair”, India Arie’s words become a clear representation of all men and women in America that struggle and contest to being itemized and objectified by societal standards and ideals.
Contradicting the usual trash and bash songs that combat against the infamous and notorious beauty ideals that society has drilled into our heads, this song is fully comprised of positive beats, melodies and rhythms --- giving the audience a genuine feel of the emotions and meaning that Arie has exposed through her lyrical metaphors. The song is set up in chronological order; giving the audience a clear understanding of the stages that an individual goes through in order to feel accepted. The song begins with a conversation between two women, symbolizing the beginning of Arie and the audiences journey towards personal acceptance and volition from the judgmental society we live in. The song consists of antagonists and a protagonist. The background conversations represent the antagonists, and the singer, India Arie represents the protagonist of the song. The ...
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...if she is acknowledging their comments, yet she is not letting herself get affected by it. Although “I am Not my Hair” seems like it only explains certain periods of time in the singers life, it also represents decades and decades of problematic issues that have negatively embellished our culture. From the massive evolution of mass media, to the famous movie stars we watch every weekend at the movie theatre; our culture values fame, fortune and superficial beauty rather than knowledge, morals and inner beauty. The song “I am Not my Hair” acts as the machine that renders acceptance and motivation while encouraging the audience to raise public awareness on the social tragedies that continue to corrupt and eat up our society.
Works Cited
Frith, Simon. “The Voice.” Preforming Rites: On the Value of
Popular Music.” Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1996. 183-202, 321-26.
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