How Music Can Enforce Or Challenge Power

Music has a dynamic ability of influencing emotions, from mood regulation to rumination and self-expression. The presence of political and social messages in popular music is frequently seen across cultures, in particular focusing on social issues and racism (Back, 2000, 127). This paper attempted to explore the political and social messages in popular music, more specifically it investigated the relationship between Soul music and civil rights movements in the United States.

There is no denying that over a multitude of years, music has inevitably found ways to challenge power and power structures around the world. Music has found a way to use not only lyrics, but also the gender of musicians and genres of music to oppose powerful entities. Throughout music 's long lived history, lyrics have been the most obvious example of musical oppositions to power. Music and songs have been created to protest wars, raise awareness to violence, express pride in one 's race and culture, and challenge political forums, only to name a few examples. For example, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel was created to oppose United States involvement in the Vietnam War, along with raising awareness of both drug and race problems in America. Furthermore, lyrics are a way in which an artist or composer can specifically tailor a message to explicitly state their take on a given institution or outlet of power. On the other hand, lyrics have also been used in a coded fashion to indirectly attack structures of power rather than explicitly attacking structure of power, which has been proven useful in times of serious civil oppression. Lyrics tell a story, and historically singers and songwriters have used them in a multitude of ways to construct a variety of messages that have challenged societal norms and structures of power.

Since the Constitution of the United States was written, Americans have practiced their right to freedom of speech as a way to express their point of view on issues facing the country. Over time, voicing one’s opinion went from outspoken newspaper articles to large rallies, and during the Vietnam War, music was a prevalent tool in aiding the protests. Allowing political messages to be shared nationally, the music had touched the lives of the younger generation. Author Jerome L. Rodnitzky explains in his journal, “The Sixties between the Microgrooves: Using Folk and Protest Music to Understand American History, 1963-1973”, how music was “trying to be all things

Music is a very powerful expression of emotions that come together as a whole to morph your psychological feelings into a sub-reality vision. Over the many years, history has been able to capture the moments at which music has made an impact on human lives. We can start with Manu Chao the artist that sings about left-wing messages and portrays his concerts as “collective therapy”. Or Juan Gabriel the young man that rose out of poverty to become the world’s most beloved artist/songwriter and whose music carried a resonate flamboyant style. Music is a way of communication that is used in many realms such as entertainment, tradition religion and sporting events. So far this semester, Chic 316 has influenced me to seek a more coherent relationship

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.

Throughout the history of the United States, war and political actions have played as several influences for practices. One practice that has a massive connection with war and politics is music. It has the capability to express protest themes such as anti-war or anti-establishment. Music can also set the mood for the entire environment, such as a depressed scene creates slow, or somber-toned music. Or if the setting is rebellious and ecstatic, musicians will want to create fast-paced dancing music. In this essay, I argue that American music plays a drastic part in war and political applications and in the history of the United States, the Prohibition Era, World War II and the Vietnam War have significant evidence to prove this ideology.

Some may say music is just music; a song is just a song. However, music plays an enormous role in our psychology, because a single song has the ability to bring about many kinds of thoughts and emotions in the listener. Music is subtly one of the main factors in which people identify with certain groups and establish their belonging in society. It shapes people’s perspectives on how the world functions and the roles they play within it. Music can function the same way in a culture; it can reflect many of the culture’s values and ideologies. Music can have many effects on culture and the people’s idea of who they think they are within that culture. Music can serve in a way that promotes cultural identity and pride, yet it could also play a

One of the most prominent influences of art throughout history has been politics. The 50s through 70s in America are a great example of this, for so many of this era’s songs were arguments against America’s involvement in the Vietnam War and criticisms of American politics at the time. However, this phenomenon was prominent long before the Vietnam War and was not just an American trend; in fact, two of the most influential and famous pieces of the early 20th century were products of political oppression on the other side of the world. Both Paul Hindemith, under the Nazi Regime, and Dmitri Shostakovich, under the communist reign of Stalin, managed to fight political oppression through their music. The two composers had very different ways of doing so. Hindemith wrote two separate pieces, one that directly opposed the Nazi regime, and another that was so nationalistic he was forgiven for his previous ‘mistakes’, whereas Shostakovich wrote a single piece which seemed just as nationalistic as Hindemith’s symphony yet it had a deeper, much more rebellious underlying message. Even though their methods’ differed, both Hindemith and Shostakovich were able to express their true feelings about the totalitarian governments that were repressing their artistic ability.

Music has been a template for expression since early man, it reaches the depths of a person’s soul by seeking out emotions. In society music plays a major role in the development of historical events, and musicians can be at the center of this due to their fan following. Some musicians just play to make money, while others play to make a statement. The ones that play to make a statement influence people, they also manage to give the people a voice that can be resonated throughout society. During the 1960’s this was a pivotal point for musicians to make a political statement, be it Civil Rights or the Vietnam War. A few of the artists that made political statements during this era would be Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and James Brown; however, there are many more artist who spoke their minds through their music. James Brown was influential in the Civil Rights movement by influencing the Black community through his music. Browns music offered pride, inspiration, and defiance.

Meaning in music is derived from parenthetical analysis of several technical aspects including lyrics, form, historical context, emotional content, and personal connection. A hermeneutical approach to the Star-Spangled Banner can yield only interpretational results. Therefore, we must examine the more concrete details of the work, and how the music relates to the meaning of the protests as stated by Colin Kaepernick in August of 2016.

To what extent can music provide a means of resistance for challenging the power relations of racism, class and gender?

The power of music is as strong today as it has ever been before. Throughout history music has been a way for our people to speak out against the government or follow their commands. There is a great irony that a lot of these songs nowadays all tie together to portray the same message, and this is not a coincidence. “Today, hip-hop has taken the lead in protesting police brutality and the injustices suffered by the poor.” Within the selection of songs, the audience can see how the government tries to control us, as well as how there is still much racism going on today.

Music is an effective medium through which people, groups, and countries can convey: ideas, emotions and convey political and ideological messages. The Social power that is embedded in music has an impact on global society through the International movement. In International Relations Music expresses and reflects on the structure of social power in multinational communications; it also shapes the cognition of transnational social groups and establishes the power relations between them. Furthermore, Music is an active subject that can: alienate, deviate, and reflect on power within a certain limit. In my thesis paper, I’ll be examining music’s impact on different administrations in the Soviet Era and its influences on Soviet people beginning

Music has an acute effect on people. It has the power and versatility to make people feel contempt and miserable. This versatility makes it popular among people, as there are a wide variety of moods displayed in music that can reflect the listeners well being. Jazz has been an extremely popular form of music throughout time. Its interesting melodies and meaningful lyrics give voice to artists to display their emotions through beauteous music. During its heyday in the 1920’s, jazz singing was a landscape of the American sound (Carr 9). Being a jazz singer, Billie Holiday deserves to be put on the list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Not only for her being in the general population of influential jazz musicians, but

“The euphoria for independence, black liberation, those were the basic corner stones of the Zimbabwean experience at that time, and the music was great.”