The Good Vs. The Bad: Katy Perry vs. Jon Lajoie Essay

The music shaped society during the 1900s, helping in the development of society’s social history. Music and society are highly influenced by one another. Music both inspires and motivates people to do what they feel is right. When we realize how they correspond with each other, it brings others together, for example, “On February 9, 1964, an estimated 70 million Americans tuned into the Ed Sullivan show”(Wong, 39), all different kinds of people in America came together to watch what was called “The Beatlemania”, which featured The Beatles. The Beatles inspired other music artists to push the way they play music in a new way. The more music being played, the more media it would receive, which would bring in more profits. Music is in every culture, such as, Christians who sued music as a praise to Christ, to thank him and worship his holiness. It is widely varied between all times, places and cultures. People express their emotions and ideas through their music. Music expresses people’s emotions, concerns, and feelings about situations like, the Civil Rights Movement.

In today’s society, music controls the way we live our lives. The influence that music has on society has broadened throughout the years and with social media being one of the world’s top priority, the fan base and spectrum for music in general has expanded significantly. Music is used to express feelings, moods, circumstances, experiences, knowledge, and so much more. With this being the case, the lyrics of any song can be interpreted differently by each and every listener. Many song lyrics give positive messages, promoting well-being, whiles others give negative messages, promoting violence, criminal behaviors, sexual contents, and disrespect towards others. With this being said, music reflects what the public demands, and in many cases the negative messages are often times what sells more than those music giving positive messages.

In the world today, music has become a big influence on everyone. With the power of music, each person has the ability to accomplish goals even if the music is country or rap. Most people believe that music can change a person’s mood or behavior which is true. Without music people could not control the way they act. Most music has the power to affect a person’s mood and other music can get them out of control. If music did not exist the world would be tedious. Without having music, people would not be able to motivate their moods. With the magic of music all people tend to have clear minds and better spirits. Music has the ability to put a smile on their face and a special song in their hearts. Even though most people feel confident about a special song, this can change their mind about how country music is better than rap music.

Music is one of the most influencing media within our time and generation, especially Rap and hip-hop. Demoralizing women has

Melissa Harris-Perry analyzes the myths surrounding black women and the implication that correlate with these myths. Perry focuses on three main stereotypes of black women that began with slavery and are still prevalent in society today. Perry not only examines the depth and causes of these stereotypes, but she also scrutinizes their role in African Americans lives as citizens today. Black women today are not only separated from society outside of the African American community, but there are also existing stereotypes within the culture. Examining the history of black women, the three prominent stereotypes attached to them and comparing these to society today, it is clear that the standard for African American women is not only

Looking back at when I was assigned to write this Rhetorical Analysis, I was excited. I was given the option of picking two articles or two songs to write about. Being a big lover of music, I took the opportunity to analyze and put into conversation two songs of my choosing. After contemplating over which songs I would be analyzing, I finally chose two and began to brainstorm. However, as I was brainstorming, I realized that one of the songs I chose, did not seem to be very fitting for the message I wanted to talk about. So, after a little more contemplating I chose a different one. The two songs that my Rhetorical Analysis introduce are “Roar” by Katy Perry and “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. I chose these songs because they do a fantastic job at sending out a strong message of self-empowerment. This is a topic that I feel strongly about.

Music is constantly in our lives. Whether listening to a country song at a coffee shop, or a rap song at a shoe store, music is all around us. Because of this, we are constantly buying music so that we can listen to the same songs over and over again. This is not a bad thing however, but some people abuse people’s necessity to own music by producing songs with the wrong messages. Some music can completely change the world with its message, but others can hurt it. If one walks down the hallways of this school, he will undoubtedly find people listening to music, but also people singing/rapping it, whether alone or with friends. Muses in Ancient Greece were known to represent the fine arts and all that was good about them. Music, poetry,

Music in America has been on the decline since the turn of the millennium. Recent popular musical genres such as rap and hip-hop have promoted sex, violence, profanity, and drug abuse. Artists such as Drake, David Guetta, and Nicki Minaj have missed the mark when it comes to good music. Music is supposed to make people feel something, to take people on a journey. In this sense, music draws a certain parallel to the trajectory of America. When times were good in America, music seemed to be good. Recently, bad music has influenced the mentality of American youth and made them unstable and insecure. Music that has a positive, uplifting message has the power to help.

Music as we know plays an integral role in our lives, a ubiquitous companion (Schäfer, Sedlmeier, Städtler, & Huron, 2013) that provides an avenue for creation and diversion; one that allows for people to freely express themselves without scrutiny. However, this utopical paradigm is not always abided to as songs that garner greater attention will tend to attract a myriad of censure - the latter of which has surged in magnitude due to the rise in prominence of music streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora which has made music more accessible than ever (Boothby, 2013). This is the case for Royals, a five-times Platinum song (ARIA, 2013) released in 2013 by sixteen-year-old New Zealand songstress Ella Yellich-O'Connor; better known as Lorde.

Music is one of the most popular ways of expression and has been for generations. It makes us want to dance, inspires, soothes, relaxes, and sometimes tells us a story. Music is something the whole world shares and has brought together different kinds of people. However, there has been a question on whether some music has affected society negatively and crossed the line with some of its lyrics, content, and the persona of the artists. Certain music has been boycotted and even banned in the U.S. Pro-censorship supporters say that music is something that can deeply affect our society especially children who should not have to be subjected to things like violence, sex, drugs, or hate. However, being that music is a form of expression,

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

Music is a form of expression that delivers a message. However over the years, the message of music has changed. Hundreds of years ago, music started with slaves. The slaves would sing spiritual hymns to motivate them and help keep up their spirits. Later, R&B and Hip Hop formed and at first there were motivational songs and rappers even rapped about a better life. But over the last thirty years the motivational songs have ceased. R&B and Hip Hop now is degrading to women, less subtle, and influences bad behavior.

Music is respect. Respect to ones self and to others, whether it is someone that has the same taste in music as you, or someone that has the complete opposite taste as you. That’s something I see happen way to much, people bashing on other people because of what they listen to. Instead of accepting that everyone isn’t going to like what you like. Music is supposed to be something we all have in common, it’s supposed to bring us together and create peace, not turn us against each other. It’s something that we all do, including me at times. Not only in music but in everyday life.

Katy Perry takes a similar approach by creating a song that allows people to be the way they are. Katy Perry had created the song “Fireworks.“ This song is an inspirational song that allows people to reveal themselves to the true world instead of keeping it a secret. Katy is trying to portray the fact that people should not be afraid to represent the way they truly are. She wants everyone to show his or her “true colors“. In a sense, Katy wants to people to embrace what they are. In the first few lines she states, “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag. Drifting through the wind. Wanting to start again“ (Fireworks). This part of the song reveals that a lot of people go with the flow. They just follow the norms of society and do not fight against it. She continues on to talk about how people continue to go with the flow until she states, “Do you know that there 's still a chance for you. 'Cause there 's a spark in you“ (Fireworks). This portion of the song reveals there is hope even if want to go against the norm. Just a small push is needed in order to get over the hurdle. Then Katy states, “ 'Cause baby you 're a firework. Come and show 'em what you 're worth. Make 'em go "oh, oh, oh! As you shoot across the sky-y-y“ (Fireworks). When you do reveal yourself, it will feel like a huge burden is lifted off your shoulders. Katy is trying to say to her fans be motivated and keep reaching for the stars. Being unique might be a bad thing, but don‘t let their voice reach you.

Katy Perry, a well-known American pop artist, delivers a message of social awareness in her song and music video titled,“Chained to the Rhythm.” In “Chained to the Rhythm,” the singer asserts that people in American society should not isolate themselves from, and or ignore the problems in the community. Perry encourages her audience to not sit still when an issue arises. Inspiring her onlookers to not stand idly while social injustices occur and to bring about change is the main purpose of her song and music video. Perry uses a plethora of rhetorical devices and appeals between her song and music video to successfully present her message and to get her audience to start making a change.