University of Pennsylvania
Musical Independence: The Role of Music in the
South-African Anti-Apartheid Movement
Andrew Fixler
Timothy Rommen
Music 050: Introduction to Music in Cultures
5/11/15
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it” (Bertold Brecht in Askew 2003: 633). Despite evolution across the globe and the continued development of societies and cultures, one entity has remained present throughout – music. Though manifested in various forms, music has and continues to play an integral role in a multitude of settings, ranging from religious ceremonies to theater to pop culture and beyond. With universal influence, music possesses the ability to unite a nation behind a single cause yet simultaneously subjugate a people through musical propaganda and censorship. For instance, due to a lack of literacy and economic means in countries such as South Africa (plagued by apartheid sanctions), oral communication through music increases the accessibility of critical ideas. Nonetheless, though musical artists have the capacity to assert politically subversive statements through song, vehement government censorship and even propaganda reflect music’s immense influence. Thus, a vessel through which sound is transformed to expression, music has tremendous political ramifications. Exploring the transformation of South-African music from “a mirror” of the apartheid struggles to a “hammer with which to shape”
Music is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the need to over-through the oppressors. The 1980’s brought the newest development in social and political music, the emergence of hip-hop and rap. This urban musical art form that was developed in New
1. How do the principal musical manifestations found in the sub-Saharan Africa reflect the collective community and encourage group participations?
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
When people think of popular music they think of party beats created for pure entertainment and nothing more. People do not see this genre of music as capable of anything else. The stigma of popular music only being a form of amusement for the mass consumer is challenged when artists use music to attract attention to social issues. This paper intends to show how music like Raï challenge the thought that popular music is only for entertainment.
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.
In his article, Brooks strongly focuses on how protesting work with music based on moral, physical and perceptual. A song is written not only to sell, it is also composed depend on individials’ speeches that about peace, avoiding violence and war. Brooks expresses people against themselves when they protest because they would be arrested by violence, so people should not protest and ask themselves why they have to protest. However, actually, people need to protest because it is also their benefits that they must protect. Protesting and avoiding against themselves, it seems to be impossible, but it is not. Protest music can make impossible to possible. Brooks analyses how majority, chorus, and footnote impact to a protest music. In addition,
To enforce mortality music continues to be censored, race was a factor in music censorship. In the 1950’s there was a new genre of music created, . Many older people considered this new genre of music a threat to society. “This phenomenon prompted moral authorities to take action”(Hall para.5).
This is article has taken an interest with both views of how music can affect you. The article examines Holocaust survivors and how they react to music. During the holocaust the Nazis used music as an element of torture. For instance, singing on command, where failure to obey or satisfy the guards could incur fatal consequences, was used to frighten, humiliate, and degrade prisoners. (Atarah 1223) Interviewing multiple survivors and examining how music effected their life before, during and after the Holocaust the article proves that it had
Before hearing this lecture, I had no concept of the types of music in concentration camps, much less a sense of the music within World War II. The lecture taught me how music and the arts are something that can’t ever be stopped. Even though it’s not mandatory for human life or a lucrative career it has permanently etched a place inside of culture and the continuation of history.
The aim of this essay is to argue that independent musical celebration should be readily accessible to the ordinary citizen. Censorship is never healthy for the civilian population, and a country that oppresses its people is quickly heading for its downfall. Controlling artistic expression results in cultural stagnation. Not only that, but this censorship violates freedom of speech as well, seeing as how music is also a form of speech. Finally, this practice reduces the happiness of a country’s people.
To what extent can music provide a means of resistance for challenging the power relations of racism, class and gender?
Whether it is May 2017 Ariana Grande concert or October 2017 Las Vegas Country Music Concert massacre, among them a common factor is the art of music. People are ignorant that amid war, conflicts, and terror attacks all over the world, the role of art and culture in rebuilding society is very crucial
Transcending individual differences, music in Africa has proved to be more than just a collection of notes and the production of sounds. Throughout this past semester, Professor B drew materials from West, East and South Africa to demonstrate the powerful ability of music to bring and bind people together. Consistently exemplified throughout African history, music has served as the unifying link between generations. In the documentary, Inanga: A Song of Survival in Daughter’s Rwanda, a family’s dedication to the preservation of the inanga instrument is explored against the backdrop of the Rwandan genocide. Deeply embedded in history, tradition and culture, inanga reveals the primary function of music in Africa. Though it is an instrument specific to Rwanda, it shares many similarities to variety of instruments scattered across the continent. This certainly emphasizes the undeniable function of African music in sustaining unique cultural practices.
The paper discusses how Marley’s music changed society by mainstreaming the ideas of black resistance, social justice, racial equality, and anti-colonialism to the baby-boom generation and generations endlessly onward. The paper will outline the historical background of reggae as well as the social cause to which it became attached by the work of Marley. The paper submits that reggae, ultimately, became the chief means of expressing the angst and dislocation felt by many within the African Diaspora. Finally, the paper will offer a critical analysis of one of Marley’s works, “I Shot the Sheriff”, and will explain why this signature work is a classic instance of reggae speaking out against injustice and the prevailing power structure.
On June 19, 1890 South Africans came into contact with African American music for the first time. This contact came when Orpheus McAdoo’s Virginia Jubilee Singers. Orpheus McAdoo, a graduate of Hampton Institute, now known as Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia joined five members of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, an African American a capella group from Fisk University and began to tour places such as Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. When he returned to the U.S., he added four members to the minstrel troupe and in 1890 they found themselves in Cape Town, South Africa. Their tour in Cape Town was extremely successful and they forever left an impact on South African culture in the form of a Carnival that takes place each year. Kaapse Klopse, formerly known as the Coon Carnival takes place on January 2nd each year. Minstrel troupes gather in District 6 and take part in a parade and various competions. Various genres of music are represented in the Kaapse Klopse but one genre has been apart of the festivsal since its early beginnings, South African Jazz.