EsSay QuEsTion…
UsInG ThE ComPaRiSioN Of TheSe TeXts As YouR StaRtiNg PoiNt, ExPloRe ThE MeDiA IsSues AnD DeBaTes WhIcH ThEy RaiSe…
‘The Revolution will not be televised’ by Gil Scott-Heron and ‘Your revolution’ by Sarah Jones are two texts that covey serious issues and debates about society during their time. Due to inequality and racial abuse, society was forced to repress their personal views and live in a democratic state where the government decided on what was seen the right and formal thing to do. Both artists express their views on society and how it affects them and the people with similar problems.
Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The revolution will not be televised’ critiques the status quo and challenges the establishment. The beat to the song is slow but catchy as it is repetitive throughout. Since this song discusses serious issues having a repetitive beat is vital, as it allows the audience to remember it along with the words. Heron raps slowly and clearly with a deep masculine voice. This again reinforces the sincerity tone of the song and informs the audience on how important the issue is. ‘There will be no pictures of you and Willie May pushing that shopping cart…’ Heron here is stating that black people are only seen as criminals and insignificant to society. He makes close references to the Marxist theory as he believes that society is easily influenced. The song was written in 1972 which means that a capitalist society did exist and black people were not as much considered.
Sarah Jones ‘Your revolution’ takes a similar approach by using the same methods but by projecting a feminist voice. In her song she discusses females in the rapping industry and how unequal it is. It is a track about female empowerment and women’s rights. The beat is slow, and regular like Heron’s. By doing this it reinforces the point she makes. Like Heron, Jones is critiquing the black people in the media and telling the world how the music industry is patriarchal. She mentions the issue about women in the music industry with close references to Foxy Brown about how they sell their body to get higher status. Throughout the song, Jones uses parody to portray how she feels about men in the music industry by mocking the strong males in the industry such as LL Cool J. She uses intertextuality to emphasies her point by singing his song. She mocks him as he undermines women. She feels somewhat hatred towards artists like him as in his lyrics he has strong references to sex and has the power to influence the people who listen to his music. It’s down to males like him that women are still objectified today.
UsInG ThE ComPaRiSioN Of TheSe TeXts As YouR StaRtiNg PoiNt, ExPloRe ThE MeDiA IsSues AnD DeBaTes WhIcH ThEy RaiSe…
‘The Revolution will not be televised’ by Gil Scott-Heron and ‘Your revolution’ by Sarah Jones are two texts that covey serious issues and debates about society during their time. Due to inequality and racial abuse, society was forced to repress their personal views and live in a democratic state where the government decided on what was seen the right and formal thing to do. Both artists express their views on society and how it affects them and the people with similar problems.
Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The revolution will not be televised’ critiques the status quo and challenges the establishment. The beat to the song is slow but catchy as it is repetitive throughout. Since this song discusses serious issues having a repetitive beat is vital, as it allows the audience to remember it along with the words. Heron raps slowly and clearly with a deep masculine voice. This again reinforces the sincerity tone of the song and informs the audience on how important the issue is. ‘There will be no pictures of you and Willie May pushing that shopping cart…’ Heron here is stating that black people are only seen as criminals and insignificant to society. He makes close references to the Marxist theory as he believes that society is easily influenced. The song was written in 1972 which means that a capitalist society did exist and black people were not as much considered.
Sarah Jones ‘Your revolution’ takes a similar approach by using the same methods but by projecting a feminist voice. In her song she discusses females in the rapping industry and how unequal it is. It is a track about female empowerment and women’s rights. The beat is slow, and regular like Heron’s. By doing this it reinforces the point she makes. Like Heron, Jones is critiquing the black people in the media and telling the world how the music industry is patriarchal. She mentions the issue about women in the music industry with close references to Foxy Brown about how they sell their body to get higher status. Throughout the song, Jones uses parody to portray how she feels about men in the music industry by mocking the strong males in the industry such as LL Cool J. She uses intertextuality to emphasies her point by singing his song. She mocks him as he undermines women. She feels somewhat hatred towards artists like him as in his lyrics he has strong references to sex and has the power to influence the people who listen to his music. It’s down to males like him that women are still objectified today.
A key theorist, Laura Mulvey argues there is a the active male hero and the passive female characters who's mere purpose is their quality to be looked at ness and they are objectified as sexual objects and become objects of the male gaze. This is key to rap music as it is a typical convention used in rap videos for women to be inferior to men. ‘Your revolution’ is a song that rejects all the typical conventions and stands for its own. We see it in the majority of rap videos, with big famous artist such as ‘Snoop Dogg’ and ‘Dr Dre’ have semi naked females dancing in the backgrounds of their videos. They objectify the woman as they refer them to ‘bitches’ and ‘hoes’ and state that their only use is for pleasuring a male. Jones goes against all these acts and shows that she can be in the music industry like every other woman however does not need to show or sell her body to be successful.
In conclusion both texts are similar in there ways as they both do not conform to the typical conventions that occur in rap videos. They are both projecting there voices in what they believe in. they are similar as they are dealing with real life issues which are considered as important to them as well as to society. Even though Heron’s song was released at an early date in comparison to Jones it shows that ways have not really changed and that society and still remains to be the same to a certain extent. The purpose of the songs was to create awareness and inform people about the contemporary issues.
In conclusion both texts are similar in there ways as they both do not conform to the typical conventions that occur in rap videos. They are both projecting there voices in what they believe in. they are similar as they are dealing with real life issues which are considered as important to them as well as to society. Even though Heron’s song was released at an early date in comparison to Jones it shows that ways have not really changed and that society and still remains to be the same to a certain extent. The purpose of the songs was to create awareness and inform people about the contemporary issues.
posted by Furzana at 1:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home