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Description
Bertolt Brecht, a noted East German poet and playwright, wrote in his poetry collection, Svendborg Gedichte (translated as Svendborg Poems), a question and answer which resonated not only in his own time, but throughout time: “In the dark times/Will there also be singing? /Yes, there will also be singing. /About the dark times” (Brecht). When Brecht wrote this poem, he was writing about the Nazi Germany which he had been exiled from, but a similar type of darkness has also spilled into today’s time period in forms including but not limited to political division, economic disparity, and environmental distress. At times, this can be understood as being similar to an apocalypse, or the time period which can be assumed as being world-ending. While the truly apocalyptic nature of today is debatable, the reporting style around these events has twisted this time period to be inarguably dark.
However, just as Brecht says, there is still singing.
Since the 2016 election, news media has become nothing if not more apocalyptic in reporting style. As a result, other forms of media, such as songs, literature, and artwork, have been reacting in two distinct modes: first, through a realism in describing the pain of those going through the events, and second, through a blind romanticism of the truth.
In this essay, I describe the origin of apocalyptic rhetoric, and the way that this type of rhetoric has unfolded throughout a few key moments of human history. From there, I move into a discussion of song as one form of a reaction to this, making sure to keep intact the dichotomous lines as described earlier. As an emblem of this reaction in the post-2016 era, I then analyze modern apocalyptic thought, and as an example of this reaction, I analyze the song “This is America” by Childish Gambino. I then look towards the future and theorize as to what type of singing will come from future dark times.
However, just as Brecht says, there is still singing.
Since the 2016 election, news media has become nothing if not more apocalyptic in reporting style. As a result, other forms of media, such as songs, literature, and artwork, have been reacting in two distinct modes: first, through a realism in describing the pain of those going through the events, and second, through a blind romanticism of the truth.
In this essay, I describe the origin of apocalyptic rhetoric, and the way that this type of rhetoric has unfolded throughout a few key moments of human history. From there, I move into a discussion of song as one form of a reaction to this, making sure to keep intact the dichotomous lines as described earlier. As an emblem of this reaction in the post-2016 era, I then analyze modern apocalyptic thought, and as an example of this reaction, I analyze the song “This is America” by Childish Gambino. I then look towards the future and theorize as to what type of singing will come from future dark times.
ContributorsSamie, Yumna (Author) / Kirsch, Sharon (Thesis director) / Wise, Greg (Committee member) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
In its totality, “Love and Everything After” consists of five tracks. In musical circles, this is considered an EP (extended play), a collection of music longer than one song but generally more brief than a full album. Each track combines varying degrees of my own acoustic and piano instrumentation with modern production elements, all tied together with a corrected vocal and a quick mix and master by my producer who doubles as my sound engineer for this project. I will outline my experience with the creative process here as well as break down the development of each song. A fair bit of the lyrical composition is dedicated to background information that may seem to verge on oversharing, but alas, I am a writer. I consider verging on oversharing an inevitable cog in any successful songwriting operation. I’ve decided to tackle the songs in chronological order, prioritizing the time during which the bulk of the piece was first assembled.
ContributorsNelson, Christopher Michael (Author) / Wells, Cornelia (Thesis director) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Mariachi music is a significant piece of Mexican culture that has been around since the nineteenth century. Although it was created in Mexico, mariachi is deeply rooted in the history of the United States. With a large population of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest, mariachi music has been both refined in the United States and ever-present as a staple of the Mexican/Mexican-American culture. Traditionally, the composition of a mariachi group is all male. Even today, mariachi is still a male dominated genre. In the early years of mariachi, women had no place in the genre, as musicians, composers, or directors. During the time when mariachi was forming and becoming a more defined genre, Mexican women were not considered able or skilled enough to do many things that men could do, just based solely on their gender. This included being a mariachi musician. A woman's place was not anywhere else but as a carer of the house and the family. This ideology has changed with time, with the incorporation of women in majority-male groups, mixed gender groups, and the invention of the all-female mariachi group. However, culture, language, and geographical barriers still play a significant role in the dynamics of mariachi music today. This creative project, which incorporates interviews of multiple women who currently perform in mariachi, culminating in an informational website, will explore and analyze these different barriers within the genre of mariachi, and will explore the culture of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans living in the United States.
ContributorsFigueroa, Desiree Daunice (Author) / De La Torre, Monica (Thesis director) / Smith, Michael (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
This thesis examines the representation of female Korean pop stars in music videos, specifically looking into how these music videos serve as a medium for communicating gender ideals. I examine K-Pop's damaging presentations of women and the multilayered ways that such representations shape the “ideal” woman, societal expectations, societal treatment, and its consequences. South Korea, as a country of total media saturation and high technological advancement, leaves individuals surrounded with various ways to “learn” gender and properly enact it in their daily life. This builds and reinforces gender constructs on systemic and personal levels. K-Pop is unique in its strict organizational structure and emphasis on conformity, and both of those aspects lend to an even more intense and streamlined depiction of what a South Korean woman is meant to be. The music video is an ideal cultural artifact to examine due to the overlapping audio and visual elements, including lyrics, choreography, makeup, and outfits.
ContributorsCorreia, Madison (Author) / Ingram-Waters, Mary (Thesis director) / Carrasco, Clare (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
The 70s in the UK were a time of social unrest that turned many youth onto an attitude of rebellion. In stark contrast with the love ethos of the 60s, the 70s economic downturn left many outraged and with the need to express their dismay. This “anti” attitude would bleed into many aspects of culture like the emerging fashion of the decade. Youth subcultures were a place for young adults to find solidarity. Punk trends including leather, safety pins, distressed clothing and denim. The Sex Pistols rocked the music industry leading way for other like The Clash and Joy Division to join the scene. With records such as ‘God Save the Queen’, the Pistols cemented the new culture movement as politicized. As the decade continued Punk became more intensified; becoming its own subculture of both street style and high couture.
ContributorsDewan, Lauren (Author) / Montoya, Melissa (Thesis director) / Ellis, Naomi (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2023-05