Representing Ideas Through Words In Music: The Riot Grrrl Movement
Throughout history, music has been the artistic stage of philosphoical output of both ideas, emotions and stories, enducing emotional and cogitational responses from the audience, through it’s representation of ideas and through ‘words in music’. Victor Hugo says- “Music expresses…. that which cannot remain silent” (26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885), and is a predominant feature in the early 1990s ‘Riot Grrrl’ movement, in which female-empowerment bands would address modern issues of sexual abuse, racism, and the patriarchy through their underground, punk rock music.
Riot Grrrl began in 1991, when a group of women in Washington, D.C., held a meeting to discuss sexism in the punk scene. Inspired by recent antiracist riots, the women decided they wanted to start a “girl riot” against a society that oppressed women and their experiences.
“Riot Grrrl is:
BECAUSE we know that life is much more than physical survival and are patently aware that the punk rock ‘you can do anything’ idea is crucial to the coming angry grrrl ...
In 1961, previous to the outbreak of Occupy Wall Streets of Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park was filled with three–thousand young beatnik protestors. Playing instruments and singing folk music symbolized the starvation that these young folks wanted of freedom and equality for America. Protestors demonstrated mixed cultures, individualistic beliefs that went against the status quo of America after the post-war years. The Beatnik Riot involved young traditional Americans fighting not just for the musical crisis of that time, but for the social, racial, and cultural segregations that were brought on by the years of war.
If one were to look back into the world’s history, one would find that an important and consistent element is the world of music. Music has presented itself in various forms throughout its spread and through our identification of its magical realm, people have been fortunate enough to come across a means of relation. Whether it is blues and reggae or rap and pop rock, there is music out there for everyone. Music can serve as a stabilizer for some, a relaxant to others, and to many a form of inspiration.
Music was used as a critical instrument in the early 20th century in mobilizing and inspiring the civil rights movement by giving them more voice to bring out their grievances. According to Kerk (2007, p.18) Martin Luther king was the most prolific figure who utilized music to sensitize society, “we believe that freedom songs play a big and vital part in the struggle that we are going through” this words were also echoed by the Albany movement “music keeps us a live, it gives us a sense of unity, new courage every dawn, hope to move on that the future still holds something in our most daring and dreadful hours”
Words are often used as effective weapons in written and verbal war. Though seemingly non-violent, these conflicts contain elements of violence, and can thus prove highly painful. In his article “Daily Life in Black Africa: Elements for a Critique,” author Paulin Houtondji criticizes superficial problems in daily life in Africa, while hinting at the issues of the bigger picture. Similar to this approach, E.T. Mensah uses music to soften the blow of his loaded words. Other pop musicians, such as Fela Kuti, choose not to be sensitive to their audiences, and instead assault them with politically charged lyrics, calling them to action and demanding social change. Both approaches and styles are effective, but an audience’s receptiveness and perception may be the most important determining factors of an artist’s success in issuing a call for change.
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 and discrimination has been represented through many musical genres including the blues, R&B, Disco/Funk, and Hip hop. When comparing previous historical periods to our current era, one can see tremendous differences in how they are exemplified in the genres have illustrated their music to address these specific issues. For instance, when talking about historical period they focus more on messages that are important to black communities such as freedom from racism, sexism and discrimination for example R&B conveyed a fight for freedom and stereotypes. On the other hand, recent genres such as Hip Hop do not portray a message, or if they do portray a message, the messages do not represent black culture as a whole.
My themed research project will centre its focus upon the link between Riot Grrrl and its relation to Third-Wave Feminism. Primarily I aim to analyse Riot Grrrl’s music scene, but also its subculture mentioning its DIY punk ethic, political activism and most importantly its influential Zine network. However the purpose of this report is to demonstrate a grounded understanding in three research methodologies and how I will apply each one in regards to my own project. Firstly I’ll investigate the advantages of an Instrumental Case Study, looking at how it proliferates, rather than narrows a given field of study. Secondly I will delve into Symbolic Interactionism referring to some influential figures involved within this methodology, as well as providing an example in regards to my own topic. Finally I will clarify the subtle difference between Text Linguistics and Discourse Analysis, concluding as to why I have settled upon the latter in my own research.
Music has played a role in society since the dawn of man. Said to be the beginning of communication in early civilization, music and dance have influenced how we think, act and treat members of our own society. Song and dance are used in rites of passage ceremonies such as births, weddings and funerals throughout the world. American and African people of color have contributed a brand of music that represented a struggle as well as a celebration during the civil rights movement. This Civil rights era fueled a people to stand and be accounted for and take pride in their culture and ethnicity after millenniums of oppression. The music played was the soundtrack to this movement. Soul, funk, rhythm and blues are a music born of a culture, protest and celebration. The use of this music as a reflection of cultural issues, values, and belief has been sampled by many cultures. Though some critics feel Soul music was merely a passing fad. I intend to discuss the Contribution of music on two contemporary cultures and its effect on their cultural issues, values and beliefs.
210). These sexist messages become ingrained in the minds of their listeners, which in regards to rock music, is predominantly male (Kimmel, M.S., & Holler J. p. 243). From this, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that music plays a role in contemporary gender inequality. In addition, the hard and heavy sound of rock music reinforces the Give Em Hell: aura of aggression, violence and daring masculinity norm. Meanwhile music directed towards women reinforces today’s femininity ideals. “According to prominent scholar and theorist Martha Nussbaum (1995), seven key features are involved in the act of objectification; these include: instrumentality, denial of autonomy, inertness, fungibility, violability, ownership, and denial of subjectivity. Of particular relevance to the sexual objectification phenomenon, and thus of this study, scholar Rea Langton (2009) adds three more features to Nussbaum’s list: reduction to body, reduction to appearance, and silencing.” (Jamie Glantz, p. 23). An example of how contemporary music is objectifying women can be seen in the lyrical discourse of I’m A Slave For You by Britney Spears. In just the first stanza is a representation of the female ideal to be young; “I
Music can be traced back into human history to prehistoric eras. To this day archeologists uncover fragments of ancient instruments as well as tablets with carved lyrics buried alongside prominent leaders and highly influential people. This serves as a testament to the importance and power of music, as well as its influence in society. Over its many years of existence, music’s powerful invocation of feelings has allowed it to evolve and serve many purposes, one being inspiring change. American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel.” This fuel is the very things that powers the influence of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society, that author Glenn C. Altschuler writes about in his book, “All Shook Up – How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America.” Between 1945 and 1965 Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American society and culture by helping to ease racial integration and launch a sexual revolution while most importantly developing an intergenerational identity.
Some artists use their music to share their social commentary, while others write music to earn money and fame. The authors of these articles stress that it is important for artists to decide if they want to “make music that might have the chance of helping me pay the bills or do I make music that represents my heart, my community, and how the country is going?” (Green p.3). Green and McCarthy both argue that it is crucial for artists to take a stand and discuss social issues and controversial topics. Being a musician allows an individual a unique opportunity to share their thoughts about the world with others. Artists should focus on important issues such as sexism, police brutality, racism, etc. The authors argue that the music business needs “more artists who aren’t afraid to tackle important social issues” (McCarthy p.2). Even though rap and country music could not be more different on the spectrum of music, both genres are used to communicate the artist's thoughts about the
The Clash’s third studio album, 1979’s “London Calling,” was arguably one of the greatest musical achievements of the late ‘70s and almost certainly the most significant contribution offered by the punk rock movement to rock as a whole, a contribution acknowledged not only by those who take punk seriously as a genre, but also by mainstream music critics—“Rolling Stone” magazine placed the album at number eight on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time . “London Calling” is full of genre-defining (and genre-defying, for that matter) material and outstanding songwriting, but one track in particular truly stands out as the album’s most prophetic, haunting, and influential. It makes sense, then, that the album was titled “London Calling” after this most compelling song.
While it is good that these terrible injustices are being fought against, this music does not always promote the best plan of action to achieve change. Some lyrics and music styles have been known to promote rage in its listeners, and has been blamed for multiple murders and acts of violence across the nation. While these actions may not be ethical, they were made in an attempt to fight against injustice and raise support. This paper aims to answer the question: to what extent did rap and rock groups of the 90’s achieve social change in America? This question is worth investigating because this is not just an occurrence in history, it is a movement that is developing in the world that we live in. Obtaining knowledge of the positives and negatives of how this platform was utilized in the past can help bring change in the future, and prevent us making mistakes leading to more bloodshed and violence. This paper will analyze how different musical groups from the 90’s utilized the platform that music provides to achieve social
The Punk Rock movement of the 1980’s was an explosion of hybrid and eccentric beats and lyrics that caught everyone’s attention, especially the young adolescents of the time period. The movement of Punk Rock took a major role in shaping the culture in the 80’s. The template for the 1980’s Punk Rock emerged from its preceptor of the 70’s Punk Rock which emerged from London. It’s loud and reckless tunes, to some sounded like noise, but to others it imposed many political standings and raised discussions of controversial topics in its lyrics. From this movements figurative and literal expressions through its bold fashion and uncensored lyrics, it definitely made a stance in the history of music and the 20th century.
All through history the human crowded has been pulled in to music. Whether it be a piece of a custom, a passionate discharge, religious reasons, or only for listening delight music has been at the inside of our general public. We have utilized music to communicate, tell stories, and let others into our contemplations. Nonetheless, we frequently ponder whether what we are stating has an impact on the listening crowd. As of late, in the 2000’s references have regularly been made to connection fierce and degenerate conduct to music and certain music classes.
Societies consist of several diverse elements, which are significant in the advancement of social notions. One of those key elements is media. In today’s society we approach countless varieties of media that are constantly influencing the way individuals live their lives. Consuming media on a daily basis has an immense effect on the way people view things within society. A source of media that tends to dominate our daily lives is music. Music is currently presented within every aspect of our lives and has become a commodity more than a cultural aspect. It is existent in every occasion with a variety of genres. It has now become available everywhere at any time of day. With music being such a big commodity in today’s society, popular music developed. Popular music is based upon what is appealing to most individuals throughout society, which is determined by a scale of activity such as music charts. It is considered as a key cultural expression that highlights the attitudes of personalities (Joan Serrà, 2012).