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Music Bridging Cultural Gaps In Hong Kong people look down on those from 'the mainland'.
Historically the Cantonese have been inclined to assume mainlanders
are coarse, ill educated and tactless; this unfair stereotyping
continues to this day. Still, despite the pianist's mainland-Chinese
background, the Cultural Centre was packed for his concert. He was the
youngest gold medallist in the history of the Chopin International
Piano Competition, and this was enough to intrigue Hong Kong
audiences. I watched him and the Philharmonic live on television.
At the start of the concert the pianist walked into the room to a
smattering of polite applause. He gave a quick bow, flashing the
yellowed teeth so often associated with mainlanders. His long hair had
been slicked back with gel and his face powdered white. He shifted the
piano bench slightly with his hands before sitting down.
The violins began the concerto, bowing with heavy sforzando. The oboes
joined the violins, crooning sadly, and then the flutes
flutter-tongued in the upper register. The full orchestra, in all its
grandeur, sang. Chopin's Concerto no. 1 in E minor resonated in the
concert hall, reverberating off the walls. Chopin was a Romantic, and
Romantic music is by definition very emotional and expressive.
He sat quietly and listened to them, nodding in time. He used no
music: he had memorized the whole of the forty-minute concerto.
Gradually the orchestra approached the climax of the piece; his
shoulders tensed and he flexed his fingers. Right before the zenith,
they paused. Then he started to play.
...
... middle of paper ...
...c far sweeter and rarer than many had ever heard before, except
perhaps in the time of Frédéric Chopin himself. The concert hall fell
silent as everyone listened.
The third and final movement ended, and the soloist rose and bowed.
The applause was deafening. Without a doubt, here, truly, was a
master. During a forty-minute concerto he had trapped his listeners'
fancy and kept them from drifting. The 'unrefined mainlander' tag had
been peeled away to reveal an exceptionally gifted performer.
Perhaps the concert showed people how untrue and unjust such
stereotyping is. Perhaps it did not. Either way, for certain, the
pianist showed his audience how music could bridge cultural gaps. He
showed his audience how music could remove one from the cares of this
turbulent world. He showed his audience the beauty of the music.
American pop culture recently received flak for cultural appropriation. Artists such as Katy Perry and Selena Gomez were criticized for superficially incorporating Asian images into their music. However, cultural appropriation and cultural tourism – and its consequences – are commonly seen in relation to traditional culture; this lack of attention towards visual representation of modern Asian subcultures – in relation to Asian Americans – dismisses the potential impact of these images. A visual analysis of Avril Lavinge’s “Hello Kitty” and Gwen Stefani’s appearances with the Harajuku Girls reveals that the use of Japan’s Harajuku subculture in American pop culture perpetuates Asian American stereotypes. Specifically, these acts contain characteristics of the submissive “lotus blossom” stereotype and the invisibility that comes from this stereotype. These characteristics result in an insidious formation of race; Avril Lavinge and Gwen Stefani’s cultural tourism constructs the concept of an American that excludes the Asian body through contrasts between themselves and the background Asian body. This racial formation relies on the idea that the two artists have become part of the Harajuku culture, yet they are clearly distinguishable from the homogenized Asian body.
Race, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits (“Merriam-Webster” 2016). “The concept of race, as a construct distinguishing one group of humans from another on the basis of shared biological appearances, emerges from a legacy of human-different making that traces across humanity” (Radano and Bohlman 2000: 10). In my opinion, it is inevitable for musicians to subconsciously incorporate their ideas of racial differences in music making. With the influence of the mass media, racial differences are communicated through music, which then modifies the pre-existing perceptions of racial identities of the audiences. First, I will
1. What you are studying (which three works and the topic of your paper) Topic: I’m going to be writing my paper on Cultural Appropriation. I’m going to focus on cultural appropriation in music and hip hop. Then I’m going to use cultural appropriation in hair as a way of questioning whether cultural appropriation is actually cultural appreciation.
Music in every country has a history going back hundreds of years. It is an excellent type of entertainment that any person can enjoy. America being such a diverse country, any person regardless of race or gender needs to be given a fair shot in an opportunity to showcase his or her talent. However, there is a lack of Asians Americans represented in America. Asian Americans must go above and beyond on what is expected in the industry, compared to white and black Americans who seem to have it much easier. “Always, it is the Asian who assimilates, who must explain his or her prese...
In this day and age, pop music dominates the airwaves at every turn. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, and many are commonplace names among teenagers and younger demographics not only in the United States, but all around the world. The United States has accepted the position of international, cultural role model long ago, dating back to the 1950’s when rock and roll caught fire as a hybrid of blues, country, and jazz and spread to the rest of the world almost infectiously. Since then, every major artist that comes out of the United States has easily become a global icon, regardless of the language or nationality of their adoring fans. However, one could conceive that this glamorized version of music comes less from the soul of the artist and is merely born of fiscal ambitions and visions of grandeur. The point made previously is not to critique any pop icon’s talent, which clearly they have proved to possess an abundance of it to keep the public swooning at their every whim, but instead, to show that there are musicians out there producing beautiful music without the threat of corruption and adherence to mainstream culture.
Miller, Terry, and Andrew Shahriari. World Music: A Global Journey. New York, London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2006.
Music is a part of everyday life for almost everyone in the world. Music provides us with enjoyment and relaxation, and can be used in many ways by many different people. Some may use it to calm down after a long, hard day, while others use it for religious purposes or still others in and attempt to try and forget something that hasn’t been favorable to them. The possibilities are endless, for music is one language that can be transmitted to all people of the world, no matter their nationality, and it can be understood by everyone. Tibet is no different than any other place in the world, as it has music that serves the purpose of the people who live there. While most music in Tibet is religious, secular music still exists and is still a part of life there. Tibetan music has played an important role in shaping who the Tibetan people have become today by giving themselves different ways to express who they are, through the use of differing instruments and styles of music, and has allowed other people from around the world the opportunity to look at Tibetan culture through their music.
“Music is uniquely wonderful. It is incapable of being touched yet it touches everyone who is capable of hear sounds. It can seemingly evoke any emotion; we instinctively respond to happy tunes, mournful songs, beautiful melodies, inspiring anthems, stirring hymns, and majestic orchestrations.” (Doolan, Robert. 1985) There is no question that music is great part of society; it has been at civilization’s side whether it be the lyres and flutes of the ancient Greeks or how it calms or excites emotions and keeps armies in order during battle. Within society, there has also been social unrest and the desire for change. Protesting is the expression of a society’s concerns on current events of which they feel affected by whether it be through public rallies, picketing, riots or even bombings. Protest through music is one powerful medium for engaging people. Amidst what life throws at individuals, music has comforted the soul, provoked individualistic thought and opinion, and music draws people together through groups alike who have the same attachment or concerns with their surroundings. Whether it be rock, jazz, blues, rap, hip hop, dance, spiritual, or world, music has inspired artists to spill out their expression and views of society. Music is a universally effective tool of protest in generating social change and unrest as it continues to unite those with like ideas.
Some may say music is just music; a song is just a song. However, music plays an enormous role in our psychology, because a single song has the ability to bring about many kinds of thoughts and emotions in the listener. Music is subtly one of the main factors in which people identify with certain groups and establish their belonging in society. It shapes people’s perspectives on how the world functions and the roles they play within it. Music can function the same way in a culture; it can reflect many of the culture’s values and ideologies. Music can have many effects on culture and the people’s idea of who they think they are within that culture. Music can serve in a way that promotes cultural identity and pride, yet it could also play a role in the separation of social and economical identities in within cultures.
Frequently music curriculums also call for culture to play a role in learning objectives and to achieve state standards like Indiana Standard 9 RESPONDING TO MUSIC: Understanding music in relation to history and culture. To make curriculum accessible and applicable to students’ current life, it is important to incorporate the cultural backgrounds that are found in their community. In an effort to do so I incorporated culture into a mixed brass ensemble lesson (Artifact 2). This lesson gave opportunity for discussion to share personal experiences with holiday celebrations during December. Students could share their experience celebrating Christmas along with the experiences of knowledge they have of Hanukkah. Furthermore, this lesson could address
Music and the relationships of music have changed drastically in our society. The course of studies and the evaluations of the applications of the technology of music, the making and the listening of music have changed in the way we listen to music, the styles of music in our society and in the media. The importance of the technology in music today, has, over the past century been charted through the study of musical examples and through viewing how human values are reflected in this century's timely music. There are very many different types of music that are listened to. There are readings, writings, lectures and discussions on all the different types of music.
With the music being the highly profitable, capitalist enterprise that it is today, it is no wonder that it is controlled and regulated by a few large conglomerates that exist is today’s world. It is important to make clear that although evidence is being presented of the positive aspects of globalization through music that there is overwhelming evidence that cultural imperialism is more than it seems on the outside. One must keep in mind that cultural imperialism, globalization and the creation of a global village is a business. People are profiting at other people’s loss of cultural identity, they are sold a culture and heritage. With the every growing N’Sync fan clubs and Britney clones, the world is turning into a stage for pop culture and its glamorous unattainable standards.
Culture jamming in all its history has had different effects on people, both positive and negative. First we will talk about the cons of cultural jamming and its usage. Cultural Jamming mostly is attacked in its advertising form. Advertising, as well as promotions, was originally used by the corporations to sell a product. The motives now however have been skewed. Advertisements and promotions now days have a greater purpose, rather than just selling a product, corporations through their product hope to sell an image and send out a certain message. However it is ultimately how the consumer perceives these messages that is of utmost importance. This is where most of the conflict arises. Today’s advertisements consumers feel are not only selling a lie, but also they are sending out superficial and falsifying messages to the general public in order to make money. Thus consumers feel the need to rectify this through their cultural jamming. Cultural jammers often vandalize posters and billboards and alter the messages of preexisting advertisements to send out the message these images and their products actually promote. Through their actions, cultural jammers also seek to get consumers to think independently and thus see advertisements found on billboard and other areas with a new light and perspective. They aim to expose the motives behind company’s agenda. However sometimes this is done out of mal-intent or are done for alternative motives. Often activists have not only damaged the goods of private firms causing them great losses in terms of profit, but have also tried to ruin or tarnish companies just because they do not agree with their views. People have also often times engaged in cultural jamming with the sole purpose of fam...
Music is an essential part of life because of the expression it allows people to have, its entertainment, and its therapeutic ways for the world.
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 is used in rites of passage ceremonies such as births, weddings and funerals throughout the world. Jamaican and Yoruba cultures have made many contributions to our society. The uses of this music as a vehicle for political issues, values, and beliefs have been used by many musicians from different cultures. I intend to discuss the Contribution of these two contemporary cultures music and their effect on society.