05/1/11

Wake us up

The video above is of a song released in 1965 titled “The War Drags On” by British folk singer Mick Softley. It was written to protest the Vietnam War and follows the story of a soldier who is sent to Vietnam and has nightmare of the world ending due to nuclear warfare.

 

 

The video above is of a song released in 2004 titled “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by the American rock band, Green Day. The video follows a young couple in love that have an argument because the boyfriend enlists in the USMC.

Both videos are very moving however “The War Drags On” is much more direct in it’s anti war sentiment. Furthermore, the 1960s video uses (or so it seems) actual scenes from the Vietnam war where as Green Day’s video is staged. It seems that as time has passed many people have grown to accept, or rather tolerate the pointless wars we are in. Maybe its more of a feeling of insignificance, in regards to our influence on government action. The 1960s video clearly addresses the irony of bringing freedom to the country. The 1960s video is also more graphic and calls people to action. This difference between videos reflect a change in social protests. Nowadays people have become much more reserved with their opinions and due to the economic situation most people have found themselves in, are too busy with work and family to have the time and desire to do anything that would stimulate social change. The world has become infantile and even as we become more connected via the internet, we have become isolated from the world, narrowing our scope of interest and concern to a very close proximity.

 

04/30/11

“Don’t matter what color, all that matters we gathered together”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox0Q4YIdnGI&feature=fvwrel

 

The first video is a song originally written by Bob Dylan in the 60’s. It is a song questioning the way things are. For example, the line ‘Yes, how many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to be free ?’ is a question based on civil rights for blacks.The second video is Mosh by Eminem and it was released in 2004. Eminem in this song was trying to encourage people to go out and vote. He wanted to encourage people to try to change and challenge the politicians ( Example: Bush ) that were taking advantage of them. Mosh had more anger being shown than Blowing in the Wind. Mosh is more aggressive.

04/29/11

“Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” and “World Wide Suicide”

 

With the lyrics composed in 1956, “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” was a very influential song during the black civil rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s. It was one of the protesters favorite song during their organized walk outs. Although the lyrics of the song is rather subtle, since it did not refer to any specific events or movements, the intention of the song was, nevertheless, apparent to the singers and listeners. The melody and the repetition of “eyes on the prize” were very effective in reminding the protesters to continue to pursuit their ultimate goals.

Pearl Jam’s “World Wide Suicide” (2006), on the other hand, is a song that was written to express the population’s anger toward the Iraq War. In contrast to the subtle “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize,” “World Wide Suicide” is a little more explicit in the message. There were many key words, such as “war,” “man-made hell,” and “President writes a check, while others pay” that were apparent to the audiences during war time. Moreover, compare to “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize,” “World Wide Suicide” is more of a song of complaint than a song of encouragement for the protesters.