Author: EMMA GONZALEZ

Topic: Social Media, Cancel Culture, Politics

Question: How has social media and ‘cancel culture’ influenced our views and even politics?

Truth be told, research papers are my weakest form of writing, and I’m still extremely fuzzy on if I want to stick with this question and topic. I have a whole list of topics and half questions that I thought of, but after the Zoom class on Monday, this question is the only one that I’m interested in and is clear and I believe I could have a full essay on. I think it’s super relevant as the elections draw near, and as cancel culture is at its peak right now, it’ll be interesting to find out more about how our views in Generation Z differ from before cancel culture existed.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HtaIvb61Uk&ab_channel=melaniemartinez

Out of all music that I listen to and music videos that I watch, I believe that Melanie Martinez’ music truly makes an impact, and she is definitely one of my favorite artists. Since her debut, she’s used a child-like theme over underlying ideas exposing the most disgusting aspects of human nature and society, using the innocence of a child to truly emphasize the ugliness. On September 5, 2019, Melanie Martinez released a movie that incorporates music videos of all of her songs from the album “K-12”. Some topics that are mentioned in her music are the grooming of children, corrupt authority figures, her life as a celebrity, the hypocrisy and two-facedness in regards to the sexuality of women, and the development of a girl into a young woman.

Here are the three songs in the album that I think have the greatest impact:

“The Principal”

• In this song Melanie uses the two words ‘principal’ and ‘principle’ interchangeably to make a point. As the ‘principal’, you should have ‘principles’ and morals and devote yourself to your job, not take position only for power.
• “Where’s the principle? [principal]”
• “Sneaky, greedy, money-seeking”
• “I’ve tried to make you listen, but you won’t, it’s your way right?”
• “Killing kids all day and night, prescription pills and online fights”

“Show and Tell”

• In this song Melanie discusses how she feels as a celebrity and how two-faced her fans can be. One second people love her, but they’ll instantly turn on her if someone makes a false allegation. (I believe this is in reference to drama that she was in prior to the release of this song. There were allegations that she pushed herself onto a friend but it turned out to be a scorned friend who just wanted to hurt her career.) She also references how toxic and sick the music industry is, and how difficult it is to make it to the top.
• “Tell me you love me, but you treat me like I’m never there”
• “Show and tell, I’m on display for all of you to see”
• “Harsh words if you don’t get a pic with me”
• “Art don’t sell, unless you’ve f*cked every authority”

“Strawberry Shortcake”

• In this song Melanie discusses the way society views sexuality in women. She expresses how society expects women to be poised and perfect at all times, yet when harassed, it seems to be the woman’s fault.
• “It’s my fault, it’s my fault, cause I put icing on top”
• “It’s my bad, It’s my bad, no one told them not to grab”
• “‘Cause it’s how I look and not what I think”
• “Instead of making me feel bad for the body I’ve got, just teach him to keep it in his pants and tell him to stop.”

 

“What if Layli Long Soldier had used the quote ‘everything is in the language we do NOT use’ instead?”

Both Morgan Parker and Radley Balko touch upon subjects that are very relevant to the current climate of our nation. One of my favorite lines in Morgan Parker’s poem is “When he opens his mouth, a chameleon is inside, starving.” I think that Parker means to connect political figures and chameleons. When threatened, chameleons change color in order to hide from their prey and escape, much like political figures do when speaking of controversial issues. Many political figures change their tune or ‘color’ so that they gain the favor of the country, a “weaselly” tactic politicians use when caught red-handed. Balko’s article speaks more to me of the language we do not use in comparison to Parker’s. Balko states and points to areas of a case where grammar is used to cover up intentions and makes the case muddy. With the language not used, Balko gives three different scenarios on how the shooting happened, thus removing blame and responsibility from the officer.