Marvin Gaye: What Is Going on and Vietnam War - Case Study Example

Marvin Gaye: What is going on and Vietnam War Marvin Gaye: What is going on and Vietnam War Born on 2 April of 1939in Washington D.C, Marvin Gaye was a soul singer and songwriter with Motown, who used his songs to address controversial themes in the society in the timespan between 1960s and 1980s.1 His early life would see him sing in his father’s church an aspect believed to have sparked his interest in music. He would master the piano and drums while still young before finding passion in R&B and doo-wop and he would establish a firm foundation for his music career. The move to join The New Moonglows, a vocal group, turned his life around as his talent was well in the limelight especially in the eyes of the group’s founder Harvey Fuqua.2 His extraordinary ability would see him sign a deal with Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Records. What moved people was Gaye’s choice of themes in his music. Born at a time when the society was torn by war and other political elements, Gaye’s songs were never short of political messages and inclinations that would even see him pick differences with his producers and record label. Escalating violence in Vietnam and political unrest that came with this war inspired Gaye to write what would turn into an instant hit in 1970 in the form of “what is going on.” With a record label that was keen to avoid a political inclination, Gaye would clash with Motown but the song would hit the airwaves anyway3. This would provide inspiration to others who felt the need for United States to withdraw from Vietnam. The Song “What is going on?” Inspiration and Writing ‘What is going on?’ was conceived from an experience underwent by Renaldo Benson, a member of Motown vocal group, Four Tops, after having witnessed police brutality during a protest, which had been staged by anti-war activists in the city’s People’s Park.4 Benson would later share his concerns with a songwriter, Al Cleveland, who would compose a song based on the event, as Benson would want to know what was going on. His partners would turn down the request to have the song citing that it was a protest song a move that saw Benson approach Marvin Gaye. Gaye spiced up the song to his liking, edited some bits and added his own lyrics.5 Inspired by a society that was putting up with every social ill conspired by the few in charge of key decisions in the country, Gaye would feel that a protest song was in order as his love songs were not fitting the context. Having had a brother in the military service in Vietnam, and having lost a cousin in the same war, nothing would stop Gaye from reaching out to Gordy for recording.6 Amid protest from Gordy, Gaye would finally record the song himself and have it produced and released on January of 1971. The song would perform well and feature as position one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song would sell 2 million copies, and Gordy allowed Gaye to produce his own music. The song featured in the album “What is going on” which Gaye produced.7 The Politics behind Marvin Gaye’s Art As much as the African Americans realized some equal treatment and rights as white, there was a sense of protest spirit in the air as they suffered discrimination and physical violence in the hands of the whites.8 That was not enough to inspire Marvin Gaye as did the policies laid down by the government of United States. Marvin would find inspiration in protesters who would oppose the Vietnam War. The violence suffered by the messengers of this agenda would move Gaye to the studio and envisioning all these deeds he would shape up his lyrics. These lyrics would tell the story better;9 “Mother, mother Theres too many of you crying Brother, brother, brother Theres far too many of you dying You know weve got to find a way To bring some lovin here today – Ya”.10 He would see the implications of violence that was attributed to lack of love. People would identify each other as brothers but ignored the fact that others were crying. They were suffering in pain and losses. Far too, many were dying, as Gaye would put it. He would express the urgency in the need to find a way to bring there some ‘loving today’.11 There was a sense of lost humanity. Women were crying. Many of them agonized at the hands of war. Martin Gaye did not stop at “What is going on”. He would produce more albums that illuminated the demise of the black protest movement. “Trouble man” and “Let’s Get it” on would follow “what is going on” and add to the long list of anti-war protests song that would compel the society to embrace love and peace. Gaye was going through the firsthand experience of the Vietnam War. Having served in the military before embarking on a music career, he was aware of the suffering the men in uniform go through while defending the nation. But that would be legendary if such war were inspired by moral grounds. The Vietnam War was not with the best interest of United States. Marvin’s brother was through the Vietnam and had lost a cousin in a war that was not noble. Marvin felt there was no “need to escalate” as war was not the answer.12 Role of USA in Vietnam War The war was named after Second Indochina war of 1946 to 1954 and was initial between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam would find support of Soviet Union, China, and other allies who advocated for communism. United States and France would back South Vietnam plus other allies who were against anti-communists. The United Sates justified its involvement as a measure to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam.13 While the North Vietnamese wanted a unified Vietnam that would be ruled by communism, the U.S. regarded that as a move that was not for the best interest of the Vietnamese. North Vietnam looked at the whole war as colonialism by USA and France while it regarded South Vietnam as a puppet state of France and United States.14 USA involvement raised alarm in 1961 as the number of troops deployed to Vietnam tripled meaning more Americans were sent into a war that did not represent their interest. The Gulf of Tonkin of 1964 led to a new resolution that allowed the then U.S president to deploy more U.S military in Vietnam. The Tet Offensive of 1968 saw U.S intensive involvement as North Vietnam attempted to overthrow South Vietnamese government.15 The move by the communists to overthrow South Vietnam government failed anyways but opened a new chapter in Vietnam and United States. All this time United States had justified their stay in Vietnam yet South Vietnam had the capacity to stand on its ground. This would see many social anti-war protests before direct U.S withdraw in 1973.16 Role and Power of the Public Anti-war Protests A number of factors provoked the social protests against U.S. involvement in Vietnam.17 The peace activists featured included the likes of prominent artists like Marvin Gaye, legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, leftist’s intellectuals on college campuses, students, members of the hippie movement, and mothers. The United States population was bothered because the government was trying to get more into a war that had no any positive returns to the nation. The anti-war protests opposed the Vietnam War on moral grounds. The students felt that United States was more of an imperialist that wanted to engage in a war at the expense of lives and well-being of the people.18 Civilian deaths were the order of the day. Such groups as Students (SDS) would engage in protests and marches to mobilize the public on the need to stop the war.19 Students would occupy campuses in protests, cause rampage in offices and destroyed facilities at the same time as they raised their concerns.20 The protestors were angered by the government tendencies to manipulate the western media, which would not reveal the nature of the ground in Vietnam. The images availed by the media no matter how small would provoke the U.S population to stand against the war.21 Many like Marvin Gaye believed that war was not the way forward. While the Domino theory and threat of communism were cited as justification for engagement in Vietnam War, protesters believed those were scapegoats to practice imperialism, an element that denied Vietnam to establish its course as a civil nation.22 Nevertheless, what elated more reactions at home were the number of American casualties that served as militants in Vietnam. Their death toll was alarming. The government would try to recruit more young men into the military despite such worrying statistics. The failure of the Tet offensive would convince Americans that such war would never be won despite the funding channeled towards the war by the government.23 The anti-war protests were intense as a result of The Tet Offensive in the United States. Through protests, the power of the public was felt when the policy, Vietnamization, was launched to terminate U.S involvement in the war. Words of Marvin Gaye would not be ignored anymore. The U.S withdrew from Vietnam in August 1973. The South Vietnamese would fight for their course on their own Effects of the Vietnamese War on American Society and Culture The Vietnam War led to the natal of new social and cultural aspects in United States. There was an onset of the counterculture movement that used various mediums to express their anti-war mentality. Marvin Gaye was inspired by the brutality suffered by protestors at the City Park.24 While love was supposed to dominate, hatred and violence ruled the day. Many found grounds to stage their freedom of expression and oppose the war. There were financial commitments involved in the form of millions of dollars. This was at the expense of the needs back at home where people were in need of social amenities. The war cut across social structures of the family. The recruitment of soldiers to serve in the war would target young men who would fall victim of policies established by the old. They would end up as casualties while others died in wars.25 There was an outcry to stop the war, as loss of such people would have the future of the whole nation at stake. The group Hippies was born through this war. They expressed a cultural aspect that embraced drugs, a special kind of hairstyle and dress code. Protest songs became an order of the day. Marvin Gaye would aim such songs at the government in a non-violent manner. The war brought up a case of Asian-Americans babies. The interaction of U.S soldier with Vietnamese women led to pregnancies that expounded the culture of United States. Some have united with their parents leaving much to look up to. Marvin Gaye echoed what the American population tried to put across. Vietnam War and other instigated violence were not a solution to social and political issues. The anti-war protests were realistic, and the government should not have engaged in a war that was never hers. There were economic losses, casualties and loss of life. The social structure and culture of United States was never the same again. Bibliography Damon, Talbot. 2009. Today U.S. One, Tommorow the World:The May 1970 Protests at the University of Maryland, College Park. Vol. 106. New York : University of Maryland. Edmonds, Ben. 2003. Marvin Gaye: Whats Going On and the Last Days of the Motown Sound . Washington: Canongate. The Real Thing In Performance 1964-1981. 2006. Directed by Marvin Gaye. Performed by Marvin Gaye. Guttmann, Allen. 1969. " Protest against the War in Vietnam." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 382: 56-63. Johnson, Robert E. 2000. Jet 4 April 1994. New York: Johnson Publishing Company. Neal, Mark Anthony. 1998. "Trouble Man: The Art and Politics of Marvin Gaye." The Western Journal of Black Studies 22 (4): 65-90. Office of-the- Historian- US-Department of State. 2006. U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive, 1968. Accessed April 28th, 2015. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/tet. Overview of the Vietnam War. 2012. Accessed April 28th, 2015. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=18&smtid=1. Ritz, David. 1991. Divided soul- The life of Marvin Gaye. New York: Da Capo Press. Schuman, Howrad. 2000. Two Sources of Antiwar Sentiment in America: The United States and the Vietnam War: Significant Scholarly Articles. New York: Garland Publishing. Thompson, Nicole L. 2010. "Utah, the Anti-Vietnam War Movement, and the University of Utah." Utah Historical Quarterly, 154. Read More