The Influence of Popular Music and Its Use in Propaganda - Essay Example

The Influence of Popular Music and Its Use in Propaganda There have been so many claims that music has great influence on children. An old 1999 report suggested that parents should check the kind of music that their young ones listen to because of supposed validated findings showing that there is a connection between undesirable behaviour and song content which a youth is exposed to. If that is so, then the impact will be worse particularly with popular music which is considered to have more adverse effects due to its inherent intensity. The report therefore refutes the apparent excuse advanced by the music industry that after the song material is sold, nothing else will come out of it. The observation was also conveyed that pictures of violence are prominent in song descriptions especially for the rock genre. The report was purportedly to show the destructive repercussion of popular music on the juveniles. (Music's Deadly Influence. August 3, 1999. CWA Concerned Women for America. [internet]). Another paper says that on a daily average, two and a half hours are being spent by teenagers listening to music more than half of which containing allusions to drugs and alcohol. (Parker-Pope, Tara. Under the Influence of...Music February 5, 2008. The New York Times. [internet]). How popular music sways the human individual was once explained by the philosopher and composer Theodor W. Adorno in that mass habitual listening first results into the tune being first perceived, then recognized and finally accepted. That cycle finally ends singly in acceptance and becomes a way of everyday life. It was on this premises that Adorno, together with his friend Max Horkheimer, likewise a philosopher, strongly argued against the aspect of popular music having the tendency to be used for propaganda purposes. (Adorno, Theodor W. assisted by George Simpson. Theory about the listener. Institute of Social Research. New York. 1941. soundscapes.infor [internet]). Music is admittedly universal and is estimated to have started its development as early as fifty thousand years ago in Africa and must have undergone numerous evolutions as generations come and go. (History of classical music traditions. Wikipedia. [internet]). Naturally, genres and styles likewise crop up and fizzle out. Music itself in general could have already been used in announcements, declarations and in other forms of communications for thousands of years, that is, even before the emergence of pop culture. Known is the fact that music has been historically linked with political and social activities, including dynamics in expressions such as those pertaining to anti-war themes, patriotic songs and other varieties of delivering a message. In these instances, since the object is the people, the song or music must be one readily acceptable by the masses. (Music and politics. Wikipedia. [internet]). In the specific case of popular music, if indeed it is a valuable tool for propaganda, then its use for that purpose must have already traversed the period from the middle of the 1950's or even before and up to the present. Presidential candidates in the United States of America have oftentimes used well-known songs in their political campaign or propaganda. The themes can vary from political platform or planned programs of government to direct or subtle character assassination against the adversaries. Music in politics has been used even during the time of George Washington, the first president, whose supporters had flutes blown out while rejoicing when the general was unanimously nominated. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had also their campaign songs, ironically composed by the same talent, in the election of 1800. Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt and John Quincy Adams likewise had their own. William Henry Harrison famously campaigned with the song entitled Tippercanoe and Tyler, Too; he had other songs for his political advertising one of which attacked Martin Van Buren as someone like Satan. Franklin Roosevelt used a well-known pop song in his presidential candidacy. Adopting it as his own, he was the first candidate for the highest post to do that. All these only evidently manifest the belief or perception that songs or music creations have the powers to convince or persuade the masses or the people to embrace or adopt a message, theme or conviction in the social and political landscape. As a matter of course, the effort to contradict, oppose or incite hate is part of the whole caboodle. What then was George McGovern trying to deliver with Bridge Over Troubled Water except as a reference to the Chappaquiddick tragedy, alleged by some to be a hit-and-run incident, involving the late Senator Ted Kennedy. (Suddath, Claire. Brief History of Political Campaign Songs. September 12, 2008. TIME IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CNN. [internet]). With today's advancements in information and communications technology, all these tunes can spread through the web and the internet, giving more convenience and ease to propaganda efforts. Then candidate Barack Obama made much use of his high-tech Blackberry in the campaign. Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, both great music people and activists, composed and sang songs to emphasize their crusades which had social and political relevance. Their movements comprising those relating to anti-war, peace or non-violence, and civil rights, became more remarkable because of the tunes and melodies that they created. On the part of Dylan, he wrote a bunch of songs which were his own original compositions and several of these creations were intended for political protest. One of those was, and still is, the widely known and highly acclaimed Blowin in the Wind. The impact of Dylan's works must have been gravely considered offensive by the objects of the themes that certain portions of some songs were deleted or eliminated owing to implied or explicit links or implications to the ideologies of the John Birch Society, an extremely rightist group. (Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Bob Dylan. [internet]). Dylan corroborated with Joan Baez for a considerable period of time, in the late 1960's to be more specific. Baez was an avowed political activist. Matter-of-factly, she still is. She took so much advantage of her musical and singing prowess. She was a poignant proponent of civil rights or anti-discrimination and non-violence. Among others, this was demonstrated by her association with, and later marriage to, David Harris who was jailed for evading the Vietnam draft. Her radical attitude and behaviour and contra mentality might be attributed in part to her childhood experience on being discriminated for her Mexican origins. (Lewis, Jone Johnson. Joan Baez. Women's History. About.com. [internet]). It must probably be this subconscious psychological framework that explains the force in the emotions apparent or characterized in her rendition and portrayals of the songs she herself composed or helped create. In sum, she propagated her personal beliefs and doctrinal stands through music. Since she became a public figure, the deliveries were thus considered popular music. Having been widely accepted, the medium she utilized proved to be effective which was why she was occasionally being restrained in the process. One incident was when she was not allowed a performance by the Daughters of the American Revolution in the year 1967, a duplication or repeat of what the association did to African-American Marian Anderson, a well admired American contralto. The latter was also not permitted by the group to sing in the same place, the Constitution Hall. Marian Anderson. Wikipedia. [internet]. Joan Baez still sings and speaks in public to this day in her propaganda drive for non-violent solutions to war-prone Middle East and notorious Latin America. Another great figure in the music culture who injected social activism in his compositions was John Lennon. As a matter of fact, he was once dubbed the Dylan of Britain. (Imagine John Lennon. [internet]).Lennon has in his name three songs titled Imagine, Instant Karma and Give Peace A Chance the word contents of which were remarkably imbued with social implications. The songs of John Lennon with sociological impacts were aside from those composed when his group, the foursome of Beatles, had not yet disbanded. It may be recalled that as a band, they had in their names Come Together and With A Little Help From My Friends as creations with political or social tones. Going down history lane, music was a fixture in abodes as well as in war fronts in the early twentieth century. During that period, the piano was a home fixture. The instrument became an important facility for families to entertain and socialize. In those times, popular music was propagandized and spread to the masses. It was employed as an effective way of inculcating into the minds of the citizens patriotic fervour, national pride and the need to answer calls for action to help the governing authorities. The motives in using musing toward these ends gathered the mutual help of those who had the resources in composing and publishing the songs. In the course of those efforts and endeavours, the composers and publishers profited or made money at the same time as the populace eagerly responded by buying the relevant music products. In the era that was the First World War, songs aroused the spirit of volunteerism and spontaneous support from the people. Those who listened to war music but who did not subscribe to the idea of the armed battle were despised as citizens indifferent to the general cause. Mostly, music was a great influence in the kind of social and political tendencies embraced by the citizens and was therefore significantly considered as instrumental in the war initiatives. Words alone were deemed deficient or wanting. The same was true during the Second World War. The United States used popular music to inspire the Americans who were being mobilized to come to the aid of the government in the war. Words and melodies were mixed in refinement to depict the Japanese as inhuman. Emphasis was given to the bombing of the Pearl Harbor which was paraded in music as a sin not only to America but also to the Almighty with Japan having no respect for God and mankind. The 1945 song When We Set That Rising Sun had lyrics which portrayed the Japanese as semi-pagans. Actually, this methodology was also used against the Nazis. (Wells, K. A. Music as War Propaganda Did Music Help Win The First World War Parlor Songs. [internet]). There can be no exact unit of measurement to assess and evaluate what popular music did when the largest democracy in the world engaged in those two global battles. Definitely, the Americans won as the Nazi Germans and the Japanese were reduced into surrendering. Well, popular music must have played a big role in the wars of go guns, bombs and sheer courage. The craze for popular music propaganda is also used to a great extent in product advertisements. One well-liked song stood out overwhelmingly as possibly the best. It was the hit piece with the opening line that suggested of buying a Coke for the world. The advertising wizards working for the Coca-Cola Company were tasked to create a new jingle in 1969. It should go hand in hand with the then slogan for the beverage, dubbed as the real thing during that era. (The "Hilltop" Ad: The Story of a Commercial. Coca-Cola Television Advertising Home Page. [internet]). Interestingly, the twist was very unique. It was a jingle that was reformatted to a song although the latter still evidently still impressed the consumers that it indeed remained identified with the soft drink. As an advertising tune, it was titled I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke. Under the rendition of the New Seekers, a prominent figure in the music community, it was re-worded and re-titled I'd Like To Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony as a song. The creation became a hit in the charts of the United States and the Great Britain. It turned out to be a world phenomenon in the field of advertising. It could only be presumed that since the music was widely accepted, it must also have succeeded as a propaganda blitz for the product. Rival Pepsi-Cola Company has likewise always been into the use of popular music for the endorsements of its products. As a matter of fact, it once engaged the services of MC Hammer, once a top singing talent in the pop world, in 1990. One particular song of the singer was leading the charts for thirteen weeks in that year. (Pepsi-Cola signs worldwide advertising and concert sponsorship deal with chart-topping pop artist MC Hammer. September 5, 1990. HighBeam RESEARCH. [internet]). There are differing views on the coordination and collaboration between popular music and product advertisements. Some claim that the union of the two proves that there really is retrogression in cultural values while there are those who believe that the combination or amalgamation of the duo is the bonding of arts and commerce which has long been wanted. Popular music believe that it reflects and affects societal circumstances. People who subscribe to the idea of associating trade advertising with popular music are of the opinion that the blending entertains and inspires a great good portion of society because it offers meaningful show windows of the economic situations during the passages of time periods. At the other side, those who oppose popular music being corroborated and collaborated with advertising campaigns believe that the mixture hypnotizes the massive segment of the consuming populace and, in effect, can deceive the listening buyers. Such deceptions can be in the forms of fake necessity of the goods being endorsed, things expected which do not turn out true and the creation of emotions which need not exist. Popular music is indeed a form of culture that has imbedded in the consciousness of people in all places. From the poor to the wealthy, the love or yearning for music does not have boundaries. Some use songs to express their views while others do so to gain acceptance from the listeners of some desirable attitudes and moral values. There are well known songs that politically incite and there are those which crusade for peace. Man, with his hearing senses, always craves for music that is pleasant to the ears and once a good composition is created and wins the approval of the general community, it becomes popular. If already appreciated by the listening populace, its use can be vast including that for propaganda or for other means of spreading communications or information. People who create music have varied intentions which depend on their current needs, political orientations, religious preferences, economic situations, their individual idiosyncrasies and other factors or variables. Hence, one cannot expect a composer with extremist leftist leanings to write a song that endorses capitalist beliefs and virtues. Popular music is commonly perceived to be effective precisely because it captures the imaginations of its consumers. It was probably for that reason that there were times when certain Asian territories discouraged Western music for the fear that it would lead to the entry of the drug culture in the region, substance abuse being strongly considered as a form or source of societal depression. Known is the fact that American and English popular music has deeply rooted in the minds and hearts of people in global dimensions. From ragtime to jazz, rock to rhythm and blues, soul and funk and punk and all those tunes from the west side of the planet invade the whole of the earth including that east of it. Wherever the source though, popular music is already an element of everyday living. All throughout history, that is, from songs of yesteryears like, say, Old Man River of circa 1927 which depicted the struggles of the blacks, to the Sound of Music in the 1960's, to the recent songs of Taylor Swift and Beyonce and Britney Spears, popular music always leaves a mark to humankind and becomes a tool of influence. That necessarily includes its being employed in propaganda efforts. The bad side of popular music is how it manipulates the mentality of young people. It has to be confessed that music, sounds and songs contribute a lot to the learning process and the development of skills in communicating. Substance abuse, carefree living and violence are incorporated in songs that sometimes become popular. This practice poses hazards to the youthful mind which can easily grasp what is being delivered by words which accompany the music, particularly when the video presentation as in the film, for instance, is such that the whole exhibition can be noticed at once. Many shows on television as well as those in the big-screen theatres are so effective in inserting songs in the programs or movies in order to mix plain spoken words and music. The arranging style holds the interest of the children and their fixed attention to the small screen is achieved. The tunes and the melodies break the boredom and the monotony, especially if the lyrics are crafted to drive a message in point that ignites curiosity and enthusiasm. Therefore, the effect can either be good or bad, that is, depending on what value, tendency or behaviour is being driven or pointed out. It must be importantly observed that with the internet and the fast innovations in communication systems, censorship is getting harder to impose or implement. Even songs produced and marketed pursuant to legal and procedural requirements have satanic, incest-related and other undesirable contents. The guidance of parents is the key factor in these predicaments. However, the mamas and the papas are not beside their young children or teen-aged kids all the time that the latter watch and enjoy the video entertainment. Either the production destructs or imprints good values. No one knows except the lonely viewing juvenile. The influence of popular music among the youth is evident in the outward manifestations like the style of clothes and wears and the other basics of how one looks. In sum, giving music the benefit of the doubt, it is not at all times a risk for children, especially teen-agers. Raising them in a happy and healthy environment will keep them away from the bad influence of destructive sounds. On the other hand, a problematic child will most likely find escape which he or she might find in songs which suggest destructive notions. The end result can be a lead to a feeling of isolation or depressed emotions. Thereafter, booze and substance abuse will follow. That is the normal, natural and usual course. Be it on children or on adults, the influence of popular music on the human person can never be understated. References Adorno, Theodor W. assisted by George Simpson. Theory about the listener. Institute of Social Research. New York. 1941. soundscapes.infor [internet] Accessed January 14, 2010. Available at: < http://www.icce.rug.nl/soundscapes/DATABASES/SWA/On_popular_music_3.shtml>. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Bob Dylan. [internet] Accessed January 15, 2010. Available at http://www.ask.com/music/artist/Bob-Dylan/4147>. History of classical music traditions. Wikipedia. [internet] Accessed January 14, 2010. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_classical_music_traditions. Imagine John Lennon. Accessed January 15, 2010. Available at: http://www.superseventies.com/lennon2.html. Lewis, Jone Johnson. Joan Baez. Women's History. About.com. [internet] Accessed January 15, 2010. Available at: . Marian Anderson. Wikipedia. [internet]. Accessed January 15, 2010. Available at: . Music and politics. Wikipedia. [internet] Accessed January 14, 2010. Available at: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_and_politics>. Music's Deadly Influence. August 3, 1999. CWA Concerned Women for America. [internet] Accessed January 14, 2010. Available at: http://www.cwfa.org/articles/1059/CWA/family/index.htm. Parker-Pope, Tara. Under the Influence of...Music February 5, 2008. The New York Times. [internet] Accessed January 14, 2010. Available at: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/under-the-influence-ofmusic/. Pepsi-Cola signs worldwide advertising and concert sponsorship deal with chart-topping pop artist MC Hammer. September 5, 1990. HighBeam RESEARCH. [internet]. Accessed January 16, 2010. Available at: < http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-8810734.html>. Suddath, Claire. Brief History of Political Campaign Songs. September 12, 2008. TIME IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CNN. [internet]. Accessed January 15, 2010. Available at: . The "Hilltop" Ad: The Story of a Commercial. Coca-Cola Television Advertising Home Page. [internet] Accessed January 16, 2010. Available at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ccmphtml/colaadv.html Wells, K. A. Music as War Propaganda Did Music Help Win The First World War Parlor Songs. [internet] Accessed January 15. 2010. Available at: < http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2004-4/thismonth/feature.php>. Read More