“The mesmerizing sounds and images in this nearly hypnotic state many times lead us to lose our sense of understanding, often neglecting the underlying messages being promoted that are equally as important, if not more.”
Erik Castillo
Erik Castillo is a business administration junior and Mustang News culture columnist. These views do not necessarily reflect the opinion or editorial coverage of Mustang News.
Hey … Ya! Excited about Coachella 2014? I know I am, having bought my advance sale Weekend 1 tickets before the lineup was even released. The popularity of this music festival is astonishing — seeing how quickly tickets sell out, making it the most profitable music festival in the United States. But taking a step back, we see that the extent we permit popular culture, through the entertainment and especially the music industry, to consume our lives is dumbfounding.
As fun as Coachella may be, I will never over-glorify the festival as the “best weekend of my life.” Looking back to 2013, one of my favorite parts of the festival was people watching. I recall my friend freaking out simply because she was able to spot a hidden Vanessa Hudgens, among the general admission attendees eating a pizza. Upon reflection, a large part of me felt silly as I soberly perceived a crowd congregated in a trance like state, seemingly worshiping these artists as if they were more divine than us as human beings.
The mesmerizing sounds and images in this nearly hypnotic state many times lead us to lose our sense of understanding, often neglecting the underlying messages being promoted that are equally as important, if not more. I don’t know about you, but as catchy as the headliners’ tunes may be, I’d still have a sense of foolishness belting out, “Roses really smell like poo-ooo-ooo.”
It’s understandable that lyrics are simplified to appeal to a broad audience, but many of the lyrical themes circulating around sex, drugs, money, self-pity, codependence and other materialistic and demeaning ideals are contradictory and regressive for society, yet we continue to spread these messages and empower those that do. I had a friend who visited her family in Brazil over the holidays and told me about her Brazilian cousins who knew little to no English, yet were able to perfectly recite Eminem’s “The Monster” featuring Rihanna, by precariously mimicking the sounds with no actual comprehension of the lyrical content.
This oblivion doesn’t only apply to patrons of the entertainment industry, but to the entertainers themselves, which many are quick to condemn and over-scrutinize. The entertainers are given too much credit, though, with their roles often nothing more than being the face of the much larger, conniving industry.
You see, many entertainers have naïvely dedicated their lives to the industry from a young age for the deceptive, glamorous life of fame and fortune, sacrificing a proper education and becoming puppets to their publishing companies. While this is not always the case, with some artists preparing original work, many still rely on co-writers and are subjected to production makeovers.
Further vexing are the nonconventional artists who challenge the system, but are controversial without a cause, which we see in Kanye West’s infamous video for Bound 2 featuring fiancée Kim Kardashian’s naked body quivering against his on a motorcycle, as Kanye raps degrading lyrics.
At one point, he even asks, “Have you ever asked your bitch for other bitches?” in reference to his Christmas wish list, inconsistent with a previous lyric in the song contending “one good girl is worth a thousand bitches.” Another prime example is the rebellious Miley Cyrus — despite her MTV “documentary” special, “Miley: The Movement,” in which she defends her cause (and VMA performance) as more than “some mess,” but a “part of a movement” that is “all thought out in [her] mind” with “every decision [going] into a bigger plan,” she never develops any meaning to that, unable to break down any significant purpose to her actions other than rebellion.
She claims to want people to respect her, but goes on with counteractive, juvenile thoughts such as “I just wanna like have fun and not think about any kind of repercussion[s].”
It’s gratifying to see other young artists like Lorde, a novice to the spotlight, attempt at somewhat meaningful lyrical content. On the other hand, there are other talented breakout artists that are disappointing sellouts, like Ariana Grande. Previously known primarily as a star from Nickelodeon, she continues to comprise the degrading role of scatterbrained imbecile Cat Valentine, with the catchphrase “What’s that supposed to mean?” giving off the erroneous message to impressionable children that playing dumb is cute.
More upsetting are deceptive artists we praise, like Lady Gaga, a former stripper who has tried to uphold herself to a higher standard, even referring to herself as a goddess. She claims to stand for a progressive image, supporting stereotypical popular movements.
Nevertheless, she too sells herself out with raunchy, objectifying lyrics like those from her recent single, proclaiming “Do what you want with my body,” contradicting her claims to be “sexually empowering women.” The song makes a sad attempt to justify the lyrics by adding context that tries to reprimand the media for their scrutiny. But the underlying message gives the media permission to continue doing so, encouraging them to disrespect her because she doesn’t care what the media says about her. This, however, contradicts another of her hits, “Applause,” which contends that she lives for the media’s attention.
While Gaga pretends the media does not faze her, she purports the message to hide any feelings that might show weakness, which essentially approves bullying. The song “Do What U Want” features R. Kelly, who does her intended message little to no justice, which someone must have realized after his sexual assault case recently resurfaced. This is indirectly addressed in her remix of “Do What U Want,” a marketing ploy featuring Christina Aguilera instead of R. Kelly. In 2008, Aguilera retorted about Gaga, “I’m not quite sure who this person is, to be honest. I don’t know if it is a man or a woman. I just wasn’t sure,” in response to their comparison. Really now?
I understand business is business, but as patrons of this industry, we have a lot of control via the business we support and associate ourselves with.