A Serious Blog Now- Music, Drama, Art and Politics
I think a lot of us saw the drummer's blog on how music and politics should not mix.
It got me thinking just about politics, and how it has influenced many different things in the Creative Arts, from cartoons to American Idiot.
When you think about it, creativity and politics have been hand in hand since for ever.
In the medival times, the most important people would build big castles and plan the rooms and sleeping arrangements.
Wouldn't you say as well as being political it also involves some creative thinking?
Also they had tapestries depicting nobel kings and what they did- never peasents of course.
Still political? I would say so. Isn't politics just really people who are considered more important making all the descions and then being put in the history books?
And tapestry, as every knows is a form of art.
Van Gough used to live in a mining village, starving himself and refusing to bathe so he could be in the exact same conditions as the miners. He drew them working, every little detail about the poor conditions, later using them as evidence when he complained to the higher up's about the terrible conditions.
Political and also art? Yes.
Chairman Mao used to send his followers out into peasent areas, finding children and then training them in a school of dance. The students would then be cast into political ballets, usually about all the benefits of communism and how great Chairman Mao was. Or at least, how great he wanted them to think he was.
Art and Politics? Yes.
In the 60's. 70's and 80's, the rebelling in soceity started. Whether from the hippy protest songs about the war in Vietnam, or The Sex Pistols singing their anthems about Anarchy, the political side was there.
Finally, in the 2000's we had a heap of things go wrong politically(or not, depends how you look at it). Musical artists such as the Dixie Chicks and Green Day started shouting out their opinions about Bush, 911 and the Iraq War. The Dixie Chicks were shot down and publically demonised, while Green Day (being more popular to the younger generatioons) managed to make a statement with their comeback album.
Not everyone agreed with that statement, as you can see on GSB. Some old fans were appalled at this, claiming Green Day had finally sold out (Hello? Everyone already thought they sold out with Dookie. Make up your damn minds! Frankly, every time Green Day had a big success they were called sellouts). A heap of new listeners were misinformed and just thought that Bush was evil and they wanted to, in their words: "KILL ZE FUCKER!". As for the people in the middle, they either went one way or another.
Now since American Idiot, other music artists started speaking out, like Pink and Kayne West. Thus the message reached new heights and got around to the people who didn't listen to Green Day or other political rockers.
Also, I think ever since politics first started we've had politcal cartoons. Even Family Guy and The Simpsons has politics in it! It doesn;'t matter where you go in entertainment- it's always someone else's opinion and take on things. And not everyone always agrees on that. Politics= someone's point of view. And points of view are found everywhere, from commercials to art galleries.
What I'm trying to say is, everything is just someone's take on things. And if you don't want to listen, that is what walking away is for.
It got me thinking just about politics, and how it has influenced many different things in the Creative Arts, from cartoons to American Idiot.
When you think about it, creativity and politics have been hand in hand since for ever.
In the medival times, the most important people would build big castles and plan the rooms and sleeping arrangements.
Wouldn't you say as well as being political it also involves some creative thinking?
Also they had tapestries depicting nobel kings and what they did- never peasents of course.
Still political? I would say so. Isn't politics just really people who are considered more important making all the descions and then being put in the history books?
And tapestry, as every knows is a form of art.
Van Gough used to live in a mining village, starving himself and refusing to bathe so he could be in the exact same conditions as the miners. He drew them working, every little detail about the poor conditions, later using them as evidence when he complained to the higher up's about the terrible conditions.
Political and also art? Yes.
Chairman Mao used to send his followers out into peasent areas, finding children and then training them in a school of dance. The students would then be cast into political ballets, usually about all the benefits of communism and how great Chairman Mao was. Or at least, how great he wanted them to think he was.
Art and Politics? Yes.
In the 60's. 70's and 80's, the rebelling in soceity started. Whether from the hippy protest songs about the war in Vietnam, or The Sex Pistols singing their anthems about Anarchy, the political side was there.
Finally, in the 2000's we had a heap of things go wrong politically(or not, depends how you look at it). Musical artists such as the Dixie Chicks and Green Day started shouting out their opinions about Bush, 911 and the Iraq War. The Dixie Chicks were shot down and publically demonised, while Green Day (being more popular to the younger generatioons) managed to make a statement with their comeback album.
Not everyone agreed with that statement, as you can see on GSB. Some old fans were appalled at this, claiming Green Day had finally sold out (Hello? Everyone already thought they sold out with Dookie. Make up your damn minds! Frankly, every time Green Day had a big success they were called sellouts). A heap of new listeners were misinformed and just thought that Bush was evil and they wanted to, in their words: "KILL ZE FUCKER!". As for the people in the middle, they either went one way or another.
Now since American Idiot, other music artists started speaking out, like Pink and Kayne West. Thus the message reached new heights and got around to the people who didn't listen to Green Day or other political rockers.
Also, I think ever since politics first started we've had politcal cartoons. Even Family Guy and The Simpsons has politics in it! It doesn;'t matter where you go in entertainment- it's always someone else's opinion and take on things. And not everyone always agrees on that. Politics= someone's point of view. And points of view are found everywhere, from commercials to art galleries.
What I'm trying to say is, everything is just someone's take on things. And if you don't want to listen, that is what walking away is for.
Great blog. I'm glad Green Day put out "American Idiot" and said the things that they did. It made people who were afraid to speak out find their voice. Art is all about expression and everybody seems to have an opinion on politics. The two will always go hand-in-hand, I think.
whyamIstillhere?, April 11th, 2007 at 02:12:07pm
I agree.
I just feel that American Idiot (the music clip) is a brilliant example of a combination of several things.
You know the green flag pictured in it? Thats a take of the artwork by Jasper Johns - we actually studied it in art, and I realised that they used this flag. Pretty darn cool ^_^
The Brightside., April 9th, 2007 at 07:31:43pm
Great Blog.
I really don't know what else to say without copying everything you've pointed out. But musicians are entitled to writings songs about their political beliefs, and people are entitled to agreeing with them or disagreeing with them. Whether or not we agree, I still think it's cool how they want to open our eyes, at least, about the world, instead of sitting around blissfully unaware of what's going on. You know?
Funky Platypus, April 9th, 2007 at 11:44:12am
Hun, its obvious people have their own point of view on things, and i completely agree with you on that. And people have the right to listen to what they want to, unless restrictions get in the way. Anyway.... people also have the right to complain about stuff, almost anything they want (unless its about something/someone important and they want to protect their/it's status), therefore there will always be stuff like this in the world, we can't control it. So, just pity those that are full of sh*t, and remember, you may be full of it too. Most everyone is.
Life is a whole bunch of nothing and everything, which sometimes creates a bad outcome.... you just have to deal with it.
-Razz
razzledgirl, April 9th, 2007 at 07:30:16am
I agree with you. politics is a huge influence in creative arts.
Its absolutely everywhere.
But a lot of peopel already had opinions on bush (like me) before american idiot, what they were syaing wasnt new, it just showed people that someone agreed with them. but yeah influenced a hell of a lot of people too
waiting_a_long_time, April 9th, 2007 at 04:25:43am