I believe popular music can inspire political change; but music is only an inspiration, and requires its audience to make the change.
The singer Sammy Davis JR who when performing in Las Vegas was told he was unwelcome to stay inside any hotel; instead he had to stay in the shantytown just outside the city. When Frank Sinatra heard of this he said ‘if Sammy was unwelcome in Las Vegas then he wouldn’t perform there either’ Sammy was allowed to stay; an example of inspiration! Although Sinatra’ music isn’t political it gave him power.
Some argue that singers are ‘hypocrites’ because they are helping an organization that they condemn. Bob Marley’s ‘Get up stand up’ is a song against capitalism, but, it creates an income for caplitists. So he’s indirectly helping the organizations he is condemning. I would argue that it is a small sacrifice in order to inspire people to action.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
A pretty good post that covers some useful ground but it would have been nice to see some reference to one of the many theorists who operate in this area.
ReplyDelete