Marques Chacon
The common theme among this week’s readings centers on the idea of remembrance for those who are no longer with us. In the reading “Rosetta Tharpe and Feminist Unforgetting”, Wald discusses how we need an intervention into the prevailing narratives of the history of rock and roll. She mentions how Rosetta Tharpe’s influence was erased and how important it was that her history be preserved, not only as an addition to the collection of rock and roll narratives, but also as a feminist critique to the dominant system. In fact, I found her quote on page 160 to be inspiring, as it says that “Biography… can shed light on women’s lives while questioning the historical apparatuses that have excluded them.” In this way, Wald is remembering Rosetta Tharpe’s legacy and is also making sure that it is not lost for everyone else by focusing on her life. In a similar way, the article “How the Day of the Dead is Celebrated” discusses how the Latin American celebration of Day of the Dead is meant to honor the deceased. It describes the altar, which has different levels depicting Heaven, Earth, and the underworld. One of the most compelling things I got from this article is how items of significance from someone’s life would be placed on the altar. Specifically, “On the different levels of the altar, offerings or gifts are placed, usually including favorite items of the deceased intended to honor and welcome them back home.” This struck me as very compelling, particularly in the context of Rosetta Tharpe’s story, as her’s was endangered by the lack of media and attention paid to her life, yet we have a whole tradition that is meant to honor people’s lives. It goes to show how growing up in different culture can have massive ramifications on how the narrative into one’s life is preserved in history. It also points to how individualist American society is, since we tend to selectively focus on certain figures over others. Life is more about moving on with our own lives; we don’t cherish the lives of our comrades.
Song Selections:
Michael Jackson - “Black or White” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTFE8cirkdQ
I Don’t Know How But They Found Me - “Do It All The Time” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXzPxBhhmY8
My first selection was “Black or White” by Michael Jackson, because the song’s message promotes racial harmony, and that ties in with the fact that we tend to not focus on the lives of marginalized communities. Furthermore, according to the uncut, original music video for the song, Jackson morphs from a Black panther to himself, and there is graffiti which says “Prejudice is Ignorance”. However, this was censored for being too controversial, which ties in to how many of the topics surrounding the struggles of marginalized communities are often put aside or censored. These types of symbols should not be censored because they depict the narrative that often gets overlooked by many people.
My second selection was “Do It All the Time” by I Don’t Know How But They Found Me. This is an indie pop song that satirizes the pop music industry for being “brainless” and “corporate”. The song criticizes the industry for promoting images and behaviors that are generally the embodiment of recklessness. This relates to how many narratives in the industry like sex and drugs are more of a focus than many other narratives which have gotten erased from the industry since they were not marketable lyrics.
The common theme among this week’s readings centers on the idea of remembrance for those who are no longer with us. In the reading “Rosetta Tharpe and Feminist Unforgetting”, Wald discusses how we need an intervention into the prevailing narratives of the history of rock and roll. She mentions how Rosetta Tharpe’s influence was erased and how important it was that her history be preserved, not only as an addition to the collection of rock and roll narratives, but also as a feminist critique to the dominant system. In fact, I found her quote on page 160 to be inspiring, as it says that “Biography… can shed light on women’s lives while questioning the historical apparatuses that have excluded them.” In this way, Wald is remembering Rosetta Tharpe’s legacy and is also making sure that it is not lost for everyone else by focusing on her life. In a similar way, the article “How the Day of the Dead is Celebrated” discusses how the Latin American celebration of Day of the Dead is meant to honor the deceased. It describes the altar, which has different levels depicting Heaven, Earth, and the underworld. One of the most compelling things I got from this article is how items of significance from someone’s life would be placed on the altar. Specifically, “On the different levels of the altar, offerings or gifts are placed, usually including favorite items of the deceased intended to honor and welcome them back home.” This struck me as very compelling, particularly in the context of Rosetta Tharpe’s story, as her’s was endangered by the lack of media and attention paid to her life, yet we have a whole tradition that is meant to honor people’s lives. It goes to show how growing up in different culture can have massive ramifications on how the narrative into one’s life is preserved in history. It also points to how individualist American society is, since we tend to selectively focus on certain figures over others. Life is more about moving on with our own lives; we don’t cherish the lives of our comrades.
Song Selections:
Michael Jackson - “Black or White” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTFE8cirkdQ
I Don’t Know How But They Found Me - “Do It All The Time” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXzPxBhhmY8
My first selection was “Black or White” by Michael Jackson, because the song’s message promotes racial harmony, and that ties in with the fact that we tend to not focus on the lives of marginalized communities. Furthermore, according to the uncut, original music video for the song, Jackson morphs from a Black panther to himself, and there is graffiti which says “Prejudice is Ignorance”. However, this was censored for being too controversial, which ties in to how many of the topics surrounding the struggles of marginalized communities are often put aside or censored. These types of symbols should not be censored because they depict the narrative that often gets overlooked by many people.
My second selection was “Do It All the Time” by I Don’t Know How But They Found Me. This is an indie pop song that satirizes the pop music industry for being “brainless” and “corporate”. The song criticizes the industry for promoting images and behaviors that are generally the embodiment of recklessness. This relates to how many narratives in the industry like sex and drugs are more of a focus than many other narratives which have gotten erased from the industry since they were not marketable lyrics.
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