by Good question! Afterall, your average person doesn't get offended by a movie's message, or a slight here and there, or the occasional rock band. Speaking of rock bands, that's actually what this post is really all about.
You see, all this time I thought I was a loner in seeing these controversial opinions, but I was reading a book recently, Why The Left Hates America, and the author had some things to say, too:
Another group of Chomsky disciples, Rage Against The Machine, has sold millions of albums 'raging' against the country that made them rich. Like the corporate schlock they purport to despise, the rap/metal group maintains a cookie-cutter approach to producing hits: predictable, politically charged lyrics set to tunes that evoke a feeling of deja vu for listeners wondering whether what they are hearing is the band's last single. By shrewdly clothing their off-putting message in beats and rhythms congenial to the ears of youth, the political activists masquerading as musicians assure that their idiosyncratic views receive a hearing amongst an audience that normally wouldn't pay them any attention. With an upside-down flag gracing an amplifier, Rage Against the Machine fans mosh to such numbers as "CIA (Criminals in Action)" and "Take the Power Back," which waxes poetic, "Bam! Here's the plan/Motherfuck Uncle Sam."
In fiction, where any theory or characterization, no matter how absurd, can be made to work, readers, listeners, and viewers are conditioned to believe what they see or hear. With enough repetition, the creator's imagination is often processed as reality. This is why so many ideologues flock to the arts. In their netherworld, even the most outlandish ideas can appear to make sense.
...The makers of anti-American propaganda films and the millionaire musicians who rail against our capitalist system deserve our scorn, not our dollars
And there you have the quote from Daniel Flynn (P 88-89). And you may be wondering, "Why did Q post all this?"
Well, for starters, I've mentioned before certain bands and musicians have political tastes that I dislike and gotten scorn for it. I wanted to explain a bit why these positions bug me. To put it simply, I don't really like listening to people rail against America or chat about politics when I disagree with them on every point, nay?
And you may think, "But Q! They the freedom of speech to do so!" and you'd be completely right. But freedom of speech has consequences. They can make songs that attack America, and the consequence is I will refuse to support their music with my money or listening to them and I will denounce them. That is my freedom of speech, to dislike their music if I want. And to comment on how I dislike it.
Notice also the other reason I refuse to support it. See, it wouldn't be so bad if they were just making music and they were stating their opinions. But this part underlines why there is more to it than that: By shrewdly clothing their off-putting message in beats and rhythms congenial to the ears of youth, the political activists masquerading as musicians assure that their idiosyncratic views receive a hearing amongst an audience that normally wouldn't pay them any attention....With enough repetition, the creator's imagination is often processed as reality.
That is the real reason I have to say something. You guys buy into their songs! You completely and wholefully buy into their messages and believe what they are saying, based on almost little to no evidence. Proof? I've argued with most of you and many of you yourselves said you know little about politics. So why are you picking up views by bands like "rage against the machine" and "rise against" when you yourself admit you don't know much? Because these messages are being pushed into your brains. I refuse to listen to it because I know too much and it offends me, usually. But because you know so little about politics these lyrics make actual sense to you.
"Condescending much, Q?" Well, maybe I am. But if you wanted to know why I make a big deal about explaining the hidden messages in movies and songs, this is why. Because if I don't, and no one challenges the reasoning behind these movies, who's there to tell you that the movie isn't true? Who's there to fend off the propaganda? If I leave it up to you, then how many of you will continue to believe in falsities? Heck, even I often find myself having to do fact checks. So what makes you, who has 0 interest in most politics and does little research, believe you'll be immune to the messages? And I now have proof I'm not the only one who sees this as prevalent. Scholarly figures have picked up on it.
On the one hand, I feel like actors, musicians, and movies should just leave the politics to someone else. Afterall, do you go to a teacher and ask her to do your taxes? Do you go to a fireman and ask him how to measure a yard for cement pouring? Do you go to a doctor's office and ask him the best way to put out a fire? No. Why? Because these are not their jobs, their area of expertises. An actors area of expertise is acting. A musician makes good music. A movie should tell an epic tale. And in none of these situations are these people experienced to make much comment on society.
Put another way, do I, Q, a lover of politics feel I have expertise on acting and go to their sets and speak out about how they should act? Do I go up to their concerts and start yelling about how they do not play the guitar correctly? Absolutely not. I know I don't know what I'm talking about so I avoid it.
So what makes them think their opinions are just such gold that they can comment on an area of expertise foreign to them? And yet, I understand that their going to do it anyway because it's about 'expression' and what not. And since we have a society where these people are going to make calls on politics and most people will listen to them, someone has to combat what lies and deceptions and sometimes stupidity they are putting out.
And I'll do that job just fine, thanks.
Note: I encourage anyone and everyone to get involved in politics, but I wish they'd keep it separate from their professional lives. Just like I'd find it rude if I went to a business and they refused to give food to Democrats, I find it rude that musicians feel the need to attack our soldiers and southerners in their music (or what have you). That doesn't mean I think these people, or any people, should be excluded from politics at all. But that they should keep it separate from their professional jobs and not act like their opinion is better than the average person's. And when they do have to incorporate it into their jobs, let's try being respectful about it. Not "They took off his clothes, they pissed in his hands, I told them to stop but then I joined in," [Rise Against referring to soldiers in the song 'Hero of War'] or "I am ashamed of my country" [
