Let me start by saying that these Podcasts are highly entertaining. I am not the biggest fan of the first half of each podcast because it seems to be pretty generic analysis. The second half, however, where the speakers relate their pop culture topic to modern moments of activism and draw hard to see correlations, is very well done. I decided to listen to and write about the 1st Transformers Podcast and the Billboard Hot 100 podcast.
I find it kind of humorous that they seemed so adamant about enacting social change. They seemed to always use the word “activism” as some sort of buzz word. BUT as I continued to listen their words became much more illuminating. It was tough for me to draw conclusions about the art world as well because when I heard all of their podcast they were essentially saying that none of the pop culture that they reference is actually Art. None the less they podcasters did have some great one liners that really stood out to me and I think embody what social change is all about, not so much through art, but in a general understand of what needs to be done to reach people through “art” forms.
First, listening to the transformers piece I thought immediately that the line “popular culture is about mining popular desire” I immediately thought back to Exit Through the Gift Shop. I mentioned in an earlier post that I did not think that Mr. Brainwash was an artist so much as someone selling something. That I think is the perfect example of what the broadcaster was saying was “mining public desire.” That “artist” simply saw that street art was something that the public wanted, to be desired, and then he began to mass produce it. This idea of mass producing something that is, at its core, supposed to embody unrelenting creativity and passion for ones work. As with all three of the podcasts that I listened too, clearly there seems to be a general agreement among the hosts of the show that pop culture, whether its music or movies, does not intend to inspire change through artistic creativity and integrity but instead seeks only to prey upon public desires that, in my opinion should not be there in the first place.
Back Tracking for a moment, the same host also mentioned that while you could draw some general deeper meaning from the film (I enjoyed his idea that the film was trying to show America’s lack of faith in the government and how, the film made sure to add a lot of ambiguity as to how the government actually works, in the end leading us to ask the question “who is in charge, corporate America, of the Government.”) but in the end while Michael Bay (the director) may have intended for that, it is his flashy mass consumption, explosion filled film, Transformers 4 (cough mass production cough) that does not lead people to thinking about public disputes over government regulations…instead it makes you think, wow that movie was “entertaining.” Its as if once you leave the theater, the movie never happened. It doesn’t resonate on an emotional level and thus cannot encourage us to take action.
One thing that was common throughout all three podcasts was the idea that making yourself relatable is so incredibly important, both in pop culture but especially activism. The hosts mention that “visuals are universal, music is universal” so in that sense, Transformers and the Billboard Hot 100 both are able to create something that a lot of people can see, and it can have a potentially, profound effect on the viewer or listening. Similar to *relatablilty* , these pop culture icons also have identifiable characters. When you can recognize a type of person or a certain character trait then you become more engaged with the media, and it is able to “reach” the viewer/listener/experiencer in a more palpable mentally interactive way.
Hozeir, the Irish sing/songwriter who was very high on The Billboard Hot 100 when the podcast was published has a song that many people have heard. “Take Me to Church” it is called and as many also know it is politicly charged by the idea of a same sex relationship. It may seem obvious but in a lot of ways the song embodies what it means to enact social change through ones art. When someone who feels repressed listens to the song they can relate to then encourages them to go out and have their voice heard and Hozier did. And its a real good song!
They use an Ed Sheeran song as great example of relatablilty. One of the hosts mentioned that Sheeran’s demeanor or lyrics evoke a “im in my room and its the 6th episode of Daredevil on Netflix, and I have not eaten in days” type of feeling. That is a very common place or feeling for us to have and thus his critic are fewer and farther in-between. The hostess then went on to say the most important thing that I had heard in any of the Podcasts…
“If music does not resonate with the listener then there is going to be a backlash…music is supposed to be emotional…if its not something I relate to then I push against it stronger.” That, I think, is a perfect example of how people view public activism, public protest, yarn bombing even.
The Occupy movement came to mind immediately after hearing that because I could not really wrap my head around why the protests were happening. So, because I didn’t really care about what Wall Street and Corporate America were doing at the time I personally lashed out publicly against the protesters. I would say things like “stupid hippies…what do they think they are doing…stop waisting everyone’s time…attentions whores.” Its that lack of connection that I find to be incredibly dangerous because even if I see a reason for protest and activist related activities, if someone simply doesn’t understand why im participating in said activities then the backlash from their misunderstanding could be huge!
Brian Eno sums up the point that I am trying to make perfectly when he says on the podcast “People in the art world, in general, are afraid of popular… it’s the fear that if you like what everyone else likes, then you’re no different than them, you might just be like them. And people are quite frightened of that.”
It is that fear that stymies social change!
Another gem that struck me was said by one of the male hosts. He said, and im paraphrasing here, Contrast in ones work is important. If music was loud all the time no one would want to hear it, and if protesters walked around with signs for the rest of their lives, no one would pay attention.” With contrast comes another interesting way of viewing art as a harbinger of change. When someone looks upon street art, or any art for that matter, the contrast “helps to delay the viewers interpretation of that piece and when interpretation of what someone is seeing is delayed then they begin to add more meaning to the piece.” Genius!
As I was typing this I could not help but think about how badly I want to mention these quotes and ideas during class time. Ill certainly incorporate them into my final reflection. The hosts of “Salvage Expeditions” are incredibly insightful and I am certainly going to recommend them to other potential listeners. I think anyone reading this should do the same.
artforsocietalchange 