Shadow Stabbing

Week 11 Blog Post

DISCLAIMER: I work with deaf students and music is not an important part of their lives. I could have chosen a song to use in my classroom, but that is not realistic—they can’t hear the music! So for this assignment I chose a song that really spoke to me the first time I heard it, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to use in a classroom (with hearing students) because of the language.

Originally, I was going to use “Like a Rolling Stone� from Bob Dylan because, let’s face it, any music by Bob Dylan makes for great study. Then I started reading the article by Cameron White and I realized that he’s right about something—not all protest music was written in the 60’s and 70’s. There is great stuff still being produced today that is worthy of closer examination, so I chose a different song: “American Idiot� by Green Day from the album of the same name.

The title track was released as a single one week before the album in September of 2004. The album itself was the result of a misfortune in the recording studio—Green Day had been working on an album called Cigarettes and Valentines, but the master tapes were stolen shortly before recording was completed. This turned out not to be a terrible loss because they felt their writing was not that great and they decided to make an album that was more “relevant.� The result was American Idiot.

Here are the lyrics to the song American Idiot:

Don't want to be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind f--k America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Well maybe I'm the faggot America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along to the age of paranoia.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Don't want to be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria.
It's calling out to idiot America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Consider the historical context of September 2004: 9/11 was only 3 years in the past, the Iraq war was in full swing, and a controversial presidential election was on the horizon. It was a very tumultuous time and news stories were dominated by talk of politics, war, and post-9/11 life. Here are some of the important historical markers and the context in which the album American Idiot was written:
-- politicians were fighting about the Patriot Act and its potential for protecting Americans (or invading privacy)
-- presidential campaigns fought about the motives and information used in going to war
-- President Bush touted his response to the events of 9/11 on the campaign trail
-- Democrats and some Independent voters were still angry about the 2000 election in which Al Gore won the popular vote but not the presidency
-- the 9/11 Commission’s report revealed that Saddam Hussein was not connected to al-Qaida and 9/11
-- American media and politics criticized for post-9/11 fear mongering and hyper-emphasis on terrorism and war
-- Bush administration perpetuated fallacies about 9/11 and Iraq war: events of 9/11 linked to Saddam Hussein even after Commission report is widely circulated; Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction despite UN weapons inspections repeatedly coming up empty-handed; Iraq purchased yellowcake uranium from Africa even after Joe Wilson’s explosive New York Times op-ed piece

The song is clearly a call for people to pay attention, get involved, think for themselves, and not be mindless followers of the media and talking heads. It is an important message no matter the historical context. However, when placing the song on a timeline and considering all the turmoil of the time in which it was written, the referents of several subtle comments become clear. For example, in the first verse, “the new media� is a clear reference to post-9/11 news journalists, often criticized for fear-mongering, sensationalizing, and presenting one-sided coverage of issues. In the same verse, “hysteria� can also be pointed at 9/11, but also at the political upheaval surrounding the 2000 and 2004 elections and even the Iraq war. “Mind f--k� is a way to drive home the point that American media audiences are falling for the media representations, that they are passive audiences not thinking for themselves—almost like being brainwashed.

In referring to himself as a faggot, the artist was commenting on the way dissidents were viewed in the majority of America and in the political sphere of the time. When the song was written, the Iraq war was just starting to come under criticism, but the majority of Americans—in group-think—still believed that the war was justified and people wanted justice in the wake of 9/11. Anyone who split from the supportive, ultra-patriotic view of the war was seen very negatively, almost as a heretic. By using such a powerfully charged word—faggot—the song makes the point that people who take different views from the mainstream are bad, heretical, and traitors. But the singer goes on to say that he won’t be part of a “redneck agenda�, likely a direct insult to the president (from Texas) and the rumors about his interest in Iraq and oil because of his own family’s personal involvement with the oil business in Texas. Further, redneck has many negative connotations. The last two lines of the verse again point to the media and the popular opinion of the time and the group-think surrounding post-9/11 fear, unquestioning support of the war and the Bush administration, and paranoia about terrorism and people who are different.

The third verse drives the point home very clearly, if there were any doubts from the previous verses and refrain, that they are skewering the media. However, instead of pointing only to the media as being part of the problem of hysteria and propaganda, the song then turns its angst on all of America for letting itself be controlled by the media and for being mindless, for being idiots.

This song is a protest of the popular media, of the hysteria of the American public and the media, and a rebuke to the American people for following the popular media outlets, for letting themselves fall prey to the propaganda and hysteria. However, considering the specific time in which the song is written, it is important for people to understand the specific media events and propaganda the song refers to. People listening 50 years from now may understand that it is a protest song, but without the historical context, they will miss some of the really great subtle references to events that happened around the time the song was released. Further, listeners may not understand the specific call to action that is made in the song—wake up, pay attention, get involved, don’t believe the hype of the post-9/11 media, don’t fall for the company line from the Bush administration.