“It is also true that popular music offers a vehicle for musicians who want to express and share their political opinions. Popular music, at times, does put across a sense of injustice, a need for action, or a call for better societies that appeals to different audiences with varying intensity. For it to be political in the sense that we use in this book, it also needs to be listened to by political actors in the field, voluntarily or as the result of lobbying, pressure, or force.” (Van Zoonen, p. 50)

In the song “Lolli Lolli” by Three 6 Mafia, there is a line “Like Barack Obama said, yeah it’s time for a change” (listen around 1:56 into the song). The fact that it is simply one phrase in a four minute song may make it seem that there is no political basis, but choosing to mention a politician says more than mentioning anybody else. Plus, when it is a mention of only one presidential candidate, this shows a dominance or preference over the other.

This is closely related to the concept of celebrity advocacy. It’s possible that Three 6 Mafia stands behind Obama’s platform and supports his views, but it’s more likely that they identify with Obama being an African American male. The single was released March 11, 2008, leaving plenty of time for the political phrase to make an impact on any fan of the song, which peaked at 18 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. It also went as high as number 7 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Tracks chart. This gives perspective to how many people listened to the song, and if nothing else, were subconsciously made aware of the “support” for Obama.

“One can even recognize a certain degree of ‘issue ownership’ across particular genres. … Rap lyrics may concretely express inner-city protest, but in addition its performers are mainly black…” (Van Zoonen, p.48)

Three 6 Mafia referenced Obama’s “time for a change” motto—for what, I’m not quite sure. But they are black artists, and could be protesting inner-city life. Eminem is a slightly contrasting example of using a political figure in his rap song “We Made You.” He’s a white male and mentions Sarah Palin— a white female up for the possible position of vice presidency. The particular spoken line about her begins around 1:30 into the song, although the woman portraying her appears throughout the entire video. It is very mocking in nature and shows her scantily-clad—not something she would be proud to see. This song was released in April of 2009, so it did not affect Palin’s image while she was a vice-presidential candidate last fall.

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“Country artists express—indeed—a love for the country and a nostalgic view of a simple life through lyrics, their dialect, their dress code, and their choice of instruments.” (Van Zoonen, p. 48)

As with the in-class examples from Alan Jackson and Toby Keith, country songs do seem to have the strongest political ties. These songs do more than just mention a political figure—they touch on events and things that need to change. John Rich’s “Shuttin’ Detroit Down” (released January 28, 2009) is currently meant to make a statement about the big business and financial bailouts. Not only is it an outcry to the public, pushing for change, but more importantly political figures who may be listening, or will be forced to listen due to the message. Yet again, this can also relate back to celebrity advocacy because musicians know they have an avenue to express the feelings of their fans, who are average citizens just like you and I.

Gender and Sexuality in Dance Films

“In English, we have separate pronouns for male and female (his, her) and a whole slew of words such as mailman, milkman, manhole, and mankind that obviously carry a sexist bias” (Benshoff, Griffin, p. 206).

As a student in the communication department, I know that this is true and have made an effort to use words such as mailperson or humankind. Although I found that specifically in regard to dance movies, there is a form of female sexist bias in the noun “ballerina.” Chances of hearing the term “ballerino” in America are almost zero, although it is a term sometimes used in Italy. “Ballerina” sends the message that ballet is a female art, only perpetuating the thought that male ballet dancers are feminine and/or homosexual.

Released in the year 2000, “Center Stage” shows the struggles and successes of six dancers as they enter the American Ballet Academy, and how they learn to balance their professional and personal lives. Jody, Eva, Maureen, Charlie, Sergei, and Erik pursue their dreams of dancing professionally with a ballet company. Begin watching this clip at 5:00 until 6:10, and this will introduce the main male characters who are students at ABA in New York.



As you saw, Erik is homosexual but Sergei and Charlie are heterosexual. On a side note, Erik is also the only African American male—an example of combining two “token” qualities into one character. Now watch the following video between 2:30 and 3:10.



The fact that the girls made a point of asking, “Is he gay or straight?” makes one assume that there is in fact a high percentage of male dancers who are homosexual. When the girls learn that Charlie is straight, they get very excited— confirming that there must be a relatively low percentage of heterosexual male ballet dancers. There never seems to be a question about female dancers being lesbians… why the double-standard?

Although females are the main focus in Center Stage, the two directors of the final productions are both male. This shows male dominance over a largely female cast. Cooper takes advantage of Jody in their personal lives, and this also carries over into their professional lives. The following clip between 1:40 and 4:10 demonstrates this.



Another concept this clip shows is the “sensitive” male, which is sometimes seen as un-masculine. Balancing scenes such as this, is an aspect of competition between Charlie and Cooper—both trying to win over Jody, and both trying to one-up each other in dancing.

“Thus, Hollywood filmmaking, by drawing on certain representational patterns and formulas left over from previous decades, continues to marginalize women and women’s issues while both subtly and forthrightly privileging men and masculinity” (Benshoff, Griffin, p. 289).