Crossing the Cultural Divide

On August 1st, 1981, MTV launched a revolution in pop-culture that will live in entertainment history. Music and video were combined into one medium and the influence on our imagination and emotions became exponentially multiplied. According to some cultural analysts, this has produced a generation of young people that has begun listening with their eyes and thinking with their feelings. This media marriage is neither necessarily good nor bad, but young people should be reminded that every musical score or video production is a wholesale projection of a particular worldview from someone’s perspective. You may also want to remind them that images that are driven by a musical score are a compound influence on their senses in much the same way that advertisements target their senses with the same combination.
Below are some statistics from a USA Weekend poll of 60,000 teens concerning their music listening habits: from (What Kids Can Do.org 2003.)

• 79% listen while doing chores
• 73% listen while on the computer
• 72% listen while doing homework
• 33% listen while eating meals at home
• 18% listen while in class

The Debate

If you have ever found yourself debating with kids about their music and media interests, you are certainly not alone. Unfortunately, these issues do not resolve as quickly and easily as those in a night time drama or a half-hour sitcom. In today’s hi-tech world of cell phones, mp3 players and ipods, teachers, as well as parents, have to deal with teen music choices. These issues require perseverance and diligence as you pursue relationships with students.

Adult:

“Young man, turn that blasted music down right this instant…….. For crying out loud…….How can you attempt to do schoolwork and listen to that polluted garbage? How can you even hear yourself think? What is that nonsense you are listening to anyway? It sounds like a bunch of noise…You’re gonna’ go deaf!”

The hoped for response is not usually forthcoming!

Teen:
“You are SO RIGHT! I will turn the music down immediately. Thank you so much for your adult concern!!! All of the loud and disturbing music must have completely damaged the sensibilities in my little teenage mind. What ever was I thinking? I am so lucky to have you to look out for my best interests until I am mature enough to completely understand your adult wisdom. Thank you for saving me until that happens! Now that you so gently and lovingly pointed out the error of my ways, we can all just get along!

And they all lived happily ever after…………………….Didn’t they?

Conflicting Messages

“Give me the makings of the songs of a nation and I care not who makes its laws,” said eighteenth-century Scottish political thinker, Andrew Fletcher. These words may very well be truer today as today’s songs and lyrics seem to influence the convictions and moods of today’s kids and adults like never before. Kids have always been influenced by the music that reaches their ears. Educators have long recognized the value of music in the arena of learning. MTV’s marketers and producers also understood the value of this relationship and capitalized on this fundamental principle when it revealed one of its early slogans, “Watch and learn.” And kids watched….and kids learned!
Suddenly, kids were no longer just teenagers. They had an identity of their own. The MTV generation was born. It was a watershed moment in pop-culture history. For the first time, an entire generation could be defined not so much by their common beliefs and attitudes, but by the type of TV they watched.
Speaking on the power and influence of music almost twenty-five hundred years ago, Plato stated that, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”
Powerful words concerning a powerful medium!

More than “just words”

If you have expressed concerns about what you believe to be a negative message from kids' favorite music and musicians, then you have probably heard them fire back, “I don’t know why you have to get so worked up about the music I listen to. It’s just entertainment and the musicians don’t mean anything by it…….it’s JUST WORDS!” But when that sweet bundle of sunshine finds a positive message in one verse, from one song, they come heralding a proclamation, “Listen to this ONE song. They really do care about society and encourage right behavior. They said “DRUGS ARE REALLY BAD!”

Gently remind them that while you may seem like an old geezer in their eyes, your baloney detector is still in functional condition.

Kids can’t have it both ways. Words are still the primary way that humans communicate messages to one another. Music and video can’t be “just entertainment” or “just words” when the message and images are negative, and then become magically “inspiring and virtuous” when the messages are positive. Music and video have the power to convey BOTH positive and negative messages because words and images are powerful mediums!

These confrontations do not have to be fraught with peril. These situations can provide parents and teachers with incredible opportunities to connect with students regarding things that are important TO KIDS. It is also a perfect occasion to challenge them to think critically about not only their music and media choices, but also about life choices that may affect their reputation and character.

Below are a few practical and probing questions that may help you to engage your children and students about their musical interests. These questions may also allow you the opportunity to learn more about the culture that interests them and to show them that you care enough to invest your time relating to them on a more personal level. GOOD LUCK!

• What are the goals of a particular song or video? Does it affect your emotions? Imagination? How?
• Do you feel emotionally connected with your favorite song or musician? In what way?
• Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet your favorite musician?
• Do you think he/she would be just as excited to meet you? Why or why not?
• Is it possible that you might be disappointed that they just don’t feel the same way about you as you do about them?
• Is there a rebellion against authority in your favorite music? Is it legitimate or centered on your desire to create controversy?
• What emphasis is placed on money as THE mark of success in today’s music and videos?
• Does the way that you dress have anything at all to say about the music you listen to?
• Does the lifestyle portrayed in your favorite music and videos seem to correspond with reality?
• What does your favorite music have to say about dating, drugs, violence, sex, and relationships?
• How does your favorite music view authority figures?
• Have you ever been to a concert? Have you noticed the power that the lead singer has over the audience? Why do you think that is so?
• When someone attacks your music, does it feel like they attacked you personally?

George can be reached for student, parent and educator programs at:
American Center for Character and Cultural Education
info@straightroads.org
www.straightroads.org
1600 Laurel Rd
Ambridge PA 15003