Good afternoon and welcome to coast to coast, I'm Joey Macasieb.
Top story today surrounds pop superstar Lady Gaga and her new single Bad Romance. Bad Romance is the first single off of Lady Gaga's new and much anticipated album The Fame Monster, a follow up to her smash first album The Fame.
Lady Gaga has rapidly become arguably the number 1 pop star of today's generation leading some to compare her to Madonna who I personally consider to be the first lady of pop. Since Madonna dominated the music scene in the 1980s and early 1990s, never before had anyone seen a powerful, successful woman who used her music to show that she was taking charge of her own life, especially in the realm of her sexuality. Madonna's hits from the ever contraversial "Like a Prayer" to "Material Girl" sent the message to set your mind to something and keep going. Madonna, directly or indirectly, Bucked the system in a sexually repressed age and brought to the forefront of pop music the idea that its ok for women to take control of thier lives.
So where does Lady Gaga fit into this particular schema?
Lady Gaga arrived on the music scene and packed a cultural punch not seen since Madonna. Her songs from "Poker Face" to "LoveGame" have featured lyrics which show a woman taking charge of her life. The hallmark of Lady Gaga much like Madonna lies not just in her music but in the videos and performances for which both are noted. Gaga, in her video for her smash single LoveGame, can be seen at one point kissing a male police officer who for a brief moment becomes a female officer. In her video for "Paparazzi", Gaga kills a man who treated her horribly and used her.
"Bad Romance" is a throw back to the 1980s pop style pioneered for female artists by women like Madonna. The video for "Bad Romance" is reminiscent of Madonna in everything from Gaga's appearence to her choreography.
Lady Gaga has become one of the most influential artists of our generation and, like Madonna has fans from every walk of life. I look forward to watching Gaga's career progress and continue to spread her message.
Thats all for today and remember whether you live on the east, west or gulf coast
THE REPUBLIC PREVAILS
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Determinism and Conformity: Why it is impossible to not conform
Good morning and welcome to Coast to Coast I'm Joey Macasieb.
Our top story today, while not nessacarily involved with music and politics, surrounds the idea of conformity and a heated debate which took place in class yesterday. In an attempt to define mass culture in reference to marketing music, the class stumbled into some gray areas to include the question of conformity. The question being is it possible to be a non conformist or, rather, in being a "non conformist" one is simply conforming to the rebellious ideology of non conformity. For the purposes of this discussion, I would like to discuss a philosophical theory of free will and put to the discussion and debate of conformity an Argument from Determinism.
One key issue philosophers have debated for centuries is that of free will. The question often centers around one specific aspect: Do we (mankind) in fact have free will? One such theory that refutes free will is the Determinist Argument which states the following:
1) Everything we do is caused by forces over which we have no control.
2) If our actions are caused by forces over which we have no control, then we do not act freely.
3) Therefore, we never act freely.
According to the determinist argument, a kind of pluralism of exterior pressures exists that directly influence our actions and act as a catalyst for decisions both minute and major.
So what does an argument about free will have to do with conformity?
Conformity involves various external pressures either from the market, the media, or even from our peers. These pressures, we have no control over and, eventually we will conform to one of these pressures. If this is in fact the case, even by going against the mass ideology and being a so-called non conformist, one is still allowing those external pressures to dictate ones actions and is conforming to that given pressure. By determinism, it is both impossible to act freely and to be a non-conformist.
Credit to Problems from Philosophy by James Rachels for the determinist argument.
Thats all for today I'm Joey Macasieb and remember whether you live on the east, west, or gulf coast
THE REPUBLIC PREVAILS!
Our top story today, while not nessacarily involved with music and politics, surrounds the idea of conformity and a heated debate which took place in class yesterday. In an attempt to define mass culture in reference to marketing music, the class stumbled into some gray areas to include the question of conformity. The question being is it possible to be a non conformist or, rather, in being a "non conformist" one is simply conforming to the rebellious ideology of non conformity. For the purposes of this discussion, I would like to discuss a philosophical theory of free will and put to the discussion and debate of conformity an Argument from Determinism.
One key issue philosophers have debated for centuries is that of free will. The question often centers around one specific aspect: Do we (mankind) in fact have free will? One such theory that refutes free will is the Determinist Argument which states the following:
1) Everything we do is caused by forces over which we have no control.
2) If our actions are caused by forces over which we have no control, then we do not act freely.
3) Therefore, we never act freely.
According to the determinist argument, a kind of pluralism of exterior pressures exists that directly influence our actions and act as a catalyst for decisions both minute and major.
So what does an argument about free will have to do with conformity?
Conformity involves various external pressures either from the market, the media, or even from our peers. These pressures, we have no control over and, eventually we will conform to one of these pressures. If this is in fact the case, even by going against the mass ideology and being a so-called non conformist, one is still allowing those external pressures to dictate ones actions and is conforming to that given pressure. By determinism, it is both impossible to act freely and to be a non-conformist.
Credit to Problems from Philosophy by James Rachels for the determinist argument.
Thats all for today I'm Joey Macasieb and remember whether you live on the east, west, or gulf coast
THE REPUBLIC PREVAILS!
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