Arianna Stancari Essays - Pop Ballads, British Musicians, Music

Arianna Stancari Ms. Wedemeyer ENG 101.922 26 June 2018 "Praying for Time": A Plea for Awareness George Michael released "Praying for Time" in 1990 off of his album Listen Without Prejudice. After almost a decade of teeny bop hits and a happy-go-lucky image, the content of this album was a surprise to many of Michael's fans; the album consisted entirely of deeply personal and reflective songs. One of the most remembered and referenced songs is "Praying for Time" because of its important message about society's failure to recognize and adjust its wrongdoings towards the unwealthy. When listening to the song, it is clear that George Michael put a lot of thought into the details: he uses many musical, recording, and lyrical techniques to get his message across. The song opens with the muffled sound of guitars "crashing" into their parts. This immediately gives the song a scared and desperate feeling. The slow tempo that the song maintains throughout allows the listener to really pay attention to the lyrics. Musically, it seems that George Michael didn't want to incorporate anything too extravagant in fear that it would distract from the song's message. The timbre of the song is also generally low; this adds to the song's somber and melancholy quality, evoking in the listener a feeling of sadness or hopelessness. Even in these first few seconds of the song, in which George Michael has not even begun to sing the words, the overall emotion of the song is clear. When Michael does begin to sing, he used recording technologies to make his voice sound as if it were coming out of a radio. I thought that this was a really clever and effective tactic. The song serves as a warning that society has lost compassion, and the idea of these words comi ng out of a radio further drives the image of this song being meant as a warning. Another quality of George Michael's vocals in the song is the way he often whisper-sings during the verses. This helps convey an ominous and melancholy atmosphere. During the choruses, as the words become angrier and more passionate, his vocals grow from those soft whispers to loud, desperate singing. Many who have listened to this song say that this vocal performance seems to "echo the fuzzed vocal texture of John Lennon's Imagine'" (Holden 1990). Its similarities to the vocal and musical styles of late-1960s singers help establish "Praying for Time" as a form of protest and social commentary. George Michael's poetic and powerful lyrics are the main tool used to convey his message. The song is not targeted at a specific group; Michael is commenting on the fact that all of society has lost its sense of compassion towards those who are less fortunate. This means that he is targeting anyone who will listen. In the first verse, Michael speaks directly to the listener: "Look around now," he says. With these words, he calls us to pay attention to our environment and be aware of our actions. Michael also wants to bring to the light the severe separation between rich and poor that has increasingly solidified over time. He says, "The rich declare themselves poor, and most of us are not sure if we have too much." In these lines, he is showing that, when the rich are only surrounded by the rich as a result of this separation, they begin to forget their blessings and compare themselves to each other. This comparison leads to a false idea of what being poor means. The wealthy t hen tend to be unaware of the pain and suffering of the poor; to show that most of society has acquired an "it's every man for himself" mentality, George Michael uses the lines: "So you scream from behind your door Say, What's mine is mine and not yours' I may have too much but I'll take my chances 'Cause God's stopped keeping score" He shows that many of us are so focused on our own successes that we are oblivious to the successes and failures of others. Michael states in his lyrics that God "turned his back, and all God's children crept out the back door." This line is one

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buy custom Media and Violent Behavior essay It is impossible to overestimate the influence of media on people. In recent years, the Internet has significantly changed the scale of this phenomenon. One can easily access any website and find all the needed information or read the latest news. There is an opinion that the media tends to concentrate more attention on the negative information and issues than on positive ones. It is easier to sell a shocking news story. Neutral news about everyday events is not so exciting to the viewer. Video games may also cause violent behavior, as a lot of them include murder, violence, and cruelty. Thrillers are more popular among audience because of the action scenes and violent content. Thus, the question arises whether the media may cause a violent behavior. I have chosen the article Does Media Violence Lead to the Real Thing? as it explores the interrelations between two phenomena, while providing extensive research on the topic. Thus, it proves to be credible and argumentative. In this case, the main moral dilemma lies in the question, whether violent media causes more harm or good, and whether a person can actually commit a wrongful act after having watched an action film or having played a video game that contains violence. There are many researches that analyze this interrelation, but I do not consider the media to have a strong impact on a persons behavior. To put it more clearly, the media has a certain influence on a persons behavior, but it only serves as one of many factors that cause aggressive behavior. Moreover, it is not a primary factor, and, in my opinion, it has not been sufficiently studied to talk about banning any type of media. It is a misconception to think that studies on violent behavior connect it to the media violence. They simply state that the two phenomena exist together. It is more likely that more aggressive person will search for an aggressive entertainment, than the latter affects the former. The psychologists Brad J. Bushman and Craig A. Anderson analyzed 42 stdies that involved more than 5,000 participants. They found a small-to-moderate-strength relationship between an act of aggression and watching violent media (Pozios, Kambam, Bender, 2013). The other study showed that antisocial behavior is a direct consequence of watching violent programs on TV in childhood. Thus, various studies give different assessment of this phenomenon and do not agree on opinion. At the same time, there are hundreds of other factors, from the parents cruelty toward children to the bullying in school. These factors tend to have a bigger impact on the teenagers behavior than violence in the media. I believe that the previously mentioned studies do not prove whether violent media can actually lead to performing extreme violence in adulthood. One of the first tragedies with extensive media coverage was Columbine High School shooting. At that time, there were a lot of articles that named video games as a key factor leading to the violent behavior. This tragedy ignited a national debate over bullying. The truth is that the gunmen were not bullied or affected by video games. In fact, they planned a proper terrorist bombing. The only reason why it turned into shooting rampage is that they were amateurs in creating bombs. It was not the media that influenced their behavior. Attempt to decontextualize violence is the biggest problem with media-effects research. Such phenomena as unemployment, instability, poverty, family violence, and even mental illnesses are not even mentioned in those studies. In my opinion, people are viewed as spineless content consumers who do not have their own opinion, morality, and awareness. Some people tend to condemn the media to put them above those who enjoy popular culture. Others often consider themselves to be immune to the violence in the media. At the same time, they assume that the media has a certain impact on average minds. This intense focus on violence in video games may simply be the manifestation of hostility toward teenagers and those people who enjoy popuular culture. The other significant phenomenon which is believed to cause violent behavior is hip-hop music. Many people assume that violent words and expressions urge listeners to act in a violent way. In fact, the musicians simply reflect their surrounding environment. It is an art form with images, insights, beats, and raw expressions that carry a certain meaning or idea. Hip-hop does not represent a call to violence. There is a humanity and social commentary which is incorporated into song lyrics. If hip-hop causes violent behavior, then all the news and media reporting on the real issues should be banned. In fact, hip-hop is more likely to re-create hope, bring healing and the realization of dreams, give sharp social commentaries than produce aggression and violence. There are several moral theories that can be applied to the moral dilemma of violence in the media and its influence on the persons behavior. Thus, I would like to pick and examine one of them. According to the dictionary, utilitarianism is the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority (Utilitarianism, n.d.). Proponents of this theory focus rather on the consequences of an action than on its intrinsic nature or motive. Correlation between violent media and behavior appears to be a moral dilemma from the standpoint of utilitarianism. On the one hand, the media was created in order to educate, inform, advise and entertain people. Thus, the media is right and has moral worth. On the other hand, there are researches that emphasize the link between violent media and aggressive behavior. From this perspective, the media does not promote happiness, but it has obvious negative consequences, which is immoral according to utilitarianism. I believe that a person, who subscribes to this moral theory, may resolve the previously mentioned issue by deciding whether the media has more positive or negative effects on society. There is an opinion that violent films and video games relieve tension and release an aggression. Buy custom Media and Violent Behavior essay