Authorship,gender and the construction of meaning in the Eurythmics' hit recordings

Abstract

Pop songs are often interpreted, by fans, critics and even academic analysts, in relation to traditional notions of ‘authorship’. But in recent pop, such as the Eurythmics' hits, these notions are at the very least in tension with a more fragmented construction of subjectivity. This article seeks to develop a method for analysing such constructions, both generally and in specific Eurythmics songs.

The method draws on Mikhail Bakhtin's dialogic theory of subjectivity and meaning, presenting the various parts of songs (i.e., both textural lines and structural sections) as interactive ‘voices’, each with its characteristic style-features. Such features are always culturally marked, through their multiple associations and their different positionings within various discursive domains. It is possible, therefore, to locate the styles, their features and their interrelations on a range of discursive axes (gender, ethnicity, etc.), making up a ‘map’ of the musico-discursive terrain, then to place the ‘dialogue’ constructed in a specific song in relation to these axes, this map.

For the Eurythmics, the gender axis is the most (though not the only) important one. It functions through the differential positioning of constituent styles (pop, blues, soul, disco, ballad, etc.) on this axis; in relation to other axes of meaning; through articulation in the specific socio-historical context of 1980s British pop; and via interaction with visual images (e.g., on accompanying videos).

After an analysis of eight songs, the article concludes with some implications of the method for the interpretation of gender — and more generally of the construction of subjectivity — in music.     

Being a Woman,Young and Poor

This study was conducted with the interest of knowing female identities in their reality, as well as the role of Brazilian telenovelas in the constitution of being a woman. The objective is to understand how the conflicts and the complementarities between telenovela audience and empirical mediations of family, school and social class constitute the female identity of young women from popular classes. The sample of this research was composed of twelve young women from fifteen to twenty-four years of age, who live in the outskirts of Santa Maria, a city in the South of Brazil with three hundred thousand inhabitants. The results of the research point to an imposition of the social class on the female identities of these young women. Their economic deprivation defines the experiences and ways of being a woman, either through teenage pregnancy, due to work, to abandoning school, or to television as their main form of leisure. The role of telenovelas is also essential. On the one hand, they (re)produce a traditional female model—in which maternity and marriage are the priorities of women. On the other hand, they present evidence to those interviewed of a representation of equality between genders, which they do not experience in their daily lives.     

相声和小品流行语的模因视角分析

模因在相声和小品流行语的创作和发展过程中有着重要作用,流行语本身就是一种强势模因,从模因论的角度分析相声和小品中的流行语现象,相声小品使用各种语言技巧和幽默机制,将流行语嫁接到相声小品上或将模因变异使弱势模因变强,旨在强化自身的感染力,增强幽默指数,从而在相声和小品中发挥出特殊的幽默效果。同时也触发模因新生。     

“Let's Talk About Race”: Exploring Racial Stereotypes Using Popular Culture in Social Studies Classrooms

Imagery and sounds from television, film, music, the Internet, and other media bombard American youth; dictating to them how they should act, think, or what they should believe. They often do not realize that they find much of their identity and belief systems in messages put forth to them by popular culture (Du Gay 1997; Hall 1997). Young people should think critically about their media choices and reflect on the degree that they shape their identity (Considine 2009; Youngbauer 2013). Even when it comes to the topic of race, the media has messages and values readily available for youth to adopt (Bresnahan and Carmen 2011). Based on the work of many popular musicians, African American identity is associated with violence, misogyny, materialism, and deviancy (Balkaran 1999; Ruffner-Ceaser 2012; West 1993). Other forms of popular culture, such as television and film, communicate the same negative messages. In what ways are black stereotypes perpetuated through popular culture? Can social studies classrooms facilitate conversations about race? This article explores how social studies educators can integrate popular culture into their curriculum to unpack racial stereotypes in American society, thereby helping students become more critically aware of the media they consume and how it impacts their lives and self-image.     

Effects of Photovoice: Civic Engagement Among Older Youth in Urban Communities

Youth civic engagement is critical to many community empowerment initiatives. Photovoice is a popular empowerment technique for disenfranchised groups, including youth. The technique has little published empirical support. This research assesses Photovoice as a youth mobilization project within the context of an ongoing community development initiative. It was hypothesized that Photovoice participation would (a) improve students' interest in civic engagement and (b) have greater impact on older rather than younger adolescents. Thirty-three (33) youths (15–21 years of age) completed a Survey of Youth Engagement before and after Photovoice participation. Results indicate a main effect for age, with youths 18 years of age and older scoring significantly higher than youths under 18 years of age. This study suggests that Photovoice promotes significant changes in perceived civic engagement among older youths.     

Military,masculinity and mediated representations: (con)fusing the real and the reel

In this paper I argue that it is time to rethink the military within Management and Organization Theory. The starting point for this discussion is a juxtaposition of the (lack of) study of the military within Management and Organization Theory compared with the recent (and sustained) interest in depicting war, the military and the military subject within popular culture. I argue that the military is a gendered and gendering organization that has wider discursive effects on the lived experience of masculinity. Having laid down these conceptual claims, I then argue for the value of film, and popular culture more broadly, as an important source of ‘knowledge’ about organizational life. To elaborate this claim, I conduct a close reading of four films that represent post‐Cold War conflicts and identify three recurring themes that tell particular ‘truths’ of the experiences of the contemporary military organizational subject. I conclude that there is something meaningful and relevant in the contemporary popular culture of war that can help address the limitations of the exploration of the military within Management and Organization Theory.     

How are George Orwell’s writings a precursor to studies of popular culture?

George Orwell is known as an acclaimed novelist, essayist, documentary writer, and journalist. But Orwell also wrote widely on a number of themes in and around popular culture. However, even though Orwell's writings might be considered as a precursor to some well-known themes in studies of popular culture his contribution to this area still remains relatively unacknowledged by others in the discipline. The aim of this article is simply, therefore, to provide a basis to begin to rethink Orwell’s contribution to contemporary studies of popular culture. It does so by demonstrating some comparable insights into culture and society between those made by Orwell and those found in the work of Bakhtin, Bourdieu, and Deleuze. These insights are also related to four main areas of discussion: debates in contemporary cultural studies about the contested pleasures of popular culture and experiences; the relationship between language and culture; how social class needs to be defined not just economically but also culturally; and how one might escape cultural relativism when writing about popular culture. The article concludes by suggesting that Orwell is a precursor to contemporary studies of popular culture insofar that some of the cultural themes he explores have become established parts of the discipline’s canon.     

塑料骑士·网络图腾·跃进年代——论新媒质时代的诗歌写作

随着科技和网络多媒体的迅猛发展,与之相应新媒质时代的诗歌写作也迅速地发展演变.网络诗歌是大众文化和新媒质发展的产物,是广场性、狂欢化的诗歌写作形态,利弊并存.为了梳理、厘清文学和诗歌,需要我们正确分析和探讨这种新出现的并且也具有相当复杂性的诗歌形态范型和现象.     

从人的全面发展看高校人才的多元培养模式

人的全面发展是人类社会发展的崇高理想,也是人才培养的最高标准。随着我国改革开放事业的推进,为适应社会对人才的多样性需求,我国高等教育逐渐由传统的精英教育转向大众教育,其人才培养模式也相应的需要做出调整,即需要“化整为零”,改单一的或含糊不清的人才培养模式为多元模式,从而尽可能地实现人的全面发展目标。     

浅析公共关系管理对企业发展的作用

公共关系管理对企业的发展起着十分重要的作用。随着现代企业的发展和进步,公共关系不再是对外宣传企业的一种活动方式,而是企业在继续发展的过程中不可或缺的一种管理模式。公共关系的科学管理既可以为企业打造一个成功的品牌开路,又能为企业内部的科学管理铺路,并能合理地调节作为一个社会群体的企业与外界社会的关系,以及与内部个体(员工)之间的关系。