Protest Song Research Assignment

Single by John Lennon from the album Imagine
Released October 11 1971
Produced by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Specter

The song Imagine isn’t protesting any specific event or person. The song is protesting many different events, people and society as a whole. The song urges you to imagine a world without countries or religions and to give peace a chance. Deep down this song is “anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional and anti-capitalistic”.

There is a verse in the song with the lyrics “Imagine there’s no countries/…nothing to kill or die for/and no religion too”. These specific lyrics want the listener to imagine what good would come out of there being no countries or different nationalities or different religions. People would be viewed as people and “Nothing to kill or die for” suggests that by doing so unnecessary violence and war wouldn’t be present. The third verse is the verse that protests against society. We as a society base so much on possessions and material things. “No need for hunger and greed”. These lyrics are saying that if people weren’t so greedy that no-body would have to go without anything, whether it be food or clothes or shelter because it wouldn’t be about personal gratification. It would be about “Sharing all the world”. These lyrics are so simple yet so effective because they are simple. This song is about something that should be so simple and the songs lyrics reflect that.

This song is one of the most famous protest songs partly because of its commercial success. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and was named as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll and is still wildly well known today. I think part of the legacy of the song has to do with its relevance. Back when this song was released, it was dealing with issues of the time and almost forty years later, we as a society are still dealing with these issues. Nationality and religion are still many factors in violence and war today just as they were in 1971. Greed and the selfish actions of others single handedly caused as recession of proportions almost as large as the Great Depression in the thirties. World hunger is a huge concern in developing countries and even still in developed nations such as Canada and the United States. This song is just as relevant now as it was then.

I picked this song because it’s a song I’ve always known (John Lennon is my cousins’ idol). I especially agree with the message of the song and the lyrics perfectly transcribe how I feel about the world today. I thought it was interesting that while I have a connection to this song, people a generation older than me also have a connection to this song (though maybe for different reasons).

I personally think it’s ingenious for artists to use music to comment on social problems because it’s easy for them to be heard. Musicians have influence on fashion, style and pop culture and it only makes sense for them to expand this influence to social issues. By drawing attention or giving their own opinion on a issue causes people who might not normally care or even notice for that matter to become interested. Any artist who does this I support because while many of may not have the influence to have our voice heard, these people do and I think its important for at one person to be hard because sometimes all it takes is one person.



Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Blog Post #3 - The Blockbuster Film

While I agree with the point made that blockbuster movies are just “slick eye candy” and devoid of artistic merit, I also agree with the other side of the argument that says blockbuster films are “legitimate entertainment”. The reason I agree with both of these statements is because not all summer blockbusters fall into one of the categories; there are films that are horrible vapid mind slush as there are movies that are entertaining and spectacular. Movies like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen fall into the former while movies such as The Dark Knight and Pirates of the Caribbean fall into the later.

I went to go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine on a date this past summer and while I liked my date and I had fun, it was no thanks to this movie. The first X-Men (2003) was a fantastic movie and X2 was an example of the few times where a sequel surpasses the original. But this is where the problems start. X-Men became a “re-booted” franchise. You could see little Wolverine and Storm’s sunning around on Halloween and merchandise was everywhere. X-Men: The Last Stand, while a commercial hit (grossing $234,362,462) was a terribly reviewed and said to be the worst in the series, that is until Wolverine came along. All Wolverine managed to do was beat an already dying franchise into the ground. Wolverine relied solely on the audience already loving the series and little to no effort was put into the story line. Except for the a few scenes with “Team X” near the beginning of the movie, the acting is wooden, the storyline weak and the special effects mediocre at best. What should have been epic fight sequences were turned into special effect laden stretches of boredom. And after all of that the movie mind-f***** you even more by cramming as many character cameos into an extremely un-realistic mutant escape scene. Lame. And to top it all off they turned Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool) into a “Weapon XI”. Thank you Marvel, for totally screwing over canon. That was awesome. This movie was just…less than average. Nothing particularly awful, just really not good. Despite horrible critical reception, it did pretty well at the box office and X-Men Origins: Deadpool is currently in pre-production. That just really awesome. Keep beating this franchise into the ground Marvel, we really appreciate it.

What can I say about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that isn’t derogatory? I am not really a fan of this franchise in general (though the first movie isn’t that bad) but this movie is an atrocity. To sum it up it consists of four main elements: random explosions, senseless robot battles, Megan Fox’s ass, and two comic relief robots that are a complete insult to black people. That’s it (other than a gigantic super robot with balls. Yes you heard me, balls). The plot is weak and riddled with plot holes, the acting is non-existent (I imagine it would be extremely difficult to actually act while there are completely unnecessary explosions surrounding you). This movie is all about the CGI and the special effects and lame jokes aimed at hung-over frat boys. It is completely unintelligent and barley a form of entertainment. Even though this movie basically sucked, they’re making a third one. Why they’re making a new movie I will never know as all they need to do is splice together a couple of explosions and fight scenes from the first two movies, create a small segment of Optimus doing some deep and meaningful monologue, toss in some Fox cleavage and BAM you got yourself a hit. This whole franchise takes beloved toys from our childhood and totally messes with them and spawns copycats (G.I. Joe. ‘nuff said). I think it’s all Michael Bay’s fault. He directed a Victoria’s Secret commercial (!) and all there was was hot girls in skimpy clothing and explosions. So basically Transformers without the robots.

While yes, most summer blockbusters are pretty crappy films, every once in awhile you get a genuinely great film out of the summer movie rush. The Dark Knight is the perfect example. After completely re-booting the Batman franchise (which was massacred by Tim Burton, Bat-nipples!) director and screenwriter Christopher Nolan pops out this movie gem and the world is taken by storm. This film follows in the footsteps of other summer blockbusters (t-shirts, Halloween costumes, lunchboxes etc.) it was a legitimately good movie. It’s dark and gritty and twisted and clever. It was so “good” that it even won an Academy award (Best Actor in a Supporting Role awarded to Heath Ledger posthumously). Everybody and their mother has seen this movie and everyone of those people has loved it, turning it into a pop culture phenomenon. This is what summer blockbusters should be, engaging and smart instead of generic and senseless.

Blog Post Two:Teenagers in the Media

My thoughts on teenagers in the media... Honestly, I’m not even sure how I feel about it . Whether I agree with it or not, I’m being exposed to it every day and I must admit, I’m entertained. From our discussions in class, most people agree that they way teenagers are portrayed is completely inaccurate, myself included. And no matter how many times I bash the media...I’m still entertained. And that’s the point isn’t it? To be entertained. When you turn on your television or switch on our computer you’re wanting to be entertained; that’s the whole point of the media. People turn into shows like Gossip Girl and 90210 not because they’re an accurate and relatable portrayal of someone their own age. No they turn in because it’s entertaining.
Teenagers in real life are no where near as exciting as they are portrayed on tv or in movies or on the radio (though some may think they are). That’s why teenagers in the media are so different from real teens, they have to be entertaining. And not just entertaining, they have to be witty, cool, ridiculously attractive and put together and have to look like they’re five years older (which in most cases is achieved by having someone 24 play a 17 year old). By setting these extreme and unachievable standards, regular teens feel like this is how they should be and then copy and reflect how they think a real teenager should be. Little do they know, this "real teenager" was systematically developed by some 35 year old marketing executive to appeal to a wide audience with the sole purpose of making you want to be just like this character. I think this just sets a standard that makes everyone who watches it feel completely inadequate.
These manufactured media teens are an extremely negative portrayal of how teenagers really are. It’s degrading to assume that all teenagers are self absorbed air-heads who only think about is sex, partying and material objects. While yes, this is partly true, it’s not completely true. A teenager is a person with thoughts, likes and dislikes and feelings and are not just some vapid sex machine which is how the media (for the most part portrays us). Adults turn on these shows looking for insight into their kids life and are severely misguided. I know my mom thinks that my sister and I are drinking and doing drugs like every other nigh because that’s what the media says we do. If the media was accurate, she would know that we actually stay in singing karaoke and watching funny cat videos on youtube.

So while I don’t agree with what the media says about us, I’m not putting down my copy of Seventeen and it would take a natural disaster to make me miss and episode of Gossip Girl.

Media Assignment Numero Uno

I believe that media extremely important in my life. Considering how much time I spend watching movies, listening to music, vegging in front of the television and on the computer, it can be assumed that a large portion of my time is spent engulfed in some aspect of the media, which equates an extreme importance of the media in my life.

This next question was a no brainer. Movies. I spend more time watching movies than probably any other activity in my life (excluding sleeping, of course). When I’m not watching movies, I’m quoting them, or referencing them, or thinking about them and even going so far as to determine camera angles and a score for my own life.

Secondly, would be television. Television to me is like, an extended movie that never ends (at least until the network cancels a perfectly good show *cough* Pushing Daisies *cough*) I love the idea of a story in parts, where only a little piece of the plot is revealed each week. Though I love television, I am losing faith in today’s shows. What ever happened to I Love Lucy or Gilligan’s Island? Just saying....

And lastly, music. My friends constantly make fun of me for my music taste. They call it weird, I call it....varied. I love how music has the ability to just fit your mood perfectly whether you’re fantastic or depressed or whatever. There is hardly a moment where I am not being exposed to music in some form, whether it’s one in the background, I’m humming while doing my homework or rocking out at the top of my lungs.


Thoughts on modern pop culture....I think that today’s pop culture is just as varied and multifaceted as any other time’s pop culture but it’s somehow more....flat. Andy Warhol was once quoted as saying that in the future, everybody would have their own fifteen minutes of fame With the invention of Youtube, Myspace and Facebook, it seems that that time has come. Everybody can be a star, or at least a fad. With the assault of so-called "talent" we as a society are being bombarded with, it’s hard to differentiate who is just a fad and who will endure to be a true icon. I think it will be interesting to look back on today’s pop culture and see what media will be associate with it. Right now, it would be impossible to predict (I just hope its not The Hills).

Desert Island Choices

TV Shows: While my taste in television is as schizophrenic my music taste, there is one show that is my all-time favourite by a landslide. Quantum Leap is (in my opinion of course) one of the best shows in television history. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, the premise is a quantum physicist named Dr. Sam Beckett, in order to prove his theories, prematurely started his time travel experiment. The result was a case of amnesia and an unfamiliar mirror image. Sam "leaps" into other peoples lives, and with the help of his friend Al (who appears to him as a hologram) and super computer "Ziggy", he rights what had previously gone wrong. When his mission is complete, he "leaps" again and into a completely different scenario. This may seem like science fiction but every episodes vary the genre; from murder mystery to courtroom drama to love story. This show is funny, imaginative, and above all else, extremely entertaining. Unfortunately, the only way I’m able to watch this show is on re-runs or by renting each season.



Album: This one is a tough-y. My favourite album changes almost on a weekly basis, but at the moment its Costello Music by The Fratellis. This album came out in 2006 but I hadn’t really listened to any songs accept the first track until very recently. The upbeat tempo and unusual melodies make all the songs so catchy you don’t even realize the lyrics you’re singing along to. When you do, you’ll find the lyrics cheeky and almost silly. By far the best track is Henrietta though I have only a glimmer of an idea of what the song is actually about!


Movie: To really have my taste in movies define myself, I would have to share my entire top fifty favourite movies for it to be a clear representation of the kinds of movies I like. But, since we’re only allowed one favourite, Aladdin is the one. This movie is funny, sweet, and basically awesome. I’m still not sure if I love this movie but it’s a great movie or if I’m mearly "nostalgic for my youth" though it’s probably a mixture of both. There are some movies you can watch over and over again and every time you see something you never saw before and still find it wildy entertaining. This is one of those films. Released in the so-called "renaissance" of Disney, it truly is an "animated masterpiece" and is both mine and my sisters favourite movies. Start singing "A Whole New World". I won’t be able to resist joining in.


Video Game: I’m not sure if it really constitutes as a video game, The Sims is sort of an obsession and can be summed up in a few words, I live vicariously through my sims.




Book: I love to read so this was probably the hardest category. After considering my favourite books (which range from Christopher Moore to Christopher Buckley) I narrowed it down to three, The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray. The books take place in Victorian England and are centered around Gemma and her three best friends Ann, Felicity and Pippa. While the premise sounds hokey (Gemma has these visions that enable her to enter another world called The Realms, and she has magical powers etc.) These books are actually amazingly inventive and emotional. Libba Bray is amazing with words and captures the thoughts and feelings of Gemma perfectly and makes her so believably alive. The emotions these books evoke range from joy to rage to pain. I fell in love with the characters and I would recommend these books to any female reader. I say female because while the plot could cross gender, there is a sort of coming of age aspect to these stories that is distinctly feminine and also, one of the major themes in the books is female empowerment. So...not really aimed at the average male reader.