Success:
5. Drake, "Forever", Rap, 2009
Liberation:
5. Martina McBride, "Concrete Angel", Country, 2002
The aim of success seemed to be more prevalent than the aim of liberation, although there was not as big of a discrepancy as there was with the pleasure/community service aims. It seems that our society puts a lot of stock into becoming rich and famous. If the songs aren’t about already having become rich (“Forever”), then they’re about wanting to become rich (“Billionaire”). Most of the songs that I found focused on the monetary aspect of success, being well known, having nice things, etc. However I did choose one song, “Something To Be Proud Of,” that talks about success measured not by how much money one has, but by how well they have provided for their family. I thought it was interesting to bring in another aspect of success, to point out the fact that we don’t have to be rich and famous to be successful and make something of our lives and ourselves. This definition of success is different from the Hindu understanding of it, but could be more fulfilling and less precarious in the end. By the Hindu definition, success is defined by wealth and power, and there will always be those underneath of you that want to be where you are. When we define success by other standards, it takes away the chance that those below us might threaten us.
It was interesting to me what I found when I was looking for songs about liberation. They were not hard to find, however I noticed that they all discussed liberation in a completely different way than the Hindu definition does. The songs that I found all talk about liberation from a certain thing, i.e. freeing oneself from drugs, alcohol, depression, abusive relationships, etc. In Hinduism, liberation refers to freedom from samsara, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. However, I did find an interesting parallel between the two views. In the Hindu definition, liberation is supposed to be the one thing that will not leave you unfulfilled. It seems to me that the message of these songs is to encourage people to achieve a deeper fulfillment by liberating themselves from the things that are holding them back, and that are only hurting them. Once they do this, like liberation in Hinduism they will have found a deeper happiness and contentment that could not be found anywhere else.
I like the song u chose for the liberation aim and i feel like it fits in with it fairly well compared to the other songs that i found. I saw the same thing about how American culture represents liberation differently for example for my own song i had to stretch the definition of liberation a little.
ReplyDeleteYou are very right that themes of liberation are very different when it comes to Hindu and American views on the subject. Americans are very self-centered and wish to be freed from things like a bad relationship or an addiction. The Hindu view is much more religious and personal. I wonder if there are any western songs about freedom from samsara?
ReplyDeleteGood song selection for both. I liked that you allowed success to also be defined in non-monetary ways. I feel the same. I appreciate that you commented on the Hindu point of view and American POV of liberation being parallel -- I hadn't thought about it quite like that (being different from each other yes, but not looking at how they mirror each other).
ReplyDeleteI'm going to play Devil's advocate a little bit here. You say that as American's most of us desire rich and famous status, but the song "Rockstar" by Nickelback is mocking that very desire. I think the emphasis is slowly flipping and indicating that maybe being rich and famous has it's own downfalls.
ReplyDelete