Protest Music Assignment

Bob Dylan - Blowin' in the Wind

The social ill and problem in this song is conflict and war. War damages our society and other countries societys as a whole. This song is most likley reffering to the Cold War, which was taking place during the time that this song was written.

The song writers thoughts on the issue is that (obviously) he is against it. A lot of people protested the Cold War. It was the age where hippies and protesting things were becoming quite popular. I think the song was effective in its message. Because a lot of people know this song, and almost everybodys knows the famous opening lines "How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?". And I'm sure it was quite popular at the time. So I think that the effectivness of the song went through. The song itself is asking a bunch of unanswerable questions, but then will throw out questions with obvious answers about war. Such as "how many times must the cannon balls flyBefore they're forever banned?".

This song could still be used as a contemporary connection to todays society, because it does not really specify what war it is talking about. And since war is still around and quite abundant today, this songs message can still be used. There is a war going on right now in fact, probably not as big as the cold war, but any war is a terrible thing.

To be fully honest, I picked this song because it was the first song that came up when i typed in "Protest songs" on google. But I have heard it before and it is a good song. My thoughts on this song and its message is that its a classic, and people will remeber it for a long time to come.

What is my opinion about artists using their music to comment on social problems? Personally, I dont mind that much if its once in a while, and it can actually turn out quite good if the songwriter and singer are good. And plus it is more likley to get the message out there if your a really famous musician. But it kind of bugs me when not even that good musicians make entire careers out of having protest songs and such. Usually those bands/singers are not that good anyways.


Lyrics:


How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

I think that the "Summer Blockbuster" types of movies can be a pretty good form of entertainment, ultimatly I do not think its fair to judge the all as the same genre of movie.

they're not going to be all good ones and they're not going to be all bad ones. Theres bound to be some hit and miss.

As with most movies, you must judge them individually.

And even though people say that all they are is "Mindless action movies packed with way too many special effects and explosions", thats not always a bad thing. When your bored in the summer time and need a good thrill to enjoy with your friends and have some fun.

Pictured: Guy having fun

Most of the time, summer blockbusters arent supposed to be cinematic masterpieces, they are just mean to give you a good cheap* thrill.

My personal opinion on them is that most of the ones I have seen were pretty good, and some of them I even look forward too. The last one I seen in theatres was "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen". It was alright, only prolbem was that it was pretty long and kind of dragged on. It was a Micheal Bay film, so of course there was lots of explosions and action, but theres nothing nessasarily wrong with that. Megan Fox is pretty over hyped as well.

So, in conclusion, I dont think theres anything wrong with summer blockbuster movies, they are and will continue to be a big part of cinema history.


* 15 dollars, 30 if you want food

I think the portrayal of teens in the media is fairly accurate at times, but can be pretty ridiculous at other times.

For the most part, the reason for all the innacuracys are there on purpose to make the show more interesting and entertaining. Because if a show was just about a group of kids who lived there lives regularly and just going to school etc, no one would really want to watch it.

So of course they are going to add in factors in there to make it better to watch, its not lik TV shows and movies are supposed to be accurate depictions of teenage life.


Ultimatly, the accuracy depends on what TV show or movie your watching. For example, in "That 70's Show", 95% of the time it depicts them not at school, and they also hardly ever mention it, even though they are high school students. Most of the time they are somewhere else, to make it more interesting. However the average high school kids life revolves quite a bit around their school/grades etc, but school is hardly ever interesting.

Where as a show like "Freaks and Geeks" has them at school more often than not, although the plot of the show is supposed to revolve around them at their school, but for the most part that makes it slightly more accurate.

So in the end, it depends on what show your watching.

I beleive that media is very important in my life. Everyone uses at least some sort of media everyday. And for the most part, it is good.

Television is the form of media that I feel most passionate about.

TV is great and there is not much else to say about it.

My thoughts on modern pop culture is that its mostly pretty stupid, but the new technology that helps us communicate is pretty cool, except for like twitter. I primarily use the media for entertainement.

The form of media that I have the strongest connection too is television, and the show that means the most to me in The Simpsons probably because I grew up watching it.
It taught me everything I know. I don't know what I would be without it. Probably very lame.