Welcome to our blog, “Musical Exploration of the Sixties”! We are five freshmen, who share a common interest in music and are studying rhetoric in our English 101 Scholars class at the University of Maryland. We all agree that music is one of the most important means of expression and it has impacted each one of us individually. As Scholars students, we also are interested in examining the messages conveyed through music. After close analysis, we found that, in particular, the 60’s was a time in which music was often used as a tool for rhetoric, specifically regarding the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. Our group chose the songs, “Imagine” by John Lennon and “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke, and analyzed how both artists used rhetorical devices in order to send a message to their respective audiences. These two songs specifically stood out to us because of the impact their messages have, even now, almost fifty years after they were released.
“Imagine” by John Lennon and “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke create a feeling of emotional unification, bringing together people of all races and cultures and projecting a message of hope applicable to both the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement. Both songs ask the audience to look past their differences and promote a peaceful way of living. “Imagine” was released towards the end of the Vietnam War, encouraging people of all races, religions, and cultures to live together in harmony. Lennon criticized how quickly man would resort to violence over different ideologies and advocated for a future of peace among all. “A Change is Gonna Come” addresses the black community during the Civil Rights Movement. Sam Cooke empathizes with his audience and their personal struggles through his own experiences with prejudice. He motivates them to keep persevering through the obstacles presented and continue fighting for racial equality. In our blog, we discuss how both songs, although addressing different movements, inspire hope in their audiences for social change.
“Imagine” by John Lennon and “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke create a feeling of emotional unification, bringing together people of all races and cultures and projecting a message of hope applicable to both the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement. Both songs ask the audience to look past their differences and promote a peaceful way of living. “Imagine” was released towards the end of the Vietnam War, encouraging people of all races, religions, and cultures to live together in harmony. Lennon criticized how quickly man would resort to violence over different ideologies and advocated for a future of peace among all. “A Change is Gonna Come” addresses the black community during the Civil Rights Movement. Sam Cooke empathizes with his audience and their personal struggles through his own experiences with prejudice. He motivates them to keep persevering through the obstacles presented and continue fighting for racial equality. In our blog, we discuss how both songs, although addressing different movements, inspire hope in their audiences for social change.
We chose these two songs because of their relevance to social issues today. Although “Imagine” was directed towards the Vietnam War and “A Change is Gonna Come” was written about Civil Rights, their messages are still applicable to various present day matters. War is still a prominent feature of American society, therefore Lennon’s idea of peace pertains to ongoing situations, such as the war in Iraq. Additionally, even though Lennon’s intended subject was war, his beliefs also relate to current domestic issues such as the Baltimore Riots, as do the beliefs expressed in “A Change is Gonna Come.” Readers, whether victims or just bystanders, are affected by prejudice. We have made significant progress concerning racism since this eras, however, we still have a long way to go. We hope to share with our audience our view of music as more than just a form of entertainment, but rather a medium for artists to convey crucial messages.
Our blog was structured to analyze different aspects of the songs side by side. We thought this was the most effective way to convey our information so that the readers could easily compare the two texts and interpret the connections. First, we discussed the appeal to kairos to inform readers on the overall background of the works, as well as why we chose racism and war violence as our topics. We then continued with an audience analysis for each song, specifying who their intended audiences were before discussing their relevance. Next, we analyzed the stasis theory of each song. With music, it may be difficult to see how songs can use an appeal to rhetoric, so we wanted to make sure readers could clearly see how Lennon and Cooke did so to convey their points. Finally, we delved into the rhetorical devices, ethos, logos, and pathos. We believed it was important to explain ethos first in order to establish the artists’ credibilities and explain their reputations before explaining their methods used directly in the songs. We explained logos next because we considered it the weaker appeal in both “Imagine” and “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and wanted to end with the most impactful appeal, pathos. We described the lyrical appeal to pathos in both songs through the way their language evoked hope in the audience, as well as the way the simplicity in the video for “Imagine” created feelings of peace and balance. Our last few blog posts analyzed other rhetorical techniques such as visual and aural elements in “Imagine” and “A Change Is Gonna Come.” After reading our blog, we hope the readers develop or enhance their passion for music and the way it can be used to express feelings and beliefs. Music is often more accessible and reaches a wider audience, making it an effective way to spread ideas. We believe that it is important to view music in this way, rather than simply listening to it without understanding the meaning.
Our blog was structured to analyze different aspects of the songs side by side. We thought this was the most effective way to convey our information so that the readers could easily compare the two texts and interpret the connections. First, we discussed the appeal to kairos to inform readers on the overall background of the works, as well as why we chose racism and war violence as our topics. We then continued with an audience analysis for each song, specifying who their intended audiences were before discussing their relevance. Next, we analyzed the stasis theory of each song. With music, it may be difficult to see how songs can use an appeal to rhetoric, so we wanted to make sure readers could clearly see how Lennon and Cooke did so to convey their points. Finally, we delved into the rhetorical devices, ethos, logos, and pathos. We believed it was important to explain ethos first in order to establish the artists’ credibilities and explain their reputations before explaining their methods used directly in the songs. We explained logos next because we considered it the weaker appeal in both “Imagine” and “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and wanted to end with the most impactful appeal, pathos. We described the lyrical appeal to pathos in both songs through the way their language evoked hope in the audience, as well as the way the simplicity in the video for “Imagine” created feelings of peace and balance. Our last few blog posts analyzed other rhetorical techniques such as visual and aural elements in “Imagine” and “A Change Is Gonna Come.” After reading our blog, we hope the readers develop or enhance their passion for music and the way it can be used to express feelings and beliefs. Music is often more accessible and reaches a wider audience, making it an effective way to spread ideas. We believe that it is important to view music in this way, rather than simply listening to it without understanding the meaning.
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