Pop Culture Analysis Rough Draft !

Briana Lanza Kyle

Mrs. Thomas

Composition 1

October 2012

Dear Mr. President:

Pinks Letter to the President

Throughout people’s lives the combination of sounds and words have come together to tell the story in which the artist would like to recite. As time progressed music never became any less important than anything else people still listened to music all the time but the sound of the music began to change and is now becoming more political in which they now not only speak about the happy times of their life but also the parts of their life that they don’t like and things that are happening government wise in which they do not like. Earlier in the years the music was more subliminal as to what they had to say about controversial things throughout the songs but over time some artist became more liberal although fame would not always be as quick for some One of the many songs that went against the grain of being politically correct is both written and sung by Pink. That political enemy is Dear Mr. President is discussing the many decisions President Bush had made during his terms as president, asking him to take a walk with her so that she could ask him how he feels about his actions and decisions as a President. She was questioning the sincerity of his heart with words like “how do you sleep while the rest of us cry? How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye? How do you walk with your head held high?” Through this song Pink attacked the President’s actions but this is not the only time that someone in the media attacks someone of a higher power.

 Pink grew up in a home with divided views, her father was a republican and she was a democrat, and a very liberal one at that. Through music people often express their feelings but in many cases when politics become involved, that is a big mistake, you don’t talk about the president especially while we was in power. So with this being the case Pink’s song was the talk around the world because of her bold out statement. So knowing that her music may not get played on the radio, Pink made sure that if people felt the same way she did and had the same questions she wanted to ask. would if they could talk to the former President. She made sure that people could see the anguish she had felt for the two terms in which he had served. But her song also helped people express and for some open up their eyes to what was going on in the world.

Through the words “Dear Mr. President, come take a walk with me. Let’s pretend we’re just two people and you’re not better than me. I’d like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.” This for appealed to the people of the entire country whether you heard the entire song or not everyone has a question for the president. You could tell through this song that she directed it to president Bush because she made it during his term and through the video they had recorded he was in it. There is not official videos of it because of the controversy that it could have caused there are only videos of her singing it live with the photos which played behind her. The Radio did not allow this to play because of the direct attack at the current president, neither did this song get played that often on tv also because of the fact that it was of our current president. This song was not only a problem for the media but also the outside world. In the article No Pink at Talent Show by Matthew Rothschild he discusses that Molly Shoul wanted to sing pink’s song at the talent show but when the teacher in charge of the show heard it he said she had to have the song approved by the principal because of the language used and the topic being very political. When she asked the principal for the approval she said she could not sing the song because “the song was too political and would be inappropriate because of the word hell in it, along with whiskey and cocaine and gay.” After hearing this her mother wrote an email to the principal claiming that it was unfair and that they should not shield the children of today with what’s going on in the world  and violating her rights as a citizen of the US. The girl had been practicing for weeks after she had heard the song and when was told she could not preform it but could perform another song said she did not want to because she really liked the song. This song appealed to the little girls ethics and feelings, she felt as if she agreed and wanted everyone else hear what she believed in. This was important because often children know of what’s going on but do not really understand so with music like this it helps the children want to be more intact with the world.

The little girl in the school was not the only person to believe in expressing her feelings and not care what people have to say about it. Pink was an liberal person before this song and truly believes in her political beliefs. She does not mind that some people do not want to play her music because she knows that she has put her point out there. she had only sung the song publically at her concerts and a few times on television like when she performed on the Jimmy Kimmel show. After her performance she thanked him for allowing her to perform and discuss her song (Walls, Today). So it is obviously that it is not very often in the United States that people hear a lot of political music. So if politics is not discussed through song they also   for instance in Arizona with the immigration law that just passed. According to the article, The Border will Always be Porous written by they discuss how everyday people protest outside of court house for a law that makes them literally carry around their citizenship paper stating they are citizen or not illegal aliens to the country just because they do not look like they are from here. But there is not much they could do to prevent the movement of the aliens in and out of the country (Chideya). Although it is not discussed a lot it still makes a statement on the culture of society and what is seen by the people of the country and world.

Even though politics is not a common subject of songs for the world, Music artist of the present world come together to sing at an event called Live Earth. Organized by the former Vice President Al Gore and Live 8 producer Kevin Wall it is called a “pop extravaganza” where people “use the global reach of music” to “engage more than two billion people” in “a call to action to combat the climate crisis.” (Panton, 4) People come together to discuss the climate at this event but using music as the fuel for the people to hear what is going on in the world.

Although this music sang may not be mainstream it is still considered pop music because pop is a sound, a genre and not only a culture. Pink’s song is one the few that actually speak about politics but it’s not the only. She attacked a president but she is not the only artist that as ever done this. Politics is more intertwined with pop than people may think but the world is connected in every way.

Work Cited

1.      Rotschild, Matthew. "No pink at talent show." The Progressive July 2006: 18+. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.

In his article, Rotschild discusses how pop culture and politics could overlap each other within society. A child had wanted to perform the artist Pink’s song Dear Mr. President at her talent show. The principal claimed the song to not be public school surrounding because of its use of the words in the songs. This source is reliable source cause its author is well known is writes for a magazine in which only has the types of progressive stories within them like Pink’s song would be. I would use this source in my example of how this song itself affected the world and the way people thought. This is a direct example of how Pink’s song started controversy.

2.         Panton, James. "Pop goes Politics." The World Today. N.p.: Royal Institute of Internal Affairs, 2007. 4-6. Print

In this article, Panton describe how through different sources politics is used and affects more than just the people in the country but also the people in the world. Showing how politics is discussed in more than just the oval office but also in the actions and words of people of the world. This source is reliable because it comes from a well-known author and publication. This book has been in product for a long time discussing things going on in the United States politically. The way I would like to use this source is by showing how politics and pop culture are really intertwined. They also give insight to other things such as the whole culture of pop and not just its music.

3.           Chideya, Farai. "Pop and Politics." Pop and Politics. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.

On this website, they discuss different ways that pop culture and pop music affects politics. This website consists of many different kinds of pop culture events that relevance to people in politics. This source is reliable because there is not a necessary bias outlook on things because people can summit articles that they want. All of the posts have to be approved and proven also. I plan on using this by reading the articles and seeing how politics is intertwined with pop music.

4.         Walls, Jeanette. "Are Pink's Anti-Bush Views Being Censored?" Today.msnbc.msn.com. Today, 13 Apr. 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.

This article is about what pink has to say about them wanting to censor her music and the fact that she only got to play on the Jimmy Kimmel show. This website is important and liable because it is from the news and a reflection of a conversation in which they had with pink making it a valuable source. Also it is not including bias and only using facts and things they heard first hand. I plan on using this by adding in that she only got to discuss her song on the Jimmy Kimmel show more than any other show. 

5.         Chideya, Farai. "Pop and Politics." Pop and Politics. Farai Chideya, 27 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.

This article has a video within the blog post that discusses the immigration laws in Arizona and how the government there feels about it. This website is a reliable source because she has a direct interview with the person and not just her own opinion where he gets to speak for himself and not have a bias. I plan on using this source as another form of using pop as a culture to discuss the world. Also by showing that pop and politics are still intertwined.