Cause and Effect: Music and Media

Music & Our Culture

Have you ever had such a terrible day you just want to completely forget it happened? You want to unwind by taking a late night cruise in your car and jam out to your favorite CD, or sitting on your couch watching music videos. I am a strong believer in the power of good music. The right song can set any desired mood and cause your thoughts to melt away. Music causes people to sit down and study, get up and dance, and it might even make them angry or sad. It has such a bearing on our lives and affects our moods and actions more than we think. Music is much more than just songs on the radio; it has a way of controlling what people do, how they dress, how they act, how they feel, and what they say.

It is weird to think that music might even affect the way society dresses. There are many examples in our society of music affecting attire and image. You can almost go as far as to tell what type of music a person listens to just by looking at what they are wearing. When looking at a person wearing black pants, black shirt, and has long frizzy hair it is almost guaranteed that person listens to heavy metal or old rock music. People dress to match the lifestyles of the people they look up to and in many cases those people are musicians of some form. Rap artists dress a certain way and live lifestyles that their listeners look up to.

Hip-hop is a stereotypical way to sum up the African American culture, but it in many ways demonstrates many aspects of the culture. A majority of the black population dress to look like their favorite rapper, or artist. I believe that hip-hop has made such an impact on the African American culture to even change the way we as Caucasian Americans view that particular culture. The view of African American culture has been changed by the music it created. Music has definitely impacted the dress of Americans.

The African American culture is not the only culture affected by the music and media industry. The new punk rock scene has brought a whole new image to rockers. The jeans have gotten tighter and even the uses of make-up on men has risen because of the music. That is very weird to think about but it is true. Punk rock has turned the rockers into a group known only as Emo. Emo rockers are known for doing and wearing weird things. It is a group that strives to be misunderstood and different. They are another example of the music and music industry affecting the dress of the listeners.

Our actions are definitely impacted by the type of music we listen to. The type of music listened to at a certain moment can cause many different emotions. Music is an expression of feelings the writer wants to express, so it makes since that a song written off of emotions can make the listener feel the way the song writer feels. Listening to something heavy like metal may cause thoughts of destruction or rampage. The music causes people to feel certain ways. Music is a very good way to set a certain moods. Some music from artists like Snoop Dogg and The Wu Tang Clan make listeners want to be a gangster just like them. When people hear their music they act like they themselves are from the projects and have experienced some of the same things. Music can causes society to act out of their element, it takes over the listener’s emotions and makes them feel what it wants them to feel.

One thing the media and musicians in the new age have definitely affected is the language. The words in new songs and on television are completely different from ten

years ago. Ten years ago you could not use profanity or show some very graphic images. Musicians use words that some parents would not want their children to hear let alone repeat. The words and statements in songs express ideas that the society eats up. Bling is one example of musicians affecting culture. Bling has been added to the dictionary. It started out just being used in a rap song and then became an everyday term. It got so big they actually made it a real word.

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