Submitted by Jillian Sayre on Sat, 2008-03-01 14:02
Obama supporters have been called fanatical and naive but something that we've also noticed is that they are also rather musical. MK noted the Will.I.Am video and McCain parody here and Tim posted the somewhat...let's say cheesy...response from Clinton supporters here. Starting with the "Obama girl"'s song (who, it turned out later, didn't vote), and helped along by the accessibility of web publishing, Obama's participatory rhetoric seems to elicit a creative response that belies an identification (perhaps over-identification) with the candidate.
Here in Texas we've got two new videos hitting the tubes. The first attempt to argue against the widely held conception that Clinton is the candidate for Latino (and in this case Mexican American) voters:
The corrido emphasizes Obama's humble roots, flashes pictures of him in crowds of people, and argues "his fight is our fight."
The second, recently composed by Austin singer Kat Edmonson:
The video asks the question "What would you do if you were president?" and flashes to different people holding their answers in the form of cardboard signs. What intrigues me about the Will.I.Am video and these two latest incarnations is the various ways that they argue an identification with Obama, in the "we" "our" and (notably missing) "I" that signifies a corporate or cooperative identity.
It makes me think of the larger ideas of collaborative composition that inhere to ideas of New Media and Web 2.0 and I think it is interesting to consider how this "new idea" for politics that people attach to Obama might be a larger "new idea" of culture.
Submitted by ubstu34 (not verified) on Wed, 2008-04-09 09:08.
Obama obviously polls well among certain sectors of the rock community, but there is a sizable niche in this community which plans to vote Republican in the upcoming election. Here is a link
McCain apparently does well among white male fans of classic rock. This demographic may be oblivious to the collective "new idea" culture that Obama's campaign taps into. As the lines of one famous classic rock song go, "Meet the new boss/same as the old boss." It seems that this set is going to vote for the person who makes no bones about continuing the policies of the current president rather than fall prey to the false promises of a candidate who promises change.
I would like to see the same survey conducted among fans of country music. I think McCain would win this match up, but there are definitely some liberal country music fans out there are going to vote Democratic. I think we know what party the Dixie Chicks are going to vote for. Who are Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson going to vote for? Merle Haggard has come out in support of Hillary Clinton. Who would Johnny Cash support?
Submitted by ubstu55 (not verified) on Fri, 2008-04-11 02:05.
The person who directed the Will.I.Am "Yes We Can" video was none other than the oldest son of Bob Dylan, Jesse Dylan. The younger Dylan got his start directing music videos and eventually moved on to directing feature films. (Films of his you may recognize include American Wedding, the third installment of the American Pie trilogy, and the Will Ferrell comedy, Kicking and Screaming.) As the son of the man who wrote "Blowing in the Wind," it is not surprising that Jesse Dylan has a bit of an idealistic streak in him. In fact, he has taken the essence of what he captured with the "Yes We Can" video and incorporated it into a website he launched with his business partner, Rob Holzer. The name of the site is hopeactchange.com. Check this for a further description: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/4020
What you will find on this site is a collection of celebrity endorsements of Obama but also testimony from lesser known people (I don't know--are some of these people B-list celebrities I don't know about) who speak of the need for change. To be honest, not everything that is said is very profound. Nor is much of the manner in which it is conveyed very original. Barack Obama's youtube page trades in the same kinds of endorsements and testimonials and includes appearances from figures like Alice Walker who are much more enlightening than your run-of-the-mill liberal celebrities. People on
Dylan's site tend to speak in cliches. There are also youtube clips, some of which you may have already seen, which lampoon McCain and build up Obama. One can register, post material, and interact with other users. There doesn't, however, seem to be a lot of discourse going on at this stage. But as the site states, it "is a work-in-progress." In essence, I don't believe it has reached the state of maturity that other representations of the "new idea" culture have reached (or can reach).
As an architect and proponent of this "new idea" culture, the younger Dylan is following in the footsteps of his famous father; but only to a degree. As the older Dylan became the personification of the hopes and dreams of his generation, he grew cynical about movements for change and only sporadically wrote and performed songs of social protest. I can imagine him being inspired to write "My Back Pages" in response to the kind of naive and simplistic rhetoric emanating from the people featured on his son's website or sneering at them for not being able to totally comprehend what is happening as he did to the fabled Mr. Jones in "Ballad of a Thin Man. But if Bob Dylan grew disillusioned with the social movements which he unwittingly became the spokesman for, it most likely was due in part to his loss of anonymity. I suspect that one of the values that he past down to his offspring was to cherish their anonymity. The only offspring of the famous bard who has come close to his notoriety is Jakob Dylan; and even Jakob Dylan has been reluctant to trade on his family name to further his career. By lending his talents to a movement for social change, Jesse Dylan does not pose to suffer from the loss of self that his father suffered. The younger Dylan's mode of expression is not contingent upon severing ties with his past and replacing it with an imaginary past in order to usher in an age of cultural and social revolution. The older Dylan's form of cultural engagement left him rudderless and "without a home." This probably constitutes the main difference between the ways in which father and son approach social change. Where one sought to personify, the other only seeks to participate.
Although influenced by visual culture to a much greater extent than previous generations, Bob Dylan's exposure to visual culture did not come any where close to the kind of visual saturation that defines the MTV and youtube eras. The images which influenced Dylan the most were the ones implanted by the songs he listened to on the radio and the books he read. Although aware of the power of visual appearance, Dylan's muse benefited from the freedom to wander where ever it pleased without being distracted by the pressure to conform to pre-existing images. His son, on the other hand, came of age in a much more visual culture and sought professional fulfillment by directing music videos. Although Dylan Sr. had a hand in promoting the concept of music videos, most notably with the Subterranean Homesick Blues sequence which appears at the beginning of his film Don't Look Back, he has taken a dim view of the art form throughout his career. He once claimed that by appearing in a music video, "there is always the chance that you might fry somebody's brain." This point speaks to another difference in the way in which the two Dylans tap into the "new idea" culture. One employs images that can be seen--the other employs images that have to be imagined. I think this second method is much more powerful.
Another deficiency manifested in the use of visual images involves the use of celebrities in endorsing the need for change. This brings about conformity, but it does not bring about unity. In the final words of his first presidential inaugural in 1861, Abraham Lincoln touched upon the relationship between historical memory, national unity, and moral empowerment:
"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
Although the allure of celebrity is seductive, it does not resonate with who Americans have historically been as a people. Bob Dylan, on the other hand, incorporated the voices of America's unrecognized in a way that lent authenticity to our national sense of mission. "As he sang and wrote," writes Greil Marcus, "he was the slave on the auction block, the whore chained to her bed, a questioning youth, an old man looking back in sorrow and regret." As it has been pointed out on previous threads, there is something inauthentic and frivolous about taking your political cues from patrician celebrities. Following the lead of people with visual recognition does not necessarily stoke "the mystic chords of memory." Nor does it challenge us to act upon "the better angles of our nature." Connecting with complete strangers whose experiences link and define us as a people does stir the kinds of juices that Lincoln tried to stir in his inauguration speech. Where Jesse Dylan's approach to social change winds up being synthetic, his father's succeeded in being organic.
In the final analysis, both father and son's engagement with "new idea" culture embody strengths and weakness. Jesse Dylan chose to participate rather than personify. In the process he did not sacrifice his sense of self by conjuring up an imaginary past. His father, however, let new ideas flow from the human imagination, not from a distorted sense of reality corrupted by the over-stimulation of the visual senses. And rather than showcasing the familiar, the elder Dylan showcased the folk. Such strengths and weaknesses can be found in other examples of "new idea" culture.
I would be curious to hear what the resident Dylan expert, Mr. Tremel, has to say on what I have written.
Submitted by Justin Tremel on Mon, 2008-04-14 17:00.
While I don't want to in any way take up the mantle of "resident Dylan expert," I do find that you raise some very compelling observations and critiques regarding the three Dylans' engagements with visual culture.
One of the most interesting and underappreciated aspects of the elder Dylan's artistry is his engagement with visual media, the way in which manipulates and makes use of visual elements and modes of production, oftentimes while simultaneously he seems to categorically reject the value or efficacy of those modes of communication (as the apt apt historical examples that you bring forth so interestingly illustrate).
I also find that you posit a useful taxonomy of the different modes of engagement with the visual, but I would take some issue with your statement, "Where Jesse Dylan's approach to social change winds up being synthetic, his father's succeeded in being organic." I think the jury is perhaps still out on whether or not Jesse Dylan's approach falls into the synthetic or organic category. And I think this has less to do with the specific celebrity appeal of the video than with the response it has created, and the, perhaps unexpected, opportunity for discourse that it opens up Clearly, we should be suspect of the video at the level of "taking your political cues from patrician celebrities," but the mere fact that it has engendered so many responses, has racked up so many millions of views, oftentimes simply at the level of personally being passed on from one person to another-- that in and of itself suggests a kind or quality or attribute that one might label "organic."
Justin Tremel
Submitted by ubstu55 (not verified) on Mon, 2008-04-14 20:22.
You are probably right about the jury being out concerning whether Jesse Dylan's mode of social engagement is organic or synthetic. As I pointed out, it is apparent that his participation in creating a movement for change has not yet matured. The reaction to his video has definitely been "organic." We will see if the follow up continues in this fashion. You say that the response to his video has opened up "opportunity for discourse." What will the fruits of this discourse be? I still say that the elder Dylan mastered a more organic idiom in his approach to social change and visual rhetoric. Editing footage of a politician's speech and footage of different artists and speakers singing and reciting the words to this speech does indicate that Jesse has inherited his father's gift of fusing words and images. If he were to, perhaps, disguise Scarlett Johansson as Hattie Carroll, he might move closer to tapping into the organic, cultural wellspring that his father tapped into.
We should also step back and recognize that the vision which appears in the video is just as much Will.I.Am's and Barack Obama's as it is Jesse Dylan's. It remains to be seen what the essence of his visions are as he continues along the rode set by his work in this video.
Comments
We are the ones...
There is another will.i.am video as well:
Obama and the rock community
Obama obviously polls well among certain sectors of the rock community, but there is a sizable niche in this community which plans to vote Republican in the upcoming election. Here is a link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080403/pl_nm/usa_politics_rockers_dc
McCain apparently does well among white male fans of classic rock. This demographic may be oblivious to the collective "new idea" culture that Obama's campaign taps into. As the lines of one famous classic rock song go, "Meet the new boss/same as the old boss." It seems that this set is going to vote for the person who makes no bones about continuing the policies of the current president rather than fall prey to the false promises of a candidate who promises change.
I would like to see the same survey conducted among fans of country music. I think McCain would win this match up, but there are definitely some liberal country music fans out there are going to vote Democratic. I think we know what party the Dixie Chicks are going to vote for. Who are Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson going to vote for? Merle Haggard has come out in support of Hillary Clinton. Who would Johnny Cash support?
Thoughts on the "new idea" culture
The person who directed the Will.I.Am "Yes We Can" video was none other than the oldest son of Bob Dylan, Jesse Dylan. The younger Dylan got his start directing music videos and eventually moved on to directing feature films. (Films of his you may recognize include American Wedding, the third installment of the American Pie trilogy, and the Will Ferrell comedy, Kicking and Screaming.) As the son of the man who wrote "Blowing in the Wind," it is not surprising that Jesse Dylan has a bit of an idealistic streak in him. In fact, he has taken the essence of what he captured with the "Yes We Can" video and incorporated it into a website he launched with his business partner, Rob Holzer. The name of the site is hopeactchange.com. Check this for a further description:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/4020
What you will find on this site is a collection of celebrity endorsements of Obama but also testimony from lesser known people (I don't know--are some of these people B-list celebrities I don't know about) who speak of the need for change. To be honest, not everything that is said is very profound. Nor is much of the manner in which it is conveyed very original. Barack Obama's youtube page trades in the same kinds of endorsements and testimonials and includes appearances from figures like Alice Walker who are much more enlightening than your run-of-the-mill liberal celebrities. People on
Dylan's site tend to speak in cliches. There are also youtube clips, some of which you may have already seen, which lampoon McCain and build up Obama. One can register, post material, and interact with other users. There doesn't, however, seem to be a lot of discourse going on at this stage. But as the site states, it "is a work-in-progress." In essence, I don't believe it has reached the state of maturity that other representations of the "new idea" culture have reached (or can reach).
As an architect and proponent of this "new idea" culture, the younger Dylan is following in the footsteps of his famous father; but only to a degree. As the older Dylan became the personification of the hopes and dreams of his generation, he grew cynical about movements for change and only sporadically wrote and performed songs of social protest. I can imagine him being inspired to write "My Back Pages" in response to the kind of naive and simplistic rhetoric emanating from the people featured on his son's website or sneering at them for not being able to totally comprehend what is happening as he did to the fabled Mr. Jones in "Ballad of a Thin Man. But if Bob Dylan grew disillusioned with the social movements which he unwittingly became the spokesman for, it most likely was due in part to his loss of anonymity. I suspect that one of the values that he past down to his offspring was to cherish their anonymity. The only offspring of the famous bard who has come close to his notoriety is Jakob Dylan; and even Jakob Dylan has been reluctant to trade on his family name to further his career. By lending his talents to a movement for social change, Jesse Dylan does not pose to suffer from the loss of self that his father suffered. The younger Dylan's mode of expression is not contingent upon severing ties with his past and replacing it with an imaginary past in order to usher in an age of cultural and social revolution. The older Dylan's form of cultural engagement left him rudderless and "without a home." This probably constitutes the main difference between the ways in which father and son approach social change. Where one sought to personify, the other only seeks to participate.
Although influenced by visual culture to a much greater extent than previous generations, Bob Dylan's exposure to visual culture did not come any where close to the kind of visual saturation that defines the MTV and youtube eras. The images which influenced Dylan the most were the ones implanted by the songs he listened to on the radio and the books he read. Although aware of the power of visual appearance, Dylan's muse benefited from the freedom to wander where ever it pleased without being distracted by the pressure to conform to pre-existing images. His son, on the other hand, came of age in a much more visual culture and sought professional fulfillment by directing music videos. Although Dylan Sr. had a hand in promoting the concept of music videos, most notably with the Subterranean Homesick Blues sequence which appears at the beginning of his film Don't Look Back, he has taken a dim view of the art form throughout his career. He once claimed that by appearing in a music video, "there is always the chance that you might fry somebody's brain." This point speaks to another difference in the way in which the two Dylans tap into the "new idea" culture. One employs images that can be seen--the other employs images that have to be imagined. I think this second method is much more powerful.
Another deficiency manifested in the use of visual images involves the use of celebrities in endorsing the need for change. This brings about conformity, but it does not bring about unity. In the final words of his first presidential inaugural in 1861, Abraham Lincoln touched upon the relationship between historical memory, national unity, and moral empowerment:
"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
Although the allure of celebrity is seductive, it does not resonate with who Americans have historically been as a people. Bob Dylan, on the other hand, incorporated the voices of America's unrecognized in a way that lent authenticity to our national sense of mission. "As he sang and wrote," writes Greil Marcus, "he was the slave on the auction block, the whore chained to her bed, a questioning youth, an old man looking back in sorrow and regret." As it has been pointed out on previous threads, there is something inauthentic and frivolous about taking your political cues from patrician celebrities. Following the lead of people with visual recognition does not necessarily stoke "the mystic chords of memory." Nor does it challenge us to act upon "the better angles of our nature." Connecting with complete strangers whose experiences link and define us as a people does stir the kinds of juices that Lincoln tried to stir in his inauguration speech. Where Jesse Dylan's approach to social change winds up being synthetic, his father's succeeded in being organic.
In the final analysis, both father and son's engagement with "new idea" culture embody strengths and weakness. Jesse Dylan chose to participate rather than personify. In the process he did not sacrifice his sense of self by conjuring up an imaginary past. His father, however, let new ideas flow from the human imagination, not from a distorted sense of reality corrupted by the over-stimulation of the visual senses. And rather than showcasing the familiar, the elder Dylan showcased the folk. Such strengths and weaknesses can be found in other examples of "new idea" culture.
I would be curious to hear what the resident Dylan expert, Mr. Tremel, has to say on what I have written.
While I don't want to in any
While I don't want to in any way take up the mantle of "resident Dylan expert," I do find that you raise some very compelling observations and critiques regarding the three Dylans' engagements with visual culture.
One of the most interesting and underappreciated aspects of the elder Dylan's artistry is his engagement with visual media, the way in which manipulates and makes use of visual elements and modes of production, oftentimes while simultaneously he seems to categorically reject the value or efficacy of those modes of communication (as the apt apt historical examples that you bring forth so interestingly illustrate).
I also find that you posit a useful taxonomy of the different modes of engagement with the visual, but I would take some issue with your statement, "Where Jesse Dylan's approach to social change winds up being synthetic, his father's succeeded in being organic." I think the jury is perhaps still out on whether or not Jesse Dylan's approach falls into the synthetic or organic category. And I think this has less to do with the specific celebrity appeal of the video than with the response it has created, and the, perhaps unexpected, opportunity for discourse that it opens up Clearly, we should be suspect of the video at the level of "taking your political cues from patrician celebrities," but the mere fact that it has engendered so many responses, has racked up so many millions of views, oftentimes simply at the level of personally being passed on from one person to another-- that in and of itself suggests a kind or quality or attribute that one might label "organic."
Justin Tremel
You are probably right about
You are probably right about the jury being out concerning whether Jesse Dylan's mode of social engagement is organic or synthetic. As I pointed out, it is apparent that his participation in creating a movement for change has not yet matured. The reaction to his video has definitely been "organic." We will see if the follow up continues in this fashion. You say that the response to his video has opened up "opportunity for discourse." What will the fruits of this discourse be? I still say that the elder Dylan mastered a more organic idiom in his approach to social change and visual rhetoric. Editing footage of a politician's speech and footage of different artists and speakers singing and reciting the words to this speech does indicate that Jesse has inherited his father's gift of fusing words and images. If he were to, perhaps, disguise Scarlett Johansson as Hattie Carroll, he might move closer to tapping into the organic, cultural wellspring that his father tapped into.
We should also step back and recognize that the vision which appears in the video is just as much Will.I.Am's and Barack Obama's as it is Jesse Dylan's. It remains to be seen what the essence of his visions are as he continues along the rode set by his work in this video.