“And the winner for best video with a social message is… ‘Same Love’ by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert!” No surprise there. This video is beautiful. It was like a mini chick flick so naturally I loved it. It actually made me tear up a little. The director appeals to his audience’s emotions and I fell right into his trap. Throughout the video events such as the birth of a baby, the civil rights movement, high school parties and being misunderstood evoke emotions that appeal to a variety of viewers. Each of these moments throughout our lives make us feel something; whether it is pain, happiness, love etc. we feel it.
The speakers,
Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert tell a story. They tell the story of a
boy who is born and is loved by his parents. This boy is raised in a religious household but soon discovers he is out of place. He is gay. He eventually finds love though
his religious parents at first do not approve. The story is a journey of a boy becoming a man who must fight for his love. In my first listening, I found
that the speakers’ intent was to convey that love is love. A mother’s love is
the same as a gay man’s love for his partner. But after watching the video I interpret
it differently. From the video I see that Macklemore is not only saying that
love is love but he is also voicing problems in our society. After watching the video I also found that the audience
is not only homosexuals but all people who are discriminated against. Just as women
used black freedmen to gain their right to vote, Macklemore uses Martin Luther
King Jr. and the African Americans fight for human rights to gain a bigger audience. By this I mean that Macklemores proves his argument by comparing human rights to a gays rights. He says, "[its] the same fight that led people to walk-outs and sit-ins. It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference." His intent is
to speak up about discrimination towards homosexuals. He also says “I might not
be the same but that is not important. No freedom until we are equal, damn right I support it.” During the
video, American flags are juxtaposed with the gay straight alliance flag.
Macklemore is making a statement with this song. And his message is clear.
Honestly, I never
thought this song would be played on the radio or become "mainstream". It is a very
controversial song. I know several people who will change the station as soon as it comes on. My moms best friend is a prime example of this. She hates this song. She is
someone that will listen closely to hear every word in a song. She is also a
republican and goes to church regularly. Though she does not have a problem
with homosexuals, she is not a fan of gay marriage. In this song, Macklemore
not only fights for homosexual’s right but he also expresses his opinions on society’s
role in homosexual’s lives. By doing this he basically trashes on Hip-Hop
songs, Americas society, republicans and also religion. There are several lines
in this song that are very true but it shocked me to find these words in a
mainstream hip-hop song. Personally I love this song and its message.
Though its controversial it’s the truth. I think it is honorable that Macklemore
was willing to voice his opinions to those who are willing to listen.
Thanks Rebekah. I have been intentionally waiting to respond to the analyses of this song, because I was excited to see the video. As our first "mainstream" musical recognition of homosexuality, this is bound to be a song and video that we all will remember. I too really like it, although I think it is more because of the actual sound of the song itself. I really like the sound of Macklemore and Mary Lambert's voices together.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis is good - well written, easy to read, and probably correct. It was not an explicit part of the assignment to write your analysis as you would a legitimate Collegeboard analysis, so I can't grade you as such. However, I will point out some quick things that you might do differently in actual rhetorical analyses. First, you might want to avoid the first person narrative voice. In this particular response, it worked very well. I enjoyed your honesty and your willingness to call-out your mom's friend. In your next response, you might practice writing from a more objective perspective. Second, be sure to stick within the text. Your second paragraph is very strong, but as has been the case with many of your peers' responses, I wish just a bit that you would have given more time to the actual video than the lyrics of the song. These are minor issues, that in no way detract from the quality of your response.
However, there is one issue that is more serious, so please work on this one in the future. In your opening paragraph, you write, "appeals to his audience’s emotions" and "evoke emotions that appeal to a variety of viewers." I think these should be rhetorical analysis no-nos. On some level, each and every bit of communication "appeals to [an] audience's emotions." Therefore, your analysis needs to do more to extract what the desired response is. Blanket statements about "appeals to his audience's emotions" mean nothing, because they are so obvious. Ideally, you would specify an interpretation of a desired response. This is important.