In 1984, the heavy metal band Twisted Sister released their hit song, "We're Not Gonna Take It". The video portrays a boy doing what he thinks is right, taking a stand against his father. Twisted Sister's message is that no one should bow down to authority if they are being mistreated. Twisted Sister use the plot of their video and imagery to convey their intent.
The video opens with a family dinner
when suddenly, one of the boys at the table asks to be excused. Music is then
heard and the bitter father goes upstairs to investigate. The boy is
"rocking out" with his guitar and his father bursts into the room.
The father then starts to criticize his son about his room and yells at him for
being a "disgusting slob". After the barrage of commands and
criticism, the father asks his son, "What do you want to do with your
life?". The son ponders for a second and responds with the statement,
"I wanna rock" and he riffs his guitar. The father is surprised by
his son's retort and because rebellion has never occurred in his household, the
father screams and is pushed by some force out of the window. The music begins
again and the boy transforms into Dee Snider. The rest of the boys in the
family also transform into the remaining band members of Twisted Sister.
Throughout
the video, the band members defy the father. The repeated image of the father being
pushed out of a window symbolizes authority being overthrown. Whenever the
father is pushed out of the window, the band members pump their fists in
rebellion and sing the chorus of the song, " Oh we're not gonna take it/No,
we ain't gonna take it/Oh we're not gonna take it anymore". When the
father tries to get back into the house, he is blocked by a brick wall. The
father does not have the authority he once had to enter and exit the house in
his own manner. Now he is subject to his family and is now the one being ruled,
a position he is not familiar with. Twisted Sister encourage people not to just take the beatings from authority. Instead, the people should take a stand and rebel against authority. Authority's oppressive rule should be opposed by the people while singing, "We're not gonna take it!".
Matt, this post is quite good. You have found a great video to explore. I am particularly impressed with your third paragraph. In this paragraph, you do some legitimate rhetorical analysis, and you present it in a well-written and logical manner. Good job. I almost wish you had done more of the same in your second paragraph. The only real problem with this analysis is that you spend too much time summarizing your text. I am noticing that this is a common mistake among your peers. You do such a good job in your third paragraph. If you had taken a similar approach to your entire post, this would be a model post to follow. You could have addressed the traditional family dinner, the unusually clean nature of the boy's bedroom, or the band's costumes. Essentially, there were countless other images and motifs that enhance the intent you identify. You would have been better served addressing these instead of summarizing the video.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, this is good. Definitely very well written. Your writing has improved tremendously since the beginning of the year.