Englishcvrlanglois.weebly.com

 Pamela Bussey Ms. Bussey Playlist Reflection September 18, 2019 6-Song Playlist 1. To Be Alone - Ben Howard 2. I’m Just a Girl - No Doubt 3. Aenema - Tool 4. Hi-Five - Angel Olsen 5. The Years (Prologue) - The Midnight 6. Love is all around - Bjork Like a lot of young kids, I grew up watching Disney movies. Movies like The Jungle Book, The Lion King and Free Willy would play on Sunday nights. Each week, after my supper and shower, I would watch whatever movie was on with my mother and brother in our small but cozy living room. My favourite Disney movie was always Beauty and the Beast. I loved Belle. I loved the clothes she wore, I loved her kindness and compassion, and I loved that she always had her nose in a book. I have always been a dork about books, I guess. I also loved the unconditional love that Belle showed her father and, later, Beast. I thought it was inspiring that Belle accepted Beast as he was and that she tried to find, or cultivate, the good in him. As an 8-year old, her selflessness seemed admirable. Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast influence how we see women and men and how we understand ‘true love’. Songs are like this too, of course. Music, film, TV shows, video games, and more, work together to form a cultural narrative around what’s normal, what’s not, and what we should expect of ourselves and others. In the case of Beauty and the Beast, true love means sacrifice, isolation, and dependance. As a kid, I took this view of love as truth; in essence, I bought into the narrative that one day I too would need to give up everything for the person I love. Love was presented as all-consuming and I assumed, like many other young girls, that I would have no choice in the matter. When I discovered No Doubt and, in particular, the sarcasm and aggression of Gwen Stefani’s “I’m Just a Girl,” I began the slow process of unlearning. I needed to unlearn what I had been taught about the perceived differences between girls and boys. I needed to reimagine, for myself, what true romantic love could - or should - look like. That unlearning process continued as I grew older. Later in University, I learned about feminism, the gender binary, and how girls and boys are socialized differently. I discovered that girls and boys are sold different messages about love and marriage. Girls are taught that marriage is an accomplishment. Boys are taught that marriage is a dead end. Both of these messages miss the mark. Marriage is neither a personal accomplishment nor a masculine failing. Marriage is a deliberate decision made by two people, to make a go at a life lived in partnership. Angel Olsen describes her view of love in “Hi-Five”: I feel so lonesome I could cryBut instead I'll pass the timeSittin' lonely with somebody lonely tooWell, there’s nothin' in the world I’d rather doNow tell me if you don’t feel this wayBut all I want, all I ever needIs someone out there who believesSometimes believeNot always believeSometimes believeIn Olsen’s world, love is not all-consuming. Love is a matter of faith and trial; we don’t need to “always believe” in love or in our partnership. In life - unlike in Disney movies - “sometimes” will often suffice. Similarly, in The Midnight’s “The Years (Prologue),” the singer encourages the listener to have a balanced relationship with love. He explains that “if you hold too tight it starts to fade / Let it go then, then it floats away.” Like all good things in life, love shouldn’t be suffocated or suffocating in order to thrive. In the end, my playlist reflects a perceived conflict between independence and partnership, dependance and love. I am a person who enjoys being alone and enjoys solitude. Ben Howard’s song, “To Be Alone”, means so much because it is a reminder that I do not need to rely on others. I can find peace and serenity within myself. Tool’s “Aenema” and No Doubt’s “I’m Just a Girl” are reminders that I do not need to be deferential and “nice” in order to please others. Kindness and compassion are important but I do not need to set my opinions and frustrations aside in order to keep you from feeling uncomfortable. Discomfort is an important part of life. As someone who is now married, who is a “wife”, I have found a space between being alone and being with another. I am both independent and dependent, both alone and partnered. Love is not at all like how it is presented in Beauty and the Beast (and in so much of our current mass media). Partnership should not come at the cost of solitude or sanity. We should not be required to lock ourselves away in order to love someone. There are limits and conditions in all things, including love. Works Cited The Midnight. "The Years (Prologue)." Genius, 15 July 2014, The-midnight-the-years-prologue-lyrics. Accessed 1 Sept. 2019.Olsen, Angel. "Hi-Five." Genius, 1 Feb. 2014, Angel-olsen-hi-five-lyrics. Accessed 1 Sept. 2019. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download