Bloom’s ideas on rock music are that it is decreasing the morality of children by allowing them access music that is highly suggestive which may lead to sex, violence, or drug use. Or at least this is what I understood his article to be about in Music and Culture. In my opinion, he makes a very valid point. Before, music wasn’t so easily accessible to kids and it was wholesome. Now that we have the internet and the invention of iPods and CDs, music is everywhere. There are radios in every car, television channels dedicated to music, and there’s even music being played in elevators or when you are on hold. It’s like the world doesn’t know how to function in silence, like we need to be constantly amidst chaos. Perhaps if music was the same as it was in the 1940’s it wouldn’t be considered so detrimental to youngsters. Unfortunately, today’s music is saturated with profanity, sexually suggestive lyrics, and references to drug use. Are these the kind of messages we should be sending to the people in control of society’s future?
Children of today learn early on that being successful means being rich, beautiful and famous thanks to the media and glamorization of celebrity. Working hard at an ordinary job isn’t what kids are aspiring to anymore. They want it all and they want it now. Bloom wrote that because students "cannot hear what the great tradition has to say," they "find they are deaf." I think this means that Bloom wants today’s youth to appreciate all the work older generations put in to pave the way for them. Our parents and grandparents worked very hard to achieve the American dream and they did it not just for themselves but to ensure that their children would have greater opportunities. Regrettably, young Americans are commonly without a strong work ethic and a proper education. They expect everything to come easy and fast just like everything else in today’s world. Nonetheless, whose responsibility is it to make sure that children “hear what the great tradition has to say”?
I’m sure many people, especially rock stars, would disagree with Bloom’s ideas. I personally agree with his ideas but I do think that today’s youth is not completely hopeless or “deaf” as he put it. If parents practiced instilling good morals and ethic in their children the world would be a better place. I know that there are good parents out there that are showing their children how to “hear”. Monitoring what kind of music your children are listening to, shows they’re watching, and internet sites they access is very important and your right as a parent. We should be teaching children by example what it is to be a good person with strong work ethic and respectable morals. Encourage them to partake in extra-curricular activities, go to church, help others, and be the best they can be. We cannot just turn a blind eye to parental responsibility and blame it all on society and the media.
It was nice reading your blog and the different views of how music impacts others. I got a completely different intake on Bloom’s statement about music though. I do agree with what you had to say about the influence of today’s rock music on younger adults. I have to admit rock music today is all about gaining wealth and being the popular one like you stated. But because music has such a powerful impact on people and because it is constantly being played everywhere I fear that individuals are getting the wrong impression about it. I do feel that music is a good thing for younger individuals because I have always believed that music educates one about the world and about who you are. In my experience with music not only I have learned so much about the things around me and have been introduced to different cultures but it has also given me strength during rough times and yet I still have not fallen to that of which Bloom is stating. I believe the way music influences someone is based on who they are and how they perceive things. Lastly, I do believe that it is the parent’s responsibility to educate their child but in the end it is the individual who makes the chose.
ReplyDeleteYour Blog this week was completely different from the other ones I have read. I feel yours is a great one to respond to. I say this due to the reason that you and I had interpreted Bloom’s statement completely different. I understood it as when you listen to something, or do anything with an excessive amount, that you begin to forget how things used to be. That anything is like a drug, to where if you become addicted to it, that you need more of it to sustain yourself. So when he said people were becoming deaf that it was because they were so soaked up in their music they started to forget the other aspects of the world.
ReplyDeleteI greatly enjoyed your statements about how our parents, grandparents, and generations before have paved the way for us, and it seems that during our time people are just wasting their opportunity that has been made available to us. I fully agree with you. There are many people that I know who just waste away, and expect life just to be handed to them. It is rather sad I think.
Alexis, I can’t wait till your next blog, you always seem to have a different opinion, or a different parallel than I do. Hope to enjoy the next one.