Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit"
Music is a form of media, art, and entertainment that has played an essential role in shaping society throughout time.
Media as a tool to connect with people
Artistic effect of music on the human brain
Music has immeasurable influence and it would be impossible to think about a society similar to ours that does not have music as part of its cultural values.
People's tendency to respond to a combination between music and ideas
Philosophical, psychological, and sociological effects of music
The producers and distributors of music therefore wield this power and influence.
Acknowledging the power coming along with making music
Using this respective power to influence the masses
Musicians have solidly demonstrated that they can use their fame and technology to effectively as well as ineffectively raise awareness and activism regarding issues they perceive to be socially or ethically significant.
Musicians' focus to make change possible through their music
2. The negative effects of music
E. Music influences aspects of society such as culture, perception, and economics.
1. Music's ability to pervade society and shape cultural values
F. Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" is one of the earliest modern examples of an explicitly anti-racist song in which the story of Emmitt Till is not only told, but also commentary on the events of his death, as well as the historical and cultural elements in American culture that set the stage for such an act to occur. (Thesis)
1. Musicians' involvement in bringing social reform
2. Holiday as an individual taking a stance
II. Part II: A History of Social Responsibility & Music
A. The connection between social responsibility and musicians is an old concept and it is safe to say that music is timeless when considering how it has managed to induce intense emotions from the beginning of...
(Billie Holiday Biography (1915-59). She continued to record for Decca and produced some of her most popular songs during this period. These included Bessie Smith's 'Tain't Nobody's Business if I Do,' 'Them There Eyes,' and 'Crazy He Calls Me.' However, as is sadly a common pattern with famous musicians her life began to take a downturn after her success in the 1940's. This was mainly due to problem that she
" The drying up of the dream like a raisin suggests that the spirit of someone who is the victim of prejudice experiences a kind of living death, with all vital forces sucked away from his or her sprit like dried fruit. The dream can also "crust over" like something sweet, implying the false face that African-Americans must put on to live in America. (a Raisin in the Sun, the
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A good example of this can be seen with the songs that were performed by: Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. As they would often take: the actual events and incorporate them into the lyrics of their songs. This would serve as way of slowly changing the status quo, by inspiring future artists to become more brazen in how they discuss racial equality. At which point, the different lyrics were
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