21st Century -- American Idiot

I have heard that Green Day brought American Idiot to the stage of Broadway. Congrats, Green Day! I still remember when "American Idiot" was playing constantly on every radio station. "American Idiot" was so popular that everybody has it on their Ipod. 

"American Idiot" is a very political song. It was written to criticize the mainstream media which controls Americans' thoughts and behaviors. ("one nation controlled by the media") Through media, the politicians tell us what to believe, what to do, and how to spend our money. Fox is very conservative while CNN is quiet liberal. They are two extremes. The audience has to choose either black or white and there is no middle ground in between. The sad thing is that there is no TV station only reports the facts of the news without adding in their own opinions.  

From "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda",  we can see the anti-Bush rhetoric in Green Day's words. Redneck is a derogatory word for people from the country and Bush is from Texas, which is often regarded as the home of country. Green Day doesn't want to be part of Bush’s plan. The underlining meaning may reveal their opposition to the Iraq War. 

This song is a wake up call for Americans. To follow is easy, while to lead is challenging. We have to challenge ourselves to understand our surroundings and to think about our reactions to the issues in our society. That's what Americans should do and that's what makes America a great place to live. 

21st Century - "White America"

I almost started to believe that patriotism doesn't exist in rap music because I had an extremely hard time to find a patriotic rap song. Rapping about the social issues seems to be the only thing rappers do. Eminem's "White America" almost fooled me. "America, hahaha, we love you, how many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful country of ours...The women and men who have broke their neck's for the freedom of speech the United States the government sworn to uphold..." This beginning of "White America" is obviously patriotic. We can also hear the sound of the Blue Angel F-16’s in the background. 

Soon Eminem asks everybody to listen to his words carefully. He tells everybody that he is in trouble with the government because of the message and the impact of his songs. He starts to question his right--the freedom of speech. According to our constitution, freedom of speech is one of many rights that Americans are born with. It is unconstitutional to deprive that right from anybody. The government's job is to protect our rights instead of censoring everybody and everything. Eminem is watched by "somebody up in the office" (FBI?) that makes him want "to spit liquor in the faces of in this democracy of hypocrisy". He is upset about the problems he sees within our society.

In the chorus, we hear "Eric" and "Erica". They are actually in the word "America". He tries to make a point that he is also a common American man. The government shouldn't treat him differently. I understand where he comes from, but I do believe that the government should censor the media which may significantly impact a child's development. Eminem is very influential in many ways and if he is not responsible for the impact of his songs on children then it is the government's job to protect our innocent young listeners. Sorry, Eminem, on this matter, I can't be on your side!