http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpnWgCVfAxw
This is a song by the band Rise Against. It was released on the album "Appeal to Reason" which was released in 2008. The music video was released in 2009. I located the video on Youtube. Rise Against is a band which formed in 1999 and has seen a few changes in their lineup. Appeal to Reason is their fifth album.
The song and music video are about the wars in the middle east. The song follows the journey of a young soldier who enlists in the armed forces, travels to the middle east, and then returns home. He starts out naive and excited, thinking hes going to go out and see the world. He then moves on to boot camp where through the rigors of training he develops a strong bond with his fellow soldiers. In his excitement he declares that he'll be a hero and when he returns home everyone will be proud. However, things start to change once he makes his way to the middle east and begins his operations. He captures his target, and his fellow soldiers took the man away and beat and torture him. The soldier experience inner turmoil at the situation, and tries to tell them to stop, before caving and participating himself. He then tries to convince himself that what he is doing is necessary, and that he is going to be a hero.
Later on a woman walks towards him and he tells her to stop, but she continues to move. Fearing a potential threat, he shoot and kills the woman. However, as she falls to the group he sees that she is holding a flag that is "white as snow." A white flag signifies surrender. He becomes anguished and distressed, which is conveyed in the song through a small change in the chorus. Instead of saying "A hero of war, yeah that's what I'll be. And when I come home, they'll be damn proud of me", it changes to "A hero of war, is that what they see? Just medals and scars, so damn proud of me." The song then finishes with the soldier returning home, and a repeat of the beginning of the song when the recruiter asks him if he'd like to see the world. Through this Rise Against emphasizes the change he went through, from a light hearted young man who thought he was going to see the world, to a scarred soldier.
The aesthetic theory of this song would seem to be the Instrumental theory. There is a definite political opinion in this song. The songs purpose is to have an impact on society by pushing across the point that war, and specifically the wars in the middle east, are unnecessary, and our young soldiers are having experiences which are scarring them permanently. Through this medium, they hope to increase awareness on what they view as the senselessness of war, and the effects it has on those who participate. The members of Rise Against are expressing themselves through the medium of music in order to attempt to raise community awareness about a very current and relevant issue. It is definitely art.
Sources:
Rise Against. “Hero of War.” 2009. Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed on 22 September 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpnWgCVfAxw.
Johnny Loftus. "Rise Against Biography" Yahoo! Music. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. http://new.music.yahoo.com/rise-against/biography/
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Dear Hero of War fan,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to jump in and say that I downloaded this video to my iPhone and I think it is fantastic. I highly recommend the singer/songwriter, Johnny Loftus, and hope everyone in our class will take a moment to view this unique video.
It does contain many disturbing images, but they are all there for a reason and the message in the lyrics will make you think.
Thanks,
Ken Wade
Sean,
ReplyDeleteThis video/song is very powerful. I really enjoyed it though. I think it portrays a very powerful message and I think that the video just helps relay that message. My brother went to Iraq and got home in April, so this subject matter hits home for me. It was very odd meeting him in the kitchen of the place we grew up knowing that he was not the same person that left me standing in that same kitchen a year before. I agree with what you said about it fitting into instrumental theory, it is a very political and opinionated. I am wondering if he actually went to war or if anyone in the group did? Thanks for introducing me to this song and video.
Sean,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very powerful video. I think that this video has a very strong message that it is portraying when you watch it, and i think that it really makes people think about the war in a different perspective. This video made me think a lot about a friend that I had that went to Iraq and died last year. It really made me think about him, and what the people over there are doing for our country. I am sure if my friend were still alive today he would be a changed person because of what he did in Iraq, and I know I will never know that information first hand, but I do know that he was proud of what he was doing for his country and that's all that mattered to him. This video made me think a lot about the war, and it was very powerful. Thanks for introducing it to me, it was great
Sean,
ReplyDeleteI really thought this was a great piece of art that you showed to us. Personally, I look at the song (as opposed to the video) as more of the artistic piece, because it depicts specific moments within war and how people are feeling while at war. I, personally, do not have any connections to people who served in recent wars, but the message was still able to come across to me and I thoroughly enjoyed viewing this video. I am a fan of Rise Against, but had never heard the song before. I thought that although the song was the main focus in this post, it would not have been looked at and heard the same (and got the same feedback from the class) if the video did not pose such strong photos of war. Thank you.