Exploring the poetics and lyrical composition of 2000s songs as the social-cultural reflection in america
Authors/Creators
- 1. Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia
Description
A song, as a form of poetry, is a lyrical composition typically set to music, combining melodic and rhythmic elements with words to convey emotions, stories, or ideas. Songs and poetry can both reflect on and comment on problems that are happening at the time they were written. Songs can be very powerful reflections of social problems at certain times, which makes them a unique way to look at the idea of the American Dream as a story about a perfect life. This study explores how American songs from the 2000s reflect social and cultural issues. Using Historical Poetics and Stravinsky’s Poetics of Music, the research analyzes lyrics from artists such as Green Day, Eminem, Childish Gambino, Lana Del Rey, and others. The findings show that music of this period was more than entertainment. It became a medium of protest, identity formation, and cultural memory. Themes such as political propaganda, teenage alienation, racial injustice, economic insecurity, and the decline of the American Dream appear strongly in the songs. Through lyrical form and musical structure, the artists expressed criticism and resistance toward government, media, and social inequality. The study concludes that songs of the 2000s represent a poetic record of American society, capturing both its crises and its aspirations.
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