Music, an outlet used for generations to push agendas, move people (literally and figuratively), and be entertaining. Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan are two vastly different artists from the sixties and seventies whose lyrics prove to have deeper meanings especially on their works “Animals” and “Times Are A Changin” which helped to propel and inspire the youth and working classes to stand up for themselves. Though with a similar motive the artists take different approaches, Pink Floyd take a more radical approach calling out the shortcomings of society and using commonplaces such as “pigs, dogs, and sheep” to describe the newly formed class system. On the other hand, Dylan takes a more rational approach with the purpose of uplifting the youth, proving to them that they have control of their future whilst also calling for the politicians “to heed the calls.” Both thought provoking works share the ideological criticism of capitalism questioning the effects the system has on the youth and working class through the use of labels and calls to action.
“Animals” is a Pink Floyd album from 1977, a time of changing society in England that faces many problems for the working class. The purpose of the songs is to question the newly capitalistic society. The working class related to the song through the use of commonplaces such as “pigs, dogs, and sheep.” Pink Floyd question the ideology of capitalism through the use of labeling the new class system and relating them to widely known animals whose characteristics are present in that class, this helps to persuade the audience because of the negative connotations associated with each animal as well as the calls to action.
“Times Are A Changin” is a Bob Dylan song published in 1963 during a time of political turmoil and counter culture within the United States. The driving force behind the song is more specifically to create an anthem, Dylan is quoted as saying, “I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme song, with short, concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. This is definitely a song with a purpose. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and who I wanted to say it to.” Dylan succeeded in his goal to make an anthem for the frustrated youth that seemed more as a call to action rather than a bashing of ideologies. Bob Dylan, like Pink Floyd, questions the shortcomings of society but in his case it is American Society in the heat of a war killing the youth. Dylan questions the working class system as well as calling the youth to action to stand up for themselves.
Though both artifacts aim to question and call out capitalistic society, Pink Floyd takes a more radical approach calling for the working class to physically uprising and fight back whilst Bob Dylan calls for change through activism and peaceful protests. Bringing these two famous works together shows the divide between people fighting for similar goals just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan want similar futures but like the civil rights leaders they cannot agree on the best avenue to take violence or peace. These artifacts prove that we still face these problems today in our society, not enough action was taken leading to us facing the same issues today, though the revival of these ideals through new songs could spark change.
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Hi James! The assignment was to submit your entire rough draft. It seems as though you submitted part of the rough draft, so I can only give you partial credit. If there has been an error, please contact me so I can resolve it in the grade book
I think you compared and contrasted the two artifacts really well, but definitely add a bit about a preview of your main points in your introduction in order to make the structure a little more clear. I think the analysis of the Pink Floyd song is really good, and I really liked the point about how simply the negative connotations associated with the animals serves as a call to action.