Waubonsee Community College

"This is America", race, gender, and politics in America's musical landscape, Katie Rios

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

"This is America"

bibliography

1255522553

Katie Rios

Critical perspectives on music and society

race, gender, and politics in America's musical landscape

"In "This is America," Katie Rios considers current American artists who build encoded gestures of resistance into their works. These gestures recur across images, live performances, and videos, becoming recognizable acts of resistance leveled at injustices based on a number of categories, including race, gender, class, religion, and politics"--, Provided by publisher"In“This Is America”: Race, Gender, and Politics in America’s Musical Landscape, Katie Rios argues that prominent American artists and musicians build encoded gestures of resistance into their works and challenge the status quo. These artists offer both an interpretation and a critique of what “This Is America” means. Using Childish Gambino’s video for “This Is America” as a starting point, Rios considers how elements including clothing, hairstyles, body movements, gaze, lighting effects, distortion, and word play symbolize American dissonance. From Laurie Anderson’s presence in challenging authority and playing with traditional gender roles in her works, to the Black female feminism and social activism of Beyoncé, Rhiannon Giddens, and Janelle Monáe, to hip hop as resistance in the age of Trump, to sonic and visual variety in the musical Hamilton, the subjects are as powerful as they are topical. Rios explores the ways in which artists relate to and represent underrepresented groups, especially groups that are not traditionally perceived as having a majority voice. The encoded resistances recur across performances and video recordings so that they begin to become recognizable as repeated acts of resistance directed at injustices based on a number of categories, including race, gender, class, religion, and politics." -- Publisher's description

"We're Drowning in Our Own Stories" : Laurie Anderson's Call to Artists and Her Performance Art as a Commentary on Current American Democracy -- "At the Intersection of Racism and Sexism" : The Encoded Resistance and Social Activism of Beyoncé, Rhiannon Giddens, and Janelle Monáe -- "We the People?" Hip-Hop as Resistance in the Trump Era -- '"Look Around," "History Is Happening" : Heterogenous Topics in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton