Critical Introduction

Dear Readers,

Welcome to our Music of the 1960s and Present blog! We are four University of Maryland Scholars students, each with a love of music. Music has impacted us in many different ways since we all have experienced music in our lives, whether playing instruments, listening to the radio, or seeing artists in concert. The evolution of music is an obvious occurrence that most people are aware of, but we wanted to explore rock ‘n’ roll and compare the messages of two songs, one from the 1960’s and one from the 21st century. The 1960’s piece is John Lennon’s Working Class Hero while the modern piece is Rise Against’s Disparity by Design. We selected these texts because they convey economic hardships that come with affording college. As college students, we know how difficult it can be to pay for an education, and at times, taking on debt is necessary to gain knowledge that is needed for a better future. We take both the music and the message behind these pieces and analyze them in hopes that people will find some aspects relevant to their lives within the two songs we’ve chosen.

Together, Working Class Hero and Disparity by Design argue that despite what we, as a country, are told, there are separate rules and opportunities afforded to only the rich and influential while women, the poor, and minorities are often at the greatest disadvantage. Developing awareness of these two Americas is essential to starting a conversation where these most affected groups question this discrimination and others with more influence take action on their behalf. An Ideological revolution is essential to replacing the cultural norm that allows such disparity of treatment. Through our blog, we present this argument by focusing on the nearly identical messages within these two texts to
encourage our audience to become aware and to think critically about what they
are being told.

Economic inequality is still a huge issue today around the world. Just in the US, there are 9 million workers unemployed as well as 3.5 million people homeless.  In the last year there were protests in Taiwan and England, further emphasizing the global scale of this movement. We hope that readers will come away with more awareness of economic inequality minority groups face and have a new perspective on the economic balance of the world.

The methodology of our blog begins with the general elements of music in the 1960s and then examines the specific elements of the texts. We discuss the major rhetorical arguments and kairos first while later getting more in depth with analyzing the establishment of ethos and appeal to pathos. We chose to post in this order in order to get the reader interested with a more general overview of the songs and the context from which they were from. After providing the basic background, we were able to be focus on explaining lines of the song that best connect with the working class audience.

Although it is not Lennon’s most popular song, Working Class Hero, does appeal to his audience because of the most of them, if not all of them, were part of the middle class and felt inferior and hopeless about their miserable jobs. We ask you to empathize with these laborers and be an advocate to balance out the economic inequality. Imagine if you were stuck at the bottom of the social hierarchy with little support to improve your life. We would like you, as the readers, to analyze how these texts reflect the need for an equal distribution of wealth in America. Finally, we hope that you gain a better understanding of the inequalities of social classes, specifically the role of the middle class.

Thank you for reading our blog!

"Working Class Hero": Audience Analysis

John Lennon wrote "Working Class Hero" to connect with the working class of the 1970s and give them hope of rising from inferiority. "Working Class Hero" is a folk blues song that speaks to the working class audience about the disparity between the elite and the hard-working middle class. As the gap between the social classes was widening, people were willing to express the discontent of their lives. These "rebels" believed they could mitigate the economic and social struggles. In this song, the audience is the working class who is being encouraged to challenge the status quo of inequality.

While the ruling elite tortures them, the working class has a change to get "to the top" if they follow Lennon's plan for social change.The audience idolizes Lennon for being the "hero", representing their quiet voice calling for action.  Although they don't have many resources, the working class can become the champion of social progress by protesting for more ownership and better conditions.

Disparity by Design: Ethos

The band, Rise Against, is a well known group that originally started in 1999. The group released a series of albums before Endgame, with their album Siren Song of the Counter Culture becoming a huge success. Several of the songs were certified Platinum and a couple of albums ranked high on the Billboard 200 charts.  They were even the opening act for the widely popular band Linkin Park during their US tour. Rise Against has thus gained a substantial fan base, considering the popularity of their songs and their success as a group. Upon hearing their song Disparity by Design, listeners might pay more attention to the lyrics given Rise Against's reputation and time in the music scene. Their reputation is enough for people to think about the current issues in society, and in this particular case, economic inequality.

Disparity by Design: Audience Analysis

Punk rock and melodic hard core have a particularly niche audience. Very generally speaking the audience of this genre alone is liberally minded, young, white, and middle class. However Rise against takes advantage of this as an opportunity to change the their audience’s stance on equality for minorities, women and the poor. Disparity by Design pushes for an ideological revolution that would make equality a social norm that people conformed to without ever questioning. This kind of radical shift in ideology would probably not be as well received by older audiences because it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.  With a younger audience they are usually more liberal minded and open to changing their beliefs on issues such as equality. The young people of today will be the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow. Rise against takes full advantage of their influence on their audience to promote change for  a more inclusive future.

Working Class Hero: Ethos

Throughout the song, “Working Class Hero,” John Lennon utilizes ethos by making himself seem as if he knows everything about the working class and that people should trust and listen to him. Due to his knowledge, people should believe him. At the end of the song he says “A working class hero is something to be. If you want to be a hero well just follow me,” which establishes a relationship between him and the audience because he makes himself seem credible. 

Through his lyrics, Lennon uses ethos to relate to the rhetorical situation at the time. He makes the audience realize the truth in the world around them. By saying, “they hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool,” Lennon explains how at the time if you did not think and act the way everyone else did, you were punished; if you tried to aspire, there would be consequences. The listener gets the impression that Lennon believes people should be allowed to do whatever they want without being punished.   

“Working Class Hero”: Pathos

The song opens with the solemn lyrics, “As soon as you’re born they make you feel small,” making the audience feel inferior and hopeless. The steady guitar rhythm makes the working-class audience reflect on their troubled lives. But Lennon gradually shifts the tone of the song when begins to sing the chorus, “A working class hero is something to be,” giving the audience hope of achieving success. The verses of the song tell the miserable life of a factory worker. The labor movement was inspired by workers who joined unions to fight for better conditions. 

Lennon’s use of explicit language helps the audience to feel what it is like to be taken advantaged of at bottom of the social hierarchy. The working class citizen feels degraded but Lennon’s use of the word, “hero” empowers the weak to have courage and overcome adversity. Ending the song in a authoritative tone, Lennon encourages the working class to follow him to improve their lives.  

Working Class Hero: Logos

Even though the purpose of the song is to appeal to the audience’s emotion, the word choice makes it seem like Lennon has world knowledge about people in the working class. He tries to persuade the audience of how tough life is in the working class by building himself up and attempting to explain how he knows what working class life is. By doing so, he establishes credibility and makes the audience believe he is working class and should therefore trust his opinion on the situation. Lennon portrays logos by his use of irony. He utilizes the song to describe the struggles of a working class citizen but proceeds to state that a working class hero is something to be. When Lennon says, “they hurt you at home, and they hit you at school,” he wants to reach out to the audience to say that the cycle needs to be broken at a younger age.

Lennon’s logical argument throughout the song brings up the issue of the inequality of the class structure. From listening to the song, one realizes that Lennon believes that instead of having multiple sides in society, there should be one side with no bias. By stating his position on the situation, he convinces the listener, through logic, what the issue is and how it should be resolved.

Disparity by Design: Pathos

There are certain things about a song that can be appealing when you first listen to it. Whether it's an upbeat tune, or a sweet melody, there are ways music can instantly captivate the listener. For Rise Against's song, Disparity by Design, the intense electric guitar and drum beat demand attention and create a sense of urgency. The lyrics of the song contain strong diction and a tune that might empower the listener to stand up and make a change. The lyrics say, "And like a single domino, that falls while the rest stay vertical, we're fed these empty fairy tales and I'm through believing," expressing the frustration of economic equality that a lot of the listeners could relate to. Also, the similes and imagery help the listener picture what the song is trying to get across. By using lyrics and a powerful upbeat tempo, Rise Against is able to appeal to the emotions of the listeners and create a song that drives listeners to reflect upon the Occupy movement. 

Disparity by Design: Logos

Disparity by Design speaks from the perspective of victims of discrimination. Rise Against projects the discontent of people who are treated differently for possessing qualities beyond their control that their disparagers find unworthy of equal treatment.

Rise Against equates themselves with people of low socioeconomic status, women, and minorities. For the majority of the song the perspective of the argument is in line with the audience’s values and beliefs making  it possible to anticipate the reception of any assertion that Rise Against could make.

Disparity by Design supplies the issue, an institutionalized system of discrimination of people based on differences they cannot control, examples in the form of instances in which people are deprived of equal opportunity, and the conclusion that people of these groups are not any less valuable than their disparagers. The reaction that the audience with experiences of this kind will have is apparent.  They will apply their life’s knowledge and experiences of hardship to supply the missing premise validating the point that Disparity by Design makes. 

Through the song Rise against juxtaposes the perspectives and experiences of the disenfranchised groups with those of the disparagers. They are anticipating the counter arguments to each assertion that they present as a way of depicting the contrast to the opposing audience. With the contrast in experiences clearly outlined people that don’t already agree with the points that Rise Against present are still able to accept the conclusion within Disparity by Design.

"Working Class Hero": Kairos

John Lennon released this song, “Working Class Hero” in 1970, a time when the American working class realized their labor struggles and joined unions.

In this song he criticizes difference between the high and low social classes. During the 1960s, 95% of Americans classified themselves as part of the working class (or middle class). However, an elite upper class did rule the working-class families. The gap between the social classes was widening, especially when women entered the working industry. Motivated to express rebellious mindset, Lennon wanted break free from conformity and give the working-class hope for improvement in their conditions.  The middle class resonated with this revolutionary song that warns them about the experience of “being processed”.

People felt alienated at work because labor-power made work only a means of earning money, not expressing their life. “Working Class Hero” attempted to release the “inner rebellion” inside of the middle class who suffered from wage slavery. It is was the ideal time for the “peasants” to emerge from their factory shells and rise against the degrading standards.

Working Class Hero: Major Rhetorical Argument

Working Class Hero, a powerful song by John Lennon released in 1970, reflects on the injustice of the social classes at the time. John Lennon portrays his opinion on the issue throughout the song using strong rhetoric. Through his relation to the audience by the use of the word “you,” Lennon describes how the working class was treated unequally mostly due to capitalism and the government. Lennon begins by describing how terrible the life of a working class person is, but then continues on to say that a working class citizen is something to be. By emphasizing this contradiction, Lennon depicts how the working class is stuck in a cycle that is controlled by people of higher status. Throughout the song, Lennon describes how at the time, everyone was expected to act and think the same way. He explains how if you are born into a certain social class, you will most likely stay within that class and the result of trying to aspire and achieve are shown in the lines: “They hurt you at home and they hit you at school. They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool.”