Soundtrack of a Movement
The events of the past few weeks since the death of George Floyd in South Minneapolis have dramatically changed the course of Minnesota and the United States.
Dramatic protests and outpourings of help and change have canvased the Twin Cities and the surrounding area. Protests and movements for social change have soundtracks and are often guided or in some cases galvanized by specific songs, types of music, types of bands/musical ensembles.
For this assignment, you are to utilize social media (Facebook, Twitter, TicToc, Snapchat,Instagram) digital media (online newspapers such as the StarTribune, Nytimes, CNN.com, etc) as well as online news outlets (WCCO.com, Foxnews.com, etc) in order to survey the music, songs, chants, anything musical associated with initial protests, the ongoing protest, and the current action so rebuild the community and push for social change.
Your paper will:
• Catalog the types of music, songs, chants, sounds you hear in these media clips. The aim is not to collect these so they can be specifically numbered, rather to get an idea of the climate and mood during the protests and the role/function of music in the action thereof frequency and duration of use, etc. It is also, however, important to note dates and times as protests and movements change over time and each moment will capture just that, a moment in time.
• Questions to answer: what type of music, chants, songs, sounds did you hear? What genres of music? What was the messaging? Was it effective? Was the there crowd participation? Was it call and response? Does this, looking back, appear to be effective?
• Are these protests sustainable, and can the musical soundtrack remain consistent going forward?
• As individuals, you are all connected with different people in different ways. Specifically note the types of clips/footage circulating in your own personal feeds/devices/platforms in this paper. Why do you supposes this was the way it was?
• If you attended in person any of the protest or community building events in the past weeks, include your firsthand live knowledge or experience in this paper.
• Final product will be in the form of a report of 4-5 pages in length, 12-point font,
double spaced.Remember that this paper is a report and should have a topic,
support, and typical solid writing elements. Also, you must cite outside sources if you use them.
• Try to be apolitical, if possible, as you should consider approaching your research for this assignment as a nonpartisan reporter.