DWARS in Debate: My problematic music taste

DWARS in Debate is a new series of opinion pieces written by DWARSers on thought-provoking topics. A new opinion piece is published every other Saturday. This first piece is written by our chairman Bram Tánczos. Enjoy reading it!

On a typical Thursday evening, as usual, I was having a drink somewhere. At one point, I started a conversation with someone about a subject I never really think about: the content of my music. After I mentioned that I mainly listen to Hip-Hop and alternative rock, he responded by giving his interpretation of this first genre by shouting some swear words through the bar. Even though I would advise against repeatedly shouting "motherfucker" just like that through a bar, other words that he (not unfairly) saw as typical of the genre, and therefore decided to repeat, were a lot more problematic.

The prime example, of course, is the much-discussed "n-word". However you feel about the use of the word, everyone probably agrees that it is a highly charged word with a hugely complex history. Therefore, the purpose of this piece is also not to set out this discussion or lecture people on the use of the word. This piece is more of a critical piece of self-reflection on mainly the media that I myself listen to and watch and whether this is compatible with the, in my view, progressive and left-wing ideology that I myself follow. 

And this brings us to the rest of my typical Thursday evening. After he had rather unabashedly shouted these words, I had a brief discussion with him about why in America using this word as a non-Afro-American is rather problematic. Once I had had my say and given myself an imaginary progressive pat on the back, I actually wanted to request a rap song. This song was the famous Dr Dre gangsta rap song Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang. Under the sound of synthesisers and a hard beat came lyrics like "And before me dig out a bitch I have to find a contraceptive" and "And if yo bitches talk shit I have to put the smack down." While I myself had just been lecturing someone about using words that could be seen as racist, a few minutes later I find myself listening to some pretty sexist music.

Also other songs I listened to along with about half the earth like Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines (controversial because of lyrics that could be interpreted as condoning rape culture) also have very problematic lyrics. But why, as a leftist, do myself and many others still listen to this kind of music quite uncritically when we normally speak out against sexism?

I started by taking a critical look back at my childhood myself. My parents were never particularly attentive to what music, games and films I was brought along with me. I was probably playing Grand Theft Auto by the age of 10 and watching the most violent action films. That was also one of the first comparisons I made to my head when trying to justify to myself why I listen to this kind of music. I also play violent games and watch films where hundreds of people are ruthlessly killed, is this also a problematic thing? If that's fine, surely I can listen to a bit of sexist music too?

The argument that it is all fiction sounded very logical in my head at first. People watch non-stop action and horror films and kill hundreds of people on average in a shooting game, but no one does this in real life. And maybe this is precisely the difference. Action films and games are so extreme and comical that they are easy to separate from reality. If Arnold Schwarzenegger recreated the actions in his films in real life, he would most likely go down in history as one of the greatest mass murderers and terrorists of all time. But because the film is full of a barrage of silly explosions and fake blood combined with the comical one-liners he churns out after every war crime he has committed, it is enormously easy for people to see this as pure fiction. It is so absurd and goes so against the norms of our society that everyone regards the world of the film as a separate universe in which the protagonist's actions must be seen through the eyes of his fellow characters. In contrast, some of the lyrics from the aforementioned music perhaps strike a more sensitive chord. A chord that has become increasingly painfully exposed especially with the popularity of the #metoo movement. 

Wherein the other mediums present ridiculous scenarios that contrast so much with reality, these are never taken seriously. But when yet another pop or rap song comes on the radio in which a man is rubbing up against women in a club while calling them "bitch" there is more of a blurred line between reality and fiction. The female-unfriendly language, the violence against women that is discussed and the potentially problematic texts surrounding rape from, for example Blurred Lines, are all examples of things that I know have actually happened in my immediate environment anyway.

In addition, many of the artists are problematic figures themselves. The arrest of R. Kelly for rape and abuse of minors along with the many #metoo reports from the music industry also do show that there is a grain of truth in many of these lyrics. Also, one of my most listened-to artists, Dr Dre, severely assaulted a female journalist in 1991. So every time he raps about beating women I am reminded of that very painfully anyway.

Perhaps I cannot simply dismiss the music I listen to as non-serious fiction but should see it as a reflection and possible reinforcement of the sexist culture that actually exists around me. Again, let me reiterate that I am not trying to play the moralist, nor do I claim that if you listen to this music or watch series and films with questionable content, you are immediately a sexist or a racist. I just think it is good, no matter how progressive you think you are, to take a critical look at what kind of media you consume and what kind of ideas you promote with it. 

Do you have an idea for an opinion piece? Send an email to secretary Wester Coenraads: secretaris.groningen@dwars.org.