The two songs I am considering for my protest anthem podcast are Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken by P!nk, and Fall in Line (feat. Demi Lovato) by Christina Agulera.
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken was released by P!nk in 2017, which was around the time the #MeToo movement was picking up power and media attention. While protesting sexual assault was not the original meaning behind the song, the song got the attention of supporters of the #MeToo movement and victims of sexual assault. Many abusers came to light in the few years before and after this song was released including Harvey Weinstein, USA Gymnastics Team doctor Larry Nassar, Bill Cosby, and Matt Lauer. Shifting to the focus of female empowerment, Fall in Line by Christina Agulera and Demin Lovato, this song talks about the objectification of women and the pressures they face to please men in today’s society. This song also came out around the time of the #MeToo movement, which is a big interest of mine.
While in the process of proposal process I researched these songs on a very surface level, I am intrigued by what I have found so far. I hope to find examples of a connection with the #MeToo movement and whichever song I end up using. I also hope to dive deeper into women’s rights and sexual abuse, and the individual stories the writers of the songs had behind the music if it has been said. Sexual assault is an issue I have studied throughout my years at SJU, and every time I have the opportunity to study the issue more, in different assignment types and class settings, I take it. These are songs that I have listened to when feeling defeated as a woman today, and an anthem that reaches such a large audience of allies.
I do not believe that I have any concerns about completing the project, as I have a base level of audio recording and editing, and writing is one of my strong suits. I am excited to get to work!
September 17, 2022 at 7:16 am
Caitlin,
Both of these are strong choices, especially considering the context in which they were released. “Fall in Line” is more concrete in its subject-matter whereas “Wild Hearts” is more vague and as a result it gives people the ability to read into their own personal situations more strongly — in other words, to do just what Rosenthal and Flacks suggest when they say meaning is within the individual. If you take a look at the Youtube comments you can see just how many people are inspired by it for so many different reasons. She may have performances and statements that make it mostly about sexual assault, but there is nothing inherent in the lyrics about it.
I do, however, worry about you doing another project on sexual assault because I don’t want you to just doing research and discussions you have already done. So, I’m a bit on the fence here.
Can you rec two non-sexual assault-related songs that I might consider before making my recommendation? Please reply to this post by Saturday at 11:00pm. You don’t need to write as much, just a sentence or two about each.
Bill