Learning about the historical context of Americans by Janelle Monae is crucial to fully understanding the song as a protest song. This is due to when the song was written, what it was written in response to, and understanding Monae as a person. Released on her 2018 album Dirty Computer, Americans is the final song on the record. Americans plays with many of the themes of the previous songs on the album and serves as a denouement for her persona. The song tackles many of the social injustices that take place in America such as police brutality, gun violence, and the gender pay gap. The historical context of 2018 being the release date is crucial because this is two years after the 2016 election. Monae clearly had strong feelings about the rise of Trump and his ideologies against minorities; thus this song was the result. The feelings against Trump came from personal experience because she is black, gay, and a woman; all groups that have been targeted. Monae being the creative person she is, does not just say Trump supporters are bad. Instead, she takes on the persona of one in the pre-chorus of the song and by doing this, makes light of how outdated the rhetoric used by them is. The sociological imagination is the way your experience is related to the society around you. Americans is full of lyrics that reflect this idea by Mills. For example, the second verse is filled with allusions to the sociological imagination. Bringing up the gender pay gap and saying “Seventy nine cent to your dollar” is Monae using her experience as a woman to highlight this issue. The sad thing about that lyric is that the number for black women is often lower than seventy nine. Another example comes later in the verse when she says “You see my color before my vision. Sometimes I wonder if you were blind, would it help you make a better decision?” These lines highlight the experience that Monae has had of being sized up and judged for their identity before they even have a chance to prove themselves worthy; whether that be for a job or university. These are just some of the ways that Americans by Janelle Monae brings up Mills’ idea of the sociological imagination.
February 27, 2020 at 5:37 pm
Matt,
This is a good summary of the song, but we really needed a more significant and over discussion of the social issues you are just hinting at here — and you’ll need to be overt and direct in your podcast so listeners can know exactly what you mean. Here, we needed direct links to sources that help illuminate the points you were trying to make, and you will need those kind of sources in your podcast, as well. Please start looking for them now.
Bill