The quote “We write symphonies” on it’s own sounds harmless enough, right? Unfortunately, the context is what breaks the innocence of this statement: it was used in one of president Trump’s speeches to promote the superiority of white western culture.
In a New York Times article, writer Anthony Tommasini responds to this statement in a piece of writing titled “Trump Is Wrong if He Thinks Symphonies Are Superior.” In it, he explains why Trump is wrong through the principle that difference does not equal superiority. His argument was quite effective as it was concise yet still detailed and not completely one sided. Admitting that classical music’s culture can foster ideas of classical music as the superior music genre made his writing easier to accept and consider. Then ending his article by comparing ticket costs of classical and pop music concerts proves his point that classical music in our day isn’t really as elite compared to other music genres as some may think. One specific reason touched on by Tommasini why classical music is considered the “elite genre” is because it can be harder to comprehend by the general public. I personally agree with Tommasini’s views because in my opinion, the comprehensibility of a piece shouldn’t be the defining factor of its value because comprehensibility will vary from person to person. For instance, those with little experience in the classical music world may not be able to understand classical music as classical musicians would.
Different from classical music, popular music – especially when it includes lyrics and a music video – can be more easily comprehended by the general population, making it a valuable form of protest.
Fight Like a Girl by Zolita is a good example of the lyrics and visuals being used in pop music to spread a politically responsive message. Written the day after Trump became president, the lyrics and music video speak of woman empowerment and acceptance across all ages, races, and religions. In addition to discouraging discriminatory hate, this song directly responds to Trump and the derogatory comments he has made against women in a way that promotes women having full control over their bodies, specifically through the lyrics ” My body, My choice, My rights, and My voice” that are emphasized through repetition near the end of the song.
As Trump’s popularity increased, open acts of discrimination increased as well.
To many, Trump’s winning of the presidential election signified a win for acceptance of hate and discrimination, specifically because of ideas he has expressed against women, people of color, and Muslims. This obviously upset a lot of people while inspiring them to become active in the political scene, Zolita included. Throught Fight like a Girl, Zolita’s response this influx of hate was to create a video overflowing with love and acceptance instead of something bitter and angry. I thought this was a smart choice because it broadcasts that women are strong in a positive way. Her lyrics are pretty bold and defiant, so making the video appear angry could have resulted in people turning away, but this way you can’t fault her delivery of her message. In her music video, by the way she shows women of multiple races, religions, and ages of women, all as powerful, she is declaring that all kinds of women are valid and strong and none are lesser than others. Specifically, she includes women of Muslim faith wearing the hijab and shows them in a positive light. Trump has openly stated Islamophobic ideas on multiple occasions, and here, Zolita responds by taking a stand against Islamophobia, using visuals to show Muslims are people deserving of respect just as everyone else is.
Using imagery instead of just lyrics to convey a message of acceptance is in many ways more powerful than just using lyrics because often seeing something can make connections for people that words or melodies can’t. Visuals can often enhance lyrics and help the audience to grasp a better picture of the message of the artist. In this case, a short scene in the video shows a simple gesture of kindness in everyday life involving a woman wearing a hijab, signifying that people of all faiths should be treated with respect. If the simplicity of the moment makes seem small and insignificant, keep in mind the hate crimes and hate speech that Muslims in the United States (where we have “freedom of religion,” smh) have faced and are still facing. At a time when people somehow think it’s acceptable to rip a hijab off the head of a muslim woman, it’s important to spread the message that following a certain religion doesn’t make you any less (or more) human.
Using Lyrics to Rebrand Insults Against Women
In addition to her music video, Zolita’s lyrics also speak of woman empowerment. Specifically, one phrase stood out to me that also happens to be the song title: “Fight Like a Girl.” I thought this was especially clever because she turned an insult that belittles and stereotypes women into something to be proud of. Traditionally, if you’re told you “fight like a girl,” it probably means you’re weak. In fact, adding “like a girl” to any sentence can still make it sound derogatory as if being a girl is a shameful thing. But through her video and lyrics, Zolita re-brands the insult into a compliment by showing that fighting like a girl means to be strong enough to overcome oppression and stand on top and that being a girl is something to be proud of.
Another witty way Zolita uses lyrics is a direct response to one of Trump’s demeaning, derogatory, and disgusting comments about women. In the video above, one of the comments made by Trump reads, “Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” (He has since apologized, but I personally don’t buy it seemed more like an apology that he was caught making the remarks than an apology for the remarks). Not only is this morally wrong but it also suggests that men should have control over women’s bodies and treat women disrespectfully or even sexually harass them if they please. Zolita clearly disagrees, and near the end of her song, background vocals repeatedly sing “can’t grab me by the – .” Here, she took Trump’s own quote and flipped it so it still acknowledges that such ideas do exist but that she is above them, women have the rights over their own bodies, not men.
Zooming Out
Zolita’s Fight like a Girl demonstrates the value of popular music in response to political issues: lyrics and music video visuals can be used to communicate a message in a readily comprehensible way. The catchy melody of the song and relatively easy-to-memorize lyrics also made it stick to my mind, which encouraged me as a listener to think more about the message Zolita was trying to convey. It is a different form of political response than a symphony for instance, but because the two are so drastically different, they should not be compared in terms of value because each brings unique aspects to the table. In terms of popular music, I didn’t fully realize how much the music video could impact the message of the artist until discovering Fight Like a Girl. By only listening to the lyrics, I would have only gotten the message of woman empowerment, but the video communicated woman empowerment for women of all ages, races, and religions. Fight Like a Girl showed me how artists can marry multiple aspects of a pop music production in order to convey a multifaceted political statement.