Narrative Criticism

The Beatles song "Revolution" is a well written song inspired by the politics of the era.  It is presented in a way that tells a story about the internal and external struggles of an individual dealing with the war and the economic changes happening.  The song is offering a story as a way to teach audiences a new way to see the world, or possibly to reinforce the way they are already thinking,  It also presents a challenge to the American government to work to keep the people happy. 

The setting of the song is America during the Vietnam war.  Although the themes of the song could be reflected onto the views of American's during most of the wars we have been involved in.  The characters of this story are "you" and  "I". The narrator is John Lennon singing the song literally, but figuratively is it the audience member listening to the song.  It is written in a way to make them think they are telling the stories and feeling the emotions being described.  This builds a deeper connection to the audience. 

"You" are yourself in this song, a functioning character.  As yourself, Lennon calls listeners out on different worldviews and opinions that all line up with his views.  "I" is Lennon as a character.  He uses his power of influence to stir emotions and expose truth to his listeners.  I also believe that by using his words, Lennon switches the "you" character to imply to be other people as well.  An example of this is when he says:

"You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head"

At this point in the song, Lennon is referring to politicians as the "you".  It could be presidents, senators, or anyone else with political power.  The next line of the song is:

"You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You'd better free your mind instead"

At this point in the song, "you" is now the listener again, who is questioning the government and is ready to open up to new things.  This smooth transition between characters works as a glue to build cohesion and pull the story together. 

The audience for this story is citizens worldwide who are ready for a change.  The audience members could not realize they are ready for change until hearing the song, which may inspire that feeling in them.  For other audience members, the desire for change may already be instilled and this song is reinforcing and expanding their currents views.  The Beatles hit people worldwide with their music, so their audience held no limits. 

The theme of this story is to stand up for what you believe in.  Multiple references are made about this.  The first one that pops into my head is the line "Well you can count me out".  This is significant because there is not question in that line that the narrator, Lennon, does not want to give his money and time to something that he does not believe is righteous and good.  The theme is advising listeners to do the same. 

For my final paper, I will be focusing on Narrative Criticism in regards to the Beatles song "Revolution".  I will begin with an introduction to the song, its general meaning, and background information on the narrators.  The first section will also consist of an explanation of why this artifact is significant and relevant to society and this type of critic.

In the next section I will have a detailed analysis of the artifact.  I will go into detail about the objective of the narration, the settings, the audience, the narrator, and the theme of this piece.  Each of these sections will most likely have their own paragraphs for an explanation.  I plan to include specific song lyrics in each part to reinforce what I state.

My research question is, "Why was the song "Revolution" so influential when it was released and in the years to follow?" This will be referenced throughout the paper and my concluding paragraph will summarize my evidence to make a clear connection back to the research question. 

Revolution: A Literary Comparison

There are so many bands and artists trying to make it big anymore, and that is becoming a more difficult challenge every minute.  Constantly we have celebrities born overnight from a YouTube video or a TV show audition. Before we had HD televisions around every corner and the latest bands blasting through our car radios, bands still had to work hard to stand out and be heard.  The Beatles did such a great job at his, and Bill McGarvey seems to agree with me, the author of After the Invasion, an article on The Beatles.

Upon doing some research on the Beatles, I have grown fascinated by how big of an impact they made on cultures. McGarvey writes," When 73 million Americas (essentially half the population) tuned into the Ed Sullivan Show on Feb.9th, 1964, a generational Big Bang occurred".  This shows how many people were interested in The Beatles for their music and what they had to say. The Beatles were photographed at conferences, concerts, on television and on the radio. They had records flying off the shelves and into the homes of Americans.  The fact that nearly half the population tuned in to watch them on the television is a wake-up call for just how influential this group had become.  They knew it too.  John Lennon has been quoted saying that "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus", and McGarvey admits that this claim did not seem far fetched. As changes were happening in churches and the economy, The Beatles were there to act as a guide for their followers. Tom Petty said "...The Beatles were the North Star for me and my generation".  They literally guided listeners through the changes around them.

The Beatles were a guide because of how strong of a fan base they had." It was a time in which a new generation would question long-held assumptions and beliefs and reassess the value of established institutions" (McGarvey).  Their fans looked up to the group and all that they had to say.  This makes their song "Revolution" stand out even more because it was more than just a powerful song, it was a politically powerful song.  With the war going on, lots of young adults struggled to find where they fit into the mesh and how they felt about the changes happening.  Revolution was written by John Lennon and reflect his lack of confidence of where he stands on the issue of war, but also gives some direction stating what he feels strongly for and against. 

McGarvey focuses on how The Beatles impacted society and the world around them.  He makes it clear that a large portion of Americans were tuning in and respecting the movement.  "The Beatles were not simply messengers announcing the arrival of this new generation; they were the embodiment of the message itself".  He found this group to be so inspiring to the people invested in their music.  He also notes that The Beatles reached out to different musical genres to keep an interesting spin on every song. McGarvey also faces the realization that music today would not be the same if it had not been for the Beatles influence on pop culture.  This greatly emphasizes his focus, that The Beatles widely impacted society then, and now.




Sources:
McGarvey, B. (2014). After the invasion: the Beatles' Revolution. America, (10). 29.

Hey! Check this group out...

A well connected group to check out is Climbing PoeTree. 
I think they are a powerful team.
Here is a link to their website: http://www.climbingpoetree.com/

This is the piece I was going to use for my Rhetorical Criticism Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCx8Anb03Fc

This two people on the outside (playing the instrument and singing) are from a different group called Rising Appalachia.  Another great group. 

Hope you enjoy!

Revolution Critic

Revolution- The Beatles

This song was written at a time when there was a lot of attention surrounding the Beatles as well as the war in Vietnam.  Having a popular band singing about a controversial topic leads to a huge impact being made on listeners.  Revolution was one of the first very openly political songs that The Beatles released.  Due to this, a lot of people got caught up in the music and beat of the song instead of diving deeper into the lyrics.  Once people realized the depth of the song, I think it was able to impact the audience more.

The Beatles recorded two versions of this song, one was hard-rock and the other has a blues feel to it.  I think this shows significance of the song because listening to each version can spark different emotions.  While listening to the hard-rock version, which was released on the album "Hey Jude", listeners may want to dance and move, and maybe even start a revolution.  Opposed to the other version which was released on the "White Album".  This version has listeners think about the meaning of the lyrics a bit more and really question the society we live in and the wars we fund. This shifts the focus of the song. Having the same song recorded two ways makes it of interest to a wider scope of people.  Some listeners may not like one version, but adore the other.  This will allow the lyrics to reach more people.

 On The White album John Lennon, who wrote the song, changes it a little by adding the word "in" into the song when he sings, "But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out... in".  Where as on Hey Jude he just sings,
 "But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out". This shows how Lennon was struggling with the concepts in the song and his own personal stance on the topic of war.  This song originated from the internal tug-of-war he had about fighting.  He spoke openly about how he felt it was time they said something about what was happening in the war.  A lot of people felt obligated to support the troops in Vietnam, and it made others sick to their stomachs.  This song targeted people on both sides of the spectrum.  Lennon also spoke about being confused on his stance on the war, but writing this song helped him to sort all of that out.

Revolution not only had an impact on the general public, but also other artists.  It has been covered by many including Marilyn Manson, and has been copied in TV shows such as The Simpsons.  This is huge because The Beatles did not just impact people living at the time their song was release and those interested in their music, but also people interested only in other genres and living in other time periods.  Their music stretched from records to CDs to features in TV shows. Being picked up by others may not leave the song in its original format or style, but it gets those lyrics and that message across still, all while reaching a bigger audience.  Revolution is still played today, allowing it to reach even more people yet.  The themes from that song can be applied to more than just the Vietnam War, extending its touch further yet.  Being able to apply those words to what society is facing today, allows todays new audience to still connect deeply with the song.   

This song was a way for Lennon to express his opinions on the war and the pressures surrounding supporting the war.  It was not given as much attention for the strong messages within the song at the time of its release, however later it seemed people realized the true meaning of the song instead of getting caught up in the beat.  This song impacted young adults and teenagers from all around the world.  The Beatles were wildly popular, and their music made people think and feel in ways that other music did not.  It forced people to open their eyes about different topics, and encouraged a new point of view.