Re: Hidden Messages In Mass Market Music & Popular Culture
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 10:25 am
by magma
I'm just bumping this because I saw Rihanna in concert last night and made a special effort to take stock of her set design and any symbolism used.
If anything she avioded clean geometric patterns altogether. The main symbolism used on stage were two giant stylised AK47s, a tank (again, stylised... sort of futuristic/industrial looking) , a graphic equaliser, giant speakers, a suspended cage for her dancers, cars and lots of ticker tape.
The only time she bordered on anything symbolic that this thread would be interested in was when she threw up the Rocafella diamond at the start of Run This Town. Oh and a video that played whilst she was changing costumes used the slogan "IS THIS REAL?".
Incidentally, she was alright. My girlfriend and her sister loved it, as did most of the audience. Compared to the support (Pixie Lott - awful, Tinchy Stryder - disappointing), she was great fun..... and fit.
Re: Hidden Messages In Mass Market Music & Popular Culture
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 10:35 am
by gwa
hmm that's interesting, i guess they might not bother with concerts because it might be third party behind it. the videos and promotion is full of symbolism so you can't write her off because of that. jayz rhianna beyonce and gaga are quite blatent masons
Re: Hidden Messages In Mass Market Music & Popular Culture
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 10:39 am
by magma
Just thought it was worth adding to the discussion.
Re: Hidden Messages In Mass Market Music & Popular Culture
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 10:48 am
by gwa
i know, mate. didn't mean to sound like i was shooting you down
Re: Hidden Messages In Mass Market Music & Popular Culture
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 1:15 pm
by dreamizm
magma wrote:I'm just bumping this because I saw Rihanna in concert last night and made a special effort to take stock of her set design and any symbolism used.
If anything she avioded clean geometric patterns altogether. The main symbolism used on stage were two giant stylised AK47s, a tank (again, stylised... sort of futuristic/industrial looking) , a graphic equaliser, giant speakers, a suspended cage for her dancers, cars and lots of ticker tape.
The only time she bordered on anything symbolic that this thread would be interested in was when she threw up the Rocafella diamond at the start of Run This Town. Oh and a video that played whilst she was changing costumes used the slogan "IS THIS REAL?".
Incidentally, she was alright. My girlfriend and her sister loved it, as did most of the audience. Compared to the support (Pixie Lott - awful, Tinchy Stryder - disappointing), she was great fun..... and fit.
In her 'Hard' video, Rihanna is sitting on a purple tank with Mickey Mouse ears.
It may not be covert symbolism, but surely it feeds a wider narrative on 'war as entertainment'? You can't just attribute such striking imagery to 'art' or 'fashion'.
(I also thought themes of 'prisoners of war' and 'torture' were rife in Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' - esp where she dancing in the prison and it keeps switching to black and white CCTV camera. The first thing I thought of was the leaked photos of arab prisoners during the Iraq war. Is she trying to latently trivialise or denegrate the impact of these on our consciousness? I don't know).
Re: Hidden Messages In Mass Market Music & Popular Culture
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 1:26 pm
by magma
dreamizm wrote:It may not be covert symbolism, but surely it feeds a wider narrative on 'war as entertainment'? You can't just attribute such striking imagery to 'art' or 'fashion'.
"Can't" is a bit confident, isn't it?
Weaponary has been part of pop imagery for a long, long time... "girls and guns" is always a sellable image. Fashionistas like Chanel make shoes with gun-shaped heels for Madonna to wear at award ceremonies, Guns n Roses have used all sorts of weaponary in stage shows... and guns are never far from hiphop - how many album titles have rappers brandishing guns?
She's just trying to look cool to teenage girls and sexy enough to guys that buy singles where she's singing on the chorus... I really don't think there's a lot more substance to it than that. In fact, attributing more substance gives her far too much credit - she's a fairly ephemeral popstar, not any kind of intellectual collossus that is capable of dictating what we think.... she just writes songs about fighting men and falling in love... stuff that girls like when they're at school.
Now if people tried to say Grace Jones, Erykah Badu or even Lauryn Hill were trying to change minds, I'd agree, but then it's obvious because they make it so... most people with views to promote don't see any reason to hide behind symbolism... they just come out and say it.
For a supposedly powerful organisation, the Masons are made out to be a bunch of frightened bunnies who are terrified of saying what they think in a world where most people are shouting what they think every second of the day on Twitter.
Re: Hidden Messages In Mass Market Music & Popular Culture
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 1:31 pm
by gwa
mickey mouse ears are used a lot in their symbolism. something to do with children being controlled. Beyonce wears them in the diner scene of telephone iirc
magma you need to research more on Masonic symbolism