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AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC AS PROTEST MUSIC
IN CONOR OBERST’S SONGS
THESIS
Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of Requirement For the Sarjana Sastra Degree of the English Department
Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University
by: Ferrial Pondrafi
C0306030
English Department
Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts
Sebelas Maret University
Surakarta
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iv
I certify that this thesis entitled ! ! "!" ! # $ !"%!&'! is not plagiarism nor written by others. Any materials and theories used as references are written in direct quotation or in paraphrase. I am fully responsible for the pronouncement. If this is proven to be wrong, I am willing to take any responsible actions given by Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University, including the withdrawal of the degree.
Surakarta, January 02, 2012 The researcher
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v() ** )+
“Music is part of God’s universe”
(Yusuf Islam)
“Where words fail, music speaks”
(Hans Christian Anderson)
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vi,-,./01 .2 3
This thesis is dedicated to:
My Self My Beloved Family
My Friends
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vii456 78
WLEDGEMENT
Alhamdulillahi rabbil 'alamin, finally this thesis is finish already. First of all, I express my gratitude for the Holy God, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, for the gracious mercy, chance, and time, so I can finish this thesis. Though this is a long journey, but this journey is worth to travel. I would like to thank also to people and friends who have amazing role in my own life. Without the help from these amazing people, I will never finish (or even start) my thesis during my study in English Department.
Firstly, I would like to thank Drs. Riyadi Santosa, M.Ed., Ph.D, the Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, and Prof. Dr. Djatmika, M.A., the Head of English Department for giving me permission to conduct this research and topic. I want to thank to all lectures of English Department for giving me a lot of knowledge from the first to the last semester.
Secondly, my gratitude I also express to my thesis supervisor, Dra. Susilorini, M.A., who has helped and supported me during finishing my
thesis. I feel honored being supervised by bu Rini, since the early semester till the last semester. Her sincerity, patience, and intelligence inspire me to use my intelligence wisely. Thanks also to Ms. Karunia Purna K., S.S., M.Si. for lending me the sources of musical theory.
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viiilife is my family. Thanks also for my uncle and his family living in Jakarta. Thanks for asking me about my thesis more than my family did.
I would like to thank to all my friends in English Department 2006: Fajar Rizky and Hermanto for their wisdom and motivation, Susi Anjasari, Endah Becka, for their warm friendship, and Aji Dwi, Letizia Hanum, Chinditya, Dila, Novendra, Vadilla Ulfa, Anita Rusjayanti, Intan Widya and the other friends that I cannot mention one by one. If you all were song, I believe you were the most memorable song playing on my mind.
My companion of American Studies class of 2006: Akhmad Arifin, for accepting me as a friend whatever I am, Rizqi Arifudin for being such a brilliant classmate who always helped us on academic assignment, Rena Aprilia for sharing amazing and priceless music to me, Arwan Wisnu for teaching us the meaning of true love, Astaria Purwanigrum for being very kind friend, Tri Setyarini for helping me on a group assignment, Suci Aryani, for teaching us about religion, and Wulandari Sidjabat (Rest In Peace) for giving me the precious lesson about ‘the very meaning of life’. I wish all the best things for you.
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ixmotivating me to play music and sharing nice experience on 2010. And the other musician Ezrava Kusuma (08), thanks also for your help.
My blogger friends and junior classmate: Ibnu Nurkholis (08), Rizal Fikry (08), Cassandra Aleksia (08), Shofi Mahmudah (07). Amstud family of 07: Makna Sinatria (cannot wait to read your interesting Hexa-Heiwa novel), Saftri Bonea, Vista Sandy, Daniel Nugroho, Syaiful Danang, and Chandra La Luna, Edwi Mardiyoko. My illustrator friend Dita Ikasari (10) for reminding me of my inner talent as an graphic designer and my best friend Chrisna Canis Cara (Administrasi Negara, 06) for being such a best friend since high school. My beautiful last.fm friends across country: Fernanda Valdebenito (Chile), Fernanda Paes (Brazil), Carolina Boani (Brazil), Minna Lehto (Finland), and Julia So (Germany) for supporting and asking what my thesis is talking about.
Finally, thanks to anybody from the class of 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 who knows and ever talks to me during my study in English Department, and anyone who come on my thesis examination to support me. Though this thesis is still far from perfect, but may this thesis will bring some benefits for you
Surakarta, January 02, 2012
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xTABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER ... i
APPROVAL BY THESIS CONSULTANT ... ii
APPROVAL BY BOARD OF EXAMINERS ... iii
PRONOUNCEMENT ... iv
MOTTO ... v
DEDICATION ………. vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x
ABSTRACT ………... xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION …... 1
A. Research Background ... 1
B. Scope of Study ... 5
C. Research Questions ... 6
D. Objectives of the Study ... 6
E. Research Significances... 6
F. Research Methodology ... 7
G. Theoretical Approach ... 9
H. Thesis Organization ... 11
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ……….… 12
A. The Biography of Conor Oberst ………. 12
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xiC. Socio Cultural Background ………. 24
D. Folk Music as Protest Music ………... 27
D. Music Basic Theory ……… 31
E. Semiotic ………... 34
CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS ……….... 38
A. Let’s Not Shit to Ourselves : The Expression of Protest and Disappointment ………39
B. No One Would Riot for Less: The Expression of Protest toward Middle East War ……… 60
C. When The President Talks to God: Protest toward George W. Bush Policies ………. 77
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ……… 84
A. Conclusion ……… 84
B. Recommendation ……….. 87
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xiiABSTRACT
Ferrial Pondrafi. C0306030. American Folk Music as Protest Music In Conor Oberst Songs. Undergraduate Thesis. Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts. Sebelas Maret University.
The popularity of folk music as protest music declines in the 21st century.
However, the ideology of protest music is still preserved by folk musician although it is not popular anymore. This research is conducted to explain the social protest songs written and played by Conor Oberst as the new generation of folk musician.
This research is conducted in American Studies framework, thus, this research incorporates various theories and approaches to analyze the song. Those are semiotic approach which is applied to know the secondary meaning on the lyric, music basic theory to know the emotion of the song that support the lyric, and socio-cultural approach which is used to know the social condition reflected on the song. These theories and approaches are applied to answer the research question and fulfill the research objective which is to know how Conor Oberst expresses the social protest theme through his songs. This research is a descriptive qualitative research that takes the songs from Conor Oberst as the source of data. The primary data consists of word choices and musical elements from the songs. It is supported with secondary data consisted of journal articles, books, and other related references.
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1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background
Music has been an integral element of human culture as far as it can be
traced. Through the ages it has figured prominently in a wide range of human
activities: in rituals, religions, ceremonies, and entertainment. Music is not
essential for life, but yet life without music is unimaginable. (Dallin, 1993, p. 1)
The function of music is not only as art and entertainment, but it can be a
medium for self expression and emotional release. According to Landauer (2001),
music, which is composed of seven distinct tunes, is a powerful medium to express
emotion. Furthermore, studies believe that music can reduce stress, increase
optimism, and help to socialize. (Chaudari, 2010, para. 9)
The functions of music are applied really well by musicians on their works
for making protest music. They believe that through music, people will reduce
their stress, gain self optimism, and help them to socialize with other people who
have the same feeling. Music offers less sarcastic words to speak up and is able
easily to deliver message for wider society, because at the same time music gives
entertainment and leisure. In other words, music is able to be a medium to share
feelings, to reduce disappointment, and to send message to the listener.
America has so many musicians who write protest song to express their
dissatisfaction of their surroundings. These musicians come from any races and
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group, or white American, who wants to express their disappointment. The best
example has ever happened in 60s decade, the decade of turbulence for America.
The decade welcomed many protest music as the reaction of protest movement
protesting issues of the day: civil rights movement of minority group, unnecessary
Vietnam war, women rights movement, and the awareness of environment. At the
same decade, post-war baby grew up as teenagers and adult. With their young
spirit and ideology, they dominated the nation and held changes in every aspect of
culture. Goodwin and Bradley once stated:
The sixties were the age of youth. As 70th million children from
post-war boom became teenagers and young adults. The movement away from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in revolutionary ways of thinking and real change in cultural fabric of American life… young people wanted change, and the changes affected education, values, lifestyles, laws, and entertainment. (Goodwin, 1999, para. 1)
Youngster use music as the protest media considering that music is familiar to
them. They wrote song and played it in a concert, festival, or along with marching
protester on the street in order to attract people attention. Protest music became
daily soundtrack of protest movement.
Protest music was boundless to any genre, from rock n roll, to black
American jazz, however the notable and legendary protest music at the 60s decade
came from folk music genre. This genre thrived prosperously and vocalized the
social issue of the day. This occurrence was also known as folk music revival, in
which folk music was revived by young folk artists. Young folk artist wrote and
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and environmental consciousness. Some of the greatest songs to emerge from the
60s folk revival were songs commenting on the issues of the day. (Ruehl, n.d.,
para. 12)
Some folk artists were also become iconic protest and civil rights
movement figures of the 60s decade. Some of them were Bob Dylan with his
poetic and story-telling like folk music, and Joan Baez with her captivating vocal
and minority struggling theme folk music.
“with the emergence, in the 1960s, of the civil rights movement in the U.S., Folk music was there. The raw and rasping of Bob Dylan singing out a need to find answers in the wind, for all to have the right to freedom, cannot be forgotten …. Joan Baez, representing her Mexican heritage, sang of the plight of minority groups. In fact, there was a burst of folk singers at this time crying out for social justice.” (Wiseman, 2007, para. 3)
These folk artists wrote and shaped American history through their music. It
showed that folk music as protest music has a great power, role, and impact toward
the country and society.
The emergence of folk artists kept moving on the decades afterward. The
decade of seventies was noted by the wave of folk-pop singer-songwriters, such as
James Taylor, Cat Stevens, and Joni Mitchell with their introspective, personal,
and confessional songs. The eighties and Nineties was dominated by female folk
musicians, such as Suzanne Vega, Ani Difranco, and Tracy Chapman, with their
feminism themes songs
It cannot be avoided that folk music becomes an integral part of American
history, since it is not only daily consumable music for American but it is the
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and soapy lyrics, this music gives ideological and political theme to evoke
awareness of listeners about certain issues happening on their nation.
Folk music as protest music is no longer popular on the music scene of
2000s. It is because there are other genres that take its position as protest music.
Some genre like rap and hip hop from Black American, punk with its Anarchism
which emerged in the 70s, Metal, and alternative rock are more dominating rather
than folk.
“these days, bands from most genres like punk (Propagandhi, NOFX), metal (Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down), hip-op (Spearhead, KRS-One), and turtablism (DJ Shadow, Cut Chemistry) combine politics with music. but for the first part of the twentieth century political music, music with a message, was pretty much limited to the folk music scene.” (Gibson, 2004, para. 2)
All of these genres get more attention by society and media. The young generation
is also more familiar to this music rather than folk.
However the remnants of folk music as protest music are still existed and
preserved. The revival and spirit of folk music still lives on though folk music is
under the radar, less aired by the media, and its popularity declines. Some folk
artists are still writing and playing protest songs commenting and pointing out the
certain issues of the day.
One of the folk musicians is Conor Oberst, a Nebraska born
singer-songwriter and the frontman of indie folk/rock band, Bright Eyes. He modifies
protest music aimed to the government of George W. Bush presidency. He also
modifies the old and typical folk music into the new one, so young generation will
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popular genre in 2000s that is closely related to hard guitar distortion, screaming
voice, and themes such as lamentation and desperation. (Vendawish, n.d. para. 1)
With his own musical style, he convinces that folk music as protest music
still exists in the year 2000s. He captures the important moment and illustrates it
into songs. Although his protest music is unable to invite massive protester to
march on the street like the decade of 60s, but his works has strong lyric that
provoke the listeners and criticize the government. Because of what he does, he is
also labeled by Rolling Stones magazines as the next Bob Dylan of 2000s. It gives
an important role toward him, since the label is not easily attained by every folk
musician.
It is interesting to know more about the protest songs written by Conor
Oberst. It is because, although folk music itself is no longer popular, but there is
still musician who writes folk music as the medium to protest. Moreover, as an
Indie artist, his musical works are not commodified by the major labels or the
mainstream media. It gives a positive role toward him since his music and lyric are
not “decided” by the market, but it is purely written and composed based on his
thought. Thus understanding the music from Conor Oberst will give a chance to
know the current issues from the perspective of non-commercial music. In this
thesis, I would like to know more how folk music as protest music is played and
preserved by Conor Oberst as the folk musician in 21st century. What kind of
elements he puts onto the songs, so his music is still relevant to be called as protest
music. Therefore in this thesis, I will have a research about folk music brought by
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B. Scope of StudyIn order to get the answers of the research questions, it is important to put
boundaries so the research will not go far from the main purpose. This research
will focus on Conor Oberst’s songs only (lyrics and music) that present protest
theme. Thus, other elements except lyrics and music will not be considered; for
instances music video, appearances, and official website or blog. Moreover, the
songs that will be analyzed are the songs that contain protest theme only. Besides,
the impact of the artist toward society will not be considered as well in this
research
C. Research Questions
From the research background above, there will be question concerning toward the
issue. The following question is:
How does Conor Oberst express the social protest theme through his songs?
D. Objectives of Study
The objective of this study is to point out how Conor Oberst as the iconic artist of
today folk music expresses the social protest theme through his songs.
E. Research Significances
By researching Conor Oberst’s songs, it can be known the thoughts of Conor
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found also the major events happened in 2000s. Besides, there are other substances
of conducting this research. The substances will be:
1. Giving knowledge and the evidences concerned toward the research
question.
2. Giving further information of Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes as American
folk music of today generation in relation with the protest music.
3. Giving information about the current issues from the non-commercial
music perspective.
F. Research Methodology
1. Type of Research
This thesis is a descriptive qualitative research which is conducted through
the employment of library exploration. According to Moleong (2000):
On descriptive method, the data collected are data in the form of words or images, instead of numbers, so that the report of the research will contain of citations to give description of the report. (p. 7)
Thus in this research, books, articles, references, and other written texts are
highly needed for the source of data. In addition articles, references, and written
text will not only be found from printed media, but also electronic media or
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2. Data and Source of Data
The Source of Main Data
The important thing before starting research is collecting the data which is
divided into main and supporting data. Without data research cannot be committed
and finished well. Because this research is qualitative research, so the data will be
qualitative data. Qualitative data could be more than just words or text.
Photographs, videos, sound recordings and so on, can be considered qualitative
data. (Trochmin, 2006, para. 1)
The source of data includes the songs entitled Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (to
Love or to Be Loved), from the album Lifted or The Story is In The Soil So Keep
Your Ears to the Ground, No One Would Riot for Less from the album Cassadaga,
and When The President Talks to God from the album Motion Sickness.
Meanwhile, the data are word choices of the lyric and musical elements, such as
tempo (fast/slow), dynamic (loud/soft), harmony (third dimensions of the song:
cheerful/sad), musical instruments.
The Source of Supporting Data
It will take some necessary articles, journals, references, and information
for the source of supporting data. These articles, journals, references, and
information will be taken from internet and books which relate to the discussion of
the thesis. Articles, journals, references, and information become the proofs for
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3. Method of Analyzing Data
The first step of collecting data is comprehensive reading that requires
reading and listening to source of data frequently. The analysis will focus on the
lyrics and the music of the songs, considering that lyric and music cannot be
separated in a song. The second, after the main data is analyzed, then the data
shall be correlated to the object of this research. The object here is to know the
protest theme that is presented by Conor Oberst through his songs. The last step is
drawing conclusion. The thorough analysis will lead to the conclusion of this
research.
G. Theoretical approach
Because this research is under American Studies, then interdisciplinary
studies are needed. Interdisciplinary studies require more than just one studies or
point of view to view the problems, so that it will be clear explanation of the
research. According to Klein and Newell (1997):
Interdisciplinary studies is a process of answering a question, solving a problem, or addressing a topic that is too broad or complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline or profession . . . and draws on disciplinary perspectives and integrates their insights through construction of a more comprehensive perspective. (pp. 393– 394)
It needs more than just one point of view or approach to hold the research and to
relate the topic and the data. The use of interdisciplinary approaches is important
to draw logical reason from the source of data so that it can generate suitable and
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In order to get the deeper meaning of the song, approach that is applied in
this research will be semiotic approach, musical basic theory, and socio cultural
approach. Semiotic approach will be used to analyze the lyrics of the songs,
musical basic theory will be used to analyze the music elements, and socio cultural
approach will be used to analyze the cultural background of the song.
Semiotic is study of sign and symbol. It investigates the sign and symbol to
convey feelings, thoughts, ideas, and ideologies of human being. (Ryder, 2004,
para. 1) Song lyric is considered as sign and symbol. This approach will help
interpreting the words of the lyric in relation with the singer feelings, thoughts,
and ideas. Furthermore, by knowing these things, the researcher will know what
the lyric of the songs are talking about. Then finally the theme of the songs and the
ideology contained in the songs can be found.
However, researching the musical elements is important as well,
considering that music is the soul of the song. Song cannot be separated from
music, because song combines two musical elements – melody and human voice
(music and lyric). (Machlis, 1955, p. 7) Musical basic theory will cover the
musical instruments played in the songs, and other elements such as melody,
tempo, and the way singer sing a song. By knowing both song lyric and musical
elements, then the deeper meaning and understanding of the song can be found
Song is the reflection of culture and society. Socio cultural approach is
needed to give the knowledge about the society and culture where the song was
writtten. According to John-Steiner and Mahn, socio cultural approaches
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Because socio-cultural emphasizes the relation between social and individual, thus
this approach will be used to give explanation of the society and social condition
where the singer has an interaction with. By knowing the society or the social
condition, it can be known as well the reason that makes the singer writes the
song.
H. Thesis Organization
1. Chapter I: Introduction, which consists of Background of the Study,
Problem Statement, Scope of the Study, Objective of the Study,
Significance of the Study, Research Methodology, Theoretical Approach,
and Thesis Organizations.
2. Chapter II: Literature Review, which consists of Biography of Conor
Oberts, George W. Bush’s War Policies, American Socio Cultural
Background, Folk Music as Protest Music, Music Basic Theory, Semiotic
3. Chapter III: Analysis, which consists of
A. Let’s Not Shit to Ourselves (To Love Or To Be Loved): The Expression
of Protest and Disappointment:
B. No One Would Riot for Less: Protest toward Middle East War
C. When the President Talks to God: Protest toward George W. Bush
Policies
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12
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter will discuss the information and theories that will be applied
on the thesis analysis. The discussion will cover the information about Conor
Oberst and the theory which is applied on this research.
A. Biography of Conor Oberst
Bright Eyes is an indie folk rock band coming from Omaha, Nebraska.
When talking about Bright Eyes, it cannot be separated from the initiator and the
man behind the band; Conor Oberst. Bright Eyes was initiated by a young
Nebraskan named Conor Oberst. It is fronted by Conor Oberst himself as a front
man, guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist and producer Mike Mogis,
trumpeter and piano player Nate Walcott, and a rotating lineup of collaborators
drawn primarily from Omaha's indie music scene. (Oberst, 2005) The band was
formed in 1997, right after Oberst’s previous band Commander Venus disbanded.
The name of Bright Eyes comes from 1934 Shirley Temple film that Oberst
watched on Turner Classic Movies. In that film, the protagonist calls his love
“Bright Eyes” as a term of endearment.
Conor Mullen Oberst, the man behind Bright Eyes, was born in 1980 to
Matthew, a mutual of Omaha information manager, and Nancy Oberst, an
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Oberst, a lawyer, and Matthew Oberst, Jr., a musician best known for his band
Sorry About Dresden
Conor Oberst musical influence was coming from his father and brother’s
record. He listened to his father’s record collection, such as Neil Young, Bob
Dylan, and Joni Mitchell, and also his older brother Matt’s collection, like Sonic
Youth, Replacements, The Smiths, R.E.M., Fugazi, and The Cure. He has cited
The Cure’s first singles collection, Staring at the Sea, as the first record he ever
bought, as well as being one of his favorites. "It must have been third grade...I
bought the cassette at a local record store chain called Homer's in Omaha. I just
loved the sound of Robert Smith's voice. It just sounded good."
(RollingStone.com) Later on, The Cure fashionable style will influence the style of
Conor Oberst vocal and musical lyric.
Furthermore, he was also greatly influenced by the work of Elliot Smith.
Elliot Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) is an American
singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska. He is notably known for his sad, satirical,
depression theme, and acoustic music work. “Sometimes when you’re not feeling
good, you have to listen to really sad music like Elliot Smith’s and Smith wrote the
sweetest, saddest, most gentle songs”. Oberst also said that he like to listen Elliot
Smith’s songs when he could not find anyone to talk on the phone and thought that
it was sad that, “through his music, Smith had the ability to answer feelings in
others that he was unable to answer in himself”. Later on, Elliot Smith’s works
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When Conor Oberst was thirteen years old, he started recording his self
album entitled Water in 1993 on Lumberjack Record, the very indie label that
would soon become Saddle Creek. This album comprises 9 tracks talking about
life and angst of Conor Oberst life as teenager. Following year later, Conor Oberst
released his second solo album entitled Here’s to Special Treatment (1994, Sing
Eunuchs!) Not so quite different with his previous album, this album comprises 11
tracks which are merely talking about teenage self-conflict, problems, and anger.
The album was followed by 1996’s The Soundtrack to My Life (1996, Sing
Eunuchs!), a cassette only released in Omaha, Nebraska, and a split 7’ vinyl with
Bill Hover, Kill the Monster Before It Eats Baby (1996, Sing Eunuchs!).
At the age of fourteen, Oberst and his friends, Tim Kasher (later on in
Cursive and The Good Life), Rob Nansel, and Tod Baechle (Later on in The
Faint), formed Commander Venus and recorded several albums, including 2 LPs.
After Commander Venus broke up in 1998, Oberst began turning his focus to his
new project; Bright Eyes, band that later on becomes Conor Oberst main band.
Under the name Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst released his first debut; Letting
off the Happiness (Saddle Creek, 1998). Comprising 10 tracks, this album reflects
more about the angst and emotion of Conor Oberst. Some songs like If Winter
Ends and The City Has Sex compose emotional lyric, screaming voice, and rough
guitar distortion. These songs have common with hardcore genre rather than the
folk one. However the simple acoustic guitar and simple spoken-like voice of June
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The second album, Fevers and Mirrors (Sadlle Creek, 2000), sounds
maturer than the debut. This album is musically more successful than their
previous, at least in its range of melodies, moods, and sounds. The album reveals
more about the darkest side of Conor Oberst and the way he sees the world as a
whole. Some songs entitled A Spindle a Darkness a Fever and a Necklace, A Scale
A Mirrors and Those Indifferent Clocks, The Calendar hung Itself, and also
Arienette reflects the world of Conor Oberst that is seen in the darker way; rather
than in the brighter way. Later on, Conor Oberst released an EP (Extended Play)
entitled Every Day and Every Night (2000, Saddle Creek), before starting a new
side project a year later.
In 2003, Bright Eyes release his third and successfully acclaimed album,
entitled Lifted or the Story Is in the Soil So Put Your Ears to the Ground (2002,
Saddle Creek). Comprising 13 tracks, this third album offers the listener with
variety of musical colours (timbres). Conor Oberts adopted sumptuous
arrangements (horns and strings) and aimed for the grand pop melody. The pace is
majestic, as in the old fashioned country ballads, but the soundscapes is a waterfall
of timbres. (Scaruffi, 1999) Folk music elements were sounding much more rather
than his previous albums. For examples are songs entitled Nothing Gets Crossed
Out, and Bowl of Oranges.
His political view is not only reflected from his songs, but also from his
action. Conor Oberst joined Bruce Springsteen and REM on an arena tour of swing
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box next to John Kerry, Oberst instead captured the attention of the indie ignorant.
(Autumn, 2005, para. 3) He earned a significant reputation after that.
One year afterward, Bright Eyes released two albums at the same time in
2005. First album is I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (2005, Saddle Creek), and the
second album is Digital Ash in the Digital Urns (2005, Saddle Creek). Both the
albums are completely different each other. I’m Wide Awake its Morning is an
acoustic, folksy, and (little bit) bit country album, while Digital Ash in the Digital
Urns sounds more electronic. These albums are quite different but each
complements the other.
On the same year, Conor Oberst released the live album entitled Motion
Sickness: Live Recordings (2005, Team Love). This album comprises Conor
Oberst’s songs from his previous albums, and some cover songs from other folks
artists such as Mushaboom by Leslie Feist and The Biggest Lie by Elliot Smith. In
this album Conor Oberst also sang his critically brilliant protest song; When the
President Talks to God. Before he sang the song, he notes the song to the
incompetent president of America, George W. Bush; and it is followed by
applause of audience. Besides, Bright Eyes also performs the same song, When the
President Talks to God in television show, Tonight Show with Jay Leno. This
performance spotted attentions and become most viewed video on youtube for its
overtone political theme.
In 2007 Bright Eyes released another studio album namely Cassadaga
(2007, Saddle Creek). This album tried to capitalize all the experiments of the
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Me, No One Would Riot for Less, to Bob Dylan roots-rock like Four Winds, Soul
Singer in a Session Band, and I Must Belong Somewhere.
By the time Oberst was 22 years old, he had been dubbed as the Bob Dylan
of the Ritalin generation (Leaheay, 2003). American rock music critics stated that
Conor Oberst was “the next Bob Dylan!". This label suggested to the world that
Conor Oberst was a notable folk singer-songwriter of today generation.
On February 16th, 2011, Conor Oberst released his new Bright Eyes’ album
entitled The People’s Key (2011, Saddle Creek). Comprising 10 tracks this album
was much mature than all his works. The songs are not merely about
self-lamentation, anger, depression, or introspection. However, the various theme of
the album is ranging from life, love, peace, hope, and scientific themes such as
space and future.
Overall, Conor Oberst with his band Bright Eyes has already released 35
albums, including the singles/EP (extended play), and LP (length play) albums;
eleven LP albums and twenty five singles/EP albums. The official LP albums are:
1. A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997 (released
January, 1998)
2. Letting Off the Happiness (released November 2, 1998)
3. Fevers and Mirrors (released May 29, 2000)
4. Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
(released August 13, 2002)
5. A Christmas Album (released 2002)
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7. Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (released January 25, 2005)
8. Motion Sickness: Live Recordings (LIVE) (released November 15,
2005 )
9. Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005) (released October 24, 2006)
10.Cassadaga (released April 10, 2007)
11.The People’s Key (released February 15, 2011)
Every generation has its iconic folk artist, and Conor Oberst is the folk
artist for today generation. His pained adolescent poetry of his early records
earned Oberst a crowd of loyal fans, and his doe-eyed, fashionably shaggy look
made him a heartthrob of the indie rock set. He does not only sing for himself, but
his songs speak to the others. He can express his inner feeling toward music and he
can also protest and give social commentary through music. Gerard Way, singer
from emo band My Chemical Romance, stated in buzznet interview that Conor
Oberst is important to the future of music, “His lyrics are phenomenal. I think he
speaks for our generation. Conor Oberst and his band Bright Eyes has become an
important figure in music scene of today generation.
(http://www.monstersandcritics.com)
B. George W. Bush’s War Policies
George W. Bush was born in July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut,
United States. He was the oldest of six children of George Bush Sr. who served as
the 41st President of U.S., and Barbara Bush. Bush was a faithful with his religion.
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explained, “that alcohol was beginning to crowd out my energies and could crowd,
eventually, my affections for other people.” His decision was partly the result of a
self-described spiritual awakening and a strengthening of his Christian faith that
had begun the previous year. (Duignan, n.d., p. 2)
Bush formally announced his candidacy for Republican presidential
nomination in June 1999. He described his political philosophy as “compassionate
conservatism”, a view that combined traditional Republican economic policies
with concern of underprivileged. He won the Republican nomination, taking a
strong lead in public opinion polls over Vice President, Al Gore, the Democratic
Party nominee, Ralph Noder, the Green Party candidate, and political journalist
Patrick Buchanon, the nominee of Reform party. Republican George W. Bush was
elected as the 43rd President of United States in November 2000; replacing Bill
Clinton as the previous president. Before became a president, Bush was a
businessman and served as governor of Texas.
He occupied the office for 2 tenures; from 2001 until 2009. His presidency
brought a new era for United States History. It was noted by enormous challenges
for several years ahead such as terrorist attack in September 9th, American
controversial war and invasion, and economic hardship.
His presidency was opened by terrorist attack in September 11th, 2001. At
08:46 a.m., clear Manhattan skyline, New York, was shocked by hijacked
American Airlines Flight crashing the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
Minutes later, at 09:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower of
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and around the buildings; including firefighters, and police officers. (Adamski,
n.d., para. 28) Thirty minutes after two planes hitting The World Trade Center,
another airplanes crash the US military base, Pentagon, Arlington County,
Virginia. It was American Flight 77 departed from Dulles International Airport
and bound for Los Angeles. The Boeing 77 was hijacked and crashed, loaded with
10.000 gallons of fuel, at 345 mph into the west side of the Pentagon, (Roberts,
2006, para. 1)
Immediately after the September 11 attacks, domestic security and the
threat of terrorism became the chief focus of Bush administration at the top
priority of government at every level. Declaring a global “war on terrorism”, Bush
announced that the country would not rest until “every terrorist group of global
reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.” (primary source: Declaration of War
on Terrorism) (Duignan, n.d., p. 5)
Bush administration found the 19 suspects of terrorist attacks come from
Muslim world. Bush claimed the one must be responsible to the attacks was
Al-Qaeda, an anti-America Organization. Later on Bush attacked Afghanistan; it is
because Bush believed that Al-Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden was hiding in
Afghanistan.
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Besides Afghanistan, Bush also attacked Iraq. In March 2003, George W.
Bush administration declared war against Iraq. They accused Iraq President,
Sadam Hussein, has any relation with the terrorist attack of 9/11. However, this
war became controversial, considering that there was no suggestion that Iraq
President had any relation toward the attack.
At that time no suggestion was made that Iraq was in way connected
with the September 11th attacks. But in September 2002 a US
government and US media disinformation campaign was launched to persuade the American people that it was really Iraq which was behind these attacks. (http://www.serendipity.li, para. 3)
In his pre-inaugural speech at Republican National Convention, the
President said "we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom".
(Peters, 2004, p. 5) Bush Administration justified the war—and the American
public accepted that justification—on the grounds that Iraq posed a terrorist threat
to the United States. These justifications included:
1. Potential connections between Al Qaeda, the author of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
2. The possibility that Hussein was manufacturing weapons of mass
destruction that might fall into the hands of terrorists.
3. The safe haven Hussein gave to some terrorist organizations, such as that
of Abu Nidal, who died in mysterious circumstances in Baghdad, in 2002.
Over time, it has become clear that none of these justifications were quite true
when the war started. (Zalman, n.d. para. 6)
To convince people that Iraq was behind 9/11 attacks, Bush administration
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believe that Iraq was responsible for the attacks. According to Hal, such media
like Fox news is a media controlled by government. It’s a media for the sake of
government. “And Fox is not what it seems to be” He said, “It’s not a news
service, certainly nor even the sincere voice of low-rest nationalism. It’s a
calculated fraud” (Crowther, 2003, para. 4)
Government-media successfully propagandized American to believe that
Iraq (Sadam Hussein) was the one behind 9/11 attacks
“…about 50 percents of the population now believes that Iraq was responsible for the attack of the World Trade Center. This has happened since September 2002. In fact, after the September 11 attack, the figure was about 3 per cent. Government-media propaganda has managed to raise that to about 5o per cent. Now if people genuinely believe that Iraq has carried out major terrorist attacks against US and is planning to do so again, well, in that case people will support the war.” (Chomsky. 2003. Para. 29)
Other reason that made George W. Bush administration invaded Iraq was
their belief that Iraq possesed ‘weapon of mass destruction’ - lethal weapon that is
threatening for humankind and America. The President felt that America needed
to destroy the weapon of mass destruction before Iraq used it to destroy America.
However, in September 2003, there were no evidences stating that Sadam
Hussein was connected to 9/11 attacks. What Bush believed that Iraq attacked
World Trade Center and Pentagon and Iraq was a threat for America was totally
unproven. The existence of weapon of mass destruction is unproven as well. After
scouring Iraq for several months, the United Nations inspector had found no
evidence of the “weapons of mass destruction” existence. (http://www.serendipity.li,
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These notions gave evidence that Bush administration told big lies to the
public. Iraq was attacked and invaded not because to establish democracy, to cut
off terrorist, or even to destroy weapon of mass destruction. However, the
intention invading Iraq was for the sake of American profit. According to
Kaminski (2004), this war is a way for America to invade Iraq and rob its valuable
resource. American did not go to war against Iraq to overthrow a tyrant. They
invaded Iraq just because they wanted to steel Iraq’ precious resource. (para. 15)
Furthermore, Kaminski explain more about the Bush administration’s intention to
invade Iraq.
“Bush neocons and apologists lied to us about the Bush administration’s real ambitions and intentions. Their plan to invade Iraq was never about exporting democracy. Nor was it about conquering Al-Qaeda, or finding weapon of mass destruction, or to cure imminent thread. There were gigantic lies to cover for their real intentions.” (Zimmerman, 2004, para. 3)
All of these lies lead people of America to protest George W. Bush
administration; especially their policy related to war and invasion. “On this
occasion, however, there was a massive protest before the war was launched
officially and once again on the day it was launched – with no
counter-demonstrators” (Chomsky, 2003, para. 59),
Beside terrorist attack, war, and invasion, Bush administration was also
noted by economical hardships. "Despite the Bush administration's rhetoric that an
economic recovery is underway, there are abundant signs that for most working
families their situations are no better—and in many cases are far worse." (Vives,
2004, para. 1) In his presidency, for about, 7.796.000 American losses their jobs
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giveaways to the rich to stimulate economic growth. However, according to
American for Responsible Taxes (p. 1), Bush tax giveaways did not create jobs,
did not create economic growth, and put American into debt to give the wealthiest
American a break at the expense of the middle class. (para. 1)
Most of the jobless were women. Women workers have lost over 300.000 jobs between the start of the recession in March, 2001 through the March, 2004, report. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the proportion of single mothers who are employed fell in 2003 and the unemployment rate rose markedly among single mothers, from an already-high 9.5 percent to a desperate 10.2 percent. (Shiozaki, 2004, para. 4)
In Bush presidency, poverty aroused. Lower middle class families were slowly
slipping below the poverty line and the poorest were becoming even more
destitute; and most of these families are headed by women. (para. 5)
Women faced their economic hardships in Bush administration era. Child
care was no longer subsidized by government. For many poor families, child care
may cost 20 percent or more of their annual income. The Bush administration had
cut funding for programs such as child care, which were essential to single parent
households, in favor of expanded unproven programs such as marriage promotion.
(para. 9) This policy inflicted single parent, especially women, and cut off their
annual income.
C. American Socio Cultural Background
Lead by George W. Bush as the President, American people had to face
difficult times in the early decade of 2000s. The condition at that time was far
from better than the previous era which was lead by Bill Clinton as the President.
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President. Yet the difficult conditions at that time were noted by economical
difficulties, fewer job opportunities, unemployment, high-price necessities, lower
wage income, and less affordable housing. There was no significant economic
growth during Bush presidency. Moreover, for about 7.000.000 American people
lost their job. "Despite the bush administration's rhetoric that an economic
recovery is underway, there are abundant signs that for most working families,
their situations are no better-and in many cases are far worse. (Vives, 2004, para.
1)
One of the examples of his policies was tax giveaways to the rich. It was
intended to stimulate economical growth. However, according to American for
Responsible taxes, Bush tax giveaways did not create jobs, did not create
economic growth, but put American into debt (n.d., para. 1). It was undeniable
truth that job losses and poverty finally aroused during Bush presidency.
Moreover, tax giveaways also have widened the income gap between millionaires
and middle-class workers.
Women were the one who suffered at that time. Most of the jobless were
headed by women. Women workers have lost over 300.000 jobs between the start
of the recession in March 2001 through the March 2004, report. According to the
Institute for Women's Policy Research, the proportion of single mother who are
employed fell in 2003 and the unemployment rate rose markedly among single
mothers, from an already-high 9.5 percent to a desperate 10.2 percent (Shiozaki,
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In addition, child care was no longer subsidized by government. On the
contrary, this program was replaced by unproven program that is known as
marriage promotion. (para. 9). For single mother and poor families, child care is
important. It may cost 20 percent or more of their annual income. Without doubt,
the omission of this policy inflicted single parent, especially women, and poor
families.
Middle-class families also had to face less affordable and less secure life
under Bush presidency. Because of his fiscal incompetence and mismanagement,
the lower wages and skyrocketing costs for basic necessities like gas, health care,
and college tuition were unavoidable. Gas price have doubled, health care
premium have increased by over 80 percent, and the cost of a college education is
rising faster than family income. Tuition, fees, room, and board charges at
four-year public colleges grew more rapidly. Unfortunately, instead of producing
solutions to the problems facing the middle class, Bush Republicans have ignored
them and pushed for policies that would make matters even worse.
(http://dpc.senate.gov, 2008, para. 1-6) It is a fact that finally job losses,
homelessness, and skyrocketing costs were daily view in America during Bush
Presidency.
Ignorance was closely related to George W. Bush as well. He did not only
undermine the fiscal condition of the Nation, but he also allowed other problems
such as environmental problem, health care, and disaster response. Rather than
made better condition for his Nation, George W. Bush made his condition worse
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condition inside his Nation. Instead of financing his Country, the government was
more concerned in funding the war. The money was spent much to the war started
by the government and consequently it affects the financial problems toward
America itself.
The difficult time during Bush presidency caught the attention of musicians
to speak up their mind to protest the government. Some protest songs aroused
during his presidency. War was not the only thing that inspired the songwriter in
writing their protest song. Some broader themes such as President’s ignorance and
electoral fraud were captured as well in their works. Artists from any genre took
part in protesting the government through their musical works; Dixie Chicks with
their country tune song Travellin’ Soldier, Green Day with their pop-punk
American Idiot, Kanye West with his rap Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People,
and Bright Eyes with his Dylan-like folk music When the President Talks to God.
In addition, pop music, represented by Madonna, also sang about protest in her
American Life. These phenomenon shows that the condition during Bush regime
were very critical because it could attract numerous protest from any genre artists.
D. Folk Music as Protest Music
From the name itself, folk music is music of for folk or common people.
The definition of folk music has changed considerably over time. Folk music, in
the strictest definition, is a traditional style of music that is performed and passed
on from one generation to the next. The content was more of local tradition;
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of a larger than life local character, and later protest music. In this sense folk
music has been around as long as people have inhabited the planet. (Bluse, n.d.,
para. 1)
Every culture or country has their own folk music. This music considerably
has different form in each culture or country. These differences are characterized
by their musical instruments, and musical patterns. However, the same thing
between all these differences is: the theme. The themes of folk music usually are
talking about daily life and hardships.
America is a place where folk music thrives as well. Long before pop
music took over American charts and billboards, folk music had already existed in
the country. There is no certain account when American folk music came to
America. However, it is believed that American folk music was brought by Irish
immigrant when the day was very young. This notion can be traced by similarities
between the songs of American folk artist and Irish folk artist. Most of the
songwriters at that time wrote songs about their work, relationship, war, and
spiritual issues. American settlers started with nothing in the 1600s and had to
work hard to start the country. Singing song while working helped them to be
though and to soothe their nerve. The strong rhythms of American folk work songs
made the work of chopping woods, hoeing the garden, and other such examples of
physical labor seem to be easier for those who chose or were sentenced to physical
labor. (Stark-Humprey, 2010, para. 5)
Rather than to gain profit, folk music is written to express people’s feeling.
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music in an April 2003 interview by saying: "In the strictest sense, it is music that
is rarely written for profit. It is music that has endured and been passed down by
oral tradition. Also, what distinguishes folk music is that it is participatory—you
don't have to be a great musician to be a folk singer. And finally, it brings a sense
of community. It is the people's music." (in Bluse, n.d., para. 2)
American folk music is defined with some characteristics: such as simple
musical instruments, plaintive melodies which mean that the melodies are sung
repeatedly, strong rhythms, and steady beats. Rather than using glamour musical
instruments, folk music usually uses simple instruments, for instance is guitar.
These simple characteristics have been recognized for a long time in the music
scene as the characteristics of folk music. In modern time, the instruments use are
more various, such as piano, violin, and even drums. The plaintive melodies were
means that the melody is simple or sometimes the whole songs are just sung
repeatedly.
This music usually talks about war, work, civil rights, and economic
hardship to nonsense, satire, and love song. Folk music is identical with protest
music, because the lyric always relates to protest of social condition. It also
became the media to protest the government or society; since 19th century to 20th
century. Moreover, it has power to provoke society to make social change and to
be aware of their surroundings. This music had also accompanied historical major
events in America, for examples: slave emancipation, women’s suffrage, labor
movement, civil rights, the anti-war movement, the feminist movement, and the
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Folk music revival happened in 1930s-1940s. Some folk musicians,
including Charles Seeger, John and Alan Lomax employed folk music to address
social, moral, and political issues. Conservatives of the era called this the
"left-wing folk song conspiracy." Moreover, Unions began using folk songs in their
rallies. The music was so powerful as a left-wing tool in the mid to late 1930s.
In 1940s, folk music began got more attention by musicians. Woody
Guthrie was the figure who played important role in popularizing folk music as
protest music in America. American music would never be the same after he
played music and started writing songs. In 1942, this political-minded author and
newspaper columnist started writing songs after influenced by Little Red
Songbook. Little Red Songbook is a book that was written to inform working
masses about unionism and socialism. (Gibson, 2004, para. 4) He wrote and sang
heartfelt songs from social change to working class audiences. By the end of his
career, he had written thousands of socialist folk-protest songs. Although his songs
did not call for an action, but his songs revealed about the truth of something he
saw.
Beside Guthrie, Bob Dylan was the notable folk musician as well.
Influenced by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan has similar characteristics with Woody
Guthrie: straightforward and talking like singing style. However, Dylan had
something Guthrie did not. While Guthrie sang about philosophical topics related
to unionism and socialism, Dylan sang about American current issues of 60s
decade; such as Civil Rights Movement to Vietnam War. His down-to-earth
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political protest songs caught the attention of media. This achievement made bob
Dylan become iconic figure of folk music related to the 60s
(http://people.eku.edu/nelsonl/mus273/folk.html)
According to R. Serge Denisoff (1976), a professor in sociology, the
medium of protest music is usually folk music. Because folk music allows a focus
to be given to the words of a song, while the music took a secondary supportive
role. Thus, this music becomes an effective medium to express social and political
ideological concepts. Denisoff also states the five primary goals of protest music:
1. Pointing to some problems in society, usually in emotional terms.
2. Presenting a solution to that problem in terms of action and a desired
goal
3. reinforcing the value structure of individuals involved with the
movement
4. attempting to recruit individuals by arousing outside sympathy and
support
5. creating moral unity and uniqueness in its world view
According to the characteristics above, protest music has an aim to provoke their
listeners in order to do something. In other words this music has a role to be
propaganda media.
E. Music Basic Theory
Music according to Miller is the art, the craft, and the science of organizing
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sound, silence, and framework of time, thus there must be elements that arrange
sound, silence, and time into work of music.
Song is the work of music, therefore, in order to know the very meaning of
songs, musical basic theory is required. Basic musical theory will shows the
meaning of musical elements playing on the songs. Those basic elements include
pitch, dynamics, tone colour, rhythm, melody, and harmony.
1. Pitch: highness and Loudness
Pitch is the relative highness and loudness in a sound. Pitch of a sound is
created and determined by the frequency of its vibrator.
2. Dynamics: Loudness and Softness of Sound
Dynamic is the degree of loudness and softness of a sound. If string is
plucked hard, it makes loud sound and if it is plucked softly, it makes soft
sound. A lullaby or love song moves in another dynamic range than a
triumphal march. (Machlis, 2005, p. 60) Folk music usually applies soft
dynamic, however modern folk music applies loudness dynamic as well. It
depends on the singer who plays the song.
3. Timbre: Tone Color
Timbre or Tone Color is the color of musical instruments. The same tone
will sound differently when they are produced by a trumpet or a violin. The
difference lies in the characteristic color, or timbre, of each instrument. It is
because those two musical instruments have different tone color. (Machlis,
p. 34) By the way in which the composer chooses his timbres, blending and
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music color of folk music is mostly dominated by acoustic sounds, such as
acoustic guitar, piano, and violin.
4. Rhythm: Musical Time
Rhythm comes from Greek word means ‘flow’. Rhythm has been called as
the heartbeat of music. Rhythm denotes the orderly movement of music in
time. It is the principle of organization and design that controls the duration
of the tones.
5. Tempo: tempo is the element of rhythm. Tempo is the rate of speed, the pace
of music, which determines the speed of the measures; the duration in
actual time. Tempo carries emotional implication. People hurries their
speech in moments of agitation. Their bodies press forward in eagerness,
hold back in lassitude. However vigor and gayety are associated with a
brisk gait as surely as despair demands a slow one. Folk music can range in
any tempo. Sometimes the tempo is slow, and on the other hand it can be
fast.
6. Melody: Musical Line
Melody is that element of music which makes the widest and most direct
appeal. It is called the soul of music. A melody is a succession of tones
perceived by the mind as an entity. (p. 14)
7. Harmony: Musical Space
Harmony denotes the overall organization of tones in a musical work in
such ways as to achieve order and unity. To the movement of melody,
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melodic line, weight and body to the musical tissue. It introduces the
impression of musical space. It clarifies direction and creates meaning. (p.
21) Different with rock music or orchestra which gives richness in
harmony, folk music usually serves simplistic harmony. It is because folk
music applies few and simple instruments.
F. Semiotic
Besides music, lyric is an important element of a song. Lyric contains
message and ideas of the songwriter to be delivered to the listener. However, the
meaning of the lyric sometimes cannot be understood by reading it constructed
words only. It needs further signification to interpret the deeper meaning of the
lyric. It is because the lyric has a strong cultural relation with the culture where the
songwriter live in. lyric of a song does not only have denotative meaning, but it
has connotative meaning as well.
The mean to interpret the meaning of the lyric is by Semiotic. Semiotic
deals with sign. Sign, in broadest, sense is anything which produces meanings.
(Thwaites, 1994, p. 7) it can be in the form of sound or voices, written form, and
virtual image. An obvious thing a sign can do is a sign refers to something. It does
not just convey meanings only, but produces them. Considering that anything
which produces meaning is a sign, thus lyric can be included also as a sign because
it produces meanings and signifies something. Ferdinand de Saussure in Course de
Linguistic General (1916) states:
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consequently of general psychology, I shall call it semiology (from the Greek Semeion ‘Sign’). Semiology would show what constitutes signs, what laws govern them. Since the science does not exist, no one can say what it would be, but it has a right to existence, a place staked out in advance. Linguistics is only a part of the general science or semiology. The laws discovered by semiology will be applicable to linguistics, and the latter will be circumscribe a well-defined area within the mas of atropological facts.” (in Kurniawan, 2001. p. 14)
Semiotic concept of Roland Barthes’ refers to Saussurean concept of signs,
which investigates the relationship between signifier and signified. The signifier is
the mental impression of the sign. It is the mental image of marks on the page, or
of sounds in the air. While, the signified is the general concept the sign invokes. In
other words, the aspect of the sign does the signifying, the other aspect is what
signified. Furthermore, the relationship between signifier and signified, the way in
which a sound impression ‘points to’ or invokes an abstract concept is called
signification. (Thwaites, 1994, p. 27)
He gives an example of this relationship from “a bunch of roses to signify
passion”. A bunch of roses here is the signifier while the passion is the signified.
The relationship of both ‘a bunch of roses’ and ‘passion’ produces the third term, a
bunch of roses as a sign. Thus both of them conclude that a bunch of roses is a
sign. A bunch of roses here does not have any relation to a bunch of rose in a form
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At the first level of signification, there are “signifier”. “signified”, and
“sign”. The first level of signification system is called language object, the
signifier is the acoustic image, the signified is the concept and the sign is the
relation between image and concept. The meaning of the first level of signification
system is based on the meaning of word or the language and the construction of it.
While the second level of signification system is not based on the meaning of the
understanding of word or the language construction. It is based on the global signs
which are apart or has no correlation with the language constructions. This is
where myth can be found. The first level of signification is called as denotation
and the second level is called as connotation. The sign of the first level of
signification system becomes the signifier of the second level of signification
system.
The object of signification can be in any forms, such as writing forms,
sound or audio forms, and even visual or image forms. All of them have deep
meanings that it needs deep interpretation to reveal the meanings of the object.
There are more than one interpretation to find the fixed meaning of the object; or
in other words, Barthes called it as polysemic signs.
The fixed meaning depends on the knowledge of cultural and social of the
object readers.
