Love, Love, Love : An Analysis of Purple Dinosaur

The song "Purple Dinosaur", by nobigdyl, was released in early 2017 in light of the recent presidential election. In the song, NBD exclaims that we need to love each other more, and with out doing so, nothing will get better. NBD does this with poetic language throughout the whole song.


In the first verse of the rap, we see NBD’s poetic phrases. He spits,

But baby I know why the caged bird sings,
 ‘cause only love can make the type of bell that freedom rings

This line references Maya Angelou’s autobiography I know why the caged bird sings. In this book, she talks about how racism and sexism had trapped her in a “cage”. What this line is saying is that by loving each other a little more, we can break out of this “cage” and make life better for everyone.

The next poetic line is seen in the second verse of the song. NBD raps,

Sometimes I need a spirit bomb like I was goku

This line references the spirit bomb attack in the anime Dragon Ball. This attack is the most powerful thing in the dragon ball universe, but takes multiple people to activate. This line shows that sometimes we need other people in order to love one another.

The final poetic line is seen in the last verse of the song. NBD exclaims,

And the saddest news, how you deny your brother water when your glass is full

This line speaks to America in the current day, as President Trump has implemented the “Muslim ban”. This act denied the immigration of people from several Muslim majority nations. In this line, NBD talks about this simple thing : water. This is a multidimensional word. Water, which is the most basic thing to life, is sometimes incredibly difficult to find in deprived nations. By not aiding other nations that are struggling to survive, we are not allowing nations to form relationships with one another. At the same time, the word “water” is used to reference the basic rights of an American. Over the past few years, and even today in America, African American and Muslim rights have been slowly taken away, while white rights are always "full". This “denying of water” is referencing something more than a restaurant interaction.

Let Her Go

Love is a theme in many songs, it always has been. The song "Let Her Go" by Passenger, takes an interesting outlook on love, the song talks of only realizing how good love is when you lose it. The song from their amazing album, All the Little Lights, address' the regrets that can often come with the end of a relationship.

The amazing story told through this song touches on losing a love that he once had and only realizing how much this love meant to him once it was gone. This leads him to sing about regret and leaves you with the thought of appreciating the people in your life while you still have them. 

A poetic device that Passenger uses repeatedly is personification. He talks of love as it's a living thing, that can move and breath. One line says, "Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast," by using personification he is able to make the love he is talking about more relateable and gives the song a new depth. 

Throughout the song metaphors are put in place, as well as other versions of comparisons. A lasting comparison that he makes is to the contrast of lightness and darkness, "But you only need the light when it's burning low" as well as, "Only miss the sun when it starts to snow." These straight cut, extreme opposite contrasts help to get his point across of the seriousness of his situation and helps listeners to be able to understand the emotions that are being sung, and sympathize with them. 

All these feed into the imagery of the song, without the personification and the many comparisons, metaphors, and contrasts, the musician's point would have never truly gotten across. There is imagery present when talking about the previously mentioned candle burning out, like a love that is just not the same and is coming to an end. Or when he wrote, "Staring at the ceiling in the dark. Same old empty feeling in your heart," this takes everyday actions and uses relateable emotions to gain sympathy and empathy from the listeners themselves. 

Overall "Let Her Go," can most definitely be argued to be a piece of beautiful poetry, about the affects of a loss of a relationship. He is writing these wonderful lyrics to tell people to cherish what they have, and who they have in their life now because who know who will be there down the road. 

"Love Trumps Hate"

Although much of the merchandise on Hillary Clinton's website is positively portraying Hillary without attacking Donald Trump, this shirt that says, "love trumps hate," has a double meaning. The word "trump" means "to overpower," so the literal meaning of the expression is that "love is stronger than hate," which is a message Hillary clearly stands by. However, Hillary's argument about everyone being kind to each other is not the only meaning of the t-shirt. The quote on the shirt is also a play on words, since the Republican presidential candidate is Donald Trump, who is known for making some very hateful comments towards minorities. The pun is effective because it's not only using pathos and ethos to say that Hillary supports love over hate, but it's also effective by using ethos to remind people of Trump's (bad) character. The shirt promotes Hillary for president while sublty referencing Trump's hateful statements.

"Love trumps hate"

Although much of the merchandise on Hillary Clinton's website is positively portraying Hillary without attacking Donald Trump, this shirt that says, "love trumps hate," has a double meaning. The word "trump" means "to overpower," so the literal meaning of the expression is that "love is stronger than hate," which is a message Hillary clearly stands by. However, Hillary's argument about everyone being kind to each other is not the only meaning of the t-shirt. The quote on the shirt is also a play on words, since the Republican presidential candidate is Donald Trump, who is known for making some very hateful comments towards minorities. The pun is effective because it's not only using pathos and ethos to say that Hillary supports love over hate, but it's also effective by using ethos to remind people of Trump's (bad) character. The shirt promotes Hillary for president while sublty referencing Trump's hateful statements.

Kanye West: “Bounded” to Gender and Unrealistic Relationship Stereotypes

Kanye West is a man almost everyone knows, and most likely has an opinion on. Kanye, the controversial rapper known as “yeezy” is infamous for having a bad reputation and responsible for being self centered and crazy. Being one of today’s most talked about celebrity, he has a very powerful influence on culture and is also a very strong reflection of it. Kanye’s music is apart of a very popular culture trend that enforces previous stereotypes and also creates new ad questionable controversial ones as well. In one of Kanye’s most popular song “Bound 2” released in 2013 reflects today's society and ideals for men and women. “Bound 2” depicts a false stereotypes on the ideology of what a man is, how marriage is valued in American society, and how love is conveyed in order to be true.

Bound 2 depicts a the ideal for what makes a man and how a man should act. Throughout the song Kanye contemplated whether he should give up his past lifestyle in order to be with the women he loves. He is tired of meaningless flings and unrequited love as revealed in the hook “I know you're tired of lovin', of lovin' With nobody to love, nobody, nobody” Kanye knows that his new love also feels the same way, and in order to be happy, he needs to be with her. Kanye also remembers his past lifestyle and past relationships throughout the song. He is aware of his known bad reputation and how he is considered a player. In the song he admits to being a heartbreaker. He tends to have a “leave a pretty-girl-sad-reputation”. He is referring to his very public breakups with Alexis Phifer and Amber Rose. Kanye also references how he is “backstroking” through women in order to perfect them .By saying this he admits to using women for his own personal gain. He is also conveying an ideal that men should be with many women in their life, and in fact are helping women by doing this. They are helping these women by giving them practice or guidance. Because Kanye has such a prevalent influence in culture, his own personal life is being held up as a pinnacle for other men to live up to.

Kanye also reveals his own stance of marriage. Kanye is starting fresh with his new love in order to be with her forever, and soon get married. He is “bound” to one women for the rest of his life and is ready to be with her effortlessly till he dies. In the line “but first, you gon remember how to forget’” he is explaining how his new love will ultimately forget about his past mistakes and bring forth her unconditional partnership despite his previous blunders. This depicts the idea the fairytale lifestyle that is marriage and partnership. Kanye is expressing that when in a committed partnership, it is the duty to one partner to completely forget about the misbehaving and questionable antics of the partner, without any type of backlash or doubts. This unrealistic portrayal of partnership and marriage disguises the rough and troubling truth that today’s relationships go through. Overall Bound 2 is an untrue story because of the way it idealizes both men and women and unrealistically personifies modern love and relationships.

You (Plural) and the Pool Motif

The story "You (Plural)" from Jennifer Egan's book A Visit From the Good Squad is a flash forward from another story that revolves around the friend group of Rhea and Jocelyn, although they're all 40 and either happy, dying, or just disappointing. A large theme of this chapter is resentment towards people due to the past. Jocelyn seems to be slightly jealous of Rhea and her happy life, angry at Lou for many things regarding herself and Rolph, and then angry at herself for not being successful.

There is also the idea of the pool, which was a motif throughout the story, seeming to represent life and good times. As Rhea walks through the house to visit Lou on his deathbed, looking back at the memories she had, especially the pool. Plenty of parties were held there and Jocelyn, along with Rolph, enjoyed themselves throughout their teen and young-adult years. Later in the chapter, Lou requests to be next to the pool with the girls by his side. He seems to want a final look at his happy memories, a lot of which belong in or beside this pool. At one point, Jocelyn has a hallucination of her pushing in and drowning Lou in the pool in a fit of rage over everything he's done to her as well as other people. In this hallucination, the tubes and wires connected to Lou come undone from his veins and spray colors everywhere into the pool. This may represent how Lou ended up tainting Jocelyn's life and therefore happy times with his shenanigans and manipulations. After this hallucination fades, Jocelyn looks Lou straight in the eyes and tells him he deserves to die.

Poor old (or not so old) Rolph. He shot himself because he was incorrectly inserted into the postmodern world, and was one of Jocelyn's last remaining ties to Lou other than Lou himself. Memories go in and out throughout this chapter, ranging from happy ones at parties, curious ones of inspecting each others' bodies, and sad ones of suicide. It seems to be implied that Rolph was the only child of Lou's that he actually cared about, and being reminded that he killed himself 20 years prior to when this story takes place still hurts/haunts him. Lou may be ruthlessly manipulative for his own personal gain, but it shows that he does still have feelings.

Truth and Death

    9/11 is one of the most important moments in recent American history. It started (or at least justified) a war, sparked worldwide controversy, and forever changed our cultural landscape. Songs, stories, poems, apologies, in a single afternoon millions of lives were changed, and thousands were silenced.

    People dance around the subject all too much in my opinion. It makes people uncomfortable and sometimes even ashamed, and if it makes them neither of those it makes them angry. So we use euphemisms and meaningless phrases such as "never forget", as if simply repeating it enough will cement it in history rather than whichever historian fate smiles upon.

    Let's look at some numbers. In relationship to war, 9/11 was practically nothing. More than a hundred times than many Americans died in Vietnam for no reason at all. Even as recent as Iraq, the death toll of American soldiers is 4,425, and they were sent over in the name of ending the death caused on that September day. Of course, if you look at the Iraqi casualties in that war, estimates range from 100,000 to 1 million. Strange how we don't talk about those as often.

    Still, there must be a difference between deaths in 9/11 and war casualties, right? War is often justified, and the destruction of the towers was a brutal and senseless act of violence. This argument holds up less and less the more I think about it. The fact is, war has killed millions upon millions upon millions of people, often for nearly meaningless reasons in retrospect. Do those who die at war feel any differently about it than those in the towers? I doubt it.

    So why are we so adamant to never forget? Why do the lives of those thousands weigh so heavily upon the American people? Maybe because for once, the brutal deaths aren't oceans away. They aren't fought "valiantly" in filthy trenches with dozens of pounds of equipment strapped to their backs. They're regular people doing regular things who never for a second thought their lives might be on the line. They could be you.

    Death is everywhere. Cancer, suicide, murder. Slightly farther away we find starvation, water deprivation, disease. To think that because we humans have built ourselves a pillowfort or two, death is any more preventable is foolish. But that's what we have to tell ourselves to make it. So when two planes slice our tallest pillow into rubble, it rattles us to our very core.

    By the time I have finished writing this, it will be 9/12. The CIA estimates that 108 people die every minute. Most of them probably don't have pillowforts built for them. I doubt many of them look like me. But that doesn't mean that their deaths are any less valid or tragic.

    We are mere steps away from a true global community, united past skin and history. But for us to take that step, we need to realize that everyone dies. Everyone mourns. Over three thousand people lost their lives unjustly that day, but they are a mere droplet in the ancient pool of billions.

   Life is short, death is random. Love more than just thy neighbor.

Modern Family: Promoting or Defying Stereotypes?

Modern Family was groundbreaking when it first aired in 2009, depicting two of the main characters as gay and in a committed relationship. Since then, it has become one of the most popular shows on television. The show has won numerous awards for its unique and humorous take on the family of today. Modern Family has become more relevant in today’s culture with the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage. Mitchell and Cam, the gay couple featured on the show, recently got married on-screen. Although Modern Family promotes some gay stereotypes, the show presents Mitchell and Cam as just another American couple with the same interests and aspirations for a happy family life.

Modern Family, however, does feed off of the stereotype that gay men are feminine and style-conscious. Many of Mitchell and Cam’s friends are other gay couples, many of whom have unusual names, such as Pepper, Longines, and Crispin. Pepper throws theme parties for their gay couple friends, which Mitch and Cam frequently attend. Many of their friends are fashionable, and have great taste, like Mitch and Cam. As a sub context of many story lines, they seem to be always obsessing over the newest art piece or fashion trend.

Following another stereotype, Cam is a flamboyant and extroverted character. His appearance, along with his personality, highlight a common misconception about gay men. Cam wears daring fashion pieces and has an interest in the arts while also taking on the role as a “stay-at-home dad." While Cam is portrayed as the typical gay man, there are layers to his character that defy his stereotype.

Cam grew up on a farm in a conservative family in Missouri. He frequently talks about his life before moving to California, and how he would have to “rough it out” living on his farm. Cam also has a strong interest in sports and is a high school gym teacher and football coach. He also was a football player at the University of Illinois.

Modern Family displays Mitch and Cam as any other American couple, struggling with financial issues while raising a daughter and balancing work and family life. While Modern Family does depict the couple in a light of stereotypes, it also shows them as the new ‘normal’ family of today.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442437/

Poetic "Dreaming"

Smallpools is an American-based four-piece indie pop band. The band includes vocalist Sean Scanlon, guitarist Mike Kamerman, bassist Joseph Intile, and drummer Beau Kuther. Although Smallpools is not well-known, its debut single “Dreaming” charted at number one on The Hype Machine, a popular MP3 blog aggregator created by Anthony Volodkin. With “Dreaming’s” amalgamation of a catchy melody with elaborate literary devices, it is not surprising that this incredibly poetic song gained such esteemable recognition.

“Dreaming,” at a first glance, appears to be a song about war as it refers to “crossfire,” “surrender,” and “guns.” These instances, however, complete the intricate metaphor the song creates to show the progression of love. The multiple references to war metaphorically represent how love is similar to war with its inevitable “crossfire,” or conflict. The song is told from the assumed perspective of a man directed at the one he loves. The song initially begins with the lines:

     I see the place that we've been locked together, together

     Like we were something more
     And it felt like maybe we could last forever, forever

The “locked place” that is referred to in the lyrics can be metaphorically interpreted as the friendship that the speaker has with his friend. The use of “locked” shows that the friendship which they posses impedes the ability for them develop a deeper relationship. This can further be concluded by the speaker’s statement, “Like we were something more,” as it shows that the speaker and his friend retain a connection that is similar to a relationship deeper than friendship, but is only “like,” and not truly, this deeper relationship. The songs lyrics continue as:

     But you led 'em to our hideout
     Forced their way inside, now
     They want us to surrender, us to surrender

These lyrics now illustrate that there are others who are interrupting the relationship developed in the initial lines of the song. As the song progresses, the transition from friendship to love is clear. The following lyrics show that the initial relationship is no longer a friendship anymore:

     But I could go all night right here
     Between their crossfire
     We'll send them up a message
     I'll send the message
     We're saying "give it up, give it up"

The speaker shows he is willing to fight for his friend, proving his love for her. This fighting is visualized by the imagery of him standing “right here / between the crossfire.” These lines also posses auditory imagery that further supports the love he has for her. The auditory imagery is apparent when he says, "Give it up, give it up," proving that he loves her as he does not stand by while others express their feelings for her, he speaks out, preventing them from taking her. The song later provides even further visual imagery:

     We've got nowhere to run
     They've all got loaded guns
     Oh no, please God tell me we're dreaming

The imagery of the “loaded guns” is a metaphor for the conflict that the others created within the presented relationship. The “guns” additionally develop the war-like characterization that, as earlier stated, relates to the hardships of love. The previous provided lines have another instance of a metaphor. When the speaker states, “Please God tell me we’re dreaming,” he does not truly wish he is dreaming. The speaker uses dreaming as a metaphor to show how he wishes he could escape from the challenging reality present. The last set of new lines before repetition occurs is the following:

     Wait for the dust to settle down around us, around us
     And stick to what we know
     I think the air is finally safe to breathe again, to breathe again
     The world is in your palm now
     So take a breath and calm down
     Cause you have been selected, you've been selected

The visual imagery of “the dust” settling down around the speaker and his mate is a metaphor for the end of the battle; the conflict has ended and their love for one another persists. The statement that “the air is finally safe to breathe again” further symbolizes the end of the conflict. The speaker lastly shows his love when he states, “The world is in your palm now,” proving that she means the world to him. When the speaker says, “You have been selected,” he is referring to how he has selected her, the audience of the song, to be his partner in life. From the poetic language of the song, it can be concluded that persistence is the key to love; one must be enduring in relationships as all are forced to experience hardships. From the most previous analyzed line, it can be concluded that enduring the pain and “crossfire” that occurs in love is worth it, as the speaker expresses his trust for the one he loves, devoting his entire life and “world” to her. 

"Dreaming," Smallpools

Op-Ed Persuit of Happiness

Religious traditions can have a positive outlook on one’s life. For example, in the Catholic 

Church one of the “coming of age” events is Confirmation, where young people are finally 

recognized as adults in the church community. But not all traditions are positive. For example,  religious zealots refuse to recognize the acceptance of gay marriage by the state. They use tradition as an argument against gay marriage. I feel this tradition should not be followed. It is very unfair to discriminate against the entire LGBT community by denying them their right to marry. Marriage could be the gateway to happiness for many future couples. 

Many countries such as the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, England, and Belgium have already accepted same sex marriage as well as 19 out of 50 states in the U.S. have accepted it too. Have there been any negative results from these marriages? Everyone should have the opportunity to marry. A legal contract that is available for one pair of people should be available for another pair of people.

I want to look at the essential unfairness of allowing only heterosexuals to marry. It is not fair that heterosexuality is prefered or is considered to be "normal”. The reality of someone being treated differently is wrong.

I am a child who is growing up with a same sex couple as parents and everything to me seems to be completely normal compared with heterosexual couples. Ever since I was a little kid my parents always hid the official title of “lesbian” or “gay” from me because they thought that I would be ashamed or embarrassed of them. I was extremely confused at the time. My mothers would always say that they were just really good friends or partners. That’s why I thought it was normal to have two mothers instead of having the traditional mother and father. Eventually, I was old enough to look at my life and realize that they were gay. I didn’t even mind. I also noticed another strange thing; I have never seen either of my mothers show any signs of affection besides hugging, or kissing each other on the cheek.

When I first found out that gay marriage was legal in Illinois I asked them if they would ever get married. They simply said, “Why should we get married? We’ve been together for so long. How would getting married change anything?” Even though my parents don't want to get married if they wanted to go forward and get married I think they should have that they should have that opportunity. Luckily Illinois passed a law allowing same sex marriage last year.

In the United States people are supposed treated equally under the law. The Constitution states, “ We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that men are created equal and independent, that from the equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The law is supposed to eliminate bias. For many people marriage is part of their pursuit of happiness. They should not be denied this opportunity because of their sexual orientation.

I Found a Poem with his Tags

War is love.
She wasn't listening,
Nobody listens. Nobody hears nothin'.
It was a love story.

Boom. Down. Nothing else.
He was a soldier, after all.
There were rules.

We got ourselves a mellow war today.
You want to be a good man.
War makes you a man
Nothing is ever absolutely true.

War makes you dead.
Never more alive than when you're almost dead.
No drama, down and dead.
There is no clarity.
I loved her.
Boom, down. Not a word.
I'm sorry but I'm gone.

The letters weighed 4 ounces
Remembered kissing her goodnight.
She was a girl, that's all.
No drama, down and dead
It's over, I'm gone.
I did not want to die.
It's not a happy ending.

Shrouded in Uncertainty

War is shrouded with uncertainty
uncertainty on what to do
uncertainty on how to handle it
and for what is to come.
It leaves you questioning what the purpose of war is
and what underlining things are going on.
Is it just pain?
Is it just incurable stress or unhappiness?
Or is there more to it?
Is there a good side to it as well?
Can you look at it in more than just one way?
War is not just pain
war is not always hell.
There is beauty embedded in the horror.
A bond that is made during the war will withstand almost anything.
War will open eyes to appreciate that in which you take for granted.
The feeling of relief or the feeling of being at ease is a feeling that is always in demand.
War is more than just hell.
It is more than pain.
It is more than sorrow.
It is also where the purist, most strong form of companionship is conjured.
When one looks closely at war,
they see that it is a place where beautiful friendships are made, that will last the test of time.
War is a conundrum that is able to be perceived in many different ways,
not just sorrow pain and anger, but also love.