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| re: Happy Talk racist? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 02:08 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Happy Talk racist? - Chromolume 01:31 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
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| ***Actually, I once had a rather surprising experience doing a theatre class with a bunch of young teen students. We were looking at "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught," and some of the students thought the song was racist (instead of anti-racist). I was caught off-guard by this. But in discussing the issue further, I realized that they were hearing the message of the song the wrong way, due to the way the lyrics are naturally accented. In other words, they were hearing "you've GOT to be taught" (i.e. "this is what you HAVE to do") as opposed to "you've got to be TAUGHT" (i.e. this is how it happens, by being taught). Once they understood that the key word was "taught" and not "got," they changed their opinion of the song. *** That seems rather surprising to me, since "taught" is accented as much as "got" almost every time it comes around in the song. I would think the issue was more that the students didn't initially understand the bitter irony of the song. Of course, it helps a lot of the song is experienced in context, in terms of how it's set up in the show. I'm guessing maybe you were examining the song in isolation and out of context, at least initially, and that may also have had a lot to do with the students' misinterpretation. |
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| re: Happy Talk racist? | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 02:22 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 02:16 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Happy Talk racist? - Michael_Portantiere 02:08 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
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| Thanks - but no - they really were hearing "got" as the operative word. I was there, and I was part of the discussion. And no - in fact, we were indeed looking at the entire scene leading up to the song. But even with Cable's statement that prejudice is "NOT born in you" etc, they simply misheard the lyric's intention. (But thanks for the assumptions, lol.) And really, "got" does naturally get a bit more emphasis - in a fast tempo where we really tend to hear the phrases in 4-bar groups rather than in single bars of fast 3, the ersatz "downbeats" (the "got" each time) do tend to get more weight. (Likewise, the 3rd bars in each phrase - "hate", "YEAR to year", "dear" etc, get the next most weight.) I do agree, though, that singers should make a conscious effort to make sure "taught" gets as much weight - or, in fact, more weight than "got." It's not hard to do, but I think one has to be aware of making that phrasing happen. |
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| re: Happy Talk racist? | |
| Posted by: StanS 03:02 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Happy Talk racist? - Chromolume 02:16 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
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| I find it difficult to imagine anybody thinking the song is racist even if "got" were emphasized over "taught". The rest of the lyrics are very clear. "taught to hate and fear" etc. How can that be anything but a condemnation. In fact it might even be more interesting to actually emphasize "got" because then it would be more ironic, even though the message is the same. But judging from your class, perhaps recognizing irony is a lost art. | |
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| re: Happy Talk racist? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 03:37 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Happy Talk racist? - StanS 03:02 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
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| ***I find it difficult to imagine anybody thinking the song is racist even if "got" were emphasized over "taught". The rest of the lyrics are very clear. "taught to hate and fear" etc. How can that be anything but a condemnation. In fact it might even be more interesting to actually emphasize "got" because then it would be more ironic, even though the message is the same. But judging from your class, perhaps recognizing irony is a lost art.*** Yes, that was part of my thought, as expressed in my first post in this thread. Some people do content that irony is a lost art, and anyway, I guess very young people sometimes just don't get it. |
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| re: Happy Talk racist? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 02:40 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Happy Talk racist? - Chromolume 02:16 pm EST 02/20/19 | |
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| Okay. I simply disagree that "got" gets more emphasis that "taught" in the song. As you noted, "taught" also comes on a downbeat every time, and additionally, the notes for "taught" are held a little longer than the notes for "got" every time. But if the students heard the emphasis on "got," for whatever reason, then that's what they heard. Also, if you looked at the entire scene leading up to the song, and what happens in that scene between Cable, Emile, and Nellie, then I'm very surprised that the students could have interpreted the song as pro-racist. By the way, I said I was guessing that maybe you examined the song out of context (at least initially), and a guess is not the same thing as an assumption. I try to avoid assuming, because as Felix Unger taught us, "When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME!" :-) |
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