Amanda Palmer On Abortion, Rape, Art, And Humour (and Censorship)

[takebacktonight]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1799605' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:42 AM']Yeah this has basically been my entire point.[/quote]

So you're both on the same page!
There are many paths to the same destination aren't there?

[takebacktonight]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1799609' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:52 AM']To further explain the "shock value" I was curious to see if she does this with any of her other songs.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJVWSu5Nfi8&feature=channel"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJVWSu5Nfi8...feature=channel[/url]

This song is about a video game addict. If you visit the popular "Song Meanings" website (the specific lyrics discussion here: [url="http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858691149/"]http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858691149/[/url] ) you will see that the general opinion of her fans is that the song is either about reality versus fantasy, war, being a hero, etc. A couple of people mentioned that they heard Amanda was inspired to write this particular song because she knew of someone who played real guitar on stage and then afterward played Guitar Hero.

However, as you will see if you watch the music video, the set is a high school and the characters are dead high school students (either dead on the floor or animated corpses playing guitar) - obviously bringing to mind the painful reality of school shootings. The music video and the lyrics do not exactly mesh well at all. I feel that Amanda Palmer may write about very real things (sometimes very painful things) but instead of relying on the message of her lyrics she creates an "in your face" video to get herself and her message noticed.[/quote]


Oh I wasn't meaning to deny that she loves to shock people. Goth people generally aren't shrinking violets, are they?

She's a musician...she wants to be noticed, she wants to make money. There can be no disputing that.

I personally find many rap videos appalling....all kinds of artists are continually pushing the boundaries to get themselves noticed...but that doesn't necessarily mean that there is zero inherent value with their work. If nothing else they make great fodder for media literacy workshops

[takebacktonight]

"stratocaster strapped to your back
its a semiautomatic like dad's
he taught you how to pause and reset
and thats about as far as you get"

I think that stanza alone relates very well with said video.. The relationship between 'actual' violence and video games, along with an increased ability to blur the lines between fantasy and reality could very well result in another school shooting tragedy.

[TotusTuusMaria]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1799604' date='Mar 7 2009, 03:41 AM'][b]The exaggerated approach of the video [u]might also be[/u] for shock value and publicity. [/b]

No where did I say that she created the video ONLY FOR controversy and publicity.



How can you possibly make that assumption? If I said controversy and publicity were not her ONLY reasons, I mean just that - she had OTHER reasons as well. This does NOT mean that controversy and publicity were her PRIMARY reasons.



Many musicians take their life experiences and put them into their music. Amanda Palmer clearly did this.[/quote]

I hoped that you wouldn't have been able to read what I wrote and that I had edited it sooner. It was uncharitable of me. I apologize. Your right, I clearly misunderstood you.

[TotusTuusMaria]

[quote name='takebacktonight' post='1799607' date='Mar 7 2009, 03:50 AM']I can see your point as well insofar as we wouldn't be debating her point. However I don't always buy the 'seriousness begets seriousness' argument and I don't in this case. (I could make a snarky Bush joke here but I won't.)[/quote]

I guess we just have different predictions then. Whatever the case....we won't ever know what it could have been if she did a more serious song...

[quote]When she says she needs to laugh...it's again simply because that is her coping mechanism for getting through the day...not because there is anything inherently funny about what happened to her. She's challenging the notion that sadness is the only healthy way to process traumatic events.

And her point (that there is more than one way to move on) would be valid...

If there wasn't a God...the ultimate healer...

No professional therapist/psychiatrist would ever say that laughing about your abortion is healthy....and yet so few of them acknowledge that God is in the mix..[/quote]

Like you said though, God is in the mix, which makes it so sad that she laughs to keep from crying instead of seeking out God to keep from crying or at least to hold her as she does.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='takebacktonight' post='1799614' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:01 AM']Oh I wasn't meaning to deny that she loves to shock people. Goth people generally aren't shrinking violets, are they? [/quote]

I was going to bring up that her dress and make-up suggests that she likes shock and attention, but I thought that I would get called out for being judgmental, lol.

[quote name='TotusTuusMaria' post='1799644' date='Mar 7 2009, 04:58 AM']I hoped that you wouldn't have been able to read what I wrote and that I had edited it sooner. It was uncharitable of me. I apologize. Your right, I clearly misunderstood you.[/quote]

No worries.

[takebacktonight]

[quote name='TotusTuusMaria' post='1799645' date='Mar 7 2009, 05:02 AM']Like you said though, God is in the mix, which makes it so sad that she laughs to keep from crying instead of seeking out God to keep from crying or at least to hold her as she does.[/quote]

I know... I hope she finds him someday..

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1799730' date='Mar 7 2009, 12:26 PM']I was going to bring up that her dress and make-up suggests that she likes shock and attention, but I thought that I would get called out for being judgmental, lol.[/quote]

Hey, sometimes it's hard not to be judgemental. I once had a 17 year old student who came to school every single day wearing cat ears (the kind you see at halloween). When it came to winter time, she wore a hat with cat ears.

I tried *really* hard* not to judge..but I couldn't take her seriously.

Edited March 7, 2009 by takebacktonight

[Hassan]

[quote name='TotusTuusMaria' post='1799285' date='Mar 6 2009, 08:04 PM']always belittling me. [/quote]


I'm not belittling I said you were bright. It's just you know Pio and Maria, they get a bit liquored up and they start spouting off about all sorts of things. I obviously disagree with them as I said. So if you have problems with their comment wait till they sober up and then talk to them about it.

Silly

[Hassan]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1799605' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:42 AM']Yeah this has basically been my entire point.[/quote]

How about Thomas Nast

[Hassan]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1799609' date='Mar 7 2009, 02:52 AM']To further explain the "shock value" I was curious to see if she does this with any of her other songs.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJVWSu5Nfi8&feature=channel"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJVWSu5Nfi8...feature=channel[/url]

This song is about a video game addict. If you visit the popular "Song Meanings" website (the specific lyrics discussion here: [url="http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858691149/"]http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858691149/[/url] ) you will see that the general opinion of her fans is that the song is either about reality versus fantasy, war, being a hero, etc. A couple of people mentioned that they heard Amanda was inspired to write this particular song because she knew of someone who played real guitar on stage and then afterward played Guitar Hero.

However, as you will see if you watch the music video, the set is a high school and the characters are dead high school students (either dead on the floor or animated corpses playing guitar) - [size=7]obviously bringing to mind the painful reality of school shootings.[/size] The music video and the lyrics do not exactly mesh well at all. I feel that Amanda Palmer may write about very real things (sometimes very painful things) but instead of relying on the message of her lyrics she creates an "in your face" video to get herself and her message noticed.[/quote]


I don't think that's "obviously" what she was going fo.

[Hassan]

[quote name='TotusTuusMaria' post='1799565' date='Mar 7 2009, 01:44 AM']I am not getting that vibe from the video. Yes it is shocking, but I don't think she made the video just for that. I mean, this is a woman who has been raped. She has had an abortion. She also considers herself an artist (not saying I agree, but eh...). She is not going to make something without trying to get a point across, especially something that affects her so closely. If she did make it just for shock value and publicity then it is even more ironic because she herself is doing the exact same thing by making the video that she kind of mocks people for doing in the video.[/quote]