Letter To the Free- Common :

• Q1:How can you apply the concept of Orientalism to Common’s Letter to the Free?

Orientalism is the link between culture, imperial power and colonialism. The concept of orientalism can be linked to “Letter to the Free”, especially because of the prison-based setting, which emphasises how what used to be a mainly white-skinned government opposed African-Americans and instead of bringing equality, they imprisoned African-Americans based on their black skin colour. This imprisonment could also be based on the stereotypes held against black people as they are seen as the “criminals” in films and due to the upbringing of society, people held these beliefs of what they saw in films and applied it to the real life world. However, in the song, Common is emphasising how slavery, racism and this stereotype of African-Americans being “criminals” is still occurring in the 21st century. This is shown by the lyrics mentioned in the song such as “The American Dream”, which is the idea of equality across America and the hope for freedom in the US. However, Common juxtaposes this “American Dream” by mentioning the “Jim Crow Laws”, which were laws set in place to enforce racial segregation to the Southern States of America. Many African-Americans opposed the Jim Crow Laws and instead protested to try and emphasise that they want freedom, which is what spurred historical events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the African-Americans sitting at the “White” chairs in Woolworths, Greensboro.

• Q2: Can you apply Fanon’s 3 phase plan of action to this music video?

Fanon’s 3 phase plan can be applied to Common’s ‘Letter to the Free”. For example, phase 1 is the assimilation of colonial culture which corresponds to the ‘mother country’. Phase 1 is shown in “Letter to the Free” through the introduction, in which the audience are presented with Common appearing in a prison, although the camera enters the prison, thus emphasising the open door as an opportunity for freedom, Common is seen in the prison singing, emphasising how black people are mistreated and “imprisoned”, juxtaposing the freedom that the white people have. Phase 2 is immersion into an “authentic culture” and is shown in the music video by Common removing the stereotypes held against black people. This is shown through the lyrics, in which Common is standing up for the mistreatment of black people and is emphasising how it is wrong to mistreat people based on their skin colour. Finally, the 3rd phase is fighting, revolutionary and ‘the mouthpiece of a new reality in action’. This links to “Letter to the Free” because the symbol of the black box can be seen as revolutionary as it can be seen as an emphasis that black lives are revolutionary and the. box could emphasise how they are there. Phase 3 can also be applied to the music video as it is a source of motivation to encourage black people to speak out and the black and white video, emphasises how the message is more important than colour, thus meaning the use of black and white brings the attention to the message.

• Q3: How is the audience called / addressed / hailed (interpellated)? Use examples from both the lyrics and the visual grammar (shot, edit, mise-en-scene) to show how audiences are drawn into a specific subject position / ideological framework?

The use of different shots and eerie “prison music” (chains clattering) makes it appear as if the listener is taking a tour through the prison and the use of empty shots, create an eerie feel and make it feel as if the prison could be abandoned, thus creating a sense of disturbance and a horror feel, in which the eery setting could be to emphasise how it felt for black people being put in prison due to the colour of their skin. A black box constantly appears and is floating, and the shots of empty jail cells zoom into this black box, in which the shot appears in the chorus of “freedom”. Therefore, it is apparent that the black infinite box is a subliminal message that black is infinite and the infinite box represent the hopes and dreams of black people. The setting of the prison also lacks lights, and is quite dark, creating an eerie feeling and therefore making it seem scary to emphasise how black people felt. Loneliness can also be presented by the use of shots of long, empty corridors and the lack of people, thus emphasising the loneliness that black people faced.

Ghost Town – the Specials:

• Q1: Where can you identify ‘hybridity’, ‘ambiguity’ and ‘cultural polyvalency’ in this music video?

Hybridity is shown in the music video through the use of both black and white band members. Hybridity is also shown by the combination of ska and punk rock music, in which ska music originated from Jamaica, whereas punk rock music originated from the US. This means there has been a hybridity of two very different music genres and also a hybridity of different cultures. Ambiguity is presented in the introduction of the music video, the drive through the empty streets, as it can present a different message based on age, ethnicity, and gender, however, the introduction shot is mainly to emphasise the empty streets that have been introduced due to the high lack of unemployment and nobody going out to work. Finally, Cultural polyvalence is when you belong to more then one culture and is shown by the band members, who are all of different ethnicities and their combination of different ethnicity allow them to experience other cultures.

• Q2: How does this text apply to Fanon’s 3 phase plan of action?

Phase 1 is shown by the combination of both ska and punk rock music, which are bringing different cultures together since ska originated in Jamaica, whereas punk rock originated in the US. Phase 2 is shown by the lack of people in the “Ghost Town” and the title “Ghost Town”, which gives the sense of loneliness and lack of employment. However, this juxtaposes the reality because during the employment crisis, there were many protests and riots, however the name “Ghost Town” could link to loneliness and a lack of people, which is not the case. Finally, phase 3 can be applied to this music video there is a resolution of the band all together, throwing rocks on the beach. They appear to be having a good time and there is no racism occurring, which emphasises an ideal world which is without any racism.

• Q3: How is the audience called / addressed / hailed (interpellation)? Use examples from both the lyrics and the visual grammar (shot, edit, mise-en-scene) to show how audiences are drawn into a specific subject position / ideological framework?

Similar to Common’s “Letter to the Free”, the black and white shots at the beginning can create an eerie feeling and the title “Ghost Town” could link to the horror genre, thus emphasising the scary reality of that society and the “Ghost Town” and riots occurring due to the employment crisis. The shots in the beginning also appear to be recorded in first person, the view of what the band members can see, which makes it feel as if the audience is with the and and also experiencing this ‘reality’ as well. The band also appear to break the ‘fourth wall’ by looking directly at the camera, which could appear as if they are trying to establish a relationship with the audience and are trying to send a message directly to the audience.