Textual Poaching

Each student will choose an existing, mediated representation of the culture / race / ethnicity / gender / nationality / religion / subculture, etc. with which he/she identifies. The representation may be in any medium—film, photograph, visual art, poetry, literature, advertisement, news article, song, music video, etc.—but it should be older than the student. Students will remix the representation so that their new creation demonstrates their negotiation of this aspect of their identity and how it has been historically represented in media. Artist statements should include a discussion of the correlations and contradictions between his/her ‘self’ (perspectives, practices, etc.) and this historical representation of this aspect of his/her identity.

Your ears were just headbutted by the lovechild of my first encounter with Apple Logic Pro X.

I first isolated the vocals from Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire". Once I was satisfied with the vocals, I proceeded to incorporate some "beep boop" sounds and electro-drum kit components. I also reused certain portions from the song to mimic the tendencies of a dance remix.

Cash's "Ring of Fire" is a lovely Folk/Americana tune. Why would I mess with the composition? The lyrics and the quality of Cash's voice are certainly more in line with Americana / than they are geared toward a modern electronic beat.

I didn't commit this blasphemy against the Man in Black without reason. My little remix of his song is intended to be a commentary on the implicit style of masculinity within Cash's music. He has a great bass voice. He has a rough sound. His diction is distinctive. He sings about crime and alcohol, but portrays a didactic commentary on the negative aspects of a fast lifestyle. Unlike many recent Christian artists, he manages to avoid preachiness and self-righteousness, but instead, is forgiving and honest about weakness. He is humorous, gruff, hard-working, and even romantic. Overall, the Johnny Cash public persona's portrayal of masculinity is very conventionally American. He embodies the ideal of the rough and tumble but golden-hearted Wild-West man.

How does this portrayal of masculinity compare to the lifestyle of the fashionable modern urban male? Does Johnny's preference for folk tunes relate to the guy listening to "Sin Fang"? Does Johnny's conventional Christianity mesh with the New Age hippie attitudes? What about the dudes with skin-tight clothes who are doing the "bernie" in laser-lit dance clubs?

I myself have always avoided the club scene. (Is the "bernie" still a thing? It might be the national dance if Sanders wins the election.) However, I still can't say that I fit Cash's macho Wild-West ideal. I mean, I shed a tear during Toy Story.

Joking aside, this one minute song represents my attempt to compare a modern-ish urban masculinity with Cash's older ideal. It's not an in-depth study; the gender conversation is wide and varied. Nonetheless, the creation of this short tune and its contrasting elements has been an interesting experiment.