Rhetorical Techniques Used In The Song 'Black And White Room Boy'

White Room of Lies As a human race, our instinct is to distance ourselves from the unknown or to hate change for people generally view change negatively. Being that the current time period is in our present 21st century, people have become more accepting of how diverse society is. One of the still sensitive topics is gays and gay rights. Based off of how the bible could be interpreted as a criticism of anything other than a heterosexual relationship, the typical wedding settings have been displayed is easy to discriminate against something that is different from the norm hence; “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them” (Leviticus 20:13). In the song “Black Room Boy” by Above and Beyond, it describes the isolated feelings of not being accepted by society or by family when you are truly gay, and the pain of trying to hide who you really are. The artist group Above and Beyond used a series of rhetorical strategies like diction, and metaphors to enlighten their audience about this pain. There is a black and white photograph,” Black and White Graffiti Room Tattoo” that ironically sheds more light onto these
isolated feelings that this song describes. In the song “Black Room Boy”, there is this boy that is living in a white room, or taking on the image that society wants him to portray, but he can’t hold this image on for long and he falls into the black room of his dark secrets.
These secrets are the same secret that has caused his parents to abandon him for they can’t accept what he really is. And now he lives in this sketch world that he isolates and cuts himself off from easily for he can’t even truly accept himself. Then when you look at the photo you see a boy in a room, he is by himself and has his back towards the viewer. His room seems to have everything he needs from alcohol, to a computer, to a bed to a chair to water. He only really needs to leave his room for food and to use the bath
room.
There are multiple angles at which this poem can be interpreted from.
You kissed your mommy 's hand
Wearing daddy 's ring when they left you
And you buried yourself in the pain that they couldn 't accept you
You 're in a world of your own (Above and Beyond lines 24-27).
The reader could take it for face value and only see some boy whose parents have left him. Or you could look further into this quote and see that, because this boy was gay and his parents seemed to be a conservative straight couple they couldn’t be caught with their gay son so they left him. This song was written in 2011 and there aren’t many things besides gay marriage that aren’t accepted in this time period. So, the thought of him wearing another man’s ring could be a reference to gay marriage. Not only does his parent have a hard time dealing with his feelings he has but he has a hard time himself,
With all this poison inside
It 's much too late to decide
You 've got your mind made up
You 've been living a lie in your white room (Above and Beyond 9-12).
The color white is used to refer to purity, if the artist is contrasting the white room with his lies then he is enhancing the idea that this boy has been trying to cover up his dark feelings with purity but the poison is getting to him and eating him alive and he can’t keep covering up anymore. In the photograph, the boy in his white room has a bottle of alcohol next to his computer. Many people use alcohol as an antidepressant when they are drinking alone. The boy has his back facing the audience as a sign of shunning or a sign of ignoring that they are there. He is shutting himself out from society like the boy in the song is doing. The song says
You got a page full of friends and a world without end, DIKU (Do I Know You)?
But if push comes to shove|
You could do without them if they make you (Above and Beyond 5-8). The audience for both the art work and the song are geared towards young adults. The photograph has a kid in his room all alone with a computer, bed, alcohol, he has a tattoo, and there is graffiti on his walls. Tattoos are common amongst the younger generation these days as well as the need to tag things. The song has a more pumped up motivational beat, which is also more common with youth these days. The song also directly talks about a black room boy, which is about a boy who is depressed, a kid can relate more with a kid then with an adult.
The tone for both the song and the photograph display feelings of isolation and depression. The photograph is in black and white and has no color. Colors are reflective more with moods, so if there is no color then there is no feelings being reflected in that matter. Whereas in the song, you have the contradictions between the black room boy and the white room boy. And again, there is no color involved, which makes it almost emotionless and empty. The boy was left by his parents and is all alone; even though he has friends the bonds are loose enough for him to not remember them, whereas in the photograph the boy is physically alone and has his back towards us.
Overall the both the photograph and the song share the common image of isolation from society. The both branch out more to the youth by having tings like a good beat and tattoos that are appealing to this generation. The message of the song is motivational and expresses the pain from being denied by ones parents and society due to ones sexuality, whereas the picture expresses the turning ones back on society and going through life alone after the fact.

Works Cited
"ABOVE & BEYOND - BLACK ROOM BOY LYRICS." LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://www.lyricsty.com/above-beyond-black-room-boy-lyrics.html>.
"What Does the Bible Say About Abomination?." OpenBible.info. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. <http://www.openbible.info/topics/abomination>.
"black and white, boy, graffiti, room, tattoo - inspiring picture on Favim.com."Most inspiring pictures and photos » Favim.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://favim.com/image/103168/>.