Music as a Form of Expression Essay Example

The author of “Rebellion Through Music” is Heather Wendtland, who majored in sociology and minored in psychology. She addresses the idea of Caucasian females, mainly teenagers, using rap and hip-hop music to express their feelings. The essay was written to analyze and interpret a cultural phenomenon for a second-semester composition class at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I agree with Wendtland that youths of the 20th century use music to show their rejection of authority. However, there are other possibilities as to why youths listen to rebellious songs.

Wendtland uses herself as an example in the passage and has shown that she is inclined towards using music such as rap and hip-hop as a form of rebellion. The songs and lyrics provide her freedom and an outlet to express her innermost feelings which she would otherwise withhold within herself. She also cites other reasons for the love of rap and hip-hop songs. The older generation usually views youths from their outwards appearance. The author wants to be able to show their inner qualities such as being strong and independent.

Wendtland is able to show the reason as to why rap and hip-hop songs are used as a form of rebellious expression. She uses the example of Mary Gaitskill, author of “An Ordinariness of Monstrous Proportions, and Joan Morgan, author of “The Nigga Ya Hate to Love” who “found strength in the rebel voice” of their respective idolized singers. She also shows the link of African Americans, who are widely discriminated within their country, to the usage of rap and hip-hop songs express their frustrations.

Wendtland’s argument can also be applied to youths of both genders in Asian countries. In such countries, the older generation tends to be more conservative and thus dislikes the use of vulgarities in songs. They deeply believe that each individual is supposed to uphold moral values of society. These restrictions result in the younger generation being more rebellious and making