Let Freedom Ring
Perry makes her major political statement by alluding to our society’s idea of freedom. The title of the song references chains, which traditionally symbolize a lack of freedom or the absence of individualism. This creates a paradoxical situation because America as a country has always prided itself on being the “home of the free”. During the chorus, she repeats the line “We think we’re free,” further emphasizing the contradiction. As a listener, you begin to analyze your liberties and question if we have a distorted idea of freedom. This ties in to the warped visuals of the music video, because the park-goer’s also believe that they are free. The music video also pays homage to George Orwell’s novel 1984. While the camera pans through a line of eager Oblivia guests waiting for the Greatest Ride in the World, we get a glimpse of the wait time and it is 1,984 hours. The dystopian novel 1984 portrays a society who’s government is always watching and who’s people have no freedom. This subtle hint persuades the audience to further evaluate if today’s society has taken part in a collective ignorance and blissfully chosen to ignore serious issues. Each one of these design choices forms the idea that society does not have the freedom we originally thought we had.
Changes
- The first change I made in this section was in the first sentence I changed "Perry makes another political statement" to "Perry makes her major political statement." I wanted to do this to emphasize that a lack of freedom present was her main message, and although a need for more societal awareness is important and a strong message, society lacking freedom is the most important. I feel like because I added this short phrase this paragraph ties into my thesis better and the project as a whole.
- The next change I made was adding the sentence starting with "This ties in to the warped visuals . . ." One of my goals for the revision process was to make this project more cohesive and flow better a whole, and this is why I added this sentence. Rereading it now, the paragraph flows better, and it ties into the previous section which was my intention.
- The last change I made was elaborating on the 1984 reference. I wanted to make sure that everyone who read my project would understand it. So adding some background about the novel would ensure that even if people had not heard of the book or read it could understand the significance of the 1,984 hour mark. I feel now that this section is stronger because of the explanation of this significance.
Changes in Blue