The nature of protest music

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CHAPTER 2 Literature review

Introduction

The preceding chapter introduced the study by outlining the background, aim and objectives of the study, the statement of the problem, questions to be answered by the research, justification and scope of the study as well as the summary of chapters. Chapter 2 reviews literature related to protest music and art. The chapter recognises the presence of other works on protest. Such works are important for this study because they help in the understanding of protest and the different concerns that inspire protest. The review of related literature is used to bring focus and clarity to the research problem as well as to broaden the researcher’s knowledge base on the research area. The literature review focuses on related studies in the world and on the African continent. It then focuses on Zimbabwean literature with a view to distinguish the focus of the current study from previous studies. Most of the Zimbabwean literature that is reviewed was published from the year 2000 and most of it analyses songs that were sung in the Shona language and only one study discusses Kalanga music in particular. In view of the reviewed literature, the uniqueness of this current research is justified.

 Literature of related studies in the world

Davies (2005) discusses the relationship that exists between music and politics and he notes that the two components are not usually discussed together. He believes that the two are topics that are generally regarded as mutually exclusive. Politics is taken as a more serious entity that warrants discussion while music is considered for its entertainment value. Davies (2005) believes that more attention has been focused towards the tracing of the origins of politics and less has been done on the overlap of politics and music. This lack of attention on the relationship between the two diminishes the value of the symbiotically related subjects. The current study believes that the two subjects are closely linked to each other because music has been used by different governments as a tool to control and propagate government’s propaganda. Street (1986, 2003) demonstrates how music was used by the Soviet Union in the 1930s, the Nazi regime during the Second World War, and by the British political parties during the 2001 election campaign as a means of political leverage and control. Governments have at times used music as a source of power to sway and influence people towards their own ideologies. Generally, Street (2003) posits that governments have always used music to pursue their own agenda; however, the current study contends that those who are governed can also use music as a source of power to communicate their messages to the rulers and to their fellow countrymen.
Davies (2005) further expands that at times music can be used as a means for influencing and bolstering political power. The power that it has to achieve the stated also enables music to enact a downfall to such establishments and power bases. This implies that masses can also use music to ridicule, to question and even to complain against socio-political ills that affect them. Music can be used as an avenue to communicate with or to the sources of power in different communities. Davies (2005:117) notes that the “potential of music to promote approved causes is linked to its potential to fuel rebellion” as well. Music has a history of being used as a tool of resistance and confrontation. Music has the ability to form and sustain political action. History is replete with examples of how music has been used to oppose authority and to demonstrate its powerful subversive nature. Davies (2005) elaborates that music has emerged as part of the alternative space that mases could use to air their views on the political directions of their societies. The current study explores the role of music as a tool of protest during the period 2000-2013, a period where Zimbabwe continued to experience a downturn economically. As a form of verbal communication, music is a flexible form of expression that easily conveys anti-establishment sentiments to the masses.
Martiniello and Lafleur (2008) in their analysis of music and politics are of the view that the state of the current literature has been inattentive to the political messages in ethnic and migrant groups and it has concentrated more on the predictable forms of political involvement. Yet music is a human action and like all other human actions it is always political. They note that the political messages carried in some songs may be more unequivocal than in others or at times the lyrics may seek to frame the mindset and the attitude of the audience in a particular manner. The lyrics at times go beyond just giving an opinion about a particular issue or situation but they also provide the masses with guidance on how to engage in collective action. The current study observes that Zimbabwean scholarly research has generally ignored the artistic productions by Kalanga musicians in terms of its analysis and locating the relevance of the music in the Zimbabwean socio-political milieu. This study, therefore, seeks to understand the meaning and themes of protest that can be drawn from the music. It also contributes modestly towards filling in the gap identified in literature by examining the extent to which Kalanga music contributes to the subject of music as an expression of protest.
Moutsopoulos (1959) in Martiniello and Lafleur (2008) contributes by reflecting on the role of music as part of human action and practice. He intimates that from Plato to Adorno music has been interpreted and construed as a potential source of power. It does this by bringing and binding people together through their common concerns and emotions. The study agrees with the view that music has always been and will remain a potential source of power and that it can bring and bind individuals together towards a common cause. The cause can only be achieved if it is well disseminated through the channel of music.
Yanik’s (2016) research studies the social role of protest music in wartime periods. Yanik achieves this by sieving through the lyrical content of songs sung during the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. In studying this music there is a demonstration that music will continuously adapt itself to suit certain condition at any given time. In the process of adapting it continuously thrives to remain relevant. Yanik (2016) further notes that from the comparison of Vietnam and Iraq War era protest songs, there emerges a distinct parallel between the exigency of popular music and the rise of social solidarity in protest against contested current events. When songs function as stories that incite empathy and captivate their audiences, a collective consciousness can arise between groups which otherwise lack commonalities. However, the respective genres of these songs serve as critical dispersion points for messages of protest and solidarity. This is apparent in the shared emphases on patriotism and freedom that can stimulate a similar sense of encouragement despite a stark contrast in musical genre as seen with the differences in songs across the Vietnam and Iraq War eras.
For Yanik (2016), from the protest music examined it becomes clear that symbolic and emotion codes happen simultaneously rather in response to one another in song, suggesting that the power the listener derives from these songs is reinforced by the constant appeal to emotional experience and reaction that music itself can evoke, perhaps more readily and instantaneously than a speech. This comparison of speeches and songs suggests that music can carry an affective message, through combining music and lyric, that carries a more emotional weight. Though often different in exigency, the protest songs of the Vietnam and Iraq War eras emphasize the need for collective empathy just as Bush did in 2001 and the candidates do today in 2016. Acknowledgement of this power that the music carries demonstrates the importance of this type of narrative and the effect it has on the diverse groups both as a form of conscientisation and sensitisation on the crises that the people will be faced with. This research also demonstrates that popular songs are not merely frivolous components of various sects of culture, or passing sources of insignificant entertainment. Instead, they and their writers are critical contributors to the shaping of certain eras. They play irreplaceable roles as they spur collective mindsets of protest across many social aggregates through their appeal to the desires, the morals, the lamentations, the angers, and the passions of the Kalanga people and Zimbabweans in general. To reach such conclusions, Yanik (2016) utilises a narrative analysis of two representative samples of protest music appropriate to each of the two war periods under study. The lyrics of the songs are compared and contrasted both within and across the two periods. The current study utilises content analysis, hermeneutics and semiotics to try and understand the protest themes found in Kalanga music. These methods represent a structure which will lead to an understanding of the concerns of the musicians. It also aids in understanding that music has always been functional in contexts where it emanates from as well as how Kalanga music has shaped their world view. The review also demonstrates how this same music can act as a protest tool against the ills that inundate the concerned community and Zimbabweans at large.

 Literature review of related studies in the African continent

Finnegan (1970) is one such scholar who has extensively researched on African oral studies and from whose work most scholars have been inspired. She has contributed substantially in the area of oral literature where she explores various topical and political issues mediated through songs. In East Africa, for example, Finnegan argues that songs can be used as a means of reporting and commenting on contemporary matters, political concerns, for propaganda and to mirror and mould public opinion. The work of Finnegan contributes to the knowledge of where and when people are likely to use songs as an avenue of commenting about their societal concerns. The discussion she engages in with regards to the functions of music provides a broad theme of songs as coping mechanisms within the context of strife and discontentment.
The concern with what songs can achieve that Finnegan addresses is taken further in her later work (1992a) in which she sees oral poetry and songs as a way of settling conflicts between individuals or groups in social settings as well as in politics. Two cases presented by Finnegan which are of relevance to the current research involve the West Nigerians. In response to their frustrations with the federal elections of 1959 they composed satirical political songs. Faced with similar concerns, the Bashi singers in the Congo also composed songs which were sung in the work place. This is an important development with regards to the function of Kalanga songs when one analyses the function they fulfill in times of great distress. It is believed that singers through their music illustrate that songs can be seen as weapons to draw attention to what affects them as a people. In addition to Finnegan’s views Mbaegbu (2015), also emphasises the indispensable role of music in Africa. He is of the view that it cannot be separated with the existence of Africans. It is crucial in all the facets of their life from politics to religion, to their moral life and even their socio-economic commitments. She concludes that, there is mutual balance between African music and morality. This then demonstrates that African music is functional and cannot be divorced from the values of a particular culture or community.
Gelaye (2001) studied Amharic poetry (yaqal git’ïm) and song (za fan) of the rural peasantry that were performed and recited at community level since the change of government in Ethiopia in May 1991. He observes that they play a significant role in reflecting serious problems and contemporary issues of the rural society besides their function as entertaining and instructing in the daily lives of the peasants in East Gojjan Administrative region. It is the only way and means of expression to air out their ideas, opinions, attitudes and impressions as well as their deep feelings of joy and happiness, sorrows and grievances both on different private and public performance occasions and contexts. Gelaye (2001) concludes by observing that the peasants of East Gojjan frequently and critically express their views, attitudes and feelings towards various state policies and directives. They do this through some form of protest and usually in the absence of a written medium they use their collective memory that they have accumulated and used for generations.
The oral poems and songs from the studies of peasant communities illustrate topics associated with the change of government, land redistribution, local authorities and their administration as well as a variety of other contemporary issues of the rural society. They also shed some light on the understanding of the peasants’ consciousness, their observations and critical commentaries on comparing past and present regimes, using their creative capabilities in their poetic traditions. Their poetry and songs are created in response to diverse contemporary politics of their country, as well as from their need for social change and a democratic system. The study by Gelaye will guide the current study in drawing themes from the Kalanga music and in demonstrating how and what musicians are responding to.
Boum (2012) discusses how hip-hop music in Morocco was used as a protest route. He analyses the songs of Maknes based hip-hop group H-Kayne who used their music to cry out against the grim social and economic realities. In Maknes, like in other urban neighbourhoods throughout Morocco, hip –hop has represented a form of protest for younger generations who have suffered from unemployment and lack of opportunities. H Kayne (Moroccan Arabic for ‘what’s happening’) pioneered hip-hop in Morocco in the late 1990s and they are representative of a new street culture as an alternative outside of the familiar family and state structures. The group drew its inspiration from local culture to critique the economic, social and political problems of Moroccan youths.
Boum (2012) states that, the hip-hop artists claim that their music emerged at a time when freedom of expression was limited and government censorship dominated the political and cultural scene. The emergence of YouTube in 2005 as a space for information sharing revolutionarised the channels for information circulation. The circulation of hip-hop music increased because the political, social and economic grievances were publicly circulated without state censorship. Youth artists then used the channel to contest their socio-economic marginalisation and to challenge state subjugating policies. H- Kayne not only protested the economic inequalities in the country but also attributed their misfortunes to some elite parents, some of whom were key decision makers in government. Boum (2012) acknowledges that in one of the performances of this group it was not the physical appearance of the performers and the audience that struck his eyes but it was the lyrics of the songs that caught his ear. The songs were sung in Moroccan Arabic and in French. The lyrics captured the fact that as the state and the political parties failed to improve the economic conditions of the younger generations, these have become disenchanted with the current regime, turning to the West. The worldviews and lifestyle markers of many young people have shifted towards western culture, especially towards the United States and Western Europe, in opposition to pan-Arabic and Islamic worldviews. Legal and illegal migrations have become the vehicles to improve their conditions despite the obstacles to obtaining visas, the risk of death while crossing the Mediterranean and the disappointments of the European El Dorado.

CHAPTER 1  Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Aim of the study
1.4 Justification of the study
1.5 Definition of terms
1.6 Literature review
1.7 Conceptual framework
1.8 Research methodology
1.9 Scope of research
1.10 Ethical considerations
1.11 Conclusion
CHAPTER 2  Literature review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Literature of related studies in the world
2.3 Literature review of related studies in the African continent
2.4 Literature review of studies conducted within Zimbabwe
2.5 Conclusion
CHAPTER 3  Theoretical framework
3.1. Introduction
3.2. An overview of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
3.3. A brief history of the CDA movement
3.4. Central tenets of Critical Discourse Analysis
3.5. Criticisms of Critical Discourse Analysis
3.6 Implications for this study
3.7 Hegemony theory
3.8. Conclusion
CHAPTER 4  Research methodology
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Research design
4.3 Research paradigm
4.4 Research strategies
4.5 Population and Sampling
4.6 Strategies for Data Collection
4.7. Data analysis and presentation plan
4.8 Hermeneutics
4.9 Semiotics
4.10 Validity and Reliability
4.11 Ethical Considerations
4.12 Conclusion
CHAPTER 5 Data presentation and analysis
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Presentation and analysis of data from questionnaires
5.3.1 Interviewee 1
5.4 Conclusion
CHAPTER 6 Discussion of findings
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Data generated from songs
6.3 Understanding of protest
6.4 The nature of protest music
6.5 Corruption as a source of protest
6.6 Protesting against poor governance and poor leadership
6.7 Protest against unfulfilled promises
6.8 Lack of unity
6.9 Protest against repressive and oppressive laws
6.10 Protesting against a skewed representation of a nation’s history
6.11 Deployment of Shona teachers in Matabeleland
6.12 Decrying moral decadence
6.13 Singing against jealousy and envy
6.14 Protest against violence targeted at immigrants
6.15 Music as a contrivance for change
6.16 Does Kalanga music offer solutions to the problems it raises?
6.17 Conclusion
CHAPTER 7  Conclusion
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Research Findings
7.3 Recommendations for future research
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
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