American Idiot Popular Music and Social Change Essay

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American Idiot

Popular Music and Social Change in the Present: Green Day's 'American Idiot' (2004)

Following the catalyzing events of September 11th, 2001, the United States would find itself deeply divided over the issues of terrorism, war and presidential politics. At the heart of this frequently impassioned and vitriolic debate would be the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as a far-reaching culture clash between two distinction American populations. The 2004 album by pop-punk trio Green Day, American Idiot, would be crafted with the intent of exploring these divisions. In the title track, Green Day would author an anthem that would become omnipresent in pop culture as the U.S. used falsified information to justify its invasion of Iraq.

"American Idiot" would serve both as a harsh critique of the war, of the presidency of George W. Bush and of the violent, materialistic culture being fomented in the U.S. At this time. According to Wiebe (2007), lead singer and chief songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong perceived the song as a general point of entry into the discourse on a declining public intellect, morality and sense of equality.

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According to Wiebe, "Armstrong stated that American Idiot is 'kinda about trying to find your individuality in all the confusion. It's sorta up to anyone's interpretation of who American Idiot is. It could be me … it could be the President of the United States'." (Wiebe, p. 1)

Of course, this versatility in application would be largely undermined by the shared view among presidential supporters and critics that the titular American Idiot was in fact the increasingly unpopular George W. Bush. The outcome would be to cast Green Day as a powerful and popular touring act with an articulate and hook-laden dissection of American foreign and domestic policy at the time. When Billie Joe Amstrong remarks, "I'm not part of the redneck agenda," for instance, he echoes the sense among many younger or left-leaning….....

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