Georg Büchners "Leonce und Lena". Das Lustspiel und die Langeweile

Table of contents

I. Introduction

II. Presentation of two Cultural Phenomena

III. Depiction of these Concepts in Media

IV. Conclusion

Bibliography

I. Introduction

The term paper is to examine the depiction of American Exceptionalism and White Supremacy as two cultural concepts in media. Therefore, the origin of these two phenomena will be explained and related to events in the course of America’s historical development. In order to analyze the perception of American culture by people with different ethnic backgrounds “Only in America” (2001) by Brooks and Dunn, a song performed by white artists, and “Black Rage” (2014) by Lauryn Hills, representing an African-American perspective, have been chosen. Hence, the term paper is to define the two concepts American Exceptionalism and White Supremacy and is to point out how these are depicted in two songs written by descendants of two different ethnic backgrounds. The focus will therefore lie on the way how life in the United States is rated and experienced by different ethnicities and how American Exceptionalism is viewed by different members of U.S. American society. By doing so, the genre, the lyrics as well as the historical background of America will be taken into account.

Finally, the term paper is to verify the difference in perception concerning distinct ethnicities and is to state that White Supremacy is present in songs and highly criticized by people of color while the cultural phenomenon is invisible for Caucasians. The paper will find out how American Exceptionalism is presented by songs written by whites while artists of color doubt the existence of equal opportunities and the American Dream as social injustice and violence ruled in the past and continued existing until nowadays. For the latter, the year of publication will be taken into account as well.

II. Presentation of two Cultural Phenomena

2.1 American Exceptionalism

In order to analyze American Exceptionalism, the word itself needs to be defined. As Eliassen Restad points out in her work, the concept can be related to distinction as a component influencing the way America perceives itself in relation to other nations in the world (2015, 3). This feeling of distinction is supposed to see America as the best place in the world. A very important term in this context is “manifest destiny” (ibid. 4), which means the legitimization of a vast expansion on the American continent, related especially to the period between 1787 and 1867 (ibid.).

The presence of American Exceptionalism can be seen as grounded in the discovery of America and the Puritan colonialization of Boston and the Massachusetts Bay. When the Puritans founded Plymouth in 1630, John Winthrop, considered one of the Founding Fathers, affirmed that their duty was the construction of “a citty upon the hill” (Ruland 2016, 10) in order to create a model to all the people in the world whose “eyes are upon” the Puritans’ actions (ibid.). This imagery of religious exceptionalism attributes a special social position to America, gives a sense of privilege to its inhabitants and has been used long after John Winthrop’s time by various presidents, although it is important to state that the origin of the sermon related to American History is uncertain and highly discussed (Hodgson 2010, 3).

Nonetheless, the mindset of being chosen and acting according to God’s will, just as the Israelites did in the Old Testament, has influenced American culture and is often regarded as the first appearance of something that goes into the direction of the American Dream, although it had not been nominated as such (Ruland, 8). Later on, the American revolution and the cord clamping from the British crown has been seen as another aspect redefining the American Dream and adding a political component to the phenomenon of exceptionalism (ibid.). Another form of the American Dream is the so-called “upward mobility” (ibid.), which defines America as the land of opportunity where financial and social success is guaranteed and facilitated. Finally, after the Civil War, civil rights movements organized by people such as Martin Luther King Jr. I the 1950 and 1960s aimed at abolishing social injustice regarding people of color and the establishment of equality for everyone (ibid.).

2.2 White Supremacy

The concept of White Supremacy can be defined as the assumption of white people being predominant and having a higher status in society (Bonds 2016, 719). Conversely, White Supremacy is to be seen as the cause of racial discrimination and social preferences concerning people with a white ethnic background (ibid. 720).

Apart from that, White Supremacy aims at justifying European settlement, violence and conquest and has arisen from the socio-hierarchical structure established by colonist in the United States (ibid.). During colonization processes the removal of indigenous tribes and the exploitation of these people as well as their natural habitat was fundamental and thus contributed to the construction of a social system putting whites atop and giving native folks and beings the lowest position in the social hierarchy (ibid.). As Hixson (2013) and Seawright (2014) point out, a supporting factor for White Supremacy or the justification of conquest and exploitation of land was the idea of terra nullius, a term defining putatively empty space not being owned by anyone (qtd. in Bonds, 722). This concept is related to Puritan settlement on the North American continent. The Puritans came from Europe in order to “maintain the purity of their separatist Protestant faith” (Ruland, 8). As their writing was strongly influenced by the bible, they considered themselves as pilgrims and the People Chosen by God searching for the “Promised Land” (ibid.). The mindset of being chosen and acting according to God’s will is often regarded as the first appearance of something that goes into the direction of the American Dream, although it had not been nominated as such (ibid.).

III. Depiction of these Concepts in Media

3.1. “Only in America” (2001) by Brooks and Dunn

“Only in America” is a country song published in 2001 by Brooks and Dunn. Before analyzing the lyrics one can already state that the genre of the song underlines its message as the two songwriters made use of a genre associated with the United States and the countryside of America. The choice underlines the patriotism transmitted by the song.

In the first stanza of the song, the narrator explains the scenery of a “school bus driver in a traffic jam” in New York City where the sun had just risen (00:20). The driver looks through her mirror and sees “the Promise of the Promised Land” (00:38). The children who are sitting on the bus, are seen as the “Promise” of the United States as they are situated at the sunrise of their life and at the beginning of their journey to happiness. The song alludes to the Promised Land, the imagery of terra nullius given to the Chosen People and Founding Fathers by God. By doing so, he supports the Puritan idea of being pilgrims guided to the New World to conquer a place meant to be for their use and purposes. In the following part, the narrator talks about the possibilities the children on the bus have, as the “Promise” (00:38) of America. “One kid dreams of fame and fortune, One kid helps pay the rent, One could end up going to prison, One just might be president” (00:45-01:10). What is significant is the presence of a vast range of opportunities and possible conducts of life. The verses suggest that one could be anything in America. This rather indirect inclusion of the American Dream is enhanced by a more direct form in the fifth verse where the narrator explains that one child “dreams of fame and fortune” (00:45) as this represents the socio-economic facet of the American Dream, “upward-mobility” and the fact that dreams can possibly become reality.

The chorus stresses the idea of the American Dream. First of all, the narrator picks up the title of the song and states that all of this is only possible in America where the dream in the colors of their flag (01:17). Although there seems to be no consistent meaning of the flag, Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, proposed as a possible significance white for innocence, red for endurance and blue for justice (Leepson). The meaning deducted by Thomson is related to manifest destiny, American Exceptionalism and the concept of the American Dream as the innocent character alludes to the justification of America’s actions as wanted by God and the component of justice represents existence of equal rights. The idea of the American Dream is continued in the remaining verses of the chorus where the personal pronoun “we” is used in order to create a feeling of togetherness. The narrator stresses that dreaming of all the things you want is possible in the country where “all get a chance [and] Everybody gets to dance” (01:27). In the last part of the chorus, these infinite possibilities are limited to “only in America” (01:34) to mark America’s distinct and superior position as the land of opportunity.

The second stanza illustrates the story of a couple who has just married. The metaphor of the sun and the pursuit of happiness is picked up again. While the children in the first stanza where at the beginning, the sunrise, of their life, the couple experiences sundown as they are about to find happiness. The bridal pair consists of the descendant of a welding operator and the offspring of a banker (01:42-01:58). By depicting this rather uncommon marriage where the bride is from a high social class while the groom comes from a craftsman family, social hierarchy is dissolved. Moreover, the situation explained underlines once more the presence of an exceptional status among the world nations as America is described as a place where people can follow their dream and marry whoever they would like to be with. The two are described as the typical example of the main reason for immigration to the U.S. as they sought fame and fortune as their own version of the American Dream. While he wanted to be a singer in a band, she aimed at being an actress (02:08). Although their story ends with ”They just might go back to Oklahoma And talk about the stars they could have been” (02:23), suggesting that they could not realize their dreams, one can analyze this aspect in a way that they had all the opportunities they had dreamed off but simply decided to cultivate their love for each other rather than pursuing the road to success. At the end of the song, the chorus emphasize once more the America’s uniqueness concerning infinite opportunities for all kinds of people belonging to the country, which had been pointed out in the whole song.

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