Green Day and Their Social Issues

Listen to music day in and day out, I have noticed a varied number of issues within certain lyrics. These issues range from politcal to social to just everyday issues everyone experiences. Singing about these issues is what attracts an audience. When the listener can relate to the words he/she are hearing, the song is more appealing to them. In my personal experience with music, I have found Green Day to be a very influential band. The words they put together in a song, have touched not only me, but I'm sure many others around the world.

The song 'American Idiot' by Green Day can be known as a very political and social piece of music. All in all the lyrics describe how America is today and how media controls everything. The title, 'American Idiot', refers to what some Americans can be known as, while they follow what mainstream media is saying. From what I have read, I know that Green Day decided to write this song when they realized how much media controls the people of America. It is said that Green Day feels as if the media has controlled America and it's citizens to every last footstep they take.

Halfway through the song, Green Day says, "Television dreams of tomorrow". When I read this all I think of is the media. I believe what is meant by this is how watching television has made up our dreams for tomorrow. We, as citizens, have no longer made our dreams ourselves by what we want and hope for, but the media has now chosen it for us. Before media was so big in people's lives, it seems as if a mediocre life was acceptable. No one had to worry about what they wore or what people thought about them. Media has changed that. It has progressed into something so great, that having a mediocre life isn\'t

what people want anymore. The media shoots out a vision of a perfect life by having money and success, so that's what everyone wants. And when they dont get it, some people believe their life has gone to hell.

Another line that caught my eye was ".....sing along in the age of paranoia". Paranoia is very closely associated with fear in this country. I believe it was FDR that stated "Fear is what we have fear for". These lyrics go hand in hand with those statements of years ago. We are based on fear and live in paranoia because of the lies told by the media. We believe the lies so much that we begin to fear