My younger sister always makes fun of me because I like to listen to NPR while I drive. She thinks NPR is for old people and cannot fathom why I would prefer to listen to the news instead of music. What I like about news radio is the fact that I can be caught up on current events while I’m doing something else. To read a newspaper, in print or online, takes much more effort than listening to a radio broadcast while driving, studying, or sunbathing. I never feel as if there are enough hours in the day to accomplish all that I would like to, and listening to the radio allows me to do (at least) two things at once. The enabling of multitasking is something I particularly appreciate about radio, something that makes it one of my favorite forms of media, and the reason I chose this particular week to do the lead blog-post.
The pieces by Bathrick, Kaplan, and Tacchi made me consider radio as a form of mediation in ways I’d never pondered. The similarities in the usage of radio music in Israel and Nazi Germany to develop a national sentiment were particularly striking. For example, in “Engineering National time on Israeli Radio,” Kaplan “examine(s) how the growing use of music programming presents new ways for engineering national identification,” (Kaplan, 313), while in “The Nazi Wunschkonzert,” Bathrick looks at “the use of light entertainment in an attempt to bind together the Volksgemeinchaft, the community of the Volk or the people as they called it, into one big happy family,” (Bathrick, 1). In two very distinct communities, music broadcasts have been used in strikingly similar ways.
In both Nazi Germany and Israel, radio music has been used to heighten collective feelings in times of turmoil or celebration, even if the particular songs do not explicitly relate to the events in lyric or intent. Kaplan describes radio stations in Israel as using “musical mood enhancement to engineer national sentiments,” (Kaplan, 319), and Bathrick writes that the point of wunschkonzert was to “provide a mix of high and low culture which would bring together war front and home front, old and young…into a feel-good version of the Reich as a national family…the mood (my emphasis) was one of sentimentality, domesticity…which was meant to replace the latent violence and heroicized sensation of the Nazi public sphere,” (Bathrick, 2). I found it interesting and eye-opening that without explicit political dialogue, music broadcasting has been utilized by diverse nations to enhance the moods, reactions, and feelings of their citizens as a collective entity.
Reading these two articles got me thinking: but does this situation of mood enhancement occur via radio music in my life, as a citizen in the modern day United States? I would have to say that radio does still act to enhance our moods, predominantly during the Christmas season. While all American citizens do not celebrate Christmas, it seems like the majority of radio stations begin playing Christmas music on or around Thanksgiving Day. Although Christmas is only a single day out of the year, the Christmas season extends for upwards of two months, in large part due to radio broadcasts that inspire us to “get in the holiday spirit.” In this way, radio music broadcast is also being “used as a marker of time,” which Tacchi discusses in her piece (Tacchi, 242).
Finally, on the topic of Tacchi’s article, I want to discuss how unlike the other articles, Tacchi highlights how radio music broadcast can also serve to isolate certain individuals from their communities. In her piece, Tacchi interviews a British woman by the name of Trisha who expresses that her passion for her favorite radio station “causes conflict between (her and her husband) sometimes.” She states, “because I mean, he’s into cricket and football and my sons are as well and so I’m on my own regarding my music, I suppose that’s why I’ve taken it on board as being a friend as well as because I sometimes feel isolated,” (Tacchi, 253). This is similar to how I feel when I chose to play NPR in the car; my sister enjoys listening to the popular radio stations, as these are what our peers listen to, and what generates conversation and interaction in our particular young-adult community. By choosing to listen to NPR, I am somewhat isolating myself from my pop-music playing peers in my hometown.
Overall, I found it eye-opening to read about how influential radio music can be for both setting a national mood as well as isolating an individual from her immediate community. It was equally fascinating to reflect upon the observations presented in the three articles and then apply them to my own nation and personal experiences. In section, I would like to discuss further how the usage of radio music broadcast for national mood setting is able to transcend time and recent advancements in technology and media broadcasting. Will radio in general continue to have such a powerful influence in the future? Not pertaining to technological advancement, will radio music continue to set national, all-encompassing moods as our national communities continue to globalize and diversify? I.e. do these themes of mood setting play off of the relative homogeneity of said-communities?-Amy Wharton
11 comments:
Similar to the lead blog post, I have never put too much thought into the radio as a serious instrument of mediation until reading the Bathrick, Kaplan, and Tacchi articles.
I also have to agree that I found it striking that radio could create such a sense of community and nationalism, as Israel and Nazi Germany saw in the radio during especially trying times. Bathrick's reading explained the radio as being capable of using "light entertainment" to bind together their country in the "wrappings of culture". I had never thought about this before, but I would have to admit that if I ever wanted to inspire or evoke a sense of a nation among my people, that the best way to do so would be to connect them within their culture through a not-so-directly political sense. In addition to this, the use of radio in Israel accomplished similar motivations of bringing its people together in times of turmoil. I did find it startling, however, that the radio programmers in Israel knew exactly how much power they had in shaping the sentiment of their nation. It is scary to think that these programmers have such power, but it is also commendable in my opinion that they use this power to use music to "mood shift" and create national significance.
I also have to strongly agree with the lead post because the connection I made with the Tacchi article's intimacy and immediateness in my own life is the way the radios broadcast Christmas music around Thanksgiving to New Years. In this way I experience what Tacchi talks about in terms of radio's ability to evoke a direct connection and emotion from it's listener. When I listen to Christmas music in the car, I feel connected with the nostalgic and festive spirit that most of our nation feels when they listen to this music as well. Thanks to the lead post, I am able to make this connection and better understand Tacchi's discussion of radio as a mediator of marking time, distraction, and social connector.
Last week we discussed the ability for print to unite communities and provide readers with a sense of nationalism and simultaneous time and space. Some of the arguments in the Kaplan and Bathrick articles related back to this same idea. In Nazi Germany, the radio would “bring together war front and home front, old and young, children and parents, working people and the educated bourgeoisie bringing them together into a feel-good version of the Reich as national family” (Bathrick 6). The readings also addressed how the radio has the power to “generate a singular moment where people bring their individual activities to a momentary standstill and participate in a collective ritual of reflection on current events” (Kaplan 316). The difference between print and radio, however, is that the radio reaches all its listeners at the same exact time, and in many instances address its listeners directly via ads and talk show commentary.
Since we have already discussed community and nationalism to some extent last week, I really liked how Amy mentioned that the radio could also have the opposite effect on people. She mentioned how the British woman interviewed in Tachhi’s article felt isolated from her family because of their differing taste in broadcasting. I also related to Amy when she mentioned her feelings of isolation when listening to NPR. I spent last summer in San Diego and I commuted to work every day. In the morning I always listened to a popular local station 91.1. I recently downloaded an application on my phone that plays 91.1 live from San Diego. I enjoy listening to this station because the music that they play and the ads they run are “linked with memories and with feelings, either experienced or imagined, and evoke different states of mind and moods” (Tacchi 242). Basically, it reminds me of home. No one in 3,000 miles is listening to the same music, the same San Diego specific ads, the same Charger coverage or the same morning talk show. In a way I feel isolated from others in Baltimore, but simultaneously united with San Diegans 3,000 miles away.
-Adali Martinez
Multitasking, as mentioned in the lead post, is the best way to describe the impact of radio, because it really only occupies your sense of hearing. This not only enables one to listen to the radio while performing daily tasks, but it also encourages the producers of this sound to formulate messages, knowing that people are present with open ears. The Nazi Wunschkonzert radio depicts the use of political propaganda under the guise of “sentimentality and domesticity,” and when even translated into film, it emphasized that “individual love was subordinated to the interests of the community” (Bathrick 3). In the Tacchi piece, listening to the radio presents the topic of social and antisocial silence, along with the thought of referring to radio as a “friend” or as “company”. It was quite interesting for me to consider Trisha as an adulterer for having an “affair” with the radio.
The “mood shifting” theme that runs throughout Kaplan’s piece is the ideal way to explain the power that the radio has over the population. His quote, “the majority who choose not to participate in the ceremonies and carry on with their daily life nevertheless encounter the uniform memorial music wherever they go and are thus exposed to the same commemorative mode and mood nonetheless”(Kaplan 326), excellently portrays the correlation of the Christmas music example previously mentioned. In fact, this very idea brings me back to the times when I am listening to the radio, and hear a chain of songs from a single artist, like Michael Jackson or Aaliyah. It is not until I realize that the music represents a birthday, in Michael Jackson’s case, or a death, in Aaliyah’s case. In total, this brings together the notion of “simultaneity-in-time.”
I agree with Amy and the authors of each of the articles about how the radio can set a national mood with the playing of music, even if the theme of the music is unrelated to nationalism. Although many listen to the radio in a private sphere the sharing of time while listening can lead to a universal feeling depending on what the people at the radio station decide to play. I like the example used in Bathrick’s article about the songs the orchestra would play to commemorate a fallen soldier and how it could set a nation’s mood. I believe that this national mood can transcend time because of the connection radio makes between the public and private sphere. Tachii’s use of personal commentary serves as a great example of how radio can connect people, even when they are alone. Feeling lonely is something people fear, and as long as there is radio to serve even as background noise a person can feel connected to the community. Even when on Facebook one can feel lonely because there is no sense of someone talking directly to “you.” Even radio commercials can make you feel a part of something. Like the products were made only for yourself and no one else. Whether it is songs or talk radio, the sound of the radio can connect people during their every day lives the way no other form of media can.
I agree that there is somewhat of an imagined community among the listeners of radio, which I had not previously considered before reading these articles. I found it fascinating that messages from one listener to another can be translated not only through an actual message such as an advertisement but through the playing of music as well. It is this phenomenon that I identified most with while reading Bathrick’s article about the use of the “Wunschkonzert” in Nazi Germany. This was used to connect music to a deeper meaning or message to other listeners through dedications. Through this medium, a wife could dedicate a song to her husband off at war and by hearing that song, they can share the connection of the same time and place, even though they are physically apart. Also, from then on, every time that song is played, it can transport them back to that particular connection they shared. I thought that Tachii touched on this point in her article as well, especially with the example of Trisha as Amy had explained. This woman, not feeling a personal connection with her immediate family about music, can now feel like a part of a community with people that share common interests and feelings as she does, even though she does not see most of them face to face. The radio allows us to not only enjoy the direct messages that we are listening to but to feel as if we are part of a special group of people who enjoy and appreciate the messages we are being given.
I agree with Amy that radio has an influence on the holidays, especially Christmas. They play Christmas songs starting around Thanksgiving to get the people in the mood for the biggest money making holiday of the year. They also play those Adam Sandler songs for Hanukah. I feel this music gets people in the mood for the holidays. In this day and age radio has more of an influence especially when people are driving in their cars rather than being home due to the technology we have now. If I am listening to the radio at home I am multitasking while and doing other things like Amy mentioned in the lead post.
“Yet as television and Internet-based communication have gradually come to dominate the verbal domain of mass media, radio stations across the world increasingly concentrate on the music domain” (Kaplan 317). When I drive in my car, I tend to put the radio on because it plays music that tends to be top hits. I prefer to listen to classic rock but the radio has an influence to persuade me to listen to certain hits. I also tend to listen to Rush Limbaugh because it keeps me up to date with the news.
When I came across this quote in Bathrick reading, (“Wunschkonzert was precisely not to challenge the audience intellectually, culturally, or above all politically, but rather to provide in this combination of folksy humor and familiar musical oldies a mix of high and low culture which would bring together war front and home front, old and young, children and parents, working people and the educated bourgeoisie; bring them together into a feel-good version of the Reich as national family”) (Bathrick 2) It made me think about when America went to war with Vietnam. During that war people would listen to the radio or watch TV, which every night would give the total number of casualties or the body count. That body count was supposed to get the Americans fired up/ angry with the Vietnamese, but instead it hurt the moral of our people and the opposite happened and it helped put an end to the war.
-Chase W
There are two things that I think are particularly effective about radio, and may even be attributed as the reason why it’s still around (because when you think about it, technology has far surpassed the days of radio): spontaneity and community. There’s something amazing about the combination of these two qualities in radio broadcast, something that’s simply missing when listening to music from an iPod.
Personally, no matter how much I tweak a playlist on my iTunes, I can never get it just right. I mess around with the combination of songs, even the order in which they play, but it doesn’t have the same feeling as the spontaneity of turning on the radio and not knowing what to expect. Even the invention of the “shuffle” option on iTunes playlists still doesn’t get that feeling across, and it’s because of this that I often opt for the radio, even when all of my favorite songs are right at my fingertips on my iPod. So what’s the difference—why does my listening experience mean so much more when it’s spontaneous?
Well, as my classmates and this week’s anthropologists have already stated, the radio is somehow able to “generate a singular moment where people bring their individual activities to a momentary standstill and participate in a collective ritual” (Kaplan 316). The spontaneity that I crave so much is inherently tied to this feeling of collective ritual I get from knowing that millions of other people are listening to the same thing I am at the same time.
It’s because of this that iPhone apps such as iheartradio have come about. Even on the very device that was designed to move man away from radio, we must have it at our disposal, because we long for that sense of spontaneity only achievable when shared with the masses.
Jessica DeBakey
In his paper, Jo Tachi talks about the “role the radio in a home plays in establishment and maintenance of relationships between the self and others. These relationships may be real or imagined” (Tachi 242). The distinction between this real and imagined relationship is exemplified in the Barthrick paper. After the “Wunschkonzert fur die Wehrmacht” narrowed its focus to only soldiers and their families, it facilitated first the maintenance of relationships that were, in this case, real. For example, a new mother is able to call in to dedicate a song to her husband fighting in the war. The man tunes in and hears the great news. The song, probably one with a special significance to the both of them, elicits memories of the past when they were together, memories to keep them going until the end of the war. Here, the radio, serves as that messenger. It allows the couple to have this private moment even a very public medium, without the apprehension that normally accompanies this invasion of privacy.
Kaplan highlights the radio’s involvement in shaping national cultures. One way it does this is by imposing its own timing on people. In the article, after six “pips” everyone’s activities is placed on a standstill as they listen to the hourly news. It is this element of control of a group of people at the same time. The ability to influence their thoughts, their perceptions of the world, even if for that moment. In Nazi Germany, the radio is used ever so softly as a disseminator of national propaganda. One notices the emphasis on ideals such as community obligations over that of personal. When stories about these soldiers and their families escape into this public space, the men are transformed into these stoic, idealized heroes worthy of emulation. As one imagines that a majority of the men were soldiers fighting in the war, there is this sense of communal identity for the women left at home. When one requests a song dedicated to her husband, she in turn speaks for all the women listening to the radio at that moment. Even though strangers, they are simultaneously companions.
The radio does have these strong effects on us in creating this national mood. The lead post asks whether the radio will continue to possess this power. I believe it will regardless of technological advancements. When the Ipods came out, some thought that it might overtake the radio since people now have the control to choose whatever music they want to listen to, whenever they want to. However, the radio serves many other purposes, i.e as the foreground, the background, and as a way to fulfill that desire to be social. The Ipod on the other hand reinforces isolation. With its many functions in society, the radio might continue to possess its power for a long time.
-Emmanuel Ohuabunwa
I really liked the juxtaposition of the Wunschkonzert and the various Israeli radio stations. Obviously both are being used to create a shared sense of national unity and strength, while at the same time conveying subtle messages of memorial or celebration. However, in the case of Wunschkonzert, I pictured the German people listening intently, perhaps sitting around the radio before the advent of television, while in Kaplan’s article, I imagined radio more in the multi-tasking sense that Amy referred to. The “mood-shifting” that Kaplan refers to operates on a much more subtle level than the grand, patriotic orchestras from Nazi Germany. Yet both are successful because, as Tacchi states, radio “is very firmly a part of everyday life, and as such, works on both conscious and unconscious levels” (244). I think this ties in nicely to Amy’s first question for discussion, about whether the usage of radio music broadcast for national mood setting is able to transcend time and technological advancements. Separated by more than half a century and countless technological advancements, radio has maintained its impact in the social sphere. As others have pointed out, this can be attributed to its intimate and personal nature.
After our discussion of imagined communities, I thought Tacchi’s article provided an interesting counter with Trisha’s anecdote about social exclusion. I think that it emphasizes that the intimacy of radio has the ability to seriously impact and magnify mood, mental state, etc. It is such a powerful method of mediation because it allows connections with songs or talk shows, one’s own personal feelings, and an extended community of like-minded listeners.
-Daniel Gergen
The posts thus far have referenced multi-tasking as a positive mechanism. I would argue that ability of us to "multi-task" when listening to the radio is exactly why this medium has such a profound affect on us. The "mood shifting" Kaplan talks about is certainly aided by the fact that people don't listen to radio by itself. This allows the radio to affect us while we are not even paying attention to it. Tacchi alludes to this when he says that radio influences us on both conscious and unconscious levels. And, as the readings depicted, this aspect of radio can be used to instill a sense of nationalism even though it is a very subtle medium when compared to something like television which stimulates peoples vision as well.
As with the lead blog post, NPR has greatly influenced my vision of radio. I started listening to NPR last year and will usually do so while I am making breakfast or doing something else in my morning routine like checking my e-mail. What I found was that while I didn't feel I was absorbing most of the information, after listening to the hourly news updates once a day for a week or so, I had a much better understanding of current events than I did before. This is a good illustration of how I feel radio affects us. Radio is so strong because even though we can multi-task while listening to it, and seemingly not pay attention to it, what is communicated through it sticks with us whether we want it to or not.
I am an avid listener of the radio. I believe that it is even more entertaining than television, because the medium does not simply present everything to us. It instead challenges us to envision what might be happening on the other side of the speaker.I dont think there is anything quite like turning a dial to tune into your favorite station or unexpectedly hearing your favorite song come through the speaker.
Back in the 1940's and 50's, when the concept of television was in it's infancy, the majority of entertainment came over the airwaves in the form of radio dramas. These dramas were as varied as today's television programming and captured the imagination of listeners across the nation.
A famous incidence of radio's power and influence was noted when Orson Welles' War of the Worlds scared citizens into believing that aliens had actually invaded the planet. Radio's influence was also quite practical, uniting the nation on a regular basis for President Franklin Roosevelt's "Fireside Chats", much like the "Wunschkonzert" did.
In fact it is quite eerie how similar the effect of radio was being used simultaneously by the U.S. and germany for the same goal. "Fireside" addresses from the President sought to soothe an anxious nation in a time of war and depression recovery, and it succeeded mightily. They sewed together the very fabric of the U.S.A., the American people.
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