Acta Scientiarum. Language and Culture ISSN: 1983-4675 [email protected] Universidade Estadual de Maringá Brasil Gomes Wielewicki, Vera Helena Rock and drugs: multiliteracies and an aesthetics of violence for teenagers in school Acta Scientiarum. Language and Culture, vol. 36, núm. 3, julio-septiembre, 2014, pp. 335-345 Universidade Estadual de Maringá .jpg, Brasil Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=307431657011 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative Acta Scientiarum http://www.uem.br/acta ISSN printed: 1983-4675 ISSN on-line: 1983-4683 Doi: 10.4025/actascilangcult.v36i3.23826 Rock and drugs: multiliteracies and an aesthetics of violence for teenagers in school Vera Helena Gomes Wielewicki Departamento de Letras, Centro de Ciências Humanas, Letras e Artes, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Av. Colombo, 5790, 87020-900, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT. Current study discusses an approach of hard rock, in English, for high school students, from a multimodal perspective. The songs are analyzed in terms of their musicality and literariness and hard rock is considered a historically constituted complex cultural movement. The aesthetics of violence, present in the rock’n’roll scenario, specifically focused on the themes of drugs and alcohol abuse, is analyzed from the perspective of multiliteracies, for the development of teenagers’ critical education. The paper is theoretically based on theory by Lévy (2010), Kress (2000) and Kalantzis and Cope (2000) for multiliteracy concepts and on Walser (1993) for the criticism on the musical language. Songs by the USA rock bands Metallica and Guns N’Roses are discussed. Keywords: critical literacies, pop culture, Mettallica, Guns N’Roses, high school education, identity development. Rock e drogas: multiletramentos e uma estética da violência para adolescentes na escola RESUMO. O objetivo deste trabalho é discutir uma abordagem de vertentes pesadas (hard) de rock’n roll em inglês no ensino médio a partir de uma perspectiva multimodal. Para tanto, as canções são analisadas em termos de sua musicalidade e literariedade e o hard rock é considerado um complexo movimento cultural, historicamente constituído. A estética da violência presente no cenário rock’n roll, em particular focalizada no abuso de drogas e álcool, é analisada da perspectiva dos multiletramentos, para uma construção de identidades e formação crítica de adolescentes. O trabalho é fundamentado teoricamente em Lévy (2010), Kress (2000) e Kalantzis e Cope (2000) para conceitos de multiletramentos e em Walser (1993) para a crítica da linguagem musical. São discutidas canções das bandas estadunidenses Metallica e Guns N’ Roses. Palavras-chave: letramentos críticos, cultura pop, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, ensino médio, construção de identidades. Introduction suicide and Satanism, are themes present in the lyrics of the most aggressive bands, together with a As water and oil, rock’n roll and school do not hard sonority, drums vigorously attacked and mix up. The verses ‘We don’t need no education’ and ‘Hey! Teacher! Leave us kids alone’, from the distorted guitars, harmony that surprises and shocks, song ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, by the progressive less important melodic lines, screamed out vocals rock band Pink Floyd, still echo fresh in the ears of and dirty visual. No one of these goes smoothly anybody who has been minimally introduced to this with the ideal education in teachers and parents’ kind of culture, in spite of being recorded in 1979. point of view. The hard criticism of the band to a too strict Nevertheless, rock’n roll is, for sure, an education has become an international hit. A little extremely complex cultural movement. In Brazil, bit sooner, in 1972, the USA hard rock vocalist Alice although nowadays country music is the style people Cooper wished, in the song ‘School’s out’, that after prefer, the influence of rock is outstanding, and the summer vacation school would have been blown up, Brazilian rock bands refer to the same themes in solving definitely the problem of coming back to its their lyrics of their international counterparts. The oppression (School’s out for Summer / School’s out Rock’n Rio festival, since 1985, even facing some for ever / School’s been blown to pieces). difficulties, brings a public of about 100 thousand Besides the negative image of school in the people a day. Iron Maiden (England) and Metallica themes of the roots of hard rock, the so called (USA), today’s biggest rock bands, attract a crowd of ‘rock’n roll attitude’, linked to free sex and drug fans that scream their lyrics in English, in a country abuse does not match institutionalized education. where this language is not commonly spoken. Rebelliousness, sex, drugs and alcohol, besides Apparently, they can even answer to the vocalists’ Acta Scientiarum. Language and Culture Maringá, v. 36, n. 3, p. 335-345, July-Sept., 2014 336 Wielewicki provocations, suggesting that they can understand visual, and music is one of them, besides the body something beyond the basic ‘Yeah!’ for a verbal and its movements. For him, communication between musicians and public. […] the actual elites of Western Europe decided to This way, the objective of this paper is to discuss break the continuous chain between music and its the possibility of an approach of rock’n roll in everyday appearance and music and an aesthetic schools, with teenagers (high school), as a cultural form, or music in its ritual aspects. A deep division movement that deals with drugs and violence, from has been produced, so that the latter two have the perspective of multiliteracies. For this proposal, remained the subject of attention for the elites: ‘not’ the songs will be looked at as both literary products, now as everyday forms of representation and regarding their lyrics, and music. communication, but as forms which belong entirely in the domain of the aesthetic and of good manners. Multiliteracies Music is now no longer seen as a form of communication but as a means of expression; the Nowadays, we cannot affirm that the formal way same as happened with the visual mode and others of writing, as schools have been historically (KRESS, 2000, p. 182, author’s emphasis). developing, is the only way for communication between educated people. Since the invention of the Writing, thus, is the mode of communication par press, writing has forged an epistemology that molds excellence at school; it is the vehicle through which the linear reason and thought. All must be logically all knowledge circulates, as well as the expression of proved and transmitted, and the school has been needs and personal relations. If an individual does making a great effort to perform its role of rendering not verbalize information or feelings, it is, as a rule, the correct use of the written language possible at as if these elements do not exist in the school the same time that people have access to a socially environment. privileged way of thought in which science, Thus, different modes of expression imply philosophy, history and law are not only expressed different forms of meaning and the relations of the through writing, but are constituted by it (LÈVY, individuals with such possible meanings, or 2010). Nevertheless, we can also observe other epistemologies. In other words, diversified forms of production and circulation of thought that litteracies, different from the literacy via written do not follow linear principles so clearly as writing, word, must be provided by schools. Kalantzis and but also establish human communicative relations. Cope (2000) discuss the need of schools changing In an age when virtual communication has been their roles towards a more pluralist education, and blurring time and space strict boundaries, and an approach towards multiliteracies could be a valid creating effective social movements, other modes of suggestion. For the authors, the starting point is not communication, besides writing, present themselves the generic individual neither learning as an for research. identically replicated process. Rather, a pluralist For Lèvy (2010), the fall of prose, nowadays, may education would contemplate represent the fall of the kind of knowledge linked to […] multiple languages and dialects, multiple it, in other words, the fall of science, philosophy, community histories and life experiences, multiple history and law in the way we have been conceiving intelligences, in sum, multiple ways of being human them up to now. That is not a comfortable premise (KALANTZIS; COPE, 2000, p. 148). for several educators. In a technological society, we have watched ideas and feelings being shared in Music, as a mode of expression, is a way of different modes and in a great speed, different from making sense for several groups of people and, as writing. Perhaps it is still a bit premature to affirm such, may be appreciated, discussed and transformed that we are watching a movement back to orality. in literacy also in schools, together with a more At the same time, we still do not know for sure the literary way of regarding the lyrics of the songs. consequences of such processes in the thought For such purpose, the musical language and its formation for the future generations. However, it’s visual surroundings, regarding rock bands, with quite clear that schools have the challenge to look at their effects of social interaction, must also be taken other modes of expression, besides writing, if their into consideration. When talking about music goal is to prepare critical citizens. inserted in the pop culture, we cannot narrow the Kress (2000) also discusses the dislodgement of considerations only to the study of the lyrics in the central position of the written language while schools.