Bob Dylan and Social Consciousness: Critical Issues
1. How does the release of information, over the radio, extend to the masses and present issues with the expectation of spreading social consciousness?
By inventing frequency modulation in the 1930's, Edwin Howard Armstrong gave birth to a new and exciting medium for spreading awareness to everyone. Bob Dylan, and other's like him, chose to use the radio as a forum for spreading social consciousness. By using the radio, it was easier to reach people in great numbers and in areas that newspapers and magazines could not be afforded. The radio allowed anyone within an ear's distance to listen and react. Spreading information over the radio was easy, inexpensive, and an acceptable medium for spreading awareness to people that normally wouldn't be privy to such information. The radio transcended the act of spreading information to the masses.
2. How does the Hurricane Story, specifically the bond which was formed when Rubin Carter first approached Bob Dylan with his book, make sense of the information culture both of the time in which Rubin was convicted (and "Hurricane" was composed) and presently?
Before being convicted in May 1967, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter had presumably heard Dylan's songs of social protest, and therefore had a fair idea of the songwriter's views on issues of social and political injustices. Dylan's lyrics served as a form of communication to Rubin. Had the American boxer had no idea of what Dylan stood for, he would not have been motivated to send a copy of his book, "The Sixteenth Round," to Dylan. Likewise, Dylan would not have had the inspiration to speak to the public about Carter's story of injustice and racism, had he not initially received the book. The very powerful song would never have been composed. As a result of Carter informing Dylan about his situation and attempting to gain some sort of hope, Dylan enlightened the public, whose only other primary informative were newspapers. Today, Carter is actively giving lectures and speaking on issues of slavery. In addition, a movie is presently being made, which will serve as yet another form of knowledge concerning Carter's story.
3. Transmission of information through newspaper and radio broadcast news were two of the main sources of information throughout the 1960's. However, how factual and time consistent is the newspaper and radio information and to what extent is the truth being told? How is the information being processed and by whom?
Singer and songwriter Bob Dylan's music exists implicitly and explicitly in relatipon to the information media and technology of his time, and particularly to the information society of the newspaper and the radio. Dylan's song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" from his 1962 album Freewheelin Bob Dylan was inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis -- the moment the cold war came closest to boiling over to all-out nuclear catastrophe. Dylan wrote and preformed this song to address his own fears about the crisis and where the world was heading in his opinion. This song also raises social consciousness about how we obtain our information through tainted devices such as the newspaper and the radio. Dylan explains, "The 'hard rain' of the song is not, however, nuclear fallout. It's not 'atomic rain'. The hard rain that's gonna fall is the last verse, where I say 'the pellets of poison are flooding us all'--I mean all the lies that are told on the radio and in the newspapers, trying to take people's brains away, all the lies I consider poison."
Dylan's interpretation is interesting because he considers media information or misinformation to be the real fallout. This is important to the crisis issue because valuable information which had not been released during breaking news in 1962 about the Cuban missile crisis continued to emerge thirty years later. Now the availability of previously classified material has enabled scholars to challenge and revise longstanding historical interpretations that took place in 1962. This highlights the distortions, limitations, and inaccuracies of the former Kennedy administration officials. An example such as this should inevitably raise the question to society about the information we are receiving and by whom. What distinguishes the information which is relayed and who permits this transmission to the public?
4. Hypothetically, if Bob Dylan was born in 1914, instead of 1941; would he have had as big, or bigger, an impact on music and society? Why?
In the last 40 years, Bob Dylan has been a major part of contemporary music. Through radio, television, newspaper, and concerts, Bob Dylan has been able to reach the public and spread social consciousness over the years. Music has and will continue to change in the future. Musicians of the 1960’s played and distributed music either because they loved performing or had a message which they wanted to express. Present day musicians (in the 1980’s and 1990’s) appear to want one of two things: fame or fortune, or both…. As with many other professions, musicians have to be appealing and effective in order for people to listen and purchase their music.
In my opinion, anyone who has been distributing and performing music for over 40 years has tremendous musical talent. Natural music talent comes from an inherent ability in which, one rarely has to practice. Bob Dylan is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Dylan would have made a huge impression on music and society anytime, despite when he was born. Although, if Bob Dylan had been born in 1914, I do not believe his impact would have had the capability of becoming global. Much of his popularity, if not all of it, has been developed through the use of technology. Radio, television, Internet, and all forms of media have instigated the global following of Dylan. With limited technology (like in the year of 1914), Dylan’s natural talent may never have been heard. How much of an impression we will never know, however I believe he sang and composed music with an extreme talent held by only him. He will always be looked at as a powerful leader.
