Our society is often known to ignore others who may not fit the stereotypical criteria but do we have the right “to be blind?” How about all those starving children on the streets? Only a handful of people in the whole world would pretend to see “their needs”, are you one of them?
The King of Pop questions the meaning of personal identity upon self-reflection and responsibility through his legendary “anthem”, Man in the Mirror. Personal identities are developed from various characteristics, experiences, and traits of an individual. Multiple of those characteristics are subject to different interpretations like stereotypes, especially during our time of growth, our youth. Does our society’s criteria of identity, regarding the youths, have a place for everyone to belong?
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Local sociologist, Care Chiew, provides the audience with information on the significance of identity and the role of an individual in the context of the society and culture that young people live in today.
While living in the 21st century, globalization has a profound effect on young people and causes them to continually rethink and reconsider their sense of identity and position within society. We as youths are constantly being affected by forcing to ‘fit in’ with others in our community, but what is the use of ‘fitting in’ physically when you can’t mentally? Or maybe others are not accepting your physical appearance yet the way you act and behave is just like theirs?
“…‘suspended adulthood’…”
Young people have been slapped with so many labels and misconceptions that it's a wonder these are not recognizable daily by the people around them. What is undeniably valid is that the evidence indicates alarming levels of loss of personal identity through mental illnesses and ethical background insecurities that cause many young ones to suffer. Youth unemployment is more than 13 percent, higher education rates are increasing exponentially, and the lack of decent housing combined with low wages leaves more young people locked under the parental roof and stuck in what is considered 'suspended adulthood.'
The song Man in the Mirror was first produced by Michael Jackson and his producer Quincy Jones, with lyrics written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard, in February 1988. Jackson and his producer Quincy Jones selected this song for the album after searching for 'an anthem' that, as Jones believed, would bring 'sunshine' all across the world. Jackson was able to convey his message through the life obstacles he faced with the help of various language features, literary devices, and themes within his song.
Picture: Every day people change their identity trying to ‘fit in’. Photographer: Shutterstock
In the eighth lyric line of Man in the Mirror, the singer describes that 'the wind is blowing in [his] mind.' This lyric line uses the literary device of personification. It means that the singer is not focused in their mind, too busy worrying about themselves, and not caring or paying any attention to those in need. The songwriter has given the wind a human quality because of the word 'blowing' and also serves as an illustration of his state of mind by telling the audience that the cold weather doesn't affect him physically, but mentally because he is greeted by the sight of 'kids in the street' who do not even 'have enough to eat.'
During the era when the King of Pop dominated the music industry, he was diagnosed with a skin condition called vitiligo. The condition results in white patches on the skin and sensitivity to sunlight. To hide and treat the condition from his audience, Jackson used fair-colored makeup and prescribed skin-whitening creams to cover up the uneven blotches of color caused by the illness. This caused crowds of people to criticize him for attempting to change his identity.
Overall, race alone was an overwhelming predictor of people’s music preferences. Racial centrality predicted preferences for White-associated genres among Blacks. The results suggest that people have strong racial associations with certain music genres and thus may use music preferences to communicate about their racial identities (R. Marshall and P.Naumann, 2018). Does the artist’s racial identity differ in your opinion about their songs and your music preferences?
The singer informs the audience that he gets to put on his 'favorite winter coat' as the outdoor weather gets colder and as he goes for a morning walk, he observes the 'kids on the street.' The language feature shown here is juxtaposition, it contrasts the wealth of the artist and the poverty of the children thus showing that they are from different classes; while the writer has the privilege of choosing coats, the children do not even have the luxury of choosing various food.
Although young people are not powerless concerning wide world change regarding the current identity crisis, the youth have been forced and pressured to bear the heavy labels of today’s society. In addition to their labels, their modern everyday life is a dilemma in itself. So what can we do now? Together, we will solve everyone’s relationship in society to discover where we belong. As Michael Jackson says, “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make that change!”
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