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Updated in 9/15/2020 6:36:17 PM      Viewed: 370 times      (Journal Article)

Cultural Media Perspective

Logan Riley
ABSTRACT

In the United States, music played a prominent and significant role in expressing people’s attitude to the Vietnam War and Cold War. Many artists wrote songs to encourage Americans as they went through the dreadful moments of conflict. The war also gave rise to various antagonists who strove to convert their sympathy, anxiety, fury, and other feelings into diverse forms of art such as poetry, prose, or pop music. Some songs were also meant to show patriotism while others endeavored to promote an anti-war atmosphere as opposed to a pro-war perspective. This paper discusses the role played by Country Joe McDonald’s I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag as a response to the cultural evolution surrounding the Cold War, Vietnam War, and reform in the United States. The paper further explains the influence made by the anti-war song on leisure and culture in the Unites States and the modern perception of the artist.

Country Joe McDonald’s composition is one of the most popular anti-war songs of the time. This song is also popularly known as The Fish Cheer. McDonald released this song in 1965 which is the period when the military of the Unites States took part in the Vietnam War. The artist acquired military stripes in the Navy; therefore, the song is sarcastic in nature and is meant to criticize the war that had a significant effect on the public. The purpose of Country Joe McDonald’s song was to speak on behalf of young individuals in America. Additionally, lyrics of the song blame politicians, military officials holding high positions, and industrial firms for instigating the war that took place in Vietnam. The song also expresses contempt for the procedure of recruitment by utilizing dark humor and using an image of fatalities of the war.

Country Joe McDonald’s song played a significant role in the cultural evolution period during the Cold War, Vietnam War, and reform in the Unites States. The cultural evolution era led to the rising of new forms of diverse cultures and vibrant subcultures. Some subcultures that came into existence included the contemporary manifestations of Bohemianism and the formation of the hippie and other lifestyles. Most notably, McDonald’s song contributed to promoting and spreading the hippie culture.

Therefore, the outcome of the role of anti-war music on leisure and culture in America was remarkable. People practicing the hippie lifestyles had their peculiar fashion and upheld various values that had an effect on various leisure and cultural aspects. For instance, the hippie had an impact on popular music, media, movies, literature, and arts. Following the widespread acceptance of the hippie ideologies, most philosophers and even religious personalities came up with concepts that portrayed hippie beliefs.

Although the contemporary society does not talk much about Country Joe McDonald, his style of music and that of other past pop-stars influenced the compositions of contemporary pop musicians. After the 1960s, numerous features of the hippie culture were also adopted by conventional societies, including religious institutions.

The above discussion has revealed that anti-war music was an integral part of the period of the Cold War, Vietnam War, and the reform era in the United States. The papers showed that Country Joe McDonald’s anti-war song was among the most famous compositions that opposed the Vietnam War. It also played a significant role during the cultural revolutionary period by contributing to the formation of the subculture known as the hippie culture. The outcome of its role is that it influenced various aspects of leisure and culture such as the media, films, literature, and arts. Most contemporary societies have also adopted the ideologies of the hippie culture.

This publication was made by Logan Riley is a talented writer at https://writessay.org. He likes to express his thoughts on paper.