A Cultural Comparison: 2 + 2 = 5 By Radiohead

Improved Essays
A Cultural Comparison:
“2 + 2 = 5” by Radiohead
For many centuries, art has been a medium through which writers and musicians have chosen to express their political views and opinions on the world around them. One of the world’s most celebrated political writers, George Orwell, strongly influenced culture, including music, with his dystopian novel 1984. The 80s English alternative rock band, Radiohead, was inspired by the book’s commentary on what the world will look like in the future and wrote a song imbued by 1984’s main ideology, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows,” (Orwell, 81). Both the novel as well as the record are didactic in nature; aiming to entertain, yet simultaneously
…show more content…
If music like “2 + 2 = 5,” was spread amongst the proles, Radiohead’s warning of society’s impending doom would infiltrate and make a significant impact amongst the masses. To begin with, the record’s title refers to the concept of unquestioning orthodoxy to a higher class’s beliefs and claims. In 1984, Orwell depicts the Proles’ blind obedience to the Inner Party’s doctrines and propaganda supporting it. The Party’s grip on all the classes below it is so unyielding if it claims that two plus two make five, then the statement is rendered into existence as the absolute truth. In the first two verses, Radiohead illustrates what the middle class looks like from an outside perspective, exposing their constantly desire to, “Stay at home forever / Where two and two always makes up …show more content…
Radiohead’s, “2 + 2 = 5,” and George Orwell’s 1984, are both perfect examples of artists who used their art to convey this message - both urge their audience to take action before it is too late, as well as illustrate the need for cultural education for society to become aware of what is happening around them. The novel, as well as the record, both emphasise mankind’s attraction to flight over fight and the comfort or safety one finds in the enticing web of lies created by a higher class wishing to trap them. 1984, “2 + 2 = 5,” or any other kind of educational entertainment, has the potential to ignite a spark within the Proles to simply become aware, and inspire us to rise up and

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    “How did the protest music performed by Pete Seeger empower people during the 1960s to stand against social norms when the United States was faced with multiple problems, such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement?” Title For many centuries, music has been an unwavering force in society, offering entertainment for various ceremonies and events, while also providing an outlet for creative expression. Most people see the entertainment factor in music, but fail to realize the power music has to influence social change.…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Through deliberate selection of the medium of production, composers are able to offer and emphasise their own perspectives on politics. This is evident in Aldous Huxley’s dystopian prose-fiction novel, Brave New World (1932), and Bruce Dawe’s poem, ‘Enter Without So Much as Knocking’ (1959). Both texts capture the composers’ own political ideologies and caution readers of governments that abuse technology to manufacture a consumeristic, groupthink culture. Composer’s criticise government bodies which use science and technology to control citizens and engineer conformity. In Aldous Huxley’s cautionary tale, a significant event that highlights Huxley’s concerns for technological advancement is the tour with the “Director of Hatcheries” (DHC),…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is evident that music industry and its trends has transformed throughout the ages. From the emergence of rock n’ roll in the 1950s, to the rise of disco in the 1970s, and the popularity of R&B and hip-hop in the 21st century. Although different musical movements defined different decades, the one thing that transcended through the metamorphosis of music was the topics and subjects behind the lyrics. Whether that be sex, race, love, money, or work, all artists have been singing and writing about the same themes since music itself was created. One of the most prominent and controversial issues addressed was politics and race sung through protest songs.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the 1960s, even though America was caught up in its current prosperity, a different cultural movement was making itself known. Through music, drugs, and the Civil Rights Movement, a group of people known as hippies, impacted society by challenging the status quo. With the music genre of rock emerging, music was used to voice expressions and feelings. For example, in the song “A Day…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Weirdly Popular Analysis

    • 1658 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Power of Music: Classical Vs Comical The text “Rebel Music” by Daniel Felsenfeld and the text “Weirdly Popular” by Sasha Frere-Jones deal with the main idea of music and the affect it has on people. “Rebel Music” is about Daniel Felsenfeld’s transformation and discovery as a musician. It discusses his time as a child playing piano and listening to punk music, to later finding classical music and dreaming of becoming a composer, he even says in his article that “..., having long ago colonized this planet and gone native, and active member of a community I once admired from what seemed like an impossible distance”. On the other hand, “Weirdly Popular” discusses the success of Weird Al Yankovic in the past 38 years.…

    • 1658 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the hip hop piece, “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy, alliteration and repetition of certain words together communicate the theme that honest hip hop music is not just entertainment, but also a powerful political force that can be used as the voice of people who need to be heard. The second half of the first stanza reads, “While the black bands sweatin’/and the rhythm rhymes rollin’/got to give us what we want/gotta give us what we need/” (Ridenhour et al 1). In this first part of the passage, heavy alliteration in “black bands” and “rhythm rhymes rollin’ ” helps readers first appreciate the passion and dedication put into making the hip hop music (Ridenhour et al 1). Next, repetition in “got to give us what we want/gotta give us what…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The music of the younger generation always seems to strike fear into the hearts of the older generation. One only has to think of the beginnings of Rock and Roll and how the older crowd predicted youthful promiscuity, violence and anarchy. It’s easy to see why the idea of censoring music came about and how that idea still plays out in the music of today’s youth. One only has to listen to certain songs on the radio today to find that the “bleep” of censorship is still in fashion. Oddly enough however, when one searches “songs about censorship” on the internet, one finds that there is far more information about songs that have been censored than there is about songs dealing with censorship.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Juvenile delinquency was a national topic of discussion in the 1950’s. A movement of censorship swept through as a result of parents fearing Rock ‘n’ Roll’s challenge to traditional values and abstinence. The campaign was successful in making artists and producers of Rock ‘n’ Roll more reserved in the music they made. In doing so, they failed to damage the industry as a whole. The toned down nature of songs and performers encouraged Rock ‘n’ Roll’s acceptance to a broader audience.…

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Cop Killer Poem Analysis

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Commend Creative Freedom In the battle between censorship and creative freedom, Ice-T’s song “Cop Killer” is a controversial topic. The song’s lyrics are strong and violent. Being in a country where freedom of speech is valued greatly, the issue clearly rises within itself. Writings by Michael Kinsley and Barbara Ehrenreich go head to head in examining both viewpoints demonstrating that both sides of the argument are valid, but the song is creative freedom.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    George Orwell's novel isn’t just a dramatised story of a terrible government meant to scare people; it actually represents real things happening right now, and how they affect the lives of people…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    1984, a novel written by George Orwell in 1949 (in the wake of World War II), explores a dystopian future where every action is monitored by the government and the world is constantly at war to maintain class discrepancies by using up resources. The novel’s opening page begins establishing the world’s condition in the year 1984. “Don’t Let That Shadow Touch Them” is a poster created in 1942 by Lawrence Beall Smith in the midst of World War II in the United States of America to inspire the population to support the war effort. Both texts focus heavily on war and dominance of governments, issues still debated in the modern world. Despite differing in format, 1984 and “Don’t Let That Shadow Touch Them” both employ similar stylistic features to highlight the shared theme of the dangers of totalitarian government.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Bob Dylan Lyricism Essay

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Bob Dylan’s Lyricism: A Countercultural Perspective Abstract: Bob Dylan, a songwriter, poet and a 2017 Nobel laureate in literature is often portrayed as the guiding spirit of the sixties counterculture. Dylan’s politically committed songs in the 1960’s articulated a vision of society that was radically different from the existing political realities. The paper highlights the cultural resonance of Dylan’s radical lyricism amidst the countercultural era. It depicts the close affiliations that existed between Dylan’s songs and liberation movements of the times.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Power of Language “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows” (81). This phrase, written by Winston Smith in George Orwell’s 1984, reflects the twisted truth that is manipulated by the government in his “Nation” of Oceania. In this dystopian future, the government seeks to control the thoughts and actuals of its citizens, leaving them incapable of challenging the government’s authority.…

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”, citizens live without individuality, intelligence, and emotions, all of which can be connected to the absence of playable music. In the real world, everyone is affected by music that they listen to or create themselves, but it is truly underestimated. People have the distinguished ability to express their individuality through the varying types of music in the world and how they react to it. Being a musician can challenge someone’s mental and physical abilities and, if they accept the challenge, can make them more intelligent and capable members of society. Music can also cater to one’s differing emotions and help them to understand their feelings and coping methods.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lydia Goehr breaks down the question of how music is tied to politics, and specifically addresses arguments of whether it should be or not. The author starts her discussion with a historical example with the inquest of composer Hanns Eisler by the Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). The author’s intention in presenting this case appears when she focuses on the defense Eisler. He made statements to the Committee that suggested his music was “music, and nothing else,” having nothing to do with politics. This was in sharp contrast to his previous works which had several political messages and had regarded music as “inseparable from politics.”…

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays