South African Interport Lecturer - Warrick Moses

    Interport Lecturer, Warrick Moses, came to talk to my Global Ethics class today. He has a masters in playing the clarinet, and he is currently studying at Harvard University to earn his Ph.D. with a concentration in Ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology is basically the anthropology of music. What does music mean in a certain society? Why are there differences in music based on where the location is? What makes a certain society's music different than another? Why do you keep playing that way? Ethnomusicology aims to answer questions like the ones posed above.
    "Everything in South Africa is shaped by the legacy of the Apartheid." I never really realized this about South Africa, but it is very true. Their government, laws, constitution, radio, television, and even music are all shaped by the Apartheid because that is what defined people in South Africa for such a long period of history. Despite popular belief, very few white people knew what was going on in the townships during Apartheid. The only white people that knew what was going on were the police. This created a lot of stereotypes that South Africa now burdens to wear across their backs. One of the common stereotypes is that all South Africans are Afrikaans. Although Afrikaan was the language of the Apartheid, this is not nearly the only people of South Africa. In fact, there are eleven national languages!
    Coming back to Ethnomusicology, which was originally an American study. People would look at different kinds of music and associate it with a certain country. For example, when you think about the Flamenco, you think about Spain. When you think about the tango, you think about Argentina. When you think about Ghana, you think of a drumming group. Something that Warrick said that really struck me is when "you think of drums...you think of the 'country' of Africa." You never really think about it, but Westerns truly look towards Africa as one united country, rather than separate countries with their own identities. We should really work on the stigma that we created from ignorance. This is generally the hierarchy of Western art and classical music. Ethnomusicology has morphed into a field of ethnography, which is engaging on a personal level. Rather than observing, you start to ask people what their music means to them on a deeper level, rather than just scratching the surface with observations. You start to really understand the music.
    We then watched a few music videos to better comprehend the idea of Ethnomusicology. We first discussed the song "Waka Waka, Africa," which is a famous song performed by Shakira. This song was used as the theme song for the 2010 World Cup that was held in South Africa. When you think about it, it is very strange that a Columbian would sing a song for South Africa. Why not a South African? We delved deeper into the origin of the song, and came up with it being writting in the 1980s in Cameroon. This song was not about Africa, but rather the black suppression that was being felt in Cameroon at the time. Consider now, how that song morphed over time and through different artists. The song was altered so that it could become commercialized.
    Next, consider the song "Wave Your Flag." This song was originally written for war that was going on in Somalia, but not many people know this. Many people know this song because it was altered so that it could be commercialized. In order for the song to be sold, musicians actually added more drums and deeper bases because it sounded "more African." Why would we need to change an original song, MADE IN AFRICA AND BY AFRICANS, to make it sound "more African?" What does this say about Westerners and their control over stereotypes? You will also notice this when you travel to countries outside of the United States. People who live in the country you're visiting will apologize to you for not speaking English. They should NOT apologize to you. You could accommodate them. You're visiting THEIR country!
    After this, we moved onto watching Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al" music video. I highly suggest watching this video on YouTube; it is only 4:35 long. That's the length of a television commercial. Although the video seems very goofy, you learn a great deal about it once you start to dissect what was really going on. The video starts with Paul Simon and Chevy Chase walking into a pale pink room. There are many comedic elements in this video, such as: there is a drastic height difference between Paul Simon and Chevy Chase, Paul Simon turns into the bell of Chevy Chase's trumpet, and goofy dancing. However, what don't you see in this video? -the black band (Lady Smith Black Membazo). When you start to break down the video, you notice from the beginning that Chevy Chase is the dominant figure, not only by his height, but also because he is wearing a white blazer compared to Paul Simon's black blazer. In addition, Chevy sings over Paul.
    This video was created during the International Cultural Embargo, which took place during the 1980s. You could compare this to the recent Boston Marathon Bombing because Boston citizens were forced to remain in their houses by the police. Now, think of this on a much larger scale so that it is country-wide and ran by the military. This took place under Apartheid in South Africa. Sports teams, artists, and singers around the world were asked not to travel to Sputh Africa in order to support anti-Apartheid campaigns. However, Paul Simon traveled to South Africa anyways and created the album Graceland.
    The theme that you may have drawn from this is that those who are "fortunate" will get a message out and be followed more so than those who do not have anything. It really makes sense once you think about it. Consider all of the concerts that are put on to raise awareness about a cause. As horrible as it sounds, how many people wouldn't care or know about the cause if the fortunate, or famous, people did not draw attention to it? It is a very commercial business now.