FEMINIST MUSIC WITHIN ANTI-OCCUPATION MOVEMENTS

Miriam Makeba and Edith Piaf

Thesis

■ Patriarchy in social movements especially movements of occupation because the country feels the need for a strong male figure to lead them out of the occupation

■ In the Anti-apartheid movement it was Nelson Mandela and during the Nazi Occupation of France it was Charles de Gaulle

■ Women are not usually encouraged in traditional spaces of leadership so music is a way to enter into the discourse of the movement because it’s a less traditional form of protest

■ Miriam Makeba and Edith Piaf specifically had gained a lot national and international recognition as female artist enough so they could use that recognition as a platform for speaking out on social issues in their prospective countries

Historical Background ■ South African Anti-apartheid Movement

– movement against the institutionalized racial segregation enforced by the National Party in South Africa that held control from 1948 to 1994

– Music coming out of the movement belongs to the people and has “traditional composers” and a “collective response to the circumstances of the day (305, Malisa and Malange)

■ Nazi Occupation of France – Nazi’s controlled the French government from

1940-1944 during the Second World War – A lot of artist making music during this

movement were very careful and subliminal because they did not want to get into trouble with the Vichy government and wanted to protect their careers

Public Portrayal

Edith Piaf ■ less vocal with her political views

during the Nazi Occupation of France– Subliminal activism: sheltering

Jewish refugees, taking pictures with prisoners and soldiers on her tours to help them make fake passports to get out of France, collaborating with a Jewish artist to make music

– Suffered serve alcohol and drug abuse and tragedies from romantic affairs and relationships

Miriam Makeba ■ one of the first musicians to put African

music on the international map, very vocal in her political activism – In 1963 and 1964 testified before

the United Nations Committee on apartheid

– Lost her South African passport after work on the “Come Back to Africa” film which was and exposé on the horrors of apartheid

– Married Black Panther activist Stokeley Carmichael which made her loose a lot of credit in American audiences

Music During Occupation movements:Edith Piaf ■ Most Political Song was “L’accodéoniste” (1955)

■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-CA8jp6yoY– Co-wrote this song with Jewish artist Michael Emer which taked about a

women who was in love with a man but now he’s been sent off to war and never coming back

– “Her man is never coming back, goodbye to all those beautiful dreams her life is now messed up”

– “Arretez! Arretez la musique” which means “Stop! Stop the Music!” is powerful as a finishing line because it’s to difficult to go on with this story that the music is telling because it ends sadly

– Music itself has a very familiar french accordion sound that is familiar to a lot of french but this song takes a familiar sound and distorts it through the lyrics

Music During Occupation MovementsEdith Piaf■ However even though “L’accordéoniste” was Piaf’s most political song her most famous

song that she sang around France and on tour was “La Vie en Rose”

■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzeLynj1GYM– This song sounds rather apathetic to the struggles of the time–the song directly

contrasts the mood the country – This song allowed her to sing around France even while it was under Nazi rule

because it was popular among the Nazi’s in power because it was not politically charged

■ “Je Ne Regrette Rien”(1960)

■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpHAsb2XQOY– Written in response to her tragic life and used in post war France as an anthem to

find resolve in these difficult times – Her political music comes after the movement

Music During Occupation MovementsMiriam Makeba ■ “The Click Song” (1960)

■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V3YOBUKN58– Popularized the Xhosa-language – Song begins with Makeba speaking about how she is “telling the story of the song”

from her “‘native land’ of the ‘African peoples’” (246, South African Music) – Political nature of the song–South African woman singing in the 60s – Used to praise black South African culture

■ “Pata Pata”

■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iktKbIKZh9I– The song “sexually satirizes the strict police and theid methods of frisking” (South

Africa project) – Lyrics were anti-apartheid but also “Patha Patha was a sensual jive that also went

against the strictly traditional apartheid limitations

Legacy of the Two Women and their music

Je Ne Regrette Rien ■ http://

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/paris-attacks-woman-sings-je-6872021

Pata Pata ■ https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfhmPdCNRb8

Questions

■ Why do you think Edith Piaf’s music , like “Je Ne Regrette Rien” was able to leave a more profound political impact in future years than songs like Makeba’s “Pata Pata”?

■ Is it okay for songs that weren’t intended to be political by the artist to be renered political by the audience?

■ What is the effect of incorporating a political dance like Pata Pata into music? Does it make the music more powerful or does it allow for misconstruction like the Just Dance video?