Take Me to Church, More Than Meets the Ear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVjiKRfKpPI

Most of us are probably familiar with the song “Take Me to Church”, or at the very least have heard it on the radio. Rarely are these pop songs analyzed beyond their musical appeal to a wide audience, but once the thought has been put into finding the songs true intention another story comes to light. In the example of Hozier’s “Take Me to Church”, we are greeted with various artistic choices from pronoun use to political statements about the church. Rather echoing than the usual pattern of church songs about happiness, love, or the afterlife, Hozier instead voices his fear and anxiety surrounding the church. Using the definitions from  Cathy Cohen and Michael Warner to analyze the music video and lyrics, we found this music video to be queer.

Using Cathy Cohen’s definition of queer, in which we relate queerness to positions of power (“Punks Bulldaggers and Welfare Queens”, 440), the Hozier music video expresses a number of examples of queerness. Contrary to many popular music videos, the two main characters are men and are in a relationship. The explicit queerness present in a popular media form (music video), which typically reinforces heteronormative understanding of relationships between men and women, shows that the artist can influence a change in the way we choose to represent gendered relationships. Delving beneath the surface, Cohen’s understanding of queer is present in relation to the continued friction between the gay couple and the angry mob. If the mob of men represents the heteronormative, hegemonic understanding of sexuality, their interaction with the couple being attacked shows that they lack true power. The couple is easily overtaken by the mob and their home is invaded, leaving them helpless.

    In this example, the couple is queer, not only because of their sexual orientation, but also because they lack the ability to defend themselves and their choices against rigid institutional understandings of sexuality, rendering them powerless. Reading this text through Cohen’s understanding of queer broadens the understanding of the disadvantages queer-identified individuals face; these are people discriminated against and shunned (per the Church) and through institutional means that impact their innate humanness. Seeing the video in this way enhances the music video’s overall message on society’s view of sexuality that counters social norms.

Aside from Cohen’s definition of queer,  a tie can also be made with Warner’s definition: that queerness protests norms  (“Fear of a Queer Planet”, xxvii). This music video itself is protesting norms because, as previously stated, the vast majority of music videos play upon heteronormative narratives that leave little room for a queer reading. Although there are plenty of music videos that do break out of this stereotype, they rarely ever make it to mainstream media like this one did. The relationship between the two men is protesting social norms and therefore fits under Warner’s definition. Both of the men appear as masculine in a conventional sense goes against norms because usually a feminine and masculine dichotomy is “supposed” to exist, even within same-sex couples. Doing a queer reading of this music video strengthens the message that Hozier is trying to get across about society and particularly, powerful institutions like The Church, and their widespread disapproval of any sexuality outside of what is considered to be the norm.

    After seeing the video and realizing the political message within the song, it completely changed the way we listened to it. This song sounds more like a form of protest against powerful institutions rather than just a catchy pop song. Hopefully this experience will be as eye opening to the class as it was for us, in that knowing there is so much to something than we always care to realize. Now move forward with your lives and consume future media with an open mind while consuming media in the future.

Discussion Questions:

1. For those of you who have heard the song and not seen the video, how has your view of the song changed after viewing? How might this change your consumption of popular media in the future?

2. What do you think of the decision to use she/her pronouns in the song, despite the music video featuring two men? Why do you believe this choice was made?

3. What other music videos depict representations of queerness in relation to power? Is there a restriction on how Cohen’s queer can be understood in popular media?

4. In what ways does Hozier want viewers to see the indictment of establishments that undermine humanity based on his video?

5. In what way does the music video attempt to combat homophobia? Do you think this message is effective? If so, why do you think the message is not/less clear in the song itself?

Princess Princess

           

http://strangelykatie.com/princessprincess/?pid=206

            Princess Princess is a webcomic by Tumblr user strangelykatie that defies constructed gender roles while still playing within traditional fairytale storylines. Sadie is a princess supposedly trapped within a tower and is rescued by Princess Amira, rather than a typical prince. Throughout the story the two characters defy gender roles and traditional expectations placed upon them all while still playing into a typical fairytale storyline. Drawing from Michael Warner’s definition, which protests norms and the ideas of norms/normal behavior (Warner xxvii), we can conclude that this webcomic is queer.

            While Princess Sadie still follows the role of the “damsel-in-distress” trope, she deviates from the role by sabotaging princes’ attempts to save her. Sadie diverges from this trope by showing intelligence (i.e., by asking how Amira is actually going to save her) and also by “defeating” the ogre while the princely Amira and Vladric are arguing. Sadie shows personal growth throughout the narrative as she steps into the Queen’s role thereby a divergence from classical fairytale plots as princesses are almost always stuck within a one-dimensional character slot. Through the comic, Sadie’s sister calls her a “fat silly crybaby” and Sadie responds toward the end with “That may be true, but I’ll never let you make me feel like it’s a bad thing ever again” (36). This demonstrates Sadie’s personal character development as well as a body positive message. Despite this, though, the art doesn’t uphold to this physical trait described in the dialogue.

            The other princess Amira embodies the prince role within the comic’s fairytale narrative. Evidence of this comes from her physical appearance (her clothes, her hair, etc.), her personality, and the way she presents herself. It’s also a representation of a woman being in power rather than as a figurehead. Amira’s character is specifically working against constructed gender roles by being cast within the part of the rescuer, which is typically the role of a man. The clothes she wears are also masculine in nature. Princess Amira’s race and role as the hero also add to the queer narrative of this comic. According to Cathy Cohen’s definition of queer, Princess Amira “stands on the outside of the dominant constructed norm of state-sanctioned white middle- and upper-class heterosexuality” (441). The components of her identity correlate to Cohen’s definition of queer – even though it’s implied Amira falls within an upper-class category – she is still outside the racial norm in fairytales. In contrast to Princess Amira’s role as the hero of the story and a source of strength, Prince Vladric, the only male character in the story, is shown as weak. He also ends up in a subservient position to Princess Sadie as her advisor instead of a ruling position as in most fairytale stories.

            Warner defines queer as being outside and resisting the established norms and normal behavior. Strangelykatie’s webcomic about two princesses embodies Warner’s queer theory through the depiction of a non-traditional fairytale. Both princess’s physical appearances as well as their determined personalities place them outside of what you would call classic princess behavior. Despite having dialogue describing Princess Sadie as “fat and stupid”, the art contradicts the message being conveyed. Princess Amira queers the gender norm that would typically apply to her but still falls within the conventional “prince” trope. Even though we view Princess Princess as queer, there are still aspects contained within the webcomic that are not.

1. Does this story read as both queer in content and queer in form? How does the presentation of a web comic change our view of a fairy tale story? Are there any queer implications about its form through its circulation on Tumblr and other social media sites?

2. As the only male character, how is Prince Vladric’s portrayal in the comic significant? How does his portrayal read as queer? How is the character objectified?

3. How do we read Princess Sadie and Princess Amira’s relationship? What examples lead readers to concluding a queer relationship? How would Adrienne Rich see their relationship?