![People act like musicians standing up for what they believe in is anything new. #FreePalestine [Slyngstad]](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/229b1cbc-f82b-471f-a5b1-7aae0efb6aec.png){kind=link}
Slyngstad | Bluesky
Transcript
A three-panel political comic by Slyngstad highlighting the long history of political activism in music. In the foreground of all three panels, two audience members are seen talking in profile.
Panel 1:
On Stage: A modern musician holding a microphone calls out, “FREE PALESTINE!”
Foreground: One audience member complains, “UGH, WHEN DID MUSICIANS START TO BE SO POLITICAL?”
Panel 2:
On Stage: Freddie Mercury performing at the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert, with the “Live Aid” global logo in the background.
Foreground: The second audience member replies, “START?”
Panel 3:
On Stage: Folk singer Woody Guthrie playing an acoustic guitar with his iconic slogan written across it: “THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS”.
Foreground: The second audience member continues, “MAYBE YOU JUST WEREN’T LISTENING.”
I heard “We Didn’t Start the Fire” today and thought “Well, that was a fucking lie.” It was a very popular song with people who just totally disregarded the sentiment entirely.
I was just thinking about how that seems to be a theme. Art has a message. People don’t pick it up.
Like, if you’ll pardon a genre change, the protagonists of final fantasy 7 are literal eco terrorists who blow up an allegory for an oil plant. How many of those fans love the game and didn’t give a single thought to environmentalism? Barret would disapprove
When I was a kid I caught it but thought “Things aren’t as bad as in the game, but if they ever are I would also go to the same lengths!” Within a few years though, it became apparent that things were pretty bad.
See, it’s easy. The lyrics that name foreign entities? Those are bad people. The domestic entities and events their country was involved in? Naturally-occurring events that simply happened. Just history.