THE PROMOTION OF POLITICAL AWARENESS IN GREEN DAY’S AMERICAN IDIOT

Introduction

I will be analyzing Green Day’s album American Idiot through the use of song lyrics. I will show how the song lyrics of “American Idiot”, “Holiday”, and “Are We the Waiting” seek to promote political awareness by referencing the broader political contexts of the early 2000s. As a Green Day fan, I enjoy understanding the deeper meanings and feelings conveyed in their song lyrics whenever I listen to their music. It is unusual for punk-bands to express political themes in their music. However, Green Day expressed political themes in American Idiot, which led to drastic changes in their image and style that have remained constant since the album was released. On a personal level, I wish I was a teenager during this era where I would have been able to experience a better understanding of the political controversies of the time.

       Green Day, an American pop-punk-rock band, is known for being one of the most prominent punk bands of all time since the 1990s. In 2004, Green Day’s seventh album American Idiot was released by Reprise Records the following year after the Iraq War had begun. American Idiot is Green Day’s first concept and narrative album. The band members nicknamed it as a “punk-rock opera” which tells “the coming of age story” of the protagonist Jesus of Suburbia.[1] Jesus of Suburbia is “the son of rage and love”; the two predominant themes embodied in the album.[2] American Idiot was a turning point in Green Day’s careers, which regained the band success and attention for their heavy political beliefs and content incorporated in the album.

       To understand Green Day’s song lyrics, we must explore the context of production behind their work to see what influenced the band to produce American Idiot. George W Bush argued the vulnerability of his nation after the 9/11 attacks were carried out. During this era, Iraq was allegedly building weapons of mass destruction and enlarge their terrorist groups “according to the Bush administration, including al-Qaeda”.[3] From March to May 2003, the US invaded Iraq, which led to the commencement of the Iraq War until “2011”.[4] In response to the rise of political discussion about the Iraq War, Green Day’s lead singer and lyricist Billie Joe Armstrong expressed political themes in his lyricism, such as his anti-war feelings and political beliefs. Armstrong did this to elicit further political discussion in the public eye. He felt the need to prevent his sons from viewing “violent imagery”, playing “violent video games” and hearing “news coverage” about the Iraq War and 9/11.[5] The expression of Armstrong’s beliefs in his song lyrics resulted in Green Day seen as a controversial band, because of the perceptions that American Idiot conveyed, which were strongly anti-American views. Brandon Flowers criticised Green Day by describing their album as “anti-Americanism”.[6] This disapproving comment can be illustrated strongly in two of the band's explicitly politically discussed songs, “American Idiot” and “Holiday”; the song lyrics affirm the Iraq War and 9/11. In Green Day’s criticism of the Iraq War and the political climate in 2003/2004, they focus their response opposing Norman Rockwell’s artwork, the “greatest show window in America” and the idea of Americana, which are both idyllic images of an ideal America that Armstrong undermines.[7] Armstrong’s promotion of his political beliefs was successful. This paper will, therefore, focus on how Armstrong succeeded in promoting political activism, which affected his listeners during Bush’s presidency. He did this by using imagery, and irony in his lyricism. Precisely, the focus of this paper will be on the artwork of American Idiot, and the confrontational lyrics from three of Green Day’s most politically charged songs; “American Idiot”, “Holiday”, and “Are We the Waiting”.

American Idiot

The title track of the album American Idiot sets the scene before the rest of the story takes place; the narrative concept of Jesus of Suburbia. “American Idiot” is one of the greatest politically discussed songs on the Internet due to Armstrong’s lyrical “anti-Bush” and anti-government message.[8] Any search in Google for top political songs will result in Green Day, especially for this album.

        Armstrong wrote “American Idiot” as a result of the subsequent 9/11 attacks. "I don't think we ever really, as a society, we had never seen anything that implicit. It was just chaos. I was so confused. I felt paralyzed. So the song 'American Idiot' was the first thing that came to mind.” [9] Armstrong felt the need to voice his own political opinions on events that occurred after 9/11 as he was against Bush’s views. Therefore, “American Idiot” publicly expresses how the media controlled Americans during Bush’s presidency. The song lyrics are analyzed in two subtopics, signifying Armstrong's promotion of political awareness. One subtopic is how Armstrong insults Americans while they were blinded by the media; explicitly shown in the three verses. The other subtopic is Armstrong's portrayal of the manipulative media; demonstrated in the chorus.              

      The song abruptly commences “Don’t wanna be an American Idiot/Don’t want a nation under the new mania”. This denial imperative indicates the author’s intentions of not wanting to submit to idiocy. In regards to the narrative concept of the album, Jesus of Suburbia does not want to be an ‘idiot’. The pejorative diction “Idiot” proposes how Americans were delusional at the time by believing in the irrelevant information derived from the media. In the parallel structure, Armstrong’s use of repetition in the contraction “Don’t” highlights a negative declaration, implying how the lyricist rejects his belief in the media. The songwriter depicts this action as a result of the chaos in America shortly after the Iraq War commenced, which led to a “politically divided” nation.[10] Subsequently, the use of the rhetorical question, “And can you hear the sound of hysteria?” argues that Americans were blinded by what was happening in America. The emotive language “hysteria” denotes feelings of insanity, alluding to how Americans fear for their own lives since 9/11 changed the way humans now live in a “place of invulnerability”.[11] The songwriter elevates unloyal patriotic beliefs, as Americans became ‘Idiots’ through saturation of the media. The news coverage of Iraq was “inaccurate”.[12]

       In the second verse, Armstrong begins with a personal preference, “Well maybe I’m the faggot America/I’m not a part of a redneck agenda”. The lyricist states his preference in being called a “faggot” because Americans degraded those such as the “Dixie Chicks” who unsupported Bush’s conservative traditions in encouraging the Iraq War.[13] Despite being called a “faggot” is denotatively seen as an insult towards a male homosexual, Armstrong has been “bisexual” since 1994 and called it “a beautiful thing” at an interview.[14] Therefore, Armstrong voices his left-wing perception on his moral judgments by mocking Bush and his supporters. The writer alludes to the “redneck agenda” in association with Bush and his government due to his beliefs in their wrongdoing act of invading Iraq. “Redneck” is a derogatory word for a conservative “white person from the Southern US”; Bush and his followers.[15] The “agenda” alludes to Bush and his government since they worked closely to carry out their invasion of Iraq. The “redneck agenda” viewed the premise of invading Iraq to have “got it so wrong” after Bush suspected Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his regime to have weapons of mass destruction.[16] After this statement, Armstrong refers to the imperative “Now everybody do the propaganda/And sing along to the age of paranoia”. The misleading information about the “propaganda” alludes to how Bush endeavored to promote a positive political standpoint based on his “homeland security” policies.[17] The songwriter emphasizes the “age of paranoia” as the period during Bush's presidency where his government misled Americans, having “to decode what was happening” at the time.[18] Ironically, this allowed Bush to achieve high levels of authority to protect his people from threats of the "war on terror" in America.[19] Hence, his people gave up their personal freedoms for the sake of their protection.

       The chorus from “American Idiot” states that the US government, specifically, the media manipulated Americans during Bush’s presidency. The chorus repeats thrice indicating Armstrong's highlight on the explicit role of the media. The chorus opens with “Welcome to a new kind of tension”. The hospitality towards the “tension” alludes to the social issues dealt in the US at the time, which allowed Americans to understand the anti-conservative values they held. These include LGBT rights, “anti-Muslim sentiment and fear of Islam”; racial tensions.[20] Consequently, Armstrong signifies how the media exploited fear amongst Americans while he continues to express his anti-Bush and anti-government messages. Armstrong illustrates this expression in the line, "All across the alienation". The use of the pun in the diction “alienation” is ironic since “alien” denotes belonging to a foreign country; specifying isolation. Whereas the “nation” of “alienation” alludes to how Americans alienated themselves in their country due to the propaganda and modified government laws; 9/11 has “resulted in a dramatic change” in America.[21] The author hypothetically expresses that the American lifestyle is ironic, “Where everything isn’t meant to be okay”. The songwriter illustrates how most Americans at the time restricted to care when laws and ethics contradicted, the “potential of its values” were unrealized by the nation.[22] Therefore, this developed fear amongst Americans since the media has immense authority over the people. Bush was able to do anything since he ruled America from 2001 to 2009. The author sees the media metaphorically, “Television dreams of tomorrow/We’re not the ones who’re meant to follow/For that’s enough to argue”. Armstrong subverts Norman Rockwell’s concept of Americana by describing how Americans were unable to live the “American dream” because of the media, having “changed since 9/11”. [23] Instead, Americans are more likely to experience paranoia now. However, the author believes that it is “enough to argue” as he degrades Bush by exploring that Americans were fooled by what their vision and hearing was from the media.

        Altogether, Armstrong’s lyrics in “American Idiot” proves that America is now a “dumbed down” society where the author recognizes how the media influences Americans to become ‘idiots’.[24] Ironically, Armstrong's dissentient lyrics were accurate. There were no weapons of mass destruction at the time, and the premise of the invasion of Iraq was false. The lyricist identifies his lack of patriotism and disobedience in supporting the “redneck agenda”; Bush and his government whom Armstrong depicts worthlessly. Therefore, the essential message behind “American Idiot” is “to not let people take away your personality” and transform you into an idiot with no individuality.[25]

Holiday

Armstrong’s political motif is expressed through a second song, “Holiday”. The title of the track “Holiday” is portrayed ironically by the songwriter, depicting a period of war and violence. This is another one of Green Day’s most politically discussed songs. The songwriter’s intention for writing “Holiday” refers to the violation of laws by Americans at the time due to the Iraq War. “This song is not anti-American, it’s anti-war” - Armstrong.[26] Therefore, he wrote this song to accuse Bush, a “fascist”.[27] In the narrative concept of the album, Jesus of Suburbia has seen the real world after leaving his town for the city. He is on ‘holiday’ by “starting a new life” believing that he has freedom.[28] Jesus of Suburbia’s perception of the real world accurately represents Armstrong’s depiction between the US and Iraq in the early 2000s. One of the subtopics in “Holiday” is how the lyricist emphasizes the theme of “anti-Bush” in all three verses.[29] Thus, Armstrong manifests his disgust towards Bush’s actions. An additional subtopic of “Holiday” is international politics and war in the chorus. The songwriter associates his lyricism by referencing the Iraq War, criticizing Democrats and alluding to Hitler.

     The first verse of seven lines summarizes war. “Holiday” starts off with “Hear the sound of the falling rain”. Armstrong’s use of imagery and sound device visualizes the “falling rain”, symbolizing bombs and bullets; promoting “Bush War".[30] The following line, “Coming down like an armageddon flame (Hey!)/The shame” implies Bush’s damage to Iraq. Armstrong’s use of imagery and simile, “like an armageddon flame” displays fire and destruction since the “flame” appears from the sky. The use of rhyme and consonance in “flame” and “shame” have a lexical set of misery due to war occurring. “The ones who died without a name” mentions all of the victims; innocent lives of the soldiers, and Iraqis due to the war. The use of graphical imagery deems the atrocity towards Iraq. Hence, Armstrong criticises Bush as the one to blame for his intention “to disarm Iraq” leaving a dismaying outcome.[31]

     In the second verse, Armstrong commands “Can I get another Amen? (Amen!)”. The interrogative associates how “the drums are pounding out of time”. The repetition of “Amen” means “so be it”, ceasing a prayer. Armstrong alludes “Amen” to target Bush and his government about their actions, “we were ignored” - anti-Bush protesters.[32] Subsequently, the author describes that “There’s a flag wrapped around a score of men/A gag, a plastic bag on a monument”. The use of imagery highlights how America intensely endures. Therefore, the American flag was used to wrap coffins of American “personnel” who came back to America after being killed during “Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003”.[33] Armstrong creates a despairing atmosphere, signifying that the ‘monuments’ represent liberty and freedom in America. Nonetheless, the lyricist symbolizes how the “monument” was suppressed with the “gag” to restrain America’s justice. Therefore, Armstrong shows how this was Bush’s fault, and promotes anti-Bush as a response to his actions.

       The songwriter begins the bridge verse by proclaiming “Sieg Heil to the president Gasman”. Armstrong uses “Sieg Heil” in allusion to “Hail Victory”. The Nazis used this expression to address Hitler inappropriately.[34] Ironically, in this situation, Armstrong personifies the “Gasman” as Hitler by referring to the Holocaust. Whereas “Sieg Heil” is addressed to Bush, who must be hailed for his actions. In the direct pronoun, the lyricist metaphorically visualizes that “Bombs away is your punishment”, alluding to those who disparaged or had “a harsh critique” on Bush and his government.[35] Subsequently, “Pulverize the Eiffel towers/Who criticize your government” alludes to the American government’s reaction; aimed for France because of “their opposition to war in Iraq”.[36] The diction “pulverize” denotes to defeat. Armstrong’s use of rhyme and consonance between the “government” and “punishment” demonstrates how Bush’s “government” gave a “punishment” for those who did not support their political message; “You’re either with us or against us in the fight against terror” - Bush.[37] The second verse ends “Just cause (hey hey hey), just cause, because we’re outlaws yeah”. The repetition of the slang term “just cause” specifies justice of liberation, based on the Iraq War. In correlation with his anti-Bush opinions, the consonance between “cause” and “because” indicate the songwriters’ sufficient reasoning for Americans to break laws and “march against war” to live at peace, regardless of Bush’s statesmanship.[38]

        The chorus in "Holiday" repeats thrice where Armstrong's lyrics allude to international politics and war, commencing “I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies”. The imperative “I beg” is a first narrative perspective, Armstrong depicts that “Holiday” honors the nation and God. The use of alliteration and juxtaposition between “dream and differ” implies Armstrong's refusal to believe in the “hollow lies” commented by Bush’s government about the Iraq War. The diction “hollow” denotes meaningless. The lives cut and going to war were “based on lies".[39]

       The subsequent line, “This is the dawning of the rest of our lives” explicates how Armstrong allows the “hollow lies” to happen. The lyricist, therefore, depicts how Bush's government and the media were powerful in controlling America, "now that conflict has come".[40] The diction “dawning” denotes the beginning or the initial appearance of daylight, which implies how Bush’s reelection in 2004 affected everyone’s lives after he “vowed to continue to put the fight against terrorism.” [41] The possessive pronoun “our” refers to how the nation will have to live with the “dawning” of the regime’s rules immortally. “The United States of America has the sovereign authority to use force in assuring its own national security” - Bush.[42]

       The final line of the first and second chorus, “On holiday” contrasts in the third chorus, “This is our lives on holiday”. Armstrong’s focal point of “On holiday” indicates how Americans sit back and allow the “hollow lies” to manipulate their lives by realizing that they understand “the forgotten truth” of why their nation’s invasion of Iraq cannot be learned.[43] Those who unaffiliate with this agreement are living their lives “On holiday”. The line “This is our lives on holiday” demonstrates that we will spend “our lives” controlled by the government and media “to feed us the “hollow lies”.[44]

       As a whole, Armstrong highlights his criticism towards Bush himself, his government, and the media. The songwriter expresses how “Holiday” is a song about being “anti-war” instead of being “anti-American”. Armstrong wrote this song in revulsion about America. Americans rely on the “hollow lies” and live their “lives on holiday”. The preeminent message behind this song is to be aware of one’s own beliefs, and ensure that this has nothing to do with anything meaningless; the lies or false information derived by politicians, and the media.

Are We The Waiting

The author’s political context continues, now conveyed through a third song, “Are We The Waiting”. “Are We The Waiting” is one of Green Day’s least politically discussed songs. However, Armstrong affirms political awareness through his lyricism in this song. Armstrong metaphorically portrays a political sense of how Americans had to engage actively in realizing the political impact towards their country at the time, by using “American foreign policies”.[45] In the narrative concept, the author portrays how his feelings through the lyricism of “Are We The Waiting” symbolizes Jesus of Suburbia’s feelings. The persona feels frustrated after escaping his dreams. “The rage and love/The story of my life/Jesus of Suburbia is a lie.” Hence, this song evinces the rebirth of the protagonist after he is “alienated from the world”, realizing that everything he has been through was worthless but now sees it as an opportunity to start new.[46] The main subtopics Armstrong accentuate from “Are We The Waiting” are political change and the association between Jesus of Suburbia and political activity, which are explicit in the verses and the chorus.

      The chorus of “Are We The Waiting” is divided into two sections. The first being “Are we we are, are we we are the waiting unknown”, which appears in the middle line of both the first and second verses. The use of repetition and epiphany of the auxiliary verb “are” and the personal plural pronoun “we” demonstrates the author’s sentimental feelings, which insinuates his grief after being alienated from the world, he is now “waiting” for what he is looking for, which is “unknown” to answer.[47] This suggestion states how America is seen as a divided country, appearing “lost and found”. Armstrong visualizes how “this dirty town was burning down in my dreams.” Ironically, Bush proclaimed “We united in the wake of 9/11, then partisanship re-emerged”.[48] This statement implies Bush’s and Armstrong’s juxtaposed opinions about their nation. “Forget-me-nots and second thoughts live in isolation/Heads or tails and fairytales in my mind” assert the mental state of America. This idea infers fostering societal and political commentaries in America after 9/11 and war beginning in Iraq. “Forget-me-nots” are blue myosotis flowers that symbolize immortal connections and “remembrance after death” for respect.[49] Thus, alluding to the era in America of lament and confusion. The imagination expression “fairy tales” denotes a magical fairy story that involves imaginary creatures that promote happiness. The songwriter uses imagery of “fairy tales” to psychologically envision the ideal life he desires America to have in his mind but is unable to experience it in reality. This context applies to Jesus of Suburbia, who desires in beginning a new life, nevertheless is only able to do it towards the end of the narrative concept. He does this by making himself “less vulnerable towards the world”.[50] The persona’s perspective of discovering his true identity reflects on the lyricism, as he grieves about his “live in isolation”. The diction “isolation” denotes separation, which explicates that Jesus of Suburbia lives in solitude. In a political sense, America’s “isolation” from other countries is because of Bush’s invasion of Iraq.[51]

     The second section of the chorus from “Are We The Waiting” continues “And screaming/Are we we are, are we we are the waiting”. This line repeats and reoccurs twice in the second and fourth stanza. Nonetheless, the sentimental line repeats another three times with a few changes in the final stanza, “And screaming/Are we we are, are we we are the waiting unknown”. The author interjects “and screaming”. The emotive language of “screaming” denotes a high-pitched sound, which illustrates that the lyricist has supporters who approve on his plight, therefore, signifying that Armstrong has become their leader. It is possible that Armstrong implies the “unknown” in allusion to Jesus Christ. In the last week before his death, he sacrificed his life to the Romans, who arrested him. However, the night before he gets arrested, Jesus has a moment of self-doubt, contemplating how he will “kill himself”.[52] Therefore, Jesus died for our sins. Perhaps ‘we are waiting’ for “Jesus to return” to save us all.[53] In the modern world, no one can save those who plead to be saved, instead, only relying on themselves. However, is this song inspired by Jesus’ moment of doubt? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[54] Consequently, we might be ‘waiting’ for Jesus to come back and save us all from world politics.

     Overall, Armstrong outlines the correlation between Jesus Christ and political activity in stating how Jesus of Suburbia manifests his frustration by altering into a new ego. The lyricist metaphorically expresses how Americans are unable to achieve support from Jesus Christ. Instead, they can only rely on themselves to survive in the modern American life “post 9/11”.[55] Therefore, Americans need to engage in the political activity aroused in their country. At the same time, Armstrong interprets this idea in his song lyrics of “Are We the Waiting”. The significant message behind this song is that we have nothing to live or to die for in the modern world. We can only live our lives in the best way we can instead of ‘waiting’ for a change.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Armstrong’s use of irony and imagery promote political activism in the artwork of American Idiot, fostering critical thinking in America. This motif is, therefore, reiterated in three of Green Day’s most politically charged songs; “American Idiot”, “Holiday”, and “Are We the Waiting”. The confrontational lyrics within these songs provide a noticeable commentary on America’s nature and their involvement with the Iraq War; “revealing deep divisions in American society”.[56] The concept album of American Idiot promotes the narrative aspect, deriving the concept of persona Jesus of Suburbia. The context of production behind their work is as a result of the post 9/11 life in America. Their “anti-authoritarian message” towards Bush heavily influences Green Day’s lyricism, as Armstrong restates his anti-war feelings and political beliefs in his lyrics in evoking political discussion to the public.[57] Armstrong stimulates political awareness based on his subjective lyricism, which mentions the political contexts of the early 2000s underlined in American Idiot. Thus, his music was very controversial at the time since people gained an insight to understand how the album American Idiot conveyed strongly anti-American views. Nonetheless, Armstrong’s music was seen as powerful and reached out to millions of people. In our current day, Armstrong has continued to publish politically charged music in the age of Trump; “With Trump, we have no idea. Right now it’s just a freak show.” [58] Our modern world includes issues such as concerns of surveillance, ongoing wars worldwide, and how the media is still extremely manipulative, with Trump being called a “master media manipulator.” [59]

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