The song is still a ‘weapon’: the portuguese identity in times of crises

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Guerra, Paula (Author) FLUP

Journal

Title: Young

Vol. 28 No. 1

Pages: 14-31

ISSN: 1103-3088

Publisher: SAGE

Indexing

ISI Web of Science

EBSCO

ProQuest

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Social sciences

Other information

DOI: 10.1177/1103308819829603

Abstract (EN): This article examines a set of Portuguese songs that ‘sing’ the economic, financial and social crises in Portugal in the post-2008 period. This work underlies a heuristic principle: to demonstrate how artistic manifestations—in this case, the songs in several (sub-)genres of popular music—are themselves a means and an object of social intervention, demarcating a specific, defined space in the acknowledgment and revelation of social problems, and in the contestation, deconstruction and accusation of problems that deal with social reality. We demonstrate that these songs seek to denounce and sometimes incite social change with the aim of creating transformation. They are therefore signs of a specific space—identity producers—and not just an echo of social reality. Insurgent songs instigate readings, narratives and deconstructions of reality, and they are simultaneously significant elements of a collective identity.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

Notes: First Published May 9, 2019 Research Article