Deconstructing Identity

Through the messages in "Lane Boy" and "Fairly Local", as well as Tyler's discussion of songwriting inspiration, we can see how lower class people of color, among other intersectional groups, are left out of the themes and conversations Twenty One Pilots presents its audiences. These texts also demonstrate how individualistic and racially color-blind the band's messages tend to be, which creates a rift between them and marginalized fans, and damages the band's value of inclusion.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Intersectionality - multiple oppressed identities which create new lens for analyzing texts (people of color and lower class for analyzing Twenty One Pilots)

Color Blindness - “A discourse of color blindness perpetuates a system of thought in which White ways…are ‘morally neutral, normative, average, and ideal.’ This position denies and devalues the lived experience of many people of color” (Simpson, 2008, p. 4)

Class identity - How social classes differ, in other words lower class is generally viewed as alien compared to middle and high classes (individualistic messages ignore group struggles)

ANALYSIS

Songwriting Interview

Tyler Joseph writes on worldly satire (ex. student loans), introspective questions, and love = high or middle class issues generally, absence of physical struggles, which are mainly faced by lower class people of color
Music is influenced by ideas like student loans and live shows = middle class attributes, which are "seen as more legitimate” (Ashley, Hollows, Jones & Taylor, 2004, p. 62) than tastes of those within the lower class, and lower class struggles like income, education, and violence are ignored

"Lane Boy"

“I wasn't raised in the hood, but I know a thing or two about pain and darkness” = accepts lack of knowledge in comparison to those in “the hood,” but Joseph’s pain and darkness exist on a different plane than the lower class people of color, who live in "the hood"
“I’m sorry if that question I asked last scared you a bit, like a hazmat in a gas mask” = implies an environmental threat is a big fear for listeners, which showcases ignorance and privilege, compared to lower class people of color and other intersectional identities, whose biggest fears are physical and identity-related dangers
Music video's statement: “Why do I kneel to these concepts? Tempted by control. Controlled by temptation. ‘Stay low,’ they say. ‘Stay low.’” = struggling with industry and freedom in song content and band direction, which is an upper class struggle (they have immense freedom and methods of expression as upper class white men)

"Fairly Local"

“I'm fairly local, I've been around. I've seen the streets you're walking down” = Joseph’s familiarity with places and experiences, even though he can only speak to his identities and is speaking in a racially color-blind way, disconnect with lower class people of color and other intersectional groups
“Yo, this song will never be on the radio. Even if my clique were to pick and the people were to vote, it's the few, the proud, and the emotional” = claims they are underexposed as a band, when they are ignoring intersectional identities and completely closing off intersectional voices by failing to address any of them
“Yo, you, bulletproof in black like a funeral” = implies listeners suffering cannot be further damaged, which contradicts intersectionality

IMPLICATIONS

Twenty One Pilots generalizes messages to relate to everyone, but their privilege hinders messages to "all" ~ generalizations are not always accurate
Their music often plays into color blindness by assuming all listeners are going through the same struggles ~ it’s helpful to acknowledge differences, especially when trying to rap
Their songs tend to seek understanding of life questions, but not understanding among humans ~ art should be made not only for self-interests, but to understand humanity
They view human suffering as equal, even though you can’t really compare mental sufferings with physical safety sufferings/police violence ~ it’s always helpful to try to place ourselves in others’ shoes

REFERENCES

Ashley, B., Hollows, J., Jones, S., Taylor, B. (2004) Consumption and Taste, Food and Cultural Studies, 59-73; pp. 105-122, Routledge ISBN-13: 978-0415270397

Simpson, J. L. (2008). The Color-Blind Double Bind: Whiteness and the (Im)Possibility of Dialogue. Communication Theory (1050-3293), 18(1), 139–159. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hope.edu/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2007.00317.x

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