Letter to the Free (Narrative) - A2

Narrative

How does Letter to the Free appeal to its target audience? 

The main audiences are those who are interested in politics (and therefore the song's message), Common fans and rap/hip-hop fans since Letter to the Free is both rap and political protest song. The niche group of audience is most likely to be young male audiences. The song appeals to its target audiences through the use of codes and conventions of the genre and a performative music video, as well as unconventional ones. One of the conventions is the musicians and singers performing/playing musical instruments and singing/rapping meaningful lyrics, almost like they are talking to the audience. Since it is a performative music video, there isn’t an obvious narrative. 

However, there are many different details in its mise en scene that may appeal to modern audiences, who are much more aware of social and political issues. 

 

Rap/Hip-hop conventions	Letter to the Free
The setting is often urban or on the streets, surrounded by clubs and fast cars – fun, upbeat, loud, busy, freedom	The setting is an empty prison with lots of bars, which is like a cage – confined, restricted, oppressed, isolated
The lighting usually gives off a party-like atmosphere - upbeat, bright, colourful, energetic  The camerawork and editing are quick, fast-paced with slick effects -	The lighting is lowkey and the video is in black and white– creating a dull and serious mood as it discusses black life struggles and inequality  Slow and constant camera movement - shows the slow progress of fighting for freedom and rights
Lots of low-angled, close-up shots to imply the artists’ power over their audience - gives them power and status, because they look down on the audience	No close-up shots, eyeline wide shot of Common and pianist which represents equality – the artists have the same status as the audience
Women often wear revealing clothing, which also shows them as just sex objects. They are usually shown as disposable, interchangeable and as objects of lust and nothing more.	Women are not sexualised or seen as meaningless. The video has two black vocalists singing passionately, who seem empowered more than sexualised. They are also covered up.
Clothing is generally masculine( basketball shirts or other sporting attire), signifies strength and sporting prowess.  Lots of references to the wealth of the artist (money, cars, jewellery etc.) - expensive things signify wealth, which supposedly signifies status.	The artists wear dark clothes and normal outdoor outfits/accessories which signify that they are the same as everyone else, neither superior nor inferior.

 

How is the narrative being constructed by the song lyrics reinforced?

Southern leaves, southern trees we hung from

Barren souls, heroic songs unsung

Forgive them Father they know this knot is undone

Tied with the rope that my grandmother died

Pride of the pilgrims affect lives of millions

Since slave days separating, fathers from children

Institution ain’t just a building
But a method, of having black and brown bodies fill them

Reference to the public lynching in 1930, in which J. Thomas Shipp and Abraham S. Smith, young African-American men, were murdered in a spectacle lynching by a mob of thousands in Marion, Indiana. They were taken from jail cells, beaten, and hanged from a tree in the county courthouse square. According to Todorov's Narrative Theory, the equilibrium is the devastating history of black people being mistreated and killed.

We ain’t seen as human beings with feelings
Will the U.S. ever be us? Lord willing!
For now we know, the new Jim Crow
They stop, search and arrest our souls
Police and policies patrol philosophies of control
A cruel hand taking hold
We let go to free them so we can free us
America’s moment to come to Jesus

Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. Enacted by white Democratic-dominated state legislatures in the late 19th century after the Reconstruction period, these laws continued to be enforced until 1965. Reference to police stop and search laws. The equilibrium continues to the next generation.

Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)

Black lives longing for freedom to come, hoping for a disruption in the equilibrium that has not yet happened.

The caged birds sings for freedom to ring

Black bodies being lost in the American dream

Blood of black being, a pastoral scene

Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13

Now whips and chains are subliminal

Instead of ‘n-’ they use the word ‘criminal’

Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country

Shot me with your ray-gun

And now you want to trump me

"Amendment 13" is about inherent racism in the United States criminal justice system and how mass incarceration affects black Americans more than other groups. Highlights the fact that despite slavery being abolished, White America has introduced new methods and means of suppressing black people, and continuing to make them feel enslaved on a mental level even though they are physically free. 

Prison is a business, America’s the company
Investing in injustice, fear and long suffering
We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again
No consolation prize for the dehumanized
For America to rise it’s a matter of Black Lives
And we gonna free them, so we can free us
America’s moment to come to Jesus

America is known for being a white supremacist nation that has put countless African Americans into prison, doing unfair and injustice things to them. "Make America great again" is Donald Trump's presidential campaign pledge that has been accused of racism and considered a loaded language since it doesn't just appeal to people who hear it as racist coded language, but also to those who have felt a loss of status as other groups have become more empowered. For the rise and development of America, people need to take action on racism. They have to free black people who have been living in oppression for their entire life.

Freedom (Freedom)

Freedom come (Freedom come)

Hold on (Hold on)

Won’t be long (Won’t be long)

The last lyrics reinforce their faith in a resolution and a new equilibrium where everyone are free.

How does the narrative position the audience? 

The narrative positions the audiences as if they are in the prison within the tracking shot in the opening, it can also be seen as including the audiences as part of the narrative, by using POV shots and saying "we" and not “you”. The "we" can be seen as a formal mode of address when targeting or positioning the audiences and could possibly help them form a personal identity and relationship with Common. 

How can the narrative invite a range of responses?

The narrative can invite a variety of responses due to audiences’ own ideologies and the ambiguity of the black box. According to Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory, different audience members will decode the media in different ways and may adopt one of the three positions: Dominant, Oppositional and Negotiated. It depends on the audience’s age, belief, culture, gender, life experience, the framework of knowledge and mood at the time of viewing.  

Dominant reading: Racism is present with mass incarceration.

Oppositional reading: Mass incarceration is due to crimes that black people commit.

Negotiated reading: Racism is present with mass incarceration but black people can still commit crimes.

The mystery monolith may also provoke different interpretations and points of view from the audience.

What pleasures does the narrative offer the audience?

According to Uses and Gratifications Theory by Bulmer and Kat, media audiences play an active role in seeking out the media source that best fulfils their needs. The Letter to the Free’s narrative mainly offers the audience two gratifications:

Information and Education - there are many references, intertextuality, information about historical events, social and political views which are suitable for viewers who want to acquire information, knowledge and understanding. 

Personal Identity – common and other performers express their struggles of being black and their hope to freedom - viewers can recognise them as role models that reflect similar values to themselves and relate/empathise to them. 

How is the narrative incorporating views and ideologies?

The narrative offers views and ideologies by demonstrating a social message through the lyrics and performative video. Letter to the Free uses the binary between freedom and imprisonment in its visual imagery and its lyrics. The overall narrative is one of hope – hope that there is a way out of the current situation of extreme incarceration of black men and criminalisation. Religion is offered as a solution and is in opposition to the experiences of black people in the US at the moment where violence, racism and political oppression are still present.  

The prison cell setting connotes how black people have been trapped and suppressed for decades. Even though the doors are open and the “prisoners” can be freed and released from prison, their minds and identities still belong to the system. The ideology is that the prison and justice system are structured to strip black people of their identities and confidence. The narrative incorporates the belief that issues surrounding injustice and racism are still present, and that regardless of how long we attempt to ignore it, the problems still remain. 

What is the role of Common in the narrative? 

According to Propp’s Narrative Theory, stories are character-driven and plots develop from the decisions and actions of characters and how they function in a story. He claimed characters could be classified into certain roles that progress a story. While black people could possibly be represented as those who need saving (princess) from the white racists (villain), Common can be seen as the helper or dispatcher that guides and sends the audience (hero) on a mission of freeing black people from the “cruel hand” of racist oppression. 

He wears all black - representing the race he is portraying and who he speaks for. He also uses lots of hand gestures that demonstrate passion but also links to preaching a message (hand to heart - a message comes from the heart).