Culture

For this assignment, the artistic work I chose is ‘They don’t care about us”, a song by
Michael Jackson. It is a protest song that Michael Jackson sang to draw attention to the social
and political issues that Americans were facing at the time. The song talks about pain and
prejudice. The artist sought to address the racism and oppression that he and other people like
him had experienced in America. It is a well-written song that uses literary devices such as
repetition and rhyming words to deliver a heartfelt message. Michael Jackson successfully
reached his audience and delivered his message over his displeasure with the state of affairs in
his country. He wanted the audience to know that those in power did not care about ordinary
citizens.
Steve Wonder also sang a song similar to tat sang by Michael Jackson. Wonder was
addressing apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid led to the death of ver many people while others
had their livelihood destroyed (Kilman, 2017). Wonder, just like Michael Jackson, sang a song to
point out the ills of apartheid, whose effects are almost similar to those of racism in America. In
the song, Wonder tells the oppressors that apartheid is wrong and sends a message of hope to the
afflicted, urging them to hold on because they would eventually be free.
Overall, looking through the lens of humanities affects my understanding of diverse
cultural works; for instance, listening to Michael Jackson’s song from a cultural context makes it
clear that he was addressing racism and hostility against people like him. In comparison,
Wonder’s song addresses a different problem that was affecting South Africa at the time, which
is apartheid. Understanding diverse cultures thus help us understand cultural works from their
cultural lens (Phillips et al., 2014).

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References

Kilman, S. M. (2017). Wonderful Words: Stevie Wonder’s Musical Politics During the 1970s and
1980s. University of California, Los Angeles.
Phillips, K. W., Medin, D., Lee, C. D., Bang, M., Bishop, S., & Lee, D. N. (2014). How diversity
works. Scientific American, 311(4), 42-47.