Zeitgeist - Task

In todays lesson I had a look at the Lady Leshurr Queen's Speech 4. Our task was to pick out the current social trends or events which she mentiones in her lyrics. Throughout the song I have picked out a variety of references which I will explain below.

Zeitgeist Definition : Zeitgeist is a way of portraying the current social trends, events or tragedies in the media via a visual image or mentioning it in the lyrics. A good example of the zeitgeist is the representation of villains as terrorist due to the 9/11 attacks.

The reference which I have found in the text are as below:

SNAPCHAT:

Snapchat is a controversial mobile communication app which not only allows friends to send each other images and videos, but share their content with the whole country or city. At the very beginning of Lady Leshurr's Queens Speech she mentiones " I hold it down like a snapchat" which she refers to pressing the screen in order to record a video. Snapchat has become very trendy amongst young individuals especially by them taking "selfies" (which I will explain later). The snapchat application additionally allows each individual to create their own personal "story" which they can share with all of their added friends. Throughout the last months Snapchat has become a big thing which allowed it to collaborate with major events such as football matches and carnivals from around the world allowing the users to share their experience as well as promote the app itself. I personally use snapchat and believe that it is a great way to communicate.

SELFIE

In relation to snapchat, a very popular action is to take a "selfie". Selfie is the act of taking a picture of yourself or with friends by using the front camera of your phone. In fact the act of taking a selfie has become so popular that a "selfie stick" has been invented (seen above on the left). This allows the person taking the picture to place his phone in a holder on a metal stick and take the selfie from a further distance. By this the person taking the selfie can get a better angle or even fit a large group of individuals which he would not be able to do within the stretch of his hand. Additionally the "selfie" invention took it so far that a famous DJ duo named The Chainsmokers have come up with a club song named "#selfie". The music video consists of fan selfies which were sent to the duo in order to come up with the music video. The pictures sent in included famous individuals such as Snoop Dog or even David Hasselhoff (see below).

INSTAGRAM:

In today society Instagram is just below Facebook and Snapchat at the very top of the social media table. Instagram allows a person to build up their own profile which they can fill with media content such as video and images same as snapchat however instagram permanently keeps the content which can only be deleted by the users request. In Lady Leshurr's Queens Speech she mentiones "Upload a pic, double tap that". In the app you have the ability to like peoples pictures which you can either do by clicking a icon or double tapping the image which causes a heart symbol to show up,  which we can see that she refers to by the use of special effects in her music video. Instagram is very famous amongst celebrities as by the use of Instagram they keep their audience updated on what they are doing, what they are wearing and the current trends that they are setting.


"BANTER"

The trending phrase which is "banter" is defined as a playful or friendly exchange of teasing remarks. Banter is a very common word mainly used by young people within the society which is often used in order to describe a funny situation. The lyrics in Lady Leshurr's music video says "It's just banter" which directly refers to the young audience. By her saying its just banter she could refer to her music being constructed just for fun.






RAMADAN / RELIGION

In her music Lady Leshurr portrays a strong link to religion especially ramadan by the use of special effects as we can see on the screenshot. Ramadan is a islamic event where muslims fast for a certain period of time. She has intentionally used the special effect in order to create emphasis on "ramadan" which grabs the viewers attention. By this reference we could conclude that she is referring to the current Syrian Civil War and with the people running away into Europe as she additionally mentiones "Jesus" by which we associate most of the European countries due to the fact that they are mainly Christian countries.

BRUCE JENNER / TRANSGENDER

On the left we can see a very clever use of special effects which overlaid Bruce Jenners face over Lady Leshur's. This current affair has made it all around the world in no time. It has currently been trending and intrigued a large variety of media outlets.




BIG MOUTH GYAL / KYLIE JENNER CHALLENGE

Nowadays people come up with a wide range of challenges which are completed and submitted online in order to gain fame or for charity purposes. However the "Kylie Jenner Challenge" was the one who caught the eye of the media. This is because people intentionally sucked onto cups or any round objects for a long period of time in order for their lips to become swollen just like Kylie Jenner's lips. In the Queen's Speech 4, Lady Leshurr refers to this challenge by saying " Big mouth gyal, where your lips gone?". By Lady Leshurr saying this she can insists that she is joking about it and that she thinks it is a stupid act.


FETTY WAP

Willie Maxwell known as Fetty Wap by his stage name is a American Rapper who has gained a lot of fame by just releasing his first track in 2014. His first song "Trap Queen" has gained a 2nd place in Billboard Hot 100 in 2015. He came out of nowhere and the audience immediately loved his songs and his style therefore now he is considered as one of the most famous rappers/singers.