A bit of background on the methodological approaches to visual culture studies : Gillian Rose ’ s Visual Methodologies , first published in 2001 , is an early sketch of approaches to what social scientists termed “ visual culture ,” and articulates the various approaches to studying ( what were then ) non-traditional texts . The modalities Rose articulates comprise the technological , compositional , and social , but I ’ m particularly interested in the social , which refers to the range of social , economic , and political relations , institutions , and practices that surround an image and through which an image is viewed and used . 2 Additionally , Rose consigns film , television and video into the “ compositional ” interpretation , citing Monaco ’ s vocabulary framework for describing spatial and temporal organization of moving images , distinguishing between mise-en-scene and montage ( 48 ). I want to springboard from this last category – montage – and discuss the way musicians enhance their songs through the incorporation of nuclear imagery , and to underscore the heightened anxiety and fear of annihilation that presently haunts the social commentary of these artists .
The music of the late 1960s and early 1970s engaged the Vietnam War . In the early 1980s , the Cold War ’ s apex had countries on edge anticipating nuclear holocaust . Nena ’ s 1983 smash hit “ 99 Luftballoons ” is a prime example of the anxiety reflected in popular music ; Rush ’ s “ Distant Early Warning ,” and Iron Maiden ’ s “ Two Minutes to Midnight ” appeared the following year , highlighting the ongoing social anxiety of the arms race and its potential to annihilate Western world . The social apprehension of nuclear devastation is directly reflected in the music of the time , so it struck me as odd last summer when I saw several videos from new albums that engage in a similar anxiety – 35 odd years later . In an age of global terrorism , separatist groups acquiring nukes on the black market , and a rapid deterioration in international relations , particularly between the West and the East , Middle East , and Asia , respectively , it is easy to understand this resurgent anxiety .
I ’ ve chosen several recent videos that play on this anxiety , although there are more recent videos that make use of this same imagery ( as well as the post-apocalyptic landscape ) to trumpet warnings about the dangers of technology and globalization . I ’ ll provide minimal background on each band ’ s country of origin in connection to their individualized concerns , outline lyrics from each example , 3 and include a representative screenshot from
2 Rose , Gillian . Visual Methodologies : An Introduction to Researching Visual Materials . 4 th Ed . SAGE Publications , 2016 . p . 17 . 3 Because of the complicated and restrictive process of securing permission to reprint song lyrics , I ’ ll discuss the tone and content of the lyrics without quoting them here , and link to the full lyrics available online .
85