This essay was written for Comparative Literature Class back in 2017.

Self-validation is one of many things that human seek in life, and the society plays an important part in it. To make someone feels like they are worthless or worthy as a human being, the society took a major role in validating someone’s worthiness. An important thing to notice is that the society is based on the patriarchal system, pushing women to the side of the society. The society’s patriarchal system constructs our life in every way possible, even in the way how one should feel about themselves, especially women. This case can be found in two popular songs entitled “Milkshake” by Kelis and “If You Seek Amy” by Britney Spears. Both of the songs have similarities and differences that depict how having sex appeal is one way to validate a woman’s worth.

            It is a fact that two of the songs are sung by two female singer; Britney Spears and Kelis, but it is also worth noting that despite the fact that both female sung those two pop songs, all of the work was done by a group of male. The composer and writer of “If You Seek Amy” are Alexander Erik Kronlund, Martin Sandberg, Savan Kotecha, Johan Karl Schuster who are all men. The same with the first song, “Milkshake” is composed and written by men; Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo. Thus, the female singers in two of the songs carry the perspective of men even if the songs are purposely served for females to express their sex appeal from their own point of view.

            Another significant similarity of the two songs is that both are famous for its sex appeal that the singers “sell.” In terms of lyrics, both songs are quite implicit in expressing the sexual meanings. In “Milkshake” explicit words could not be found, but the word “milkshake” as seen in the lyrics “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,” suggests another meaning which is “female breast.” The suggested meaning is further highlighted by the lyrics saying “The thing that makes me what the guys go crazy for.” If it is intended only for the literal meaning, the audience would not only be ‘boys’, but also and most preferably children. Rather than having double meaning, “If U Seek Amy” plays on its acronym to express the sexual suggestion. The lyric of the chorus goes “Love me, hate me/ Say what you want about me/ But all of the boys and all of the girls/ Are begging to if you seek Amy,” but the last line shows an incorrect use of grammar. If we identify the last line, there is a suggestion that it uses sound play to express the sexual meaning; ‘If You Seek Amy’ would sound as ‘F-U-C-K-M-E,’ which also resulting in the correct use of grammar. Although the lyrics are implicit, the music videos of both songs are visually explicit. One thing that both music videos have in common is that the singer, while singing and dancing, is being surrounded by boys swooning over her. In the video, the song “Milkshake” is visualized by a female who is jiggling her body, especially the breast and bottom to attract the boys around them. Here, the visualization justifies the sexual meaning of the song itself. Meanwhile, in “If You Seek Amy” video, the singer sings and dances with a lot of people (female and mostly male) with clothes that accentuate their sexual body parts. Another convincing visual aspect that emphasizes the sexual meaning is the fake news in the beginning of the video saying that “Britney Spears song lyrics spell out obscenity in disguise,” which may refer to the suggestion of the sexual acronym of the title itself.

            Sexual expressions could lead to many things, but rather than seeking to have a sexual experience, the two songs seem to express their sexual appeal as a  way for self-validation. It is important to pinpoint the system of patriarchy that works in the society, since the two songs seem to seek the approval of male for female’s worth. We can see some examples as a comparison; the society often tells female to look good only for men to like them rather than for themselves to be comfortable in their own skin, if a woman is successful and smart but does not have a boyfriend then she is still considered not attractive enough. In other words, without men’s approval of a woman’s beauty or outer appearance, a woman is still not valid. In this case, the same thing is happening; a female is only sexy or attractive sexually if lots of boys are into her. Even in the song “Milkshake,” as seen in the lines “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard/ And they're like/ It's better than yours/ Damn right / It's better than yours/I can teach you/But I have to charge,” the popular female tries to teach other female to get the boys’ attention by having a “good milkshake”. It suggests that the boys look down on other woman just because that the other girl has a better “milkshake”, as if it is the only important thing of a woman. This may be resulting to the lack of the woman’s self-validation where she feels that she is not good enough as a female just because her “milkshake is not that good”. In comparison, “If You Seek Amy” does not seek the approval of men only, but both men and women as stated in the lyrics “Love me, hate me/ Say what you want about me/ But all of the boys and all of the girls/ Are begging to if you seek Amy.” This song is rather wide in terms of sexuality than the first one, suggesting that her sexual appeal is not only targeted for men but for everyone. Here, the self-validation of the sexual appeal also comes from other people but without the needs to distinguish and compare themselves to other people in any way. Still, if we take a look at the music video, it may suggest what kind of a woman the society would find sexually appealing.

In conclusion, “Milkshake” by Kelis and “If You Seek Amy” by Britney Spears share some similarities and also differences that can be seen in many aspects of the songs. Despite the fact that the two songs are sung by female vocalists, the male perspective behind it constructs the way how female should feel about themselves. The expression of sexual appeal of female becomes the theme of both of the song, and it is something that says a lot about how the society sees women’s worth. The society tends to validate women from their sexual appeal or other outer appearance, making it seems that the only important thing a woman can do is to impress other people physically, especially men. Ironically, it is also need to be remembered that if a female is sexually attractive, sometimes the society will also sees her as “cheap”. Thus, however and whatever woman do, the society seems to validate a woman’s worth by only seeing what they think they see.

Reference(s):

Kelis – milkshake lyrics. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kelis/milkshake.html

Britney spears – if you seek amy lyrics.(2017). Retrieved from https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/britney-spears/if-you-seek-amy.html

This writing was written in 2016 for Exploring Poetry Class.

Have you been stranded in the middle,

On your knees, as if begging (for the right to stay)?

Have you been lost, and if you have been lost,

have you been found?

What is that one urge that keeps you up at night?

And do you like it when you’re up so late?

What makes the hair on the back of your neck stand?

And when they stand, do you think they need a reason?

Do you think you have it in you to say something good in words?

And if you do, do you think you would ever say them out loud?

Have you been breathing?

Are your lungs full?

(Full of shame, full of guilt, full of hope)

Have you found life in your dark room?

Or have you discovered some secret glee in pain?

Do you wish to get out?

And will your choice change if you know I am standing outside?

What if I am standing outside and waiting?

What if I am standing outside and not?

source: https://www.instagram.com/akifkichloo/

            I see poetry as a friend, a friend who knows me so well they know exactly what I feel and put it into words. That is the reason why, regardless of tons of poems had written and published, there are only a few that can truly speak to our soul. In this case, the poem above speaks to me in some ways; through its sound, meanings, repetition, and figurative language, which will be elaborated in this essay.

            In terms of sounds, which talks about rhymes and rhythms, there are only a few of them. Words like word and loud rhymes, but I could only find those two. This is the same with rhyme, I still could not understand how to find one, so I could not find any. But, there is something about the “sound” of this poem that enchants me, it is the questions; which will be elaborated later. When I read it, I feel like the poem is a persona (a sound) that knows my deepest emotion and ask me about it.

            Another thing that I love from this poem is the meaning. He, the poet, uses denotative meanings throughout the poem, and I relate the words with my own perspective. When he says “lost”, I take it as “the confusion in life”. When he says “found”, I take it as “I finally know my place in this world” or “I know what I should do” and “I know what I want to”. When he says “Have you been breathing?”, I take it connotatively and denotatively. But after that, he spoils the connotative meanings explicitly; “Full of shame, full of guilt, full of hope”. He takes me on an emotional ride, and I like it.

            The only thing that is being repeated in this poem is the questions. Even though there is no repetition of words, the repetitive questions is also charming, like I have mentioned in the second paragraph. The use of questions in this poem feels really intimate to me; like a friend who validates that my emotions are real and valid. I love how the persona pushed me to the end, to feel my emotions deeply, to question it, and ponder about it. Honestly, that is what I love the most about this poem; how it feels like a good friend who calms you when you feel like being left alone in a storm. To be more exact, the questions help me realize things, just like how we are being asked by a psychiatrist or psychologist, it makes me calm.

            Regarding to the figurative language, which is one of the most popular character of a poem, it is nowhere to be found. I think it is a personal preference to use figurative languages, because even though there is no figurative language, the poem still successfully speaks to me intimately. Though, there is one personification; “What makes the hair on the back of your neck stand? And when they stand, do you think they need a reason?” But, I see this as a personification that we use in daily words, so it doesn’t gives off extra dramatic feeling.

            Overall, this poem speaks to me because of the repetitive questions and the use of denotative words. Apparently, regardless of how a poem should be (according to its features), what matters in a poem is how it conveys a piece of yourself, emotions that both you and the poem have inside. That is how the poem recognizes my soul and draws me in, and I believe that it is a matter of every individual’s interpretation.

           

This essay was written in 2016 as a response for a poem entitled Dreams by Langston Hughes that can be read here: https://poets.org/poem/dreams

Poetry is not something that I fancy, because I think it is hard to find a remarkable one. But, I do enjoy reading a pile of poems sometimes, whenever I feel the need to find someone who could speak all of my emotions into beautiful words. Unfortunately, I do not find the poem from last session is interesting at all, but aside from it I am going to scrutinize it into five; sound, meanings, repetition, patterns of discourse, and figurative language, to see the overall aspects of the poem.

Sound talks about the matter of how the words of the poem talk to the readers, and there are many devices such as rhythms and rhymes. There are only little rhymes that I could find on the poem such as die and fly, and go and snow. Regarding to the rhythms, I could barely find one not because of the poem, but honestly because I do not really get how it works and how to find one.

Meaning is another important aspect of a poem, regardless of how there are various interpretations for every reader; we can see it from its connotative and denotative meanings. The poem mainly uses connotative words such as the words such as fly, hold fast, with metaphors that I am going to write later. There is barely denotative word inside the poem.

Repetition is something that is highlighted throughout this poem. There are two stanzas with “hold fast to dreams”, two words “for”, and two “life is a”. The whole poems are basically made up of those repetitions.

Patterns of discourse are something that I could not understand. I do not get how and what are actually patterns of discourse of a poem. With that being said, I could not write any thoughts of patterns of discourse from the poem.

Figurative language is another aspect that builds the poem, such as metaphors, simile, and personification. “Life is a broken-winged bird” and “Life is a barren field” are two metaphors contained. There is also personification in “For if dreams die” and “For when dreams go”. For the aspect of simile, the poem does not use any of it.

PARAPHRASE

Poem#1: Patience Pays, Impatience Costs! by Ramdas Bhandarkar

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/patience-pays-impatience-costs/

Life is a series of event that we cannot ever guess, so try to be patience and just live it just the way it is: do plan for the future but not expect too much, and let life decides.

We cannot dictate life, no matter how much we tried to understand and handle it, since it is neither a riddle nor a puzzle. Life is something out of hand, something that we cannot, and should not ever understand, because that is how life works: with mystery.

            A dependent child with her/his parents is equivalent to human’s relationship with life. Life consists of both nature and society, and human is a part of it. Thus, we cannot ignore the fact that we, as a part of them, must surrender to the whole to make life works.

            Overall, the poem advices to surrender to life just the way it is, which like I mentioned in the three paragraphs before.

Poem#2: I Have Learned by Courtney

http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/poem-about-trust-issues

            The poem tells us that trust is something that we have to learn and to realize; how powerful it is, how hard it is to discover, and how sometimes it is formed as lust.

            It is powerful, because it may either crush or lift you in the most possible way. Trust can take you to the most joyful state, but also to the extreme opposite of it.

            It is hard to discover, just like any other intangible emotions. So, the only way to find out is to experience it by yourself, even if it means to make your way through the ups and downs of emotions, we can and will learn about it eventually to make our own way in the world.

            Since trust is one quality that is hard to get, and we know how it may be hard to handle, we still cannot avoid it. Trust means lust, she says, and lust is a must. If that is the case, then we have to surrender, but with one caution; we may trust someone, but distinguish between the good and the evil in them, and always carefully choose the former.

INTERTEXTUALITY

            Patience Pays, Impatience Costs! by Ramdas Bhandarkar and I Have Learned by Courtney are two poems which blatantly tells about life and the emotions in it. There are two things that will be elaborated in the next paragraphs; how the two poems relate to each other and how the poems are based on my personal opinion.

The two poems relates in a way, regarding to the theme which is surrender. The first poem by Bhandarkar focuses on how important and necessary it is for us, human, to surrender to our surrounding. He pinpoints that the basic way to live is to wait, and to let life makes its way to us, such as being portrayed in the stanza “Patiently plan your life, or wait patiently for Life’s plan for you!”. The latter, also pinpoint the importance to trust something, even though we may lose hope and even trust itself. Surrendering to trust is a must, in which she says in a stanza that “trust means to lust and lust is a must”.

Both of the poems may also function as advices for our lives; how to live it and what to do with trust. We can see how they rather focus on surrendering than resisting, in which I do not 100% agree. To surrender in life is something that I rather see often, and even one author that I respect, Oscar Wilde, says in his novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” that “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. In contrary, I do not see the good in it, since I experienced it myself. I believe that everything in life, with all our might, have to be balanced. Just like the last stanza in the poem I Have Learned, “Trust everyone, but not the devil inside”, which I think is confusing. How can we know the devil inside? The answer must be to be cautious, so it still imply that we cannot 100% trust someone. That is the same with the poem Patience Pays, Impatience Costs, where we could not and should not surrender to life. One anonymous quote says that “If we want to yield to the flow of the water, no. Everything that got stuck with the floods are only trash and shit.” I think it is  also good for us to be riot, with all our might to life our life, just like what Dylan Thomas, a Welsh poet, states, “Do not go gentle into that good night, rage against the dying of the light.” Nevertheless, I still believe that we should be balanced, because life is a circle of surrendering and resisting.

The poems are good in some sense, and it contains a good sense of advices for life. But still, everything depends on the person’s perspective, and personally I cannot agree with it 100%.

Analyze, Paraphrase and Comment

Intertextuality

            The two poems entitled What Is a Friend by Barbara M. Zellner and Broken Friendship by Shiny Shine are telling the same topic which is friendship but on two different context. The first one is all about the characteristics of a good friend and the latter is the feeling when a friend left because of another person. Actually, I found more differences rather than similarities, and from here we can see the intertextuality. The second poem, if we compare to the first poem is like the antonym. The first-fourth stanzas on the first poem says that “A good friend is someone who cares about you they are someone who will be there when you’re down”, also the 9^th-11^th stanzas saying that a good friend is someone that we can trust and talk to. Meanwhile, the second poem tells the contra on the 11^th-15^th stanzas, “I do not want to go through the pain again I have not recovered from you It angers me when I think of how much I trusted you.” It is implicitly stated that rather than being with their friend, the other person is the one who hurt them, therefore they couldn’t trust them anymore. Another thing is from the last seven stanzas saying that, “A good friend is someone who will come and stop you from taking your life and sit down to show you all of the good things,” in which we can find the contradiction on the second poem’s last paragraph, “But then you fell in love and left me behind.” From the evidences through stanzas, it is clear enough that (implicitly stated) the person is not a good friend, since they don’t have the characteristics of a friend should be, according  and comparing to the first poem.

(Linna Amanda/5A1/1405185)