| Summary: | In this thesis, First Nations popular music is examined as a polysemic
sign (or symbolic form) whose meaning is mediated both socially and politically.
Native popular music is a locus for the action of different social forces which
interact in negotiating the nature and the meaning of the music. Music is
socially meaningful in that it provides a means by which people construct and
recognize social and cultural identities. As such, First Nations popular music
functions as an emblem of symbolic differentiation between Canadian natives
and non-natives.
Native pop music plays host to a number of political meanings embedded
in this syncretic musical form. Struggle over meaning is mediated within the
music itself: in the lyrics, in the music, in the juxtaposition of musical styles,
and between music and text. Mediation on all of these levels is further
influenced by the mass media. Meaning on individual, local and national levels
is dependent on the socio-political positioning of both the performers and the
audience. Because socio-political positions are themselves fluid, political
meanings are also in constant flux. As a polysemic sign vehicle, First Nations
popular music is a locus for these various meanings and a site for the
construction and deconstruction of political discourse.
|
|---|
