The depiction of contemporary society in Dorota Masłowska’s music – Mister D. Cover Image

Obraz współczesnego społeczeństwa w utworach muzycznych Doroty Masłowskiej – Mister D.
The depiction of contemporary society in Dorota Masłowska’s music – Mister D.

Author(s): Justyna Wrzochul-Stawinoga
Subject(s): Sociology
Published by: Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza
Keywords: Generation Z; Mister D; music video; video; visual culture; Masłowska

Summary/Abstract: Changes resulting from the development of the Internethave a significant impact on the shape of popular culture.Music, particularly the message that it conveys, constitutesan important element of culture. Music, which is a part ofa wider cultural context, has a significant influence on theshaping of the world view of contemporary people andserves as an important element of its description. Accordingto Jacek Bernasiewicz, music often becomes the buildingblock of the young generation. “It is primarily aboutmusic, and particularly its content, that always served asa generational bond and carried ideology – rock music forflower children, punk rock for neglected children, rap musicfor hip hoppers…” (Bernasiewicz, 2009: 4). Music alwayscarries a message and combined with a music video,it becomes a story.This paper and deliberations contained herein are devotedto the works of Mr D, also known as Dorota Masłowska,which is a mirage – on the one hand of pop culture, entertainmentand fun, and on the other, a depiction of the contemporaryPolish society, in which the Generation Y playsa major role. The aim of the paper is to show how theInternet, being a place where narratives about the worldplay out, using the convergence of media, contributes tothe construction of a certain reality, the elements of which,emphasised by Dorota Masłowska and elevated above theeveryday life of the global teenager “Made in Poland,”make up the determinants of contemporary youth culture.Music videos by Mr D. and the content of songs from thealbum Społeczeństwo jest niemiłe will serve as the subjectof this analysis. The narrative appearing in these songswill be examined, and the broader context of the meaningscontained in the songs in relation to the entirety ofpopular culture and the way of functioning of society in itwill be pointed out. Dorota Masłowska’s songs are not narrativesof the author herself, but of protagonists presentedin her music videos: the girl presented in the music videoundergoes a kind of metamorphosis, and the viewer looksat the world through the eyes of her imagination. The protagonistsin her music videos and songs are representativesof certain social groups with specific, clear characteristicsthat allow them to be individually identified.I assume that lyrics of songs listened to and music videoswatched by youth and young adults are among the mostimportant ways of learning and participating in culture bygiving meaning to oneself, one’s life and the world. A musicalwork that is an “immature form” of culture, makinguse of the wide range of possibilities available to it for conveyingmessages, full of symbols and metaphors, demandsits recipients to read and discover the meaning.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 253-272
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish