We can envision the relation between the perceptions of war and society as a bridge.
Each side frequently is capable of intertwining with the other and can affect one another greatly. However, there is an uncertainty in how this bridge is used and what purpose the bridge brings between the two sides. In society, we see the emergence of certain art forms that derive from war itself and also see how our society can influence certain perceptions of war. The complexity of the relation lies in the blurriness in the lines that separate us and war itself. Throughout history, war has deeply entrenched our culture and affected our perceptions of war itself. We can see the interesting role each plays on the other in Thoughts on War and Death. The portrayal of war in the protest music during the 1960s gives a better understanding of the malleable perception of war and its influencers within society’s culture.
The strong influence that war plays on culture, specifically our views of human nature, is an idea that Freud shares in Thoughts on War and Death . In the reading, Freud argues that world war I may have been more devastating psychologically than any other wars. He gives two reasons that this was worse than other barbaric wars by pointing to the “mental distress felt by the noncombatants disillusionment and the altered attitude towards death”. This idea that there was a great mental distress as a result of the war sets up Freud’s argument about the destruction of a previously held ideal. The illusion he describes is one where we believe that countries that are continually becoming more educated and civilized is sufficient to transform inherently evil tendencies into altruistic ones. Freud has an underlying argument that socialization and civilization promotes the attainment of higher morality is not true and that in reality, as noted on page 295, that “there is no such thing as eradicating evil tendencies”. The idea of an endless cycle of said evil tendencies displays the low morality that war can cause society. It can cause an unfortunate understandings of the realities of life and instill a pessimistic outlook on life. He ends on the note that war is pushed by a rationalizations of commerce and production for their passions and that “nations still obey their passions far more readily than their interests”. This is a key point that shows a huge transformation in how patriotism in viewed. There appears to be shift from seeing the state as an entity that serves the people to a state that simply acts on irrational passions. Freud’s work highlights this pessimistic view of work but more importantly highlights the ramifications and detrimental effect of this view on a overarching view of human nature.
The context of the essay, Thoughts on War and Death, gives insight on the extent of the disillusionment that Freud holds and the influence of war on greater views of society itself. After the outbreak of the first world war, society held great veneration and patriotism for their country and volunteered time and resources to help their country because there was a common understanding that the war would end quickly. Because most recent European wars had been relatively short-lived, people had no reason to believe this war would cause extensive casualties or significant disruptions to everyday life. People held an idealistic, romantic concept of war that shattered when the realities of the war settled in. Freud’s work displays a key point that shows how deeply war can affect society’s mindset. His deep disillusionment with war seeps into a larger viewpoint of his state as a whole. This disillusionment with society’s morals is a testament to what war can do to an individual along with society as a whole. The contrast between the original idealistic view of war and Freud’s view that, “[The state] absolves itself from the guarantees and treaties by which it was bound to other states, and confesses shamelessly to its own rapacity and lust for power, which the private individual has then to sanction in the name of patriotism.” His view shows a shift in society’s overarching understanding of the state’s purpose. War has the capability of unveiling true self interests that show the limits of the state’s concern for the private individual he describes. The state of low moral displays a stark effect in which he has a drastically different perception of the war. The initial view of the support of war as a patriotic and honorable deed quickly faded into the disillusion with human nature as a whole. Freud’s views show just how strong the connection and influence is of our perception of war on the social viewpoints we hold.
To tie in more modern examples of how war can influence society, specifically culture itself, we can look at how recent wars were perceived by U.S. citizens and how a new form of culture emerged. During the Vietnam War, a similar disillusionment as Freud describes earlier formed. As society began to question the US involvement and government authority, an emerging and evolved form of protest music developed. This music reflected the sentiments regarding the war and frequently served as a powerful means in delivering a message to the people. The new art forms that resulted from the 1960’s as a result of a dismay in the Vietnam War shows how war can influence society. The Woodstock Festival of 1969 displays the eclectic fusion of music that collectively showed the influence of perceptions of war. The merging of psychedelic and rock n’ roll to create an event that highlighted protest music showed how deeply infused these perceptions were on culture. The era of counter culture not only existed during the 1960s but the key shifts in society’s overarching culture as a result of the emerging protest music show the key influence of protest music. In Jimi Hendrix’s popular rendition of the Star Spangled banner, the version performed at Woodstock emulated “ distortion and whammy-bar techniques” to represent the unique sounds of gunfire and explosions. He manipulated the power of music to send an anti-war message through sound itself. The unique combination of sounds and techniques to represent a perception shows the effect of the Vietnam war on music. It inspired new sounds and techniques that had never been used for its purpose and gave artists a high level of freedom to express their frustrations through music. The growing popularity of the counterculture art form, which was greatly defined by protest music from the Vietnam war, shows how new styles emerged in the face of frustration about war. The influence of these perceptions and how deeply they affected musical forms shows how a sense of disillusionment can be turned into an art form.
Some may see the perceptions of war effect of culture on as being one sided. They see an evident cultural shift because of the development of these evolving art forms. However, upon a closer look, we can see the bridge between the two. The widespread popularity of the music and it’s influence on an awareness of war itself allowed for more involvement by the people themselves. The music was capable of instilling a strong desire for change and inspired a younger generation to get more involved in politics. For example, the song, I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag, written and sung by Country Joe McDonald, gives a powerful statement regarding the Vietnam War. In the song, McDonald sings, “Well come on mothers throughout the land / Pack your boys off to Vietnam / Come on fathers don’t hesitate / Send them off before it’s too late / Be the first one on your block / To have your boy come home in a box”. McDonald maintains an ironic tone throughout the song in order to criticise the war itself. The song lyrics describes a stark understanding that when parents sent their children off to the Vietnam, there was no guarantee that they would be coming back alive. As society at that time came to realize how bloody the war had become, songs such as ones’ written by McDonald showed a dissatisfaction with how the government was handling the war. They provoked questions regarding US involvement in the war and because of the popularity of the music, people understood more about the war. Through music, they were able to educate the public about the realities of war and influence them to develop a more skeptical eye towards the US government and its role in the war. Another example of a Vietnam protest song was Bring Them Home, by Pete Seeger. He say’s in the song, “ The men will cheer and the boys will shout/ Yeah and we will all turn out / We will lift their voice and sound / Bring ’em home, bring ’em home” By constantly using the pronoun “we” throughout the song, Seeger is seemingly speaking for the protesters and providing a voice for their platform. The song appears to be addressing the government, in an effort to hopefully influence not only a general perception about war but also bring forth a message for the government by the people. These songs share a common theme of bringing awareness through song lyrics about the war to inform people about the necessity of advocating for bringing troops back to the US. They use culture as a means of dissemination and effective means of spreading their views. These art forms show the bridge between perceptions of war and society. Each serve an invaluable role in the other and are capable of a great amount of influence. Connecting back to Freud’s work, the perception of the Vietnam war turned into a similar “altered attitude towards death” within society. With the sense of disillusionment in one hand and a desire to create unique music, artists connected themes from Freud’s work and mobilized them to protest. They showed the interconnection between culture and perceptions of war.
Overall, as time progresses, there has been a trend towards a sense of disillusionment about war as a result of the consequences that come of war. The double ended effect of culture on perceptions of war, as seen in the counterculture era of the 1960s, gives insight on the significance of the link between the two.
Works Cited
- Country Joe McDonald. I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag .
- Freud, Sigmund. “Thoughts for the Times on War and Death (1915). Chapter I. The Disillusionment of the War.”
- Paul, Richard. “Vietnam War Protests Influenced Popular Music.” VOA , VOA, 4 May 2014, www.voanews.com/a/vietnam-war-protests-influenced-popular-music/1904818.html. http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/713/protest-and-rock-n-roll-during-the-vietnam-war