Unit on Power by Will Bishop

Engage:

Watch Fats Domino perform "Ain't That a Shame" in the 1956 film Shake, Rattle, and Rock!:



Watch this clip of a cover of the same song by Pat Boone (who will serve as our cultural whipping boy):



Ask students what differences they notice in the performances? If Fat's Domino wrote the song and performed the original recording, why was Pat Boone's version recorded? (Explain that Boone's song was a huge hit and gained mass mainstream radio airplay before Fats Domino's.)

Watch a clip of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti":




And now the same song by our main man Pat:



Again ask for student responses to performances. Ask why they think radio stations and record companies may have preferred to produce and play Boone over Fats Domino and Little Richard. Initiate discussion on racial difference, hierarchy and power.

Explain that, partially due to the popularity of Boone's songs Fats Domino and Little Richard eventually gained mainstream popularity. Then show this Little Richard performance in the films Don't Knock the Rock, instructing students to pay attention to the racial dynamic:



Ask students why they think there is such a racial difference between the performers and the audience? Who appears to have more power here?

Primary:

Read these excerpts from two book chapters from David P. Szatmary's Rockin' in Time: A Social History of Rock and Roll :



This reading provides a nice socio-cultural backdrop for the early years of rock and roll. Talks about the economy of its production and addresses the issue of race.

Watch performances of Chuck Berry like "Maybellene":



Or Jerry Lee Lewis like "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On":



And of Elivs Presley like "Hound Dog":



Compare and contrast the career of Elvis and Jerry Lewis with Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Pat Boone, with attention to race, geography, and class with regards to each musician. What role did each play in the increasing the popularity of rock and roll music? Why were they able (or not) to play these roles? Who held the power in the production and marketing of the music?

Secondary:

Read "Hegemony" from Cultural Theory: Key Concepts:



Then read "Hegemony, Intellectuals, and the State" by Antonio Gramsci:



Map out the social power structure of early rock and roll we've been discussing. Then apply Gramsci's terms to create a parallel "abstract" map. Introduce vocabulary terms "hegemony", "hegemonic", "dominant/leading group", "subordinate group," "concession/compromise"

Reflect:

Review hegemony framework and discuss other situations where such power exists. Discuss the possibility of a subordinate group making cultural change in an area of society or culture when a hegemony is held. Is it possible? Examples?

Discuss the role "hegemonic" ideas, styles, ideologies, discourses, etc. play in our society.

Maybe watch part of The Cosby Show episode "Theo and the Joint" (1985), instructing students to look for whether and how the TV show reinforces or subverts or society's hegemonic ideas about family, drug use, race, class, etc.