StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Surname Instructor Class Date “If I Were a Boy” And “My Heart Will Go On” Gender is a critical issue in the current world. Its seriousness is especially portrayed by its immense expression in the entertainment industry that is escalating at an alarming level (Conrad, Dixon & Zhan par 13)…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.5% of users find it useful
If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On"

Sur “If I Were a Boy” And “My Heart Will Go On” Gender is a critical issue in the current world. Its seriousness is especially portrayed by its immense expression in the entertainment industry that is escalating at an alarming level (Conrad, Dixon & Zhan par 13). Most popular songs in the entertainment industry have reflected on the sensitive gender issue. For instance, gender theme is notable in Beyonce’s pop Song “If I were a boy” and Celine Dion’s rock song “My heart will go along”.

These songs have been popular in the music industry and entertainment industry in general. The two named songs have utilized symbolism and irony, as they express the gender theme in the perspective of a woman, either revealing a contending gender or one that is in harmony, by use of conjugal relationship. “If I were a boy”, by Beyonce Although there are controversies surrounding the real writer of the song “If I were a boy”, one fact remains, the writer was a lady. Whether Beyonce herself or BC Jeans; the two persons around who the controversy is centred.

The story line of the song is a lady who wishes that she were a boy. As the lyrics of the song unfolds, some stereotype on both men and women become evident. Since the song’s perspective is based on a lady, it is obviously biased on the side of women. As the gender roles dictates in a relationship, it is the lady’s role to prepare breakfast for the man. The point of gender role crisis is developed in this song by the revelations that the lady wishes that she were a man, then she would not impose the roles to her lover of preparing her breakfast.

Furthermore, the song exposes the wrangles, commonly experienced in a conjugal relationship. In many cases, the man is expected to be superior to a woman as the song reveals the passiveness of women. Ironically, the lady in the song wishes if she were a man to be a boss over everything and that she would not be subject to anybody in his decision making. The singer is ironical at the point where he claims that she would chase all the girls, and switch off the phone so that no one would know who he is sleeping with.

Such a claim is ironical because, it would not be rational for a girl to wish on her man cheating on her. However, the song utilizes the irony style to portray the trends of the present day’s man who dominates a whole different world around him that is normally concealed from his wife. In his world, the man can have relations with any woman he wishes, spends time drinking with friends and walks home late in the night to find his passive wife peacefully waiting for him. The song has used symbolism to develop satire in the male prejudice common in the current society.

For instance, the lady in the song is a career woman, yet she is expected to shoulder all the domestic chores. But then, the lady in the case is not passive. She desires liberty and thus, she fights for it. She spends her time on body makeup and questions the man’s behaviours. She shrewdly attacks the man’s ego by asking a contradictory question that confuses the man. The question is meant to reveal to the man that the lady has all along been the cheat; she has not just been hanging along waiting for the man to come home.

The man does not however, get the point “because he is a boy”. At the end of the song, the woman is developed as dominating the man and outdoing him in his own game. “My heart will go on”, by Celine Dion The song “My heart will go along” was used as a theme song for the romantic movie, “Titanic”. Upon its release, the song became very popular partly because of its strong lyrics of romance. Although the song is majorly on romance, it has evidence of gender based issues. To begin with, the song’s story line is developed as a tribute to a dead lover.

The lady in the song is left by her man, whom she loved dearly. Even with the man gone, the lady is not ready to let go of him. She even claims of the man’s continued presence in her heart, and that her heart will goes on with the departed lover. Evidently, gender issues are developed in the song, based on a love relationship. The man in the song is developed as dominating the lady emotionally. As the song story line progresses, the dominion of the man is highlighted over the romance he offers to the singer.

The singer is not able to let go of the man, because she cannot live without him. Owing from the fact that the singer wishes that her love had not departed, it can be argued that the gender aspect in their relationship was complimentary. There are no traces of conflict between the departed man and the lady, who was left lamenting for the man’s departure. While it can be argued that the song is of romance theme, romance and love are inseparable as the foundations of conjugal relationship. Gender discrepancies are balanced in a relationship based on love.

The fact that the lady in the song misses her dead husband can be used to argue that both genders should complement each other, and that no one gender can be complete without the other. The hearts of the couple developed in the song are bonded together, such that, where the heart of the man went, the heart of the woman followed on. By developing such a strong relationship, this song shows that, gender issues are not necessarily conflicting in all relationships. The two songs identified in this paper have developed the theme of gender in different perspectives.

In Beyonce’s song, gender superiority contention is evidenced in the relationship, where the two genders are in conflict over dominion. On the other hand, Celine Dion’s song shows a gender that is comfortable with each other and complimenting one another. Work Cited Conrad. Dixon, T., & Zhan, Y. (2009). Controversial Rap Themes, Gender Portrayals and Skin Tone Distortion: A Content Analysis of Rap Music Videos. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 53(1), 134-156. doi: 10.1080/08838150802643795 Retrieved from http://www.

communication.illinois.edu/tldixon/research_files/Conrad,%20Dixon,%20%2 6%20Zhang%20(2009).pdf

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1434871-textual-analysis-of-two-texts-depictions-of-gender
(If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/english/1434871-textual-analysis-of-two-texts-depictions-of-gender.
“If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1434871-textual-analysis-of-two-texts-depictions-of-gender.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF If I Were a Boy and My Heart Will Go On

The Theme of Identity in The Briefcase and The Bullet in the Brain

This essay explores the theme of identity in “The Briefcase,” and “The Bullet in the Brain” and defines characteristics of the protagonists' identities.... hellip; The paper tells that “The Briefcase,” and “The Bullet in the Brain,” are largely focused on the exploration of the identities of their respective protagonists....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Analysis of the Poem the Trap Draft

But first, go and gather coconuts for the morning breakfast… you are not king yet, you are still my son.... Myoba says, you go this way and I'll go that way.... Myoba points in one direction and tells Suhuma to go that way, then wanders off in the opposite direction.... This must be the guns that my father told me about!... ing Bomani, Queen Adeola were having a tough time deciding what to do with Suhuma, the leopard cub....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Creative writing

"Because my heart says so, " he answered in utmost certainty.... " When my mother was alive we were a happy family, just the two of us," he added, as he threw a stone at the calm ocean.... The boy spoke in a sadder tone, "They're the only one's I've got and I have no other place to go.... I tried to muff my laughter but the sound was already obvious to him, He continued his hobby while turning his back on me.... There are millions out there, my mother told me so," he said....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Tales from West Africa by Martin Bennett

I wished to take a bath, and the monkeys do not take their hearts to the bathroom and I kept my heart in the mango-basket.... In hurry to jump on your back, I forgot the basket as well as my heart!... This is a story told to me from my Mom.... ----my Patel friends live in the same community at Richmond, as we do!... She had a fond hope that I should graduate from a good school and turn out to be an intelligent boy....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The United States Supreme Court

It will hold a trial for disputes between states; “certain limited appeals from cases involving the reapportionment of legislative districts and the disposition of questions of law… These are cases which appeal the judgment of lower courts. The United States Supreme Court will only hear a case from the lower courts once it has merited a need for review....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

How life would be different if you were in an impaired driving related crash

Today I could be in school with my friends, or out jamming with my band, may be even go on a tour, see only joy and pride in my parents' eyes, but instead I sit here in bed, reminiscing my past life knowing that nothing will ever be the same.... I know that they have my sister's best interest at heart, but I can see her social life being jeopardized by their over-protective attitude, for which I am primarily responsible.... She is being made to pay for my mistakes and even though she has tried to mask it, I know in some deep corner of her heart she resents me for it....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Ambitious Guest, Mortality and Fate

It is in his “nature to desire a monument, be it slate or marble, or a pillar of granite, or a glorious memory in the universal heart of man” (19).... These simple people have “found the “herb, heart's ease,” in the bleakest spot of all New England” (1).... The father dreams of a simple life as a gentleman farmer; the grandmother thinks about the appropriateness of her grave clothes; the little boy wants to take a night walk to a brook....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Law, Literature and Media

This movie review "Law, Literature and Media" discusses the films Rashomon, a classic Japanese film about the relative nature of truth and Twelve Angry Men, a drama about a jury and about how truth is viewed through each of their eyes.... hellip; Philosophers have long had theories about the nature of truth, many of them deciding that absolute truth cannot exist because each individual has their own versions of truth and reality, which become prisms through which any set of facts are viewed....
16 Pages (4000 words) Movie Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us