Popular Music Theory and Representation
Popular music theory cannot be looked at without first looking at the concept of representation, as this has shaped society's views on popular music through many years. The birth of this concept was in the 1960s, at a time when the world was changing and everybody was uncertain about the other countries around the world; it was important therefore to have the ability to present yourself how you wanted to be seen by others. New socialist movements were formed, like feminist groups and civil rights movements (most notably, these civil rights movements were in America, from the mid 1950's to the mid 1960's, headed by figures like Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King JR.), and the subordination of marginalised social groups reproduced via misrepresentation in the media. Early research conducted would either focus on the reflection or distortion of reality in order to conform to society's views on a certain group - Busby's "Sex Role Research In Media", published in 1975, was feminist research showing that there was a misrepresentation of women in the media.
The process for representation can be illustrated in the diagram below:
There is a process, as shown above, of constructing meaning and knowledge of a certain group in society's eyes. This process is achieved through some form of discourse, subsequently producing a language in order to be able to talk about a certain subject. It is, however, argued that this ends up reinforcing the dominant ideology of the patriarchal power structure. Representation influences social responses, modes of coexistence and policies, but does not mean to say that audiences have other options in terms of what they choose to believe in the eyes of representation.
People are often undiscussed as a result of a lack of representation, or a power struggle, portraying the idea that they are powerless in a modern society. A group that has this lack of representation in modern society is the "LGBT" (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) group, who are not represented as much in pop culture as other groups. Shows like "Transparent" (2014 - ), "Wentworth (2013 - ) and "Orange Is The New Black" (2013 - ) have represented homosexual relationships and the plight of transgender people in a way that also educates those who may not have previously known anything about those particular groups due to the lack of media representation. There is also representation of this particular group emerging more in music; acts like Troye Sivan and Halsey (who identify as gay and bisexual, respectively) have used their music and accompanying videos in order to represent these groups. For example, Sivan's video for "Heaven" featuring Betty Who features footage of historical LGBT movements, and Halsey's song "Strangers" featuring Lauren Jauregui talks of a relationship between two women:
"She doesn't kiss me on the mouth anymore,
'Cause it's more intimate than she thinks we should get,
She doesn't look me in the eyes anymore,
Too scared of what she'll see, somebody holding me
[...]
She doesn't call me on the phone anymore,
She's never listening, she says it's innocent,
She doesn't let me have control anymore"
This representation has proved valuable for the LGBT group, being referred to by Alexia Shouneya for Billboard as "a strong, unapologetic acknowledgement of lesbian and bisexual women."