Language of the Body

TOB p. 92 Assignment 1

While searching and listening through my vast library of harmonious songs and cacophonous trash people call “music,” I stumbled upon one specific song that reveals the body and how it tells the truth. This one specific song is none other than “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. Her lyrics tell of a woman whose “hips don’t lie” which translates to her body not lying. However, in relation to this song did also the very famous Maria Carey sing “Touch My Body.” Both songs relate to one another in how both women talk with their bodies, but only Shakira speaks the truth while Carey speaks of lies with her body.

Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” is a lively combination of both salsa and cumbia and involves the vivacious movements of the body with ties to the energetic movements of Latin Americans. This is a lively song and almost empowers the listener’s body to jump off their chair and start to dance themselves! The song’s beat captivates me and envelopes my feelings of insecurity as I look like a deranged person. The lyrics speak of the woman’s truth spoken through her body and how she speaks of love with the “signs of her body” referring to her movements. Her “hips don’t lie” which means that even though her words maybe of lies, her body cannot hide the truth behind her words.

Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” relates a woman and a man in deep sexual tension between each other. She speaks of the sin of lust and how the secretive and deceptive lies of their affair is a dangerous and malicious scene. Her words are of lust and desire, but her body speaks of lies and deceit. She makes threats that “I will hunt you down” and of the nature as a deterrent for her true intentions of using the man just for sexual relations. She is a dirty temptress and uses the human inclination and concupiscence to lure the man into her chamber and to use him as nothing more than an object of pleasure and revoke his right as a human person with feelings and a heart and deserving much more.

Both songs talk of their bodies and how to use them however one talks of telling the truth with their bodies and the other talks of telling lies with their bodies. Mariah talks of using her body as a hussy with her dirty imagination in mind to abuse the man and use him purely for sexual pleasure with no basis to love. Contrasting to Mariah, Shakira’s song speaks of a woman on a dance floor who is captivated by the song and dances the night away with a man. This woman in Shakira’s song speaks the truth with her hips keeping in mind her modesty and self-respect.

Artists these days use provocative language and lewd clothing in music videos to attract the viewers of today’s society. However, with the language and slutty clothing, the meanings of these songs become loose and immoral like the message themselves. These songs are very influential in today’s world and remain a large impact in the youth of the world. Most songs, like Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” tell how women use their bodies to tell lies and avoid the truth of their heart and words. On the other hand, some artists such as Maroon 5 and Mariah Carey focus more on the meaning of the body to others and how our bodies can be used to tell the truth that lies in our hearts. Overall, the meaning of music has gone askew over the past few decades but some retain morality to them to influence today’s society while being overwhelmed by “bad” music.

Language of the Body

Upholding and Defying Truth: Assignment #1 on page 92

Songs often express an emotion. Jean Baptiste Montegut once said, “Music, like religion unconditionally brings in its train all the moral virtues to the heart it enters, even though that heart is not in the least worthy.” This quote describes the impact that music has on all of us and how it is creation of God, who loves us and wants us to be able to see His teachings and His truth expressed! Music directly correlates with religion, for they both involve emotion and beauty. The band Mumford and Sons beautifully write lyrics that incorporate faith and love in their songs. One song in particular, “White Blank Page”, questions the responsibility of a man to take care of His woman and truly love her, not just her body. The song says, “ Can you lie next to her and give her your heart, your heart…as well as your body and can you lie next to her

and confess your love, your love….as well as your folly and can you kneel before the king

and say I'm clean?” It uses the example of a man caring for a woman. Even though love should be felt on either side, it shows the truth of love, in that love is not just physical feeling. Love is felt through the heart. The lyrics seem to be said from a conscience- like viewpoint, for it is asking if a certain man can love a woman for who she is and truly be honest with her and express his cares and his faults. It also refers to judgment day and how we as a society should be evaluating our actions. They are saying that if we truly love someone, it will be honest and just. It is asking the man if he is just and could he go before God and say that he did nothing wrong. The song also says, “Lead me to the truth and I will follow you with my whole life.” This line accurately refers to the fact that through love people can experience full understanding of God’s truth and the truth that we are called to love and be loved. Once again, this song directly refers to religion, in that it expresses and upholds the truth of our bodies, which consists of finding love and religion through life.

On the other hand, there are songs out there that express the increasing view of society to be “sexualized” and to push boundaries. The song “Take it off” by Ke$ha, outwardly portrays a picture of a young woman who doesn’t care about who she has sexual relations with. She encourages others to have sexual relations with numerous partners. The lyrics consist of, “When the dark of the night comes around, that's the time, that the animal comes alive….Looking for

Something wild…. Everybody, take it off..” Through her music, she continuously expresses her carefree attitude. Her lyrics support her opinion that a carefree attitude and vibrant spirit automatically mean having sexual relations with numerous people and acting in an irresponsible manner. In her song, she even admits to knowing that she will regret it in the morning, but she doesn’t care and just wants the pleasure-seeking aspect that having sexual relations offers, which goes against the real and meaningful truth of our bodies and the way we use them! Her lyrics also say, “There's a place I know if you're looking for a show, where they go hardcore and there's glitter on the floor…Lose your mind.. Lose it now…Lose your clothes in the crowd. We're delirious. Tear it down…'Til the sun comes back around.” She compares having sexual relations to a show or a party, in which bodies are just portrayed as part of the act. Saying that there is “glitter on the floor” exemplifies this idea that using our bodies in this way is okay. However, it is not true! Her cong clearly expresses a lie! She expresses how she wants to have an escape from reality and from how she thinks. Overall, this song expresses of the immoral views that go against what the first song refers to. Ke$ha encourages others to live a lifestyle that God did not intend for us. It is one thing to want to have fun and to express yourself, but it is a whole other thing when you use your body, a creation of God in a careless and selfish way! These songs both show two different views of the truth of our bodies, but only one is correct and that is by the great Mumford and Sons!

Redemption Story

Redemption Story

Redemption Story

Adam beore Eve

48 Assignment #1

Recently I experienced a deep point of loneliness when I was in the hospital recovering from my surgery for appendicitis. Unable to move without experiencing extreme pain, I could not go anywhere, and the only person with me was my father, who had fallen asleep and was not that much company. The blinds were closed and all I could do was look at how dark the room was and how much loneliness and pain I was in. However, at the moment when I was growing most despondent, one of my best friends came in to visit me at the hospital. It was completely unexpected, but it brightened my mood immeasurably. I felt like, literally, as if a lightning bolt of happiness had struck me. In your darkest moments, it is truly incredible how much a good friend can turn your life around. I suppose this is a lot like Adam’s solitude at the beginning of creation. Just like how I felt there was nothing I could do to alleviate my loneliness, it must have seemed impossible to Adam to alleviate a feeling he never truly understood. God was completely right when He said it was not right for man to be alone: loneliness is truly the bane of mankind. We are meant to be together for a reason. There is no such thing as happy isolation.