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Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

pudding.cool

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Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#61

Post by rayiner »

dctoedt wrote: post #53
rayiner wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Personally, I have always felt very strange in the entire concept of having to sing this at various events or in school as well as the pledging of allegiance. We live in a society. The government takes 40-50% of your income every year so you can support the other people who are part of the same society. It allows you to survive and protects you from those that would harm you both internal and external. Saying a sho…

> Saying a short affirmation of loyalty to that entity once in a while seems pretty mild in comparison. Faux performative patriotism. You took the oath to support and defend the Constitution when you were admitted to the bar. That ought to be enough.

> Faux performative patriotism

Shared rituals reinforce shared values.

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#62

Post by tptacek »

rayiner wrote: post #44
dylan604 wrote: post #14

Trevor Noah has a bit about how 'muricans are the only ones that sing the national anthem all the damn time. He adds how it's also the only anthem where it is sung differently each time depending on the performer. Personally, I have always felt very strange in the entire concept of having to sing this at various events or in school as well as the pledging of allegiance. It just feels very cultish or something you'd e…

> Personally, I have always felt very strange in the entire concept of having to sing this at various events or in school as well as the pledging of allegiance. We live in a society. The government takes 40-50% of your income every year so you can support the other people who are part of the same society. It allows you to survive and protects you from those that would harm you both internal and external. Saying a sho…

Maybe in England, but we fought a whole revolution not to say dumb shit like this unless and until the spirit moves us. It's why we're better.

Are they just not teaching civics anymore? Even the nuns at St. Barnabas were clear on this point with us. If this is reverse psychology trying to get me to put my hand on my heart and pledge the flag, well played.

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#63

Post by Slow_Hand »

For my money, the best rework of the American National Anthem was when Marvin Gaye performed it at the 1983 NBA All Star Game. So Smooth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2KYZ1BritY

Clearly I'm a fan of people putting their spin on this. I take pride in American's being given free reign to interpret it how they wish. I feel like it embodies the spirit of invention, ambition, freedom, and creativity that I consider to be a (mostly) positive quality of our national character.

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#64

Post by rayiner »

henriquez wrote: post #57
dctoedt wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Saying a short affirmation of loyalty to that entity once in a while seems pretty mild in comparison. Faux performative patriotism. You took the oath to support and defend the Constitution when you were admitted to the bar. That ought to be enough.

None of us asked for this. Sure you can argue that we’re lucky. That would be like chiding a clinically depressed person for “feeling down” because other people in other countries have it worse off. Performative chants serve as a form of mass hypnosis - to solidify the legitimacy of a batshit insane society in the weak minds who just want to go along to get along. Our society is fucked. And those of us fortunate enou…

[flagged]

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#65

Post by [deleted] »

cooper_ganglia wrote: post #32
dylan604 wrote: post #14

Trevor Noah has a bit about how 'muricans are the only ones that sing the national anthem all the damn time. He adds how it's also the only anthem where it is sung differently each time depending on the performer. Personally, I have always felt very strange in the entire concept of having to sing this at various events or in school as well as the pledging of allegiance. It just feels very cultish or something you'd e…

The anthem uncoupled from what it stands for may seem strange, which is why it’s so important to remember the lives of the fathers, brothers, and sons sacrificed at Fort McHenry holding up the flag through the night, and all the lives lost since then holding up the foundations of freedom and our way of life. If you’re living in America enjoying the (ever shrinking) bounty of liberties we have, it’s good and healthy f…

[deleted]

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#66

Post by dylan604 »

pezezin wrote: post #31

It would be nice if the headline mentioned that the article is about the US national anthem, as there are about 200 other countries in the world, each one with their own anthem.

and how many of the other ~200 countries is it common for their respective anthem to be sung with diva-ness? i'd suggest the fault is with the reader if you can't figure out something from context clues

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#67

Post by dgfitz »

mtrower wrote: post #41
cooper_ganglia wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The anthem uncoupled from what it stands for may seem strange, which is why it’s so important to remember the lives of the fathers, brothers, and sons sacrificed at Fort McHenry holding up the flag through the night, and all the lives lost since then holding up the foundations of freedom and our way of life. If you’re living in America enjoying the (ever shrinking) bounty of liberties we have, it’s good and healthy f…

That may be true, and it may be of personal value to pursue this for yourself. That's different from socially badgering others into it at group events.

It’s funny, you’d probably not be able to pop off like that if it weren’t for the dead at Ft. McHenry.

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#68

Post by jvanderbot »

dylan604 wrote: post #59
GiorgioG wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it bothers you so much don’t go to these events.

Someone's not allowed to go to a sporting event because you say so? That's a load of crap. I'll go to whatever event I want. If they have one of these dear leader performances, I just stand there thinking about whatever is on my mind. If you like it, you can sing your little heart out. But I'm not going to not go to something I enjoy because you might get offended at my non-participation in your cult-like ritual

How did we jump from "this is not mandatory" to "you're not allowed"

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#69

Post by jvanderbot »

mtrower wrote: post #41
cooper_ganglia wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The anthem uncoupled from what it stands for may seem strange, which is why it’s so important to remember the lives of the fathers, brothers, and sons sacrificed at Fort McHenry holding up the flag through the night, and all the lives lost since then holding up the foundations of freedom and our way of life. If you’re living in America enjoying the (ever shrinking) bounty of liberties we have, it’s good and healthy f…

That may be true, and it may be of personal value to pursue this for yourself. That's different from socially badgering others into it at group events.

I haven't sung a hymn, pledge or anthem since I was 11 or so. I just stand there and watch, be it church, baseball, hockey, whatever. 32 years and nothing bad has happened yet. (Hooray freedom?). I don't believe there is any pressure whatsoever.

Re: Quantifying the diva-ness of national anthem performances

#70

Post by mtrower »

GiorgioG wrote: post #54
mtrower wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That may be true, and it may be of personal value to pursue this for yourself. That's different from socially badgering others into it at group events.

If it bothers you so much don’t go to these events.

In fact, I generally don't. On the other hand, that is not because I am bothered (or not) by such practices.

I'm really not sure what this has to do with the opinions being expressed by myself, parent, and GP here. I can avoid a behaviour and simultaneously have an opinion on the behaviour, which I am expressing here in response to others' opinions on said behaviour.

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