Bob Marley: An American Icon
In 1975, "Bob Marley and the Wailers"" made their first and everlasting appearance at the Lyceum in London. Marley and "the Wailers" sung their way into the hearts of many people, with their peaceful, fun-loving messages. Bob Marley promoted a peaceful Utopia, where people weren't separated by differing demographics. In contrast to African-America Artists of today, Marley used more feminine overtones to spread his reggae music style and left a legacy of social activism. His fame and the subculture that follows his life and music is completely opposite of the business minded African American Icons of today. Some details of Marley's lifestyle and the Rastafarian social culture reflect the roots of the Rastafarian religion. Through his music he displayed ideals of how life should be lived and how the world could be. The connotations of the culture hairstyle, dreadlocks, show an interesting representation of the feminine overtones of the religion. The dreadlocks themselves are dirty and grungy which has multiple meaning. It can be a reference to the dirt of the earth and "back to naturalism" message. However it can also be a message to those inner city dwellers who mush push through the dirt and grunge of the cities. They hairstyles
Picture and Posters of Bob Marley show how his physical attributes are also a symbol of his culture and lifestyle. Marley didn't have an extremely masculine body; in fact he had a rather feminine body. Unlike the pop-stars of today however, he never tried to change the way he looked to make him more attractive to his audience. It can be noted that his rather feminine appearance is a reference to the femininity of his culture and the Rastafarian religion. Probably the most famous of Marley's attributes is the use of marijuana openly. In an act of social taboo breaking, Marley publicly admitted he was an avid user of marijuana. The populace of Americans at the time usually associated marijuana use with the "stoner" or "hippie" culture. But why would Marley want to associate himself with these subgroups? When asked what the pure ideals of theses culture groups are most would agree that the movements promoted peace, love, and tranquility. That's exactly what Marley's belief system was based on and he thusly embraced the connotations that came with he use of marijuana. Some critics in the past have called him a social rebel or revolutionist, but were his ideas of world peace so new and original? Not especially, but his music and fame gave people a figurehead to stand behind. conformity also conveys the message of unity within the lower social class of repressed peoples. Bob Marley was very much like many of the African American male artists in America today. He grew up in a rat
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1003
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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