Metal is, in general, a misunderstood, stereotyped genre, blamed for murders, teen pregnancy rates, drug and alcohol problems among teens, etc. Society generally harbors a special hatred for metal, a hatred usually reserved for gangster rap. My question is simple:
WHY?
WHY are people so bitter towards metal, as opposed to other genres of music? Is it just because, as Death-Metal-Black-Metal said, it is "masculine, assertive, and warlike", and these have become negative values in our society? Is it just because of the violence that A FEW bands have decided to portray in lyrics and artwork, or is it something more, something that includes all of metal?
Masculine? Metal is very much feminine! Western society in general is dominantly masculine, which is the reason why metal is so hated against. I wrote a final paper a few semesters ago on this subject for my Psychology of Religion class and I will elaborate a little more on this.
Paganism is a belief system that has existed in many different cultures throughout human history. These cultures include, but are not limited to, greek and roman mythology, norse mythology, hinduism, shamanism (Native Americans), and many other smaller indigenous tribes of South America and Africa. Even though all of these pagan groups are structured around different deities the common ground is that they all represent the same things in life and nature. This is where I make a point that paganism is really not a literal belief in particular gods or deities; rather, they are used to relate to each particular culture more elaborate ideas of human nature and mother nature.
Now I bring in the idea of "Coincidentia Oppositorum" (may have mispelled..). This is yet another idea that has recurred throughout the history of human thought. It is simply the coincidence of opposites. This idea is easy to grasp simply meaning that nothing can exist without its opposite; for example, hot/cold, rough/soft, light/dark, masculine/feminine, liquid/solid, and good/evil just to name a few. Good is defined by evil and vice versa. This idea goes for anything else there is. You can't determine what cold is unless you know what its opposite (hot) is. This idea has recurred quite a few times throughout history in different forms. Taoism brings this idea to the table perfectly though its idea of "yin and yang". Heidegger even had a similar idea with his notion of "dasein" as well. Once you really start understanding these ideas you notice that both sides of the spectrum are important in human society and nature; therefore, one must strive for "perfect balance" in life. You could say that this is a very Taoist belief.
Now let me take you to Roman mythology where this idea of opposites culminates through the gods (ideas, remember?)Apollo and Dionysus. Apollo represents things such as good, order, light, abstinence, and of course masculinity. Dionysus is the complete opposite as it represents evil, chaos, dark, ecstasy, and femininity (please note that there are many other traits of each that shows that not all masculine qualities are necessarily positeve and feminine negative). I can even see this idea in the story of Adam and Eve where Eve, the female, is a seducer who's own curiosity for the "forbidden fruit" causes the evil in the world. God our "father"? The "virgin" Mary. These are all indications of an imbalance in favor of the masculine ego.
The balance has been way off in western civilization for a very long time now. Thinkers of the "Romantic Era" fought to show society the problem that was occuring in their age of industrialization; not only economically, but socially and religiously as well. Religion was "demonizing" Dionysian qualities in life while the masculine (Apollonian) ego took over the majority of belief in society. Economically, industrialization brings about the masculine ego in a big way because it evokes the idea of man's power over nature. This is called the "rape of nature". Obviously, the naturalist thinking of most romantics is a higher understanding of paganism; thus, they understood that modern society (mostly in the west) was creating a great imbalance through "demonizing" the feminine.
Flash forward to today where the masculine ego has really perpetuated to a level of domination. Metal is no doubt an embodiment of all those Dionysian/femine traits that have been "demonized" in modern western civilization. Metal is so purely Dionysian; therefore, it is a great thing to fight against the great imbalance we have in our society. There are a lot of people who work normal business 40 hour a week jobs who listen to metal. These people are unconsciously feeling this imbalance in their lives, thus they find metal a way to let out their feeling and emotions. Although, in our society of religion and politics (which are the two forms of speech most protected under the U.S. first amendment), the masculine ego brings out nothing but mostly hate and negativity towards metal music. Now that things such as feminism, enviromental awareness, and even gay rights are starting to be heard, I am hoping that society will at least begin to realize that both sides of the spectrum are important in creating balance and harmony.
Sorry for the ultra long post. This stuff is very interesting to me and I figured that this IS the Philosopher forum!
