From Woodstock to Worldstock: International Music Festivals and their Effect on the Global Youth Culture

This Sunday at sunset, the Santa Monica beach just south of the pier was taken over by a Brazilian priestess praising the ocean in Yoruba followed by women in white throwing offerings of flowers into the sea and West African drummers keeping the beat. It was the culmination of the two-week long Los Angeles World Festival of Sacred Music. Anyone who happened to stumble across it would have a hard time processing the stark contrasts between the bikini-clad tourists snapping photos and the sanctity of these Brazilian elder women honoring the age-old fisherman's tradition of offering gifts to Iemenja, the revered goddess of the

sea (see image at right) . The festival's vision states that music is a way to transcend borders of all kinds: linguistic, national, religious, ideological, racial and cultural. Indeed, music can be considered the most universal agent of globalization, as telecommunication techniques have increased our ability to share music with peers around the world. Despite such positive aspects of globalization, the scene I saw on the beach in Santa Monica also made me think about the deeper consequences of the global exchange of traditions and musical manifestations. Through international music festivals, the Western ability to import "exotic" and often enlightening art mediums from abroad is assymetrically balanced by our export of the MTV and rap cultures. Indeed, blogger Andrew Woolford of the Phuzion Magazine blog was quite baffled by the violence that American hip hop apparently inspired on the island of Trinidad as well as the influence that our hip hop culture has on the diamond industry in Western Africa.

Inspired by the impact that the World Festival of Sacred Music had on me, I decided to scour the blogosphere for the opinions of other young bloggers on international music festivals and open dialogue with them by commenting on their posts. The first post that interested me is on a blog called al Maktabah. It is written by a young Muslim on the reactions in Morocco to the ever-increasing international music festivals. It is an example of how some youth abroad may feel about the export of Western music (and culture). The second blog I commented on is from the perspective of young American hip hop afficionados on the site Flight 808, a blog that focuses on branching out from the local hip hop scene to broaden perspectives on the "diversity and talent amongst foreign hip hop artists." The article, on an international hip hop festival at Trinity University in Hartford, Connecticut, is a good example of the influences that global music-in this case mostly African hip hop-has on American youth. Both of these posts captured my attention becuase they revolve around transnational communication between young people through the mediums of music and culture. I have included my comments below.

"Bread and circuses versus the class of ignorance; Moroccan state's promotion of cultural festivals hangs from a political skeleton"

Comment:

I would like to thank you for your fair, objective reporting on the music festivals in the Middle East. I have also noticed a growing occurrence of such international music festivals here in the United States, and have often wondered about the social effects they leave in other parts of the world.

It seems as though global music festivals in the West increasingly have positive themes of peace and global activism, leaving the young people who attend them with a more open, worldly, and enlightened perspective. I was curious if the Moroccan government has made any effort to include musicians from around the world with positive messages. I often worry that the negative aspects of Western culture are perpetrated through mainstream media, so I hope that a focus on positive messages from global musicians could off-set the negative image created by such aspects of American culture.

In regard to religious backlash against the festivals, do you believe that there is anything that the government could do to stem these criticisms? For example, you mention that the budget of just one such festival is $3.18 million, and that is contrasted with the sprawling slums as background to the festival and the high unemployment amongst Morocco's youth. Is the amount of money spent on such cultural activities further marginalizing Morocco's poor, more traditionally Islamic groups? Is there a way that they could incorporate a donation or service component to the festivals that would heighten concert-goers attention to the country's social issues?

My final question regards the participation of young citizens in organizing music festivals. It is clear that in Morocco, the governmental elite are the sole organizers leaving little room for suggestions from the main consumers, the youth themselves. On MideastYouth.com, I read an article about an underground Iranian music festival that is disseminated through the internet. Because the event is organized through grassroots youth movements, it seems to have a lot of legitimacy amongst Iranian youth and to be creating a new social movement. In response to the government authority over the music festivals in Morocco and Jordan, have the young people searched for alternative forms of expression and legitimacy in regards to music? Maybe something that goes beyond just fun and relates back to their day-to-day lives and issues?

Again, thank you for such a well-researched post on a rarely-reported topic.

"African Hip Hop, Represent"

Comment:

I would like to commend you all on a well-rounded, informative website on global hip hop, a phenomenon that is rapidly seeping into youth cultural spheres around the world.

I have been researching global music festivals, in particular with regards to the exportation of American music to the rest of the world. I agree with you when you say that the American influence of their money sex, and violence ethos has perpetuated around the globe (see the photo on the left that shows an African man wearing a t-shirt with the image of rapper 50 Cent holding a gun), and I was glad to see that young hip hop lovers have come up to a response to such a culture. I hope that learning about the African tendency to focus of social and political activism in their hip hop will now influence young Americans to begin to change the image of hip hop culture, while at the same time supporting global artists in their national struggles advanced through music.

Around the world, people are taking notice of the power of youth culture and music. The United Nations has established an African Hip Hop Summit, acknowledging the belief that music speaks louder than words and the youths role in shaping their country's future.

In response to your post about the festival and the overall focus of this blog, I was curious what you recommend young Americans in the music community do to change our image abroad. It seems as though mainstream Western culture is increasingly marginalizing traditional communities and creating antipathy toward American citizens as well. Seeing as there is such an extensive underground network of young Americans supporting socially responsible music, how can we use the telecommunications mediums that we have access to to even the playing field amongst our peers across the globe?

Again, thank you for your post and your efforts in the field.