It was quite a night of television in mid-January with two Haiti fundraisers. The second of these was from the States, featuring international — mostly American — artists. Bruce Springsteen sang We Shall Overcome, Stevie Wonder did Bridge Over Troubled Waters; Jennifer Hudson Let It Be; Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow and Keith Urban combined on Lean On Me; Justin Timberlake brought Hallelujah. I began to feel as if I was at some camp sing-song.
By the time, near the end, Haitian Emeline Michel sang Many Rivers to Cross, this feeling of being trapped inside a rally was overwhelming. These are the popular hymns of the past quarter century. They’ve sold cars and perfume, they can evoke lost loves and mark epiphanous moments — they are instant nostalgia.
Lest you think I’m being cynical or sarcastic — I am, but only a little. Each of these songs is a shortcut; an icon of something important. Dependent on your age or experience, they also suggest a cause or a struggle. Sing We Shall Overcome, and you are in Birmingham again, whether you’ve ever been there or not, locked in the civil rights struggle.
Sung for the victims of the Haiti earthquake by sincere-seeming celebs, the songs were both highly manufactured manipulation and caring hopefulness. Their power swung both ways.
Add to this list a new anthem which was heard on the Canadian broadcast: K’Naan’s Wavin’ Flag. Here’s the chorus:
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They’ll call me freedom,
Just like a wavin’ flag …
K’Naan is a Somali Canadian who mixes a wide variety of world genres to create a unique sound which is equally appealing to old hippies, perpetual rockers and hip-hoppers. Wavin’ Flag is about as sing-songy as you can get. It has that same quality to bore into your guts and make you feel that just by singing it you’re making some difference in the world. (If you know the song, I’m guessing you’re already singing it in your head.)
However, it wasn’t till the next morning when I went to buy it on iTunes I learned it was a theme song for the FiFa World Cup. Well, of course — this is the way of now. The line is blurry between activism and corporatism. Soccer-Portal.org reports this: “K’Naan has spoken about the ‘unity and celebration’ that will connect with his song Wavin’ Flag … The remix … is part of Coca-Cola’s global integrated marketing campaign ‘inspired by the joyous dance celebrations familiar to Africa.’ The track will be used as the music element throughout the entire campaign, including as the soundtrack for all television commercials, during the trophy tour.”
Why can’t it sell Coke, and soccer, and pledges for victims?
We live in a media culture. Corporate, celebrity driven and sincere. An awful thing happened in Haiti and there were thousands of cameras there; we sipped on drinks in our living rooms, texting donations from our cellphones. We care, we really sincerely care, as long as cameras, corporations and celebrities tell us to care.
This is known as passive activism. And it’s good; sort of, mostly. Haitians don’t need us trudging through their cities trying to be helpful. There are plenty of talented and skilled folks who can be so. What we need to do is pay for it. And we do: both the Canadian and American telethons raised millions of dollars. This is good.
It’s passive, it’s manipulative, it’s corporatized, it’s celebrity driven, it works. It raises money, little bits from a lot of people.
And I so want to be cynical about it — but I’m not. Not really. Not when the strains of Lean On Me play through my head. I am sucked into the endless associations I have with that song.
Something, however, began to nag at me through the interminable self-satisfied chatter of the Canadian broadcast. I suddenly felt sorry for the victims of the next natural disaster. After the open-hearted outpouring of support for victims of the South Asian tsunami, aid agencies noted a care-fatigue towards following disasters.
There are other corners of the planet where other horrible things are happening and we’ll care about them as well — they’ll call us freedom, just like a waving flag — if only somebody would organize a really great concert that makes us feel sincere.
And if the celebs aren’t there, singing our favourite anthems, neither are we. We have allowed ourselves to be corporatized; to wait for the signals to care. And these awesome anthems are often lies we like to tell ourselves.
