"Riot Grrrl: The Contestation over Meaning in a Music Scene" -Schilt

Going with the title of the article, “The Contestation over Meaning in a Music Scene,” introduces Schilt’s main point about the definition of a music scene and its purpose. The flexibility of the Riot Grrrl scene that had allowed for so many members to join it was also the reason the scene had faced issues concerning the purpose of the scene; either political or musical. Schilt also brought up the point that scenes are faced with external pressures, like the mass media, as well as internal pressures from distressed members, such as the minority groups who felt left out from the middle-class white girls that dominated the Riot Grrrl scene. In this particular example with Riot Grrrl, the mass media didn’t know the meaning of the scene or the ideals that it embodied, so they took it upon themselves to turn it into a fashion trend. However, although Riot Grrrl is no longer an active scene, Schilt makes that point that the ideal of independent women embodied in Riot Grrrl is carried on through its members. The true meaning in a music scene.

This article is relevant to the class because it addresses an issue in a particular music scene. In this case, the internal and external pressure of a music scene as well as the affect media has on a scene. Schilt found an issue, and researched it by interviewing members of the scene who are in positions of authority and are well informed of the scene itself. I also think it is important to understand the meanings of the scene you are studying as well as its ideals and purpose, the way Schilt did with the Riot Grrrl scene.

Although it isn’t a scene, the band Green Day has very political lyrics. Are there other scenes that make references or are “involved” in politics? Is it inevitable for scenes with ideals that go against the norm to be mistaken as political?