Author: Keith Negus
(She is is presented in a very womanlike manner in her stance and dress, but she is different and powerful at the same time because of her hair and the cut of her dress.)
Negus uses Sinead O'Connor as an example to illustrate that artists shape and participate in the forming of their public identity through presenting various media texts, i.e. words, sounds, and images. In these media texts from the artist, meaning is "communicated and circulated." O'Connor has formed her identity as confessional, oppositional to the recording industry, and counteractive of stereotypes surrounding Irish artists and female artists.
Through words in interviews, lyrics, and explanations of her songs and image, she directs her audiences to interpret her, her image, and her music with a particular meaning. She speaks of what her songs are about, why she cut her hair (among other images), and her political and moral standpoints (counter act racism and stereotype of Irish woman singing); all contributing to the forming of her identity.
I have an example of an interview, where O'Connor provides an interpretation through words of her sound. This directs our interpretation to gives it meaning. The rest of the interview is found here
Interviewer: "On your new CD, you mix in a number of non-Irish influences, such as reggae and world music. I was surprised at how well the different styles blend together. They seem on the surface to be incredibly different."
SO: "Yeah. I guess the thing is that there are similarities in the culture in that we’re both colonialist countries; we’ve both been colonized by the same people and both cultures have had the same experience of the church, having been colonized by the English and the church. You know what I mean? There’s a certain amount of rebelliousness to the music. And there are huge Irish influences in the West Indies. The island of Montserrat still has street names that are Irish, you know. And at the height of the sugar trade in the West Indies there were tons of Irish convicts sent out there to work. And then after awhile there was a request sent to the British not to send anymore Irish people because they were inciting everyone to rebellion, you know. Even in some of Bob Marley’s music—most obviously in tracks like "So Much Trouble in the World"—you can hear the Irish whistle."
Her images, mostly focused on her shaved head mostly forms how we perceive what "type" of artist she is. It is the first image we see and therefore the first text we judge the artist on and determine her "type." We see her as different and oppositional to culture because she doesn't conform to the typical female image and we assign meaning to that image.
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One observation I had of these images is that when she is looking directly at the camera, her baldness is concealed. However when the image shows her appearance, she is looking away and placed in a more vulnerable, timid stance. I saw this as a counterbalance of the powerful masculine image and the vulnerable typical feminine image. She is countercultural, but not entirely opposite.
Her sounds come from her music, her voice, and the way she uses both of them. Her sound comes off as confessional and intimate because of her closeness of her voice and hearing her hands/fingers on the guitar frets. It gives the impression that is is just the artist and you. She has a feminine voice, but a different one--so that adds to but also contradicts her image with a shaved head. Her screaming and loudness of her sound contributes to the oppositional and counteractive part of her identity.
This song shows the very personal intimate, yet powerful voice of O'Connor
Through this essay, Negus shows how words, sounds, and images are intertwined and contribute to the forming of the identity presented by O'Connor and how that presentation determines how the audience and fans determine her identity and interpret what type of artist she is.
Discussion Questions:
1. While we focus on the texts that form the identity that is Sinead O'Connor, how do the texts interact and contradict to form that identity. Do you find it clear cut or easy to interpret in the manner the author presents, or is it more confusing and complex than that?
2. If you hadn't heard of O'Connor previous to reading the chapter, after you read the chapter did the star Sinead O'Connor surprise you or did she fit the description and the interpretation the author provided? Meaning was she or wash she not was you expected?
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