Political Impact of Swing and Jazz Music
Before Swing:
Changes in Swing:
Spread of Swing:
- Music and dance was not heavily influenced by politics.
- Jazz did not spark national pride, and dance was not widespread through a nation.
Changes in Swing:
- Swing music helped raise national pride during the great depression and WWII often swing music was played to troops to raise moral and support for government
- Jazz, became a metaphor for democracy showing the importance of having a balance between interests of an individual and common good in society.
- Jazz swing became a representation of America and its policies on freedom, democracy, and equality. Dance was an expressive way to show national pride and freedom.
- Ideas of freedom and democracy radiated into the lively music of the swing era. For example the importance of swing as a rebellious movement in Nazi Germany is justified by these factors ` displaying that swing was connected hand in hand with freedom and democracy.
- Americans music and dance served to remind men and women of the armed forces, of home, boosting their spirit during war.
- The first appearance of Swing was marked by Benny Goodman’s performance at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles in 1935. The younger generation saw “the powerful visions of personal freedom and generational solidarity” that was found in swing dance. Swing defined a mass youth style around music, dance and fashion, and conveyed hopeful visions of the future.
- Swing involved a "belief in American exceptionalism, in ethnic pluralism and democratic equality [which] was ideally suited to the collective needs of a nation battling Fascism.”
- By the time the Second World War came around,Germany was willing to change their stance on popular music, such as Swing, in the hope of using it as a means to spread their ideas and philosophies to foreign countries through radio waves.
- Swing assisted America in its remaking of the world throughout and following world war II.
- Swing’s unique ideas eventually paved the way for thee civil rights movement in the 1950s.
Spread of Swing:
- As swing music spread throughout the world into places like Asia and Europe so did ideas of democracy and freedom that inspired this music.
- With the spread of the swing culture, nationalism spread throughout America because it was strong symbolism for many people.
- Swing was spread through Europe for the use of propaganda. It was used to spread individual nations ideas and philosophies.
- Swing music influenced and introduced the idea of infusing political views into music for many eras of music to come.