MUSI 3041 Assignment 6 ---- Yunrui Zheng
Truth To Power----OneRepublic
Script:
Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster on a global scale, climate change. The disconnect between awareness and action seems to get wider and wider with each passing year. So today, I want to introduce a protest song by OneRepublic, Truth To Power, which intends to advocate for environmental awareness and inspire us to take action.
Minutes turn to hours, hours turn to years, and I've seen truth turn to power. Truth To power, is an original pop song written for the film, “An Inconvenient Sequel, Truth To Power”. From my perspective, “Truth To Power”, is actually "Speak truth to power". The "speaker" is the "earth" and the "power" is the "human". So it actually was written from the viewpoint of Mother Earth, how she sees us and how our actions affect each other and the planet. It is ultimately a call to action, expressing that the truths that humans have been unwilling to face are eventually pushed back by nature, leaving behind a series of tragic disasters.
The song's tempo is moderate, the lyrics are simple, and the melody is catchy, so it has a sense of slowing down. As for the dynamics, it changes a lot. When it’s in the dynamic of piano, it sounds like a kind of silent mourning and pain for the environmental and ecological destruction. When it turns into the dynamic of forte, it’s more like a rebuke to you behind the camera and a cry for raising awareness of environmental protection, like the repeated lyrics “you'd be a believer”, “truth turn to power”.
In terms of instrumentation and accompaniment, there are piano, cello, bass, double bass, drums, and vocals as harmonies. All of these create a strong addition to the pure and ethereal singing of the lead singer, while also bringing a spontaneous narrative feeling to the overall atmosphere.
In this music video, there are many pictures and videos showing people of different ages, colours and nationalities, implying that we are all in this world together. The video can be divided into two parts. In the first part, the image is no colour, just only black and white. It shows the consequences caused by the climate crisis, like the floods pouring into city streets and the people displaced by drought, the melting glaciers, the forest fires, the lonely polar bear, the ruins after the hurricane. When it comes to the second part, the image turns into colour. This part shows some of the efforts and changes made by human beings around environmental issues, like the marches and international conferences on climate change, as well as the wind and light power plants. The sharp contrast between the first and second parts not only gives us a spiritual impact and raises our environmental awareness, but also gives us confidence that we can create a better environment for our future generations and that we can return the beautiful ecological system to the animals.
Thank you for watching and hope you enjoy the music. Looking forward to your contribution to environmental protection.
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