FACULTY FOCUS
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Why do you think heavy metal and its
various subgenres have originated in those
northern countries?
Photo: AFP Photo / Jean-Sebastien Evrard
Studies, and every couple of years they
organise a conference. There have
been a few events like that, but as far as
scholarships go, I think this might be the
first. But don’t quote me on that!
Why is the subject worthy of research?
I’m trained as a geographer, so I’m looking
at this through a geographical lens. Heavy
metal music, and its culture, has been
around for 50 years at least, and it’s been
transmitted all over the globe. There are
various forms of metal scenes in any
given country. That, in itself, is fascinating:
something that had its origins in UK culture
and the British rock scene developed into
something called heavy metal, and it’s been
transmitted around the planet and taken up
in various ways and integrated with a variety
of different cultures.
As far as taking this seriously as an
academic study, academics study all sorts
of different things, and cultural forms is part
of that, of course. As a social and cultural
geographer, that’s what interests me.
People do it for all kinds of various forms
of media. Whether it’s other forms of music,
or film or literature, there are all kinds of
different things that are cultural products
that we can take an academic lens to.
Heavy metal is just one of them.
We have to take a long view of this and
think historically about the way the world
has evolved into the place it is today. That
involves asking some questions about the
history of colonialism.
So, if we’re talking about a long
perspective, we can see that the UK, or
England, was obviously one of the key
colonisers on the planet. With that not
only came economic forms of control but
also the diffusion of a particular cultural
form. Obviously, this was before something
called heavy metal existed, but the ongoing
legacies of colonialism have meant that
the cultural forms that have originated in
Europe, and also the United States, are one
of the key economic players in the world
today. These cultural forms continue to
be transmitted because of the ongoing
influence and power that came from those
earlier colonial trajectories and continue
into the present.
If we’re going to look at what’s
happening today, then, we can look at the
diffusion of colonialism in the past and its
ongoing implications in the present. This
isn’t to say that there’s an imposition of
heavy metal as a form of colonialism, but
rather to say that heavy metal is a product
of a particular moment in time, a particular
cultural form, and its uptake in diffusion is
part of that longer process.
Certainly, in any given country, it would
be taken up to a greater or lesser extent and
perhaps even resisted in some contexts.
And you know, in most instances it’s been
embraced as something to be welcomed
and celebrated and to be, I suppose,
meshed with the local existing culture.
So we see in places as diverse as
Indonesia, Brazil and South Africa the
local elements of culture – whether that’s
musical or whether that’s in terms of lyrical
content – have been incorporated into the
kind of heavy metal music that’s coming
out of those scenes.
We know that many other cultural products
like literature, film and art have been worthy
of academic inquiry for a very long time.
Why do you think heavy metal hasn’t been
seen as a serious academic subject?
What’s been fascinating for me is the way
the media has picked up on this story
and taken such an interest in it. It gives
credence to the idea that there is actually
something to study here. To answer your
question and to reflect on why there has
been so much interest, I think it’s because,
traditionally, heavy metal has been thought
of as a lower cultural form, if you will. That
it’s a lowbrow form of art and not to be
taken seriously.
Of course, I would argue that this is
a problematic stereotype, because the
musicianship and the poeticism in some
of the lyrics are very advanced. Metal
musicians are some of the most proficient
musicians on the planet.
You take that stereotype of metal as a
negative kind of thing and contrast it with
academia, which is often put on a pedestal.
It’s also a cultural form of its own, right?
They’re considered polar opposites, and I’m
trying to suggest that they’re not. There’s
actually a conduit between them.
I don’t know how many heavy metal
musicians would be interested in academia
per se, but from an academic perspective,
heavy metal is something that I think is
worthy of academic investigation, precisely
because as I mentioned before, it’s been
around such a long time.
It’s a lasting cultural form, whether
people want to embrace it and accept it, or
turn their nose up at it. It’s interesting to see
the kind of responses it provokes.
At the same time, it’s not something
that’s going away soon, so we might as well
examine it for what it’s worth and see what
comes out of it.
In terms of what benefits studying it
might have for contemporary society in
general, I think there are lessons we can
learn from heavy metal culture.
One of those lessons is the unity that’s
involved. Many heavy metal fans find a deep
Heavy metal is a lasting
cultural form, whether people
want to embrace it and accept
it, or turn their nose up at it.
affinity for one another. It crosses language
barriers, it crosses religious barriers, and
people just come together around this idea
of their love for a certain form of music.
That kind of connectivity and potential
to build community, I think, is a lesson that
society can learn. ■
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