When’s the last time you've heard of a celebrity scandal
about an astronaut? Well, are astronauts
considered celebrities anymore in the first place? Back in the 60’s, it was no strange occurrence
to find an astronaut on the front cover of TIME Magazine, on the front pages of
newspapers, and all over the news (which was just starting to be on TV at that
point).
During the space race era, astronauts were the ultimate
celebrity. Many children grew up playing with toy rockets and space shuttles,
aspiring to someday exist the atmosphere themselves. Culture and conversation
was commonly structured around the space race.
David Bowie’s "Space Oddity," as well as the music video
accompanying it, uses this 1960’s status of astronauts to its advantage. The
Pathos appeal, or appeal to emotions, is spurred by lyrics and clips in the production.
In the song’s lyrics, the aura of a brave maverick is
created around Major Tom, as the song’s general solemn sound adds emphasis to
this. With lyrics such as “Now it’s time to leave the capsule, if you dare” and
“Tell my wife I love her very much”, listeners are forced to sympathize to the
courageous, majestic Major Tom. Towards the end of the song, Ground Control attempts
to reach Major Tom, exclaiming “Your circuit’s dead, There’s something wrong”, signaling
the loss of Major’s Tom into space.
From a cinematography perspective, midway through the music
video, Major Tom is depicted in his space suit alongside of two angelic looking
women. Eventually, the two being to remove the major’s suit, in a pathos appeal
of sexual desire. When Ground Control
finds they have lost connection with Major Tom, the Ground Control operator
(who just so happens to be David Bowie) expresses mournful and grieving faces,
provoking more sympathy in many viewers.
In a culture excited by the mystery of outer space, David
Bowie’s "Space Oddity" offers a different perspective that is largely established
by the strategic pathos use.
~Greg Fiola
I agree with you that the lyrics "Now it's time to leave the capsule, if you dare" as well as "Tell my wife I love her very much" are clear appeals to ethos. But, this made me curious about one thing: If he loves his wife, why is he shown with two angelic women which are a sexual appeal to ethos? Does this make Tom as a character less credible?
ReplyDeleteThat's such a good question to ponder, thanks Artur! Personally, I perceived an ounce of sarcasm in the lyric "Tell my wife I love her very much." It feels like an apology, a sort of "good-bye, it's been fun." He's distancing himself from his old life back on Earth and everything that ties him down to it to fully embrace the wondrous novelty of space. Maybe when he gets lost in space at the end of the song due to "[dead] circuits," he really was more of a willing victim, losing himself in the mysteries of space, which could be physically represented by the two women. In that case, the sexual appeal of the two women would symbolize the appeal of space, or rather of epic adventures and heroism.
ReplyDeleteI don't know really, that's just my two cents on the question.
Wow, many valid points and arguments here. I just looked back at they lyrics and noticed something... The lyric:
ReplyDelete"Tell my wife I love her very much
she knows"
is the last line before the bridge where we learn that Ground Control has lost contact to Major Tom. Which means, his "last words" were to his wife. Would that change anything?
Likewise, his last words in the entire song are:
"And there's nothing I can do"
It seems to me as if Major Tom has fully embraced leaving everything (the earth included) behind. With this, Tom is moving on, and with that come the angelic women. In our current culture, this is much more acceptable than the 60's. Whether it demotes Tom's character, you be the judge.
~Greg