Who are we?

One year after the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” hit the box office, David Bowie released the song “Space Oddity”, capitalizing on the fascination combined with slight uneasiness towards space present in the decade to make a hit. Nine days later, America watched on the edge of its seat as we took “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. The space race had captivated the nation, and Bowie’s tune went down in history. Forty years later, Canadian astronaut, ISS Commander, and social media phenomenon Chris Hadfield released his own rendition of “Space Oddity.” Recorded aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the song was a viral hit, but for very different reasons than the original. As perspectives on space exploration evolved over time, the lyrics and style of "Space Oddity" adapted from an otherworldly odyssey to the real world expedition of an astronaut to reflect these changes. This blog explores these differences, changes, and adaptations, and offers insight into the rhetorical strategies that led to their success.

We are three engineering major college students, enrolled in a University of Maryland Honors English 101 course, tasked with exploring a specific topic of the 1960's through rhetorical texts. Since we are all highly interested in outer space, we chose to cover the space race, specifically the domestic aspects of it. A mutual love for music led us to explore rhetoric through lyrics and music in view of this task.

We saw this song as an opportunity to delve into the style of the 60’s and compare it to modern times. Chris Hadfield and his presence in the social media made him particularly appealing to us, and to our generation. His rendition of the Bowie song provided the perfect (both qualified and exciting) link to analyze for this project.

The song “Space Oddity” is an iconic song that is undeniably linked to outer space and the travel there within. No matter who sings it, it will always tell a tale of a voyage into space, the final frontier, the great unknown. David Bowie’s original talks about an adventurer, a pioneer named Major Tom, who is enchanted by the wonders of a new world, space, and winds up getting lost in it, never to return. Chris Hadfield’s modern rendition, recorded towards the end of his time aboard the ISS, is a celebratory account of his expedition into familiar, yet still wondrous territory, rather than a sober and cautionary tale of a trip to the unknown. In his version, Major Tom is returning to Earth after a mission (just as Hadfield was about to after his time on the ISS), but he has the same, if not intensified, sense of awe and amazement towards his surroundings outside his “tin can.” He also carries with him an appreciation for the grandeur and awesomeness of space travel, the universe beyond earth, the privilege that is going into space - something Hadfield tries to instill in his viewers.

Our group had a hard time deciding how we would go about referring to Chris Hadfield’s song. Our initial reaction was rather straight-forward: it was a cover of the original, simply recorded forty years later. Upon further analysis, and after realization that the songs carried entirely different meanings on both the lyrical and metaphorical levels, we realized we were not, in fact, dealing with a cover. We settled on using the term “rendition,” or "version," for our technical writings, although we felt on an emotional level that what Hadfield made was more than just a cover, but a tribute to the song’s original author.

So join us, as we go on board with Major Tom on a mission to explore the evolution of this Space Oddity.

~ Robert, Sky & Greg