![\""So](\"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/engl-117-fall16\/files\/2016\/11\/hqdefault-300x225.jpg\")
“So what we get drunk?” (Source: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kKx9j3KaGAM)<\/p><\/div>\n
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa\u2019s \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d, for example, exemplifies a modern carnivalesque, carefree lifestyle as encouraged by Bakhtin. The repeated drug references in the lyrics, as well as the value placed on living without cares, fits the carnival\u2019s disregard for typical societal standards. Bakhtin describes, \u201cDuring carnival time life is subject only to its laws, that is, the laws of its own freedom\u2026 [it was] the second life of the people, who for a time entered the utopian realm of community, freedom, equality, and abundance\u201d (Duncombe 87). Essentially, the carnival has its own laws separate from those of real life, which provides a second, more free and welcoming, world. Some lyrics in \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d openly encourage the breaking of real laws through use of drugs and alcohol. Although some may find these references offensive, religiously sinful, or wrong, \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d relishes any opportunity for escaping social boundaries and living freely.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d is part of the Mac and Devin Go to High School movie soundtrack, a film described in its iTunes preview as the \u201cultimate stoner comedy with a star-studded hip-hop soundtrack\u201d (\u201cMac and Devin Go to High School\u201d). In the music video, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa parody the structure of high school as they wreak havoc during a day trip to the teenage years. The music video shows students \u201cMac\u201d and \u201cDevin\u201d (Wiz and Snoop) fittingly passing their first day at N. Hale High \u201cN. Hale\u201d-ing, as well as their drug trips; the hallways are twisted once each as snow-dusted, an underwater ocean scene, and a cartoon bird haven. Mac and Devin also complete a project for \u201cscience class\u201d in which they prepare their own drugs and experiment with THC. Furthermore, throughout the whole video, there is only one appearance of an authority figure, in a screaming adult male, but he does not return again. The carnival rejects all things official and conventional; Mac and Devin certainly achieve a carnivalesque level of freedom in the music video of \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d as they lead the student body in a wild day at school and prevail over authority.<\/p>\n
![\"Mac](\"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/engl-117-fall16\/files\/2016\/11\/00111737-300x169.jpg\")
Mac and Devin’s “science project”. (Source: https:\/\/www.videogram.com\/comic_embed\/2997c0f0-87f4-4fcb-9dcd-42cde0276998)<\/p><\/div>\n
Bakhtin furthers his description of the carnival, \u201cCarnival is not a spectacle seen by the people; they live in it, and everyone participates because its very idea embraces all the people\u201d (Duncombe 86). In order for a carnival to completely reject all forms of hierarchy and structure, it is vital that all types of people participate (Karimova 48, 38). The carnival celebrates the community, and therefore must be inclusive. \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d exemplifies this trait in the featuring of many types of students– the preppy female, the nerd, the athlete, the fat boy in a wheelchair– and shows them all embracing the carnival at school in unison. \u201cThe carnivalesque is in brief a celebration of\u2026 community; it liberates people and brings them together and induces them to participate in communal living\u201d (Bell 105).<\/p>\n
![\"maxresdefault\"](\"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/engl-117-fall16\/files\/2016\/11\/maxresdefault-300x169.jpg\")
Album Cover of “Young, Wild, & Free” (Source: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KEddeCFhExA)<\/p><\/div>\n
The music video for \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d shows all types of students taking part in the fun as an entire, inclusive student body, rather than as divided by homogenous or exclusive social boundaries. Snoop Dogg lights a huge joint for a preppy white female, and an obese boy in a wheelchair expertly puffs smoke rings. The all-out party at the end of the music video also displays great diversity in the crowd. The point of including all people is also displayed on the album cover; Snoop Dogg is dressed athletically in a varsity jacket, while Wiz Khalifa appears nerdy in a button down. Despite the stigmas regarding these types of students, all of them partake in the festivities and in letting loose and ignoring school authority.<\/p>\n
![\"4731201_l2\"](\"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/engl-117-fall16\/files\/2016\/11\/4731201_l2-300x169.jpg\")
Snoop Dogg shares the love in the “Young, Wild & Free” music video. (Source: http:\/\/veehd.com\/video\/4731201_Snoop-Dog-And-Wiz-Khalifa-ft-Bruno-Mars-Young-Wild-And-Free-mp4)<\/p><\/div>\n
The wide reach of the \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d lifestyle is also apparent in the background of the song. Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg are both African American, while featured artist Bruno Mars is from Hawaii; the \u201cSmeezingtons\u201d group that composed the song consists of an African-American, a Caucasian, and Hawaiian Bruno Mars. The artists also reject typical lifestyles; Snoop Dogg (formerly Calvin Broadus) was in and out of jail for drug use for several years, and yet has grown into an incredibly successful musician. Neither Snoop nor Wiz Khalifa (formerly Cameron Thomaz) attended college or are married. Both openly attest to cannabis use. Wiz and Snoop both live atypically of societal standards in these ways; encouraging audiences to live in a carnivalesque fashion requires not just telling, but also showing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d is also able to directly influence real life because it helps dancers let loose– the song is no stranger to dance parties. The chorus is catchy, simple, and fun, so when it comes on the speakers, many a dance floor erupt with passionate singing and unembarrassed dancing. Dancing provides easy means to let go of social boundaries, and therefore everyday access to Bakhtin’s carnival; its role is in \u201cinciting the participants to \u2018the greatest exaltation of their symbolic faculties\u2019 into play, and triggering \u2018the whole pantomime of dancing, forcing every member into rhythmic movement\u2019\u201d (Stam 89). When everyone on a dance floor partakes unabashedly in dancing together, they are bringing the carnival to real life. \u201cThe carnivalesque is not restrained to popular culture texts, but transcends to \u2018everyday\u2019 life encompassing\u2026 those of audiences\u201d (Karimova 37). \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d provides an easy trigger to an unrestricted dance party– a modern carnival.<\/p>\n
![\"(Source:](\"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/engl-117-fall16\/files\/2016\/11\/hqdefault-2-300x225.jpg\")
(Source: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9E8_f7ek84c)<\/p><\/div>\n
A truly inclusive environment, furthermore, is hard to come by in modern society. There are always limiting factors to the extent of a shared experience; money is a frequent concern. A dance floor, however, is one experience that transcends economy. Although the song does encourage certain endeavors that may not be available to all classes, the experience that the song itself provides is. On the other hand, encouraging flashy, crazy parties may seem unwise; however, the benefits of rejecting structure are reaped in the sheer fun to be had. Additionally, although the music video only depicts one school day– a temporary escape– the lesson has been presented (in a readily available song) and viewers must elect to follow in Mac and Devin\u2019s footsteps. The message, furthermore, is widely applicable. Although the song may only be well known to today\u2019s younger generations, the ideals behind it should still be paid attention to by people of all ages. N. Hale High and its liberating wild spirit is a dream come true for students as well as adults bored by the structure and lack of freedom in their lives.<\/p>\n
Essentially, Bakhtin\u2019s carnival provides an escape from everyday life via fits of crude humor and unabashed free living, and focuses on welcoming all members of a community despite background, and the rejection of authority, hierarchy, structure, boundaries, and standards (Duncombe 84). Popular culture today, like Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa\u2019s song \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d, strives to achieve these carnivalesque qualities through explicit lyrical content and acceptance of substances typically frowned upon by society, the inclusion of all types of people in the fun, and the deliverance of these qualities to real life. \u201cCarnival changes over time, and if Medieval carnival was a \u2018second life\u2019 for people, the contemporary carnival is \u2018everyday\u2019 life\u201d (Karimova 46). Ordinary pop culture therefore has become our modern carnival; we must embrace it as an escape from reality and to strive for a \u201cYoung, Wild, & Free\u201d lifestyle.<\/p>\n
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Works Cited
\nBell, Michael Mayerfield, and Michael Gardiner. Bakhtin and the Human Sciences. London: Sage Publications, 1998. Print.
\nDogg, Snoop, and Wiz Khalifa. Young, Wild, & Free (feat. Bruno Mars). The Smeezingtons, 2011. Web.
\nDuncombe, Stephen. “A Politics That Doesn’t Look Like Politics.” Cultural Resistance Reader. London: Verso, 2002. 82-88. Print.
\nKarimova, Gulnara. “Interpretive Methodology from Literary Criticism: Carnivalesque Analysis of Popular Culture: “Jackass, South Park”, and ‘Everyday’ Culture.” Popular Culture Association in the South 33.1 (2010): 37-51. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 15 Nov. 2016
\n“Mac and Devin Go to High School.” iTunes Preview. iTunes, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
\nLMFAO. Party Rock Anthem (feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock). LMFAO, 2011. Web.
\nStam, Robert. Subversive Pleasures: Bakhtin, Cultural Criticism, and Film. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1989. Print.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"