American Idiot by Green Day

Date song was produced

* Released on June 22, 2006

### Significance of the song in history

* Green Day was the first protest song to go mainstream and speak out against the Bush administration in the 21st century

### Social ill/problem being protested

* *American Idiot* is a protest song of the Iraq War era and the biased reporting of events during this time period that led to hysteria and paranoia among many U.S. citizens

### Sample of the lyrics

* "One nation controlled by the media, information age of hysteria"
* "Now everybody do the propaganda and sing along to the age of paranoia"

### Relevance of the words and phrases selected: is the song convincing in it's message?

The song is convincing in its message, because it uses words like "hysteria" and "paranoia" to suggest that the U.S. public falls victim to the media's over-exaggeration of the 9/11 war and the threat that Iraq posed to the U.S.

### Event, person, and place of issue

The song expresses the dissent of a generation that came of age during the Iraq war and Bush's re-election, both of these events were insanely influential in shaping how these younger generations viewed patriotism and the U.S.. In 2006, the year the song was released, the case for the Iraq War disintegrated; the CIA admitted that they knew there was no immediate threat from weapons of mass destruction in countries like Iraq before their attacks, the abuse of prisoners of war at the Abu Ghraib prison

became international news, and combat in cities like Fallujah claimed the lives of nearly 7,000 insurgents and 1,000 coalition soldiers, as well as nearly 12,000 civilians. These events were similar to the Vietnam war and the distrust U.S. citizens had for their government after the Mai Lai massacre came out. During this time period George W. Bush also faced his re-election campaign, and had to not just assert the conflict’s righteousness, but also had to kill questions of his own legitimacy as president that still lingered after the 2002 election.

### Contemporary connections

* The British public got the song to trend on the charts in the UK **14 years** after its release when Donald Trump was scheduled to visit
* It was made for the Bush administration but many people believe the lyrics connect to the Trump administration as well, like the themes of media bias and heightened paranoia over potential threats to the U.S.

### Trivia

* Brandon Flowers of The Killers criticized Green Day for being anti-American

* The album the song is from, also titled American Idiot, was actually adapted into a Broadway play in 2009

* It was released during the 2006 presidential campaign, where (ironically due to message of the album) George W. Bush was re-elected

* In 2018, there was a Facebook campaign encouraging people to stream “American Idiot” so it would top the Billboard top 100 Uk Charts, in protest of Donald Trump’s visit to the UK.

* This song was at the top of a list compiled by South China University Of Technology of the most dangerous songs to listen to in the car. Reason for this is that songs with more than 120 bpm make your driving more fast and reckless. American Idiots bmp is of 189.

* When asked by an VH1 Storytellers' audience member if anyone who voted for George W. Bush was an "American Idiot," Billie Joe Armstrong replied: "No, just a misinformed idiot."

### Reasons we selected this song and/or musicians

We feel that the anti-american counter culture message they conveyed 15 years ago is still very relevant today and has gained even more meaning and traction today under Trump's administration. As we see the same heightened paranoia about the US-Mexico border as we once did about Iraq and terrorist groups. We are not always satisfied or proud of the decisions our own government make, and we feel that this song explicitly states that.

#### External links:

https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/09/green-day-american-idiot-protest-music/

https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/green-day/american-idiot-single-story-meaning-lyrics/

https://www.npr.org/2018/07/10/627727279/ahead-of-u-k-visit-trump-made-the-subject-of-american-idiot-campaign

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/green-day/american-idiot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee\_uujKuJMI

1. ↑ https://www.songfacts.com/facts/green-day/american-idiot