While watching that video in class today, I couldn't help but laugh to myself: people were honestly getting fed up over the translation of a song to a different language?
First and foremost, I personally consider this to be a trivial issue compared to all the other major problems we have in the world today. Most importantly, however, I think those that were infuriated by the Spanish translation of the National Anthem were hypocrites; after all, didn't Francis Scott Key, the man who wrote the lyrics for "The Star-Spangled Banner," simply use the tune of a popular drinking song and replace the lyrics with those of his own? The same exact concept applies here: somebody believed it would be a good idea to translate the National Anthem to Spanish, thus creating "Nuestro Himno." Sure, "Nuestro Himno" may not be exactly translated word for word from English to Spanish (all languages have that same issue), but the translators of "Nuestro Himno" didn't completely obliterate the original lyrics and create their own like Francis Key did, either.
So, in the end, whose National Anthem is it? In my opinion, it's everybody's. Anyone has a right to interpret it their own way, as well as translate it to any language he or she wishes. The lyrics of the National Anthem are not copyrighted. Just as many Hollywood movies and books written by American authors have been translated to different languages, so can a song, that is not owned by anyone specifically, be translated to any language.
One more interersting tidbit: Weird Al needed the permission of music artists to completely change the lyrics of their popular songs, but he didn't receive nearly as much criticism for his version of each song as the "Nuestro Himno" producers did. Why is that so?
-Chloe Martianou
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Weird Al was not trying to pass off his songs as the original. He was not claiming that his new version of the song is the same or creates the same feelings as the original.
ReplyDeleteAnyone has a right to do whatever they want to the national anthem, it's just a question of what is accepted as THE national anthem. Since America does not have an official language, maybe the national anthem should not have an official language either.
-Alexa
I agree completely with Alexa. I think her point follows up nicely on what Tori said today in class. It might be far better and have a more unifying effect if the Star Spangled Banner was played without lyrics. Tori's solution might stop controversy on either side of the issue.
ReplyDelete-Tara
I disagree with taking out the lyrics of the Star-Spangled Banner; without the lyrics, it isn't a song anymore, just another musical piece. The solution shouldn't be to take out the lyrics of a song. People just need to learn to accept change.
ReplyDelete"Nuestro Himno" is an alteration of the National Anthem, but I don't believe anyone is trying to pass it off as the original. Nobody is forcing anybody else to accept it as the official National Anthem; they're simply translating it to a different language.
In the end, I think the issue is whether or not people can accept change and understand that "Nuestro Himno" is NOT replacing the English version of The Star-Spangled Banner-- it's just another version of it.
-Chloe Martianou
Yes, it's an alteration of the National Anthem. However, like Alexa said, the source of controversy is whether or not the United States government should accept "Nuestro Himno" as a legitimate version of the Star Spangled Banner.
ReplyDeleteWhile accepting change has always been something that this country has had trouble with, the semantic issue of "WHAT IS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM?" must also be addressed. In the end, it's not just about acceptance but also about how and for what purposes we define the National Anthem.
-Bryce Cody
I think the National Anthem was defined back in 1931 by Congress. Francis Scott Key's words and John Stafford Smith's music alone were given validity. Wyclef Jean and Jimi Hendrix may have done excellent things using the National Anthem as inspiration, but their products are simply too different to be considered legitimate. Many musical pieces may be similar to or based off of the Star-Spangled Banner, but imitations aren't the same as the original.
ReplyDeleteColin