Sunday, October 19, 2008

Worldview in "American Pie"

1. God & the universe-
"the father, son, and the holy ghost"
"and do you have faith in God above"

2. Humanity & identity-
"the marching band refused to yield"

3. Conflict & suffering-
"this'll be the day that I die"
"but I knew that I was out of luck
the day the music died"

4. Hope & redemption-
"can music save your mortal soul"

5. Values & relationships-
"I went down to the sacred store
where I'd heard the music years before,
but the man there said the music wouldn't play"

6. Truth & Reality-
"do you have faith in God above,
if the Bible tells you so?"

At first I thought "American Pie" contained a Christian worldview because of the terminology the writer used, such as "the father, son, and holy ghost", as well as the reference to the Bible. However, I now believe that it holds a Secular Humanist worldview. One reason for this is because the text states:
"And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they'd be happy for a while"

Secular Humanism puts emphasis on living a happy life, which is what "American Pie" seems to portray.

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