Anarchy in the Paper Abstract

My paper is a look at the part that language played in the brief, controversial career of 70s British punk rockers the Sex Pistols. It also analyzes that language.

Most of the language analysis (and the paper) is spent on deconstructing the Sex Pistols' song lyrics. The Pistols' first singles were revolutionary in a musical sense, but also in a social sense, in that they were carefully worded diatribes against the powers that be in a language straight from the working class. With talk of anarchy, destruction, and the lack of a future, the singles were designed to be outrageous and to play on the fears of the British cultural elites. Delivered in an abrasive yet simple style, and by a group of young nobodies, they were targeted at the youth and the working class.

This paper shows the impact that a few words (and a little music) can have on an entire culture or society. The Sex Pistols' entire catalog is less than 20 songs, and yet, for two years they spearheaded one of the most important counterculture movements in English history and struck fear into the heart of the English establishment. The reason is the language that they used; had they written songs about love or cars, no one would've cared, and they'd be a footnote on history. As it stands, the Sex Pistols are one of the most important and infamous rock bands to exist, and they'll be remembered forever (at least in England). This paper will demonstrate why that is.

And with that, my semester is over. Have a good summer all, now I must go get drunk.