Letter
to the Editor – Rationale
Alia
Oumeish
We all know Amy Winehouse, she is
one of the most famous women of her generation, unfortunately she passed away
due to some bad experiences that occurred that were expressed in her songs. I found
an article discussing this, it is an online magazine and this article discusses
her authenticity and personal issues that was published only 2 days after her
death in July of 2011. I will also reference two of her songs ‘Back to Black’
and ‘Rehab’ since they both portray the context the identifies with language
and identity, proving that Amy uses language in her songs as a way of opening
up to people about her issues, which proves that she is an authentic singer.
The test time I have chosen is a
letter to the editor of Salon.com online magazine, I will write two letters to
the editor, one acting as a concerned mother of a crazed fan of Amy’s, who is
supportive of the negative comments being said about Amy Winehouse, and the
second letter as the actual fan who does not see the bad in her role model. I
chose this arrangement because I think it is the best way to include arguments
both for and against what’s been said in an interesting yet appropriate
matter.
This specific article about Amy
Winehouse would obviously be directed towards fans of hers, and frequent
viewers of the magazine, and the purpose of my response would be to prove that
Amy Winehouse was authentic throughout her music and to further explain the
different opinions of the people.
Amy Winehouse’s authenticity
Mrs. Lannister
1st August 2011
Dear David Daley, Editor in chief of Salon.com online magazine
As I was walking past my daughter
Anna’s bedroom I over heard them talking about Amy Winehouse and fussing over
the negative things that have been written about her on your online magazine,
and I have to admit I was very curious as to see what all the hassle was about,
and after reading your article I have to agree fully with everything being
said, Amy Winehouse was a troubled singer and it is very obvious throughout her
songs, as mentioned in your statement “Amy Winehouse’s darkest days were
well-documented, and the tone of the coverage”. I agree with this statement
because every single one of the songs I hear my daughter Anna listening to
includes some sort of inappropriate language about drugs and alcohol and other
inapt substances that Amy Winehouse was exposed to.
I am fully aware that many
celebrities are exposed and resort to drugs and alcohol abuse etc. but many of
them get the help they need before it is too late, as you mentioned earlier;
“Winehouse sang, salty and teasing, outing herself — gallantly, even — as a
devotee of excess. “They tried to make me go to rehab, I said ‘No, no, no,’”
she proudly insisted. Her voice was tough, unapologetic.” She full on admit to
needing rehab in one of her songs then admitted to refusing to go, now what
kind of mother would want her daughter to admire a person like this? You have
to understand the worry I am going through, my daughter looks up to this
person, but Amy Winehouse is definitely not a person to be looked up to.
In my experience I'm aware that
many younger people of this generation are exposed to illegal substances, and
my daughter Anna is only 16 and sees Amy Winehouse as a role model and doesn’t realize
that Amy Winehouse was very troubled, and while my daughter and many others
seem to think that all of her music is just based on silly words that rhyme and
sound good, but in reality she is being authentic in her songs, she actually is
talking about her experiences with drugs and substance abuse, but many people
do not realize the honesty behind her lyrics.
Amy Winehouse’s Authenticity
Anna Lannister, her biggest fan
2nd August 2011
Dear David Daley,
I have to disagree with everything
being said in your article, I think its just dishonest opinions about a certain
celebrity, in hopes to get a lot of hits on the magazine.
Also when you stated “The rate at
which the public gobbled up glib Winehouse headlines (Amy Winehouse Performs Drunk and Falls On Stage!
Drunk Amy Winehouse Gives Worst Performance In History!) was in line
with both the extraordinary number of records she sold and the precise content
of those records.” I just think that as a a celebrity she must be faced with
many pressures and will obviously lead to substance abuse to help ease her
stress, and I do not think she should be judged for it, as long as she is
singing the song properly which is what people paid for, she shouldn’t be
insulted.
Also when stated “Critics continue
to insist that authenticity, as it applies to art (and especially performance),
is a sucker’s bet — it’s a hollow construct, an impossible ideal, a dangerous,
nonsensical presumption.” In the article, I think that authenticity is a very
important trait to include in ones music and art. I think Amy was just trying
to make her songs more real, which is what makes it more special. I really do
not think that being authentic is something to be judged for.
The only thing I probably agree
with in this article is this part “. Addiction is a fundamentally different
kind of hardship, but Winehouse’s life wasn’t charmed. She had credibility,
suddenly, and that trumped everything else — race, circumstance, and origin.
She made dozens of unforgivable professional and personal mistakes, but no one
could accuse her of being full of shit.” I think this opens a new argument
about Amy Winehouse that I probably should not get into, although I have to say
that the last part of the sentence was very accurate, because no matter what
Amy Winehouse was real, she was a genuine. She spoke about the harsher things
that many other artists feared to open up about, when she sings you could hear
the honesty behind her lyrics. Which is why I love her so much, just a few
months ago when I went to her concert during her slower songs I nearly teared
up from the sadness I could hear in her voice.
Yes I will admit she has made many
mistakes throughout her life, and her death ironically was a mistake, she
overdosed just last month. It happens to many people, but what I cant wrap my
head around is how miserable a person could be to have to have that much drugs,
I couldn’t imagine how much pain she was trying to numb. Don’t get me wrong I
know that it was very immoral and was not a pleasant death, I also know that
substance abuse is extremely dangerous and illegal, but it’s a hard addiction
to break, I don’t think anyone should be judged negatively because of a mistake
that cost their life, because no one really knows what she was going through. “That
Amy Winehouse never had the chance to betray her music is the saddest kind of
epilogue.”
