PLEASE NOTE: This is an essay I wrote for my American Literature and Modern American History Course. It is a discussion of the historical content of a music video created for the song "Right Now" by Van Halen.

As the American Dream fades...
Right Now

It is often said that music, as an art form, is a reflection of life. An artist can, through his lyrics, and images in the music video, demonstrate the inspiration behind his creation. When listening to a song, or watching a music video, the audience can get a sense of ‘where the artist is coming from.’ More so, the viewer or listener can relate to what is going on in the song or video. It is in these cases that music becomes most like life, in the sense that it accurately portrays the feelings, thoughts, or even the actions of a society. Van Halen’s Right Now, a song and music video produced in 1992, gives an accurate, and intricate depiction of social issues in the early nineteen nineties, and the events that led to those issues. Van Halen, through the images in their video, delineates a society vastly corrupted by its own shortcomings. In the music video Right Now, images of laborers working for minimum wage, wildlife being destroyed, and the American government being controlled by a marionette "puppet-master" show an incredibly complex theme that remains apparent throughout the composition. Media in America constantly covers stories, discussing data, and showing pictures which portray the negative and inferior status of foreign countries as compared to the United States.  Poverty, war, violence, and oppression are presented by the American government as foreign, and not problematic in the United States. The United States government presents its country as an economically, politically, and socially stable place to live.  What rarely receives presentation is the economic variances in terms of the income gap, the political instability of partisan politics, and the standardized systems of social segregation that have plagued American society for generations.  Slavery, the suppression of women's' rights, and the obstruction of minority and homosexual equality illustrate these systems.  Van Halen depicts the idea that these very systems, which have been inaugurated by the American public, will sequentially consume the democratic way of life, and capitalistic standard of living. "Right Now" has become the time to address these issues. However, because they have been rooted into the American social and political structure, it will be "Harder than it looks" to institute change.

In their video, Van Halen presents the idea that the American government's has become corrupt in the sense that ‘Big Business’, and industries both domestic and foreign have affected the economic well being of the country and its citizens, through their direct influence in politics. Van Halen expresses the notion that the powerful American democracy, which was once a paramount political system, has been diminished to nothing more than a pseudo-democracy overshadowed by internal partisan politics, personal attacks in the nation’s capital, and kick-backs received by federal employees. Also, since the nation has immersed itself into the information age, the role of the working class has begun to change, and is gradually fading. Responsibility still needs to be taken for the poverty and oppression that remains in this once great country. Van Halen says that "Right Now", more than ever, is the time to address these issues, and promote change in America.

In their video, Van Halen includes the image of a condom, with the words "Right Now, nothing is more expensive than regret." The image lies on a bright, almost translucent background, setting the image apart from others used in the video. Its rich, bright colors hold the viewers attention, as the image represents an important part of Van Halen's video. An object or substance that is translucent, by definition, holds the ability to let some light through, while restraining the majority of the illumination. The translucency in this image is an obscure symbol of its purpose: Teen pregnancy. Every teen realizes the possible consequence of premarital sex, or sex at a young age. However, as is evident by statistical data, the knowledge of this consequence does not necessarily block the stimulus of adolescence. Similar to the translucency, some light is shed on the possible outcome of premarital sex. However, only when the birth of a child is imminent, do American teens accept the severity of their actions. Only after the fact, can American teens see through the translucency, to the reality of the situation. In just six years (from 1987-1993), for example, California's teenage pregnancy rate jumped 20% ^{(Senate, 1)}. In 1993, 111 out of every 1,000 girls ages 15 through 19 became pregnant ^{(Senate, 1)}. Teenage pregnancy is not uncommon. Nor does it concentrate itself in a certain region, or area. Teenage pregnancy is present everywhere in America, and it is present in Van Halen's video.

In California, seven out of ten teen mothers are unmarried. This figure has doubled since 1970 ^{(Senate, 2)}. The American situation does not improve; it worsens. This outrageous fact contributed to this controversial image’s presence in Van Halen’s video. Americans like to tell themselves that their country has vastly improved compared to a few decades ago, and the American government would relentlessly defend this perception. But the American government presents an image that is drastically different than reality. At no time in the American modern history has the teenage pregnancy rate been higher. Of these teenage pregnancies, four in ten end in an abortion ^{(Senate, 3)}.

Another more recent aspect of this image has become an American epidemic. AIDS/HIV has ripped its way into society, and refuses to be contained. In 1995, homosexual men accounted for 42% of all new AIDS cases, while injectable drug users accounted for 26% of all new AIDS cases reported ^{(Senate, 5)}. However, despite popular belief, the gay community, and drug users do not comprise the entire at risk community. Heterosexual intercourse is, and has always been, a risk to acquiring the HIV virus. In fact, a statistical report on AIDS/HIV from the United States Senate Office of Research acknowledges that:

[T]he proportion of AIDS cases among women, racial-ethnic minorities, and children has increased, while the rate of AIDS among homosexual men has remained relatively level. [This fact] perhaps reflect(s) the impact of sustained target-prevention programs. ^{(Senate, 5)}

Americans have choices. Americans have the right to choose. Americans can decide whether or not to have sex, to have an abortion, to have a baby. The government does not tell Americans when, and how to do these things. The American government leaves its people the freedom to choose. This very freedom, this unregulated choice, and the immaturity of the chooser, has caused America to fall victim to the HIV virus, and to unacceptably high teenage pregnancy rates. Van Halen says that the American people are not ready for this kind of freedom. They have taken their freedom for granted, they have tossed it around, and not considered the repercussions of their decisions and, therefore, now suffer the consequences. This image of the condom, among other images in Van Halen’s video, helps to identify the purpose of the video.

"Right Now, our government is doing things we think only other countries do."  This quote sits accompanied by the animation of a stick figure being pushed over backwards. This image blatantly depicts the corruption of the American government. For years, the American government has said that terrorism is a horrible, devastating practice that, sadly, presents itself all over the world. They continued to tell the American people that, luckily, terrorism does not exist in America, nor does the United States government promote, condone, or engage in terrorism. Statistical data provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ^{(Federal, link)} proves that, despite information released by the media, terrorism does exist in the United States. Admittedly, terrorism in some cases can be more blatant in other countries than in the United States. But the fact remains that terrorism is present in America. For example, in 1945, near the end of World War II, in order to hasten the conclusion of the war, President Harry Truman decided to utilize a recent invention: the atomic bomb. Truman ordered the drop of the atomic bomb (code-named Little Boy) on Japan in an attempt to end the war without a military invasion of Japan ^{(Nash, 514-516)}. A Japanese journalist describes the devastating event:

Suddenly a glaring whitish pinkish light appeared in the sky accompanied by an unnatural tremor. Within a few seconds the thousands of people in the streets. . .and in the gardens in the center of town were scorched by a wave of searing heat. . .

By the evening the fire began to burn down and then it went out. There was nothing left to burn. Hiroshima had ceased to exist.

--Barrington Boardman

From Harding to Hiroshima, 1987. ^{(Nash, 516)}

Over 100,000 Japanese citizens died immediately due to the blast in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Furthermore, 100,000 more died later due to radiation exposure ^{(Nash, 514-516)}. This act, in itself, does not constitute one of terrorism. However, three days later, after the devastation of Hiroshima, the United States dropped another atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Killing more than 40,000 Japanese citizens, and completely destroying yet another Japanese city, the United States forced Japan to withdraw five days later on August 14, 1945 ^{(Nash, 514-516)}. This bombing, the second in Japan, blatantly implemented terrorism. The first atomic bombing was, arguably, a necessary action in the scope of the war. However, the United States neglected to allow Japan an adequate amount of time to politically respond to the bombing, with either a withdrawal from the war, or a military retaliation. The second bombing, occurring only three days after the first, represented an over-utilization of a new technology, and an infliction of terror on the country of Japan. The United States had developed the ability to harness atomic energy in the form of a weapon and, after the possibly necessary bombing in Hiroshima, chose to further demonstrate their power in Nagasaki. This is just one example of the United States committing an act of terrorism.

Another example of American terrorism occurred in 1998 after terrorists destroyed two American embassies. In response to these bombings, the United States decided, with good intentions, to retaliate on the suspected terrorists. The United States put together a campaign in which they bombed three suspected terrorist sights in Afghanistan ^{(Federal, Home)}. Arguably, it could be said that the United States did not actually destroy terrorist sights, and that the people killed may not have been terrorists. However, this is not the issue. Terrorism is the declaration of war on a private party within a political state, "using, or intending to use force or violence with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments. ^{(Webster’s, 345)}" The United States declared war on a group - existent or not - within the political state of Afghanistan, and used deadly force against that group. This is terrorism. The United States government cannot argue that America has never engaged in terrorism, because in two events, the United States sponsored devastating terrorist campaigns.

The United States government attempted to mislead its country, by attempting to justify its actions to the American people. The simple fact, is that the actions of the American government in 1945, and in 1998 were not and are not justifiable. The attempt to hide their actions behind a façade of morally correct values, and American ideals has only escalated the negativity of the situation. Now, not only can the American public not believe its government, it can also no longer trust its government to honestly discuss its actions with the American people.

In their video, Right Now, Van Halen includes an image of laborers working, and along with the image are the words, "Right Now, someone is working too hard for minimum wage." This image has two meanings, one of which ties back to the image of "Right Now, our government is doing things we thought only other countries did."

Americans live in a country greatly enamored with itself. Americans like to think that they are in good shape, and that the problems in their country do not run too deep. What is rarely presented to Americans is the fact that right here, "Right Now", in America, there are people living in poverty. There are people living well below the National Poverty Line. In 1993, 15.1 percent of all persons living in America lived well below the poverty line ^{(Census, 103)}. According to Timothy M. Smeeding’s "U.S. poverty and Income Security Report," 20.4 percent of children in America lived in poverty in 1987, as did 10.9 percent of elderly. ⁽⁷⁰⁾ The report included the poverty levels of other developed countries, and the United States’ statistics for impoverished children and elderly was more than twice that of the nearest country. Americans do suffer from poverty. The United States government instituted a minimum wage, with the intent to equalize wages. Even now, when minimum wage is $5.75, laborers earning minimum wage cannot support even the basic family of four. Working eight hours a day, five days a week, for one year, a worker can only earn $11,040 - simply not enough in today's expanding economy ^{(Census, 103)}. In earlier years, when minimum wage was less, the difficulty was even greater. Thus, poverty has been politically instituted in America. However, American poverty has more historic roots than simply its political institution.

Poverty in America can be traced back to the 1920s. Crop prices dropped due to the replacement of horses with tractors. This allowed an increase in supply, but demand remained unchanged. At the same time, in the 1920s, factories began to use electric power, instead of coal power to operate their machines. This reduced coal prices, and caused many miners to loose their jobs, as the coal was loosing demand. This was just one of the social changes that affected poverty at that time. Changes in fashion such as rising hems, and silk stockings caused changes in the textile industry in the 1920s. Manufacturers used less cotton when making clothing. Cotton prices dropped, and many factories were forced to close. Overall factory employment in the U.S. decreased for the first time in the country’s history. Also in the 1920s, one third of American families lived below average lives. These families were unable to buy many of the new products that were produced, and in demand, thus unraveling the economy even more. ^{(Nash, 377-378)}

American poverty can again be documented in the 1950s. In this decade, the poor were so well hidden from society, that many people actually believed that there remained less than one million poor people in the United States. The statistics proved, however, that more than 30 million people lived on less than minimum wage. In fact, more than eight million elderly people earned a salary of less than $1,000 per year. ^{(Nash, 618-624)}

Much of the poverty in America was among Hispanics and African Americans. This was due greatly to the long history of racial prejudice against these ethnic groups in America.

At this time, also, nearly 50% of the poor in America were under the age of 18 ^{(Nash, 618-624)}. Literacy was mostly responsible for this statistic, as these "welfare children" were often not sent to school, but rather kept at home to assist with the family.

In the 1990s, the income gap increased greatly ^{(Nash, 884-885)}. Executives were demanding larger salaries, while the common worker received less, or was laid off. Businesses were expecting higher levels of schooling, with more degrees, and more experience from their prospective employees, while the University systems in America were getting more difficult to enter.

As more and more people were classified as poor in the 1990s, the number of American citizens on welfare increased. As welfare money increased, taxes, as a result, also increased to support the escalating amount of welfare money being distributed. This increase in taxes greatly affected the working middle class who, though not classified as poor, worked for a living to support their families. Furthermore, 40% of jobs lost in the 1990s were middle class jobs. ^{(Nash, 884-885)}

In the 1990s, nearly half of the adults in America were in poverty, while 14 million were classified as working poor. The working poor earned about $12,000 per year, and were unable to support the basic family of four. ^{(Nash, 884-885)}

Poverty in America has been present all of the country’s modern history. The difference between poverty in the U.S., and poverty in foreign countries, is that it is not outwardly addressed in America. Though welfare does exist, it is looked down upon. The working poor, or those in poverty are generally excluded from society, in the sense that education, entertainment, and even basic needs such as food and water often cost large amounts of money - money that these people cannot afford. Van Halen expresses the idea that "Right Now" is the time to reach out to those in the surrounding community that are less fortunate, or in need, and offer help to a fellow American.

"Right Now, people who can’t breathe are bumming. Right Now, people who can’t read are bumming." This quote, superimposed on the image of a stack of books, holds a large place in the theme of Van Halen’s video Right Now. Its dark background symbolizes the glum and negativity associated with the image. The stack of books in the background depicts one of the image’s two messages. The word "breathe" is morphed continuously with the word "read," causing the message to be two-sided. The first point is that, "Right Now," more than ever, Americans cannot afford to be illiterate. We are surrounded by a society that demands the ability to read, and does not allow success for someone who cannot. This image also deals with another topic, deeply rooted in the capitalistic standard of living. It deals with oppression. Oppression has been a large part of America for its entire history. Beginning in the sixteenth century, slavery became a standard in American society ^{(Nash, 166-168)}. African men and women were shipped by the hundreds to America, and sold at auction as slaves. African slaves in America were treated inhumanly, stripped of their natural rights as humans, and not considered to be a part of society. This racial prejudice instituted by the white man, soon spread to other races, and soon included the vast majority of racial-ethnic minorities, though none were enslaved as the African had been. The American opinion of slavery and Africans was one-side, and oppressive. Americans in the early years of the United States believed that Africans were inferior to themselves, and did not deserve emancipation, or anything more than service to the white man. In the mid-eighteen hundreds, under pressure from Republican senators, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the issue of emancipation, while keeping to the American view of slavery:

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy Slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about Slavery and the colored rave, I do because it helps to save this Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union."

--Abraham Lincoln, 1862 ^{(Nash, 177)}

Abraham Lincoln blatantly disclosed the American government’s corruption, and immorality. Instead of being concerned with human rights, and personal well-being, Lincoln ignored the feelings and situation of the African slave, and addressed simply the feelings of the Union. President Lincoln openly expressed his non-concern for the oppressed. Thus began a history of American oppression.

After their eventual emancipation, which freed them from captivity, African-Americans were still not free from oppression. African-Americans did not receive equal rights, or opportunities as citizens of the United States. In the twentieth century, segregation legally separated African-Americans from the rest of America. The American government forced them to attend separate, less developed schools than whites. The American government forced them to use separate equipment, and use different facilities. As much as possible, American society attempted to remove African-Americans from the rest of the community. Finally, segregation became illegal in America. No longer could African-Americans be legally segregated from society. However, this did not stop social segregation. African-Americans were not, and are still not viewed as equal citizens in America. Unfortunately, African-Americans were not the only members of society oppressed in America.

At the same time Africans were enslaved, women in America were experiencing injustice. The role of women in early American history, was generally as the homemaker. A woman’s duties in society generally consisted of raising the children, tending to the home, and allowing the man to make a living. However, in the late-eighteen hundreds, the women’s suffrage movement began. Women in America refused to be left behind, and given unequal rights as citizens of America. American women demanded the right to work, the right to vote, the right to become an equal, contributing part of American society. By 1912, nine states in the western half of the US allowed women to vote. Women earned the right to vote in all states on August 26, 1920. Gradually, women became an integral part of American society. Women in the work force steadily increased during the 1950s and 1960s. The number of working wives went from seven percent in 1940 to 32 percent in 1960, while the number of working mothers jumped from 1.5 million to 6.6 million in the same time period. Suddenly, 40 percent of women with children held positions in the work force. ^{(Nash, 344-345)} However, there was a drastic contradiction. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, women received nearly 40 cents to the male dollar. By 1981, women were making 70 cents to the male dollar, and the inequality remained ^{(McNeil, 214)}. American society has instituted an economic form of oppression. Women, in some cases, are unable to earn as much money as men, thus continuing the presence oppression.

Oppression remains a very real, very disturbing part of America’s history. At no time in their history have Americans been free from oppression. At no time in history have socially instituted systems of segregation not existed. Americans seem to almost find it necessary to segregate themselves, either politically, socially, or economically, as never in American history has there been a time when segregation in some form did not exist. Van Halen expresses the idea that it is America's freedom to choose, America's ability to segregate itself, that will eventually cause its political and social exhaustion.

Language has enormous power. Whether written, verbal, or expressed as an image, language commands emotions, thoughts, and even actions. "I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language - the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth." Amy Tan, in her essay "Mother Tongue," expresses her thoughts on language. Van Halen's video Right Now utilizes language in many forms. In terms of its composition, ignoring for a moment its content, Right Now is an excellent example of the power of language. The video evokes anger, sadness, and determination in the heart of the viewer. The corruption of the American government, and the social institution of segregation both serve as examples of complex ideas presented in the video. Van Halen uses language in the form of the written word, and symbolic images to express their ideas, and the purpose of the music video. Van Halen's ideas run deep into the American Dream. The ideals of democratic equality, capitalistic prosperity, and material plenty that have been present in America for generations have been set aside to accommodate America's institution of social and political segregation. These systems have been present since the conception of the United States, and have yet to give way to moral good, and social equality. Van Halen's idea remains; America must move past its internal corruption, and its social segregation, and utilize its right to choose. America's religious and political freedoms must be acknowledged, and America must strive to turn itself around morally, ethically, and politically. If this does not happen, then the choices made by the American people, and the freedoms they chose to use negatively, will ultimately destroy the society, and cause the downfall of a political system.