The ‘Social Justice Plot’ in learning, consuming, and (re)creating music on social media

Abstract

In this article, I outline what I call the ‘Social Justice Plot’ in online music-making and consumption. I suggest that some popular music follows a particular plot where social justice discourses of fighting against and triumphing against inequalities based on identity is used to form narratives and tension and release in music and other arts. In the participatory culture and participatory politics of social media, consumers of media circulate and comment on these songs as a way to perform their own social justice identities. To explicate this process, I primarily draw upon Beyoncé Knowles’s song ‘Formation’, a cover of the song by a white male artist, and commenters’ reactions on social media to this cover. Through this example, I suggest that this Social Justice Plot is the commodification of anti-oppression discourses for material and moral gain. I conclude with implications for music education research and practice.