Environmentalism of the 1960s: Audience Analysis of "Big Yellow Taxi"

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Audience Analysis of "Big Yellow Taxi"

The audience of “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell is everyone who is literate in English. The most attentive audience would be those who partook in or sympathized with the 1960’s Environmentalism movement. Majority of these people know that chemical pollution is a problem in the world, however many do not fully comprehend the severity of this issue. For example, DDT was widely used as a pesticide in the 60s and since it was so commonly used, many underestimated the threat it placed on the environment. The audience of this text would care because their home, Earth, is suffering from the mistreatment of the environment. Further, if an individual was obliged to adjust his lifestyle due to pollution, this person would be more likely to care about environmentalism. The information presented in “Big Yellow Taxi” would be received graciously, because the song does not blame the audience, rather blames an ominous third party, “they”. Additionally, the problem is explained in a figurative manner and the song is sung in an upbeat, catchy tone, which appeals to the audience. Silent Spring, in comparison, is more accusatory than “Big Yellow Taxi,” as it openly explains the impact human pollution has on the environment. In general, however, Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" would be understood by the audience as having a severe impact on the audience.

Sarah Neydon

7 comments:

UnknownSeptember 28, 2016 at 8:02 PM
I like that included how in "Big Yellow Taxi" Mitchell makes a point not to blame the audience. This most likely helped Mitchell to capture the attention of a larger audience because the song did not feel threatening or shameful, enticing more people to be open to listening.
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UnknownSeptember 28, 2016 at 8:05 PM
I can sympathize with the message behind "Big Yellow Taxi", if more people were aware of an issue surely there would be more action towards that issue. Nowadays global warming is becoming a serious issue, but not too many people are worried about it because of the lack of media and exposure. The world could really use another "Big Yellow Taxi" and Silent Spring.
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shira.panitchSeptember 29, 2016 at 2:23 PM
I like how you explain how the audience would perceive each text differently. However, I would contest that because the tune of "Big Yellow Taxi" is so upbeat the audience does not understand it to be nearly as serious as Silent Spring.
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UnknownSeptember 30, 2016 at 7:24 AM
Appealing to an audience is critical. Without capturing the attention of the American public both of these pieces wouldn't have gained as much traction. I find your point about Silent Spring's open critique very interesting, especially because people at the time still had just started to realize that their actions had long term ramifications.
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CAGBOctober 2, 2016 at 4:45 PM
Interesting post! I think you're right that the intended (or hoped) audiences of both these pieces would be everyone. Yet I wonder if the genres or artists or tone would limit the actual scope of the audience in practice?
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UnknownOctober 3, 2016 at 8:43 PM
I agree that the overall audience is everyone literate in English, but I think you could have specified a little to make the song seem like it was for a certain group to become aware.
-Billy ROsenberg
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UnknownOctober 3, 2016 at 8:44 PM
I agree that the overall audience is everyone literate in English, but I think you could have specified a little to make the song seem like it was for a certain group to become aware.
-Billy ROsenberg
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Critical Introduction

Hello reader and welcome to our blog, “Environmentalism of the 1960s”! We are a group of freshman College Park Scholars at The University of Maryland, and all highly interested in the environment and the various movements to protect it. The Environmentalist Movement of the 1960s was one of the especially big motions in our history, and of the time and therefore many works were produced pushing the environmentalist agenda. Two of these works, which we discuss more thoroughly in our blog, are the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and the song “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell. These two works differ greatly on the basis of presentation, syntax, general message, and more, however both support the same general stance that human’s need to protect and stop inflicting such excessive harm on the environment. Our blog explores how the differences in these works enable each author to form concrete arguments backing the Environmentalist movement. In Joni Mitchell’s song “Big Yellow Taxi” and Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, the ideas of the environmentalist movement are pushed onto the audience using strong figurative language in the former and concrete facts in the latter.

In “Big Yellow Taxi” figurative language, specifically imagery, plays an important role in expressing Mitchell’s opinions on the environmentalist movement. Using pleas such as “hey farmer farmer put away that DDT now. Give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees please” Mitchell creates a visual imagery ‘ultimatum’ for her audience, showing what is being given up for relatively unimportant benefits. Silent Spring appeals to logos and utilizes research-based statistics to instill credibility into the argument presented. The work is flooded with facts which are intertwined with Carson’s opinions on those topics. The major arguments of both works is that a greater public concentration on conservation is needed, and that without this we will surely lose things that can never be replaced. They use stases of action making it clear that unless society changes its ways and evaluates its actions, this planet and all that was once good about it will be lost.

The Environmentalist movement is one that has gained steam throughout the years, yet still has been unable to find truly effective solutions. Finding these solutions has become more difficult as society has grown and industrialization has progressed. A major issue in the 1960s and 70s was the usage of a chemical pesticide, DDT, which is explained further in our blog and the two main works referenced in our blog. Although DDT use is now largely banned, other, debatably worse, problems have presented themselves. We move closer and closer to these issues causing irreversible damage, making it clear just how essential modern environmentalist thought is. For example, air pollution is the world’s number one preventable cause of death, lending credence to the idea that the Environmentalist movement has much further to go before finding true success. With help from activists such as Mitchell and Carson and their works, this movement is able to progress and continue spreading awareness to the importance of protecting the environment.

After reading our blog, you will have gained a better understanding of this movement as a whole, and two influential pieces that supported the movement. We do not have a perfectly ordered approach, as we felt that a more piecemeal approach allows the topic to blend more efficiently and organically, with less of didactic nature. We prove our major arguments by thoroughly examining all the stases and rhetorical appeals from several angles and applying them to both texts with great efficiency and care. We hope you will appreciate the consequences of carelessness in the environment and the true impact mankind has on this one environment we have been given. A feeling that mankind is to blame for many issues should not be a rare feeling, and yet this should also be coupled with hope that we have time to fix it. Have fun reading and learning how together we can all conserve this planet!