Juan David Ladino Cardenas

Professor Deby Jizi

UWRIT1103-036
November 2, 2015
Research Proposal
1. Inquiry Question: Why are the rather touchy topics of depression, drug abuse, casual sex,
etc. so common in modern mainstream music genres?
2. Primary Purpose
a. Explore: Additional questions to research involve the prevalence of these issues
and the manner in which they affect the audience. In other words, what does this
music say about the zeitgeist of this generation? How does the prevalence of this
music nowadays compare to music of the 80s, 70s, and 60s? What does this say
about society at large? Why do artists create this sort of music?
b. Argue: Tentative hypothesis as it currently stands essentially makes the argument
that because society at large now values personal artistic expression and openness,
it is more socially acceptable to talk about activities that are characteristic of
mental illness, simply because the artists themselves may have experience with
these issues, and are therefore celebrated for their genuine approach and not
because the population at large is necessarily more or less depressed than it had
been before.
3. The personal beliefs that I bring to this assignment are easy to pinpoint given Ive spent
much time considering this very topic. Namely, I operate under the impression that
because artistic types generally tend to be introspective by nature, they are
disproportionately affected by mental illness. Look no further than someone like Van

Gogh who used his pain as inspiration for distorted art, Kurt Cobain whose personal
brand of fatalism made him so popular that it killed him, or even Taylor Swift whom,
although not generally regarded as being depressing, derives much of the inspiration for
her music form failed relationships and heartbreak. I also assume that artists that manage
to tap into this pain and turn it into art tend to be critically acclaimed in such a way that it
resonates with the masses, perhaps suggesting the masses themselves on some level or
another identify with this pain.