Adam Sandler’s “What The Hell Happened To Me?”: How Music Affects Culture Essay, Research Paper
Adam Sandler’s “What the Hell Happened to Me?”: How Music Affects Culture
This song means that culture affects how we grow up greater then most people
think. I shows that when Adam Sandler was young, he was a well-rounded boy that
liked to have fun. The song is also saying that our culture is affecting
innocent youth that are forced to deal with the problems that the previous
generations made for them. This song shows how all people are affected when they
are really just innocent bystanders that have to witness the world at its
roughest. They are forced to deal with it although they are truly unprepared for
such a harsh treatment.
Traits. The song presents cultural traits in that it shows how we grow up and
are affected by culture. Cultural traits presented in this song are how we teach
children and what we subject them to. Our methods of education and entertainment
both affect how we turn out in the long run. The song shows how these traits
affect how people grow up, and what they value in life. For example, the song
talks about selling lemonade, eating popcorn, and watching parades. Then it goes
on to say he’s “only happy when [he's] drinking JD” The point is that people are
changing because of society and our culture’s lack of certain elements, such as
respect and discipline.
Values. The values presented by this song include the value of respect and
discipline, and the need for more strict ways to keep a young mind safe of
destruction. These values are presented in the line “I only did the things that
Mama said I should, but now I do whatever I want.” That line shows that values
change as we age and the reason is because of society; obviously if Adam only
did what was allowed, culture’s values of discipline and respect must have
turned him the wrong way, because his mother did not.
Other values presented in the song are education and entertainment. This is
shown by the lines stating that as a boy, Adam was well-behaved and had fun in
parks and carnivals. He played in the snow and he loved sports, but as an adult
he only finds pleasure in things he would never had imagined he could have only
20 years ago. Also, it is shown that culture has made such a mess of his mind
that he can’t understand why he would be in this shape. he presents this
information to us in the lines “It makes no sense, I can’t believe I’m me.’ He
says this meaning “Why did I end up like this and how? I never saw it coming.”
Language. This song really does not demonstrate the language of the culture
besides his use of shortened words and contractions. This shows that in our
culture, we are lazy and don’t really care enough to finish complete words or to
make full sentences.
Lyrics:
I used to ride the big wheel
And sell lemonade
Eat popcorn with Grandpa while we watched the parade
But now I’m only happy when I’m drinkin’ JD
What the hell happened to me?
I used to have fun throwing snowballs
Then Mom would make us cocoa if we got real chilly
But now I only get excited when I see a girl pee
What the hell happened to me?
I used to be the nicest kid in the neighborhood
I only did the things Mama said I should
But now I just do whatever I want
I even whipped it out at a restaurant
I used to help clean the park in the middle of town
Then play kickball ?till the sun went down
but now all I do is get VD
What the hell happened to me?
It makes no sense
I can’t believe I ended up me
I’m outta my gourd
Won’t somebody please help me
I’m kinda a weirdo
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