An investigation into the role of struggle songs in youth driven protests: perspectives of youths in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of struggle songs in youth driven protests from the perspectives of youths in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study was guided by three objectives which were to explore which aspects of struggle songs, resonate with the youth today; to explore what emotions are evoked by singing of struggle songs; to explore the role of the songs in youth driven protest action. The study made use of the Social Identity Theory (SIT) proposed by Tajfel and Turner. The Brain stem reflex; Rhythmic entrainment; Evaluative Conditioning; Emotional Contagion; Visual imagery; Episodic Memory; Musical expectancy, often refered to as the BRECVEM model was also used as a supporting theoretical framework. This study was based on the qualitative approach to research. The researcher used purposive sampling and snowball sampling to select participants for both individual interviews and focus group discussion. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse and interpret results. Three main themes were identified as: Youth and struggle songs; Emotional reaction; Role assigned to struggle songs during a protest. The findings suggest that, firstly, the youth in Mdantsane use struggle songs because they are relevant to the current struggles. Secondly, they reveal that some of the songs evoke strong emotions which in turn influence the conduct of the youth during the protest. Lastly, the results suggest that the struggle songs are deployed strategically to serve certain roles for the benefit of the group. Recommendations for further studies were also provided and discussed in this study.