In this blog post I’d like to take a look at two lines from Green Day’s American Idiot. You can come along for the ride if you like.


Don’t want to be an American idiot,
One nation controlled by the media.

Now on the surface this is basically saying, “Man, Americans are dumb because they listen to whatever they are told on TV/radio etc.”

But there’s another level to what it’s saying which I think was totally unintentional. These lines also imply that anyone who listens to the song and is influenced by it is also an idiot. “One nation controlled by the media”? What media is more controlling—sorry, influential—than rock?

If it was intentional, then I have to commend the sense of irony inserted into the song. But on the other hand, how smart is it to insult your entire fan base? I really don’t see them as being capable of that kind of subtlety based on the fact that their previous albums have mostly expounded on such deep themes as the fact that nothing good is on television, what it feels like to get wasted, and how incredibly bored they are.

The more amusing implication of this line applies to the band itself. The following songs gripe on and on about the evils of Bush and his agenda. Well let me ask you one question, Mr. Billie. Where did you get these ideas? Could it be from the…. gasp media? No, of course not…. you came up with them by thinking really really hard about it. (coughcontrolledbythemediaserge) I’d like to posit a theory: one good indication that things are going well in a country is when the punk rockers are all complaining.

It doesn’t seem like it at first, but it appears that American Idiot is actually a very introspective song. “Don’t want to be an American idiot….” A little late for that, sorry.