Phónè and the political potential of metal music : a scholarly intervention
The thesis of Kai-wen Chiu studies the political potential of metal music from the perspective of phónè in metal,with phónè referring to both voice and sound. I propose that metal, with its loud,distorted phónè, has the potential to challenge the politically charged separation of the meaningful collective voice of a people from the production of sheer sound. Throughout the thesis, I investigate this potential at four levels. The first chapter examines the connection between metal and scholarly subcultural politics. In the second chapter, I study how metal can inform us about power relations running through everyday life, especially with regard to issues of race and gender. The third chapter tackles aspects of power relations that are enacted at the site of phónè, and that draw attention to metal’s loud and distorted phónè. In the final chapter, I examine political activism in Taiwanese metal, demonstrate its relevance, and reflect on its shortcoming. The trajectory of this thesis marks a form of political engagement through phónè in metal, from the perspective of a scholar and a Taiwanese. Phónè, Voice and sound, Biopolitics, Giorgio Agamben, Taiwanese metal music, Metal music studies
Author: Kai-wen Chiu
