According to Hall, the process of identification “is never absolutely stable” and varies according to one’s environment. In other words, one’s surroundings have a strong effect on his/her character as long as he/she stays in that environment. Once those surroundings change, that identity will also change. For example, if a child lives up in a war zone, he will be a wary person. That is to say that such a child would be more aware of his status in terms of appearing like a threat. He would know what not to do and when not to because of the increased risk. In real world events, think about civilians in Afghanistan carrying on about their daily lives but with the knowledge that they could easily be mistaken for insurgents and harmed. One’s identity is shaped by ongoing affairs. If there is an ongoing movement, we identify ourselves as members or not (the Others). Feminists. Pro-life or pro-choice. And as time goes by, our identities are modified to fit a new environment.
Music is an environment within which one can build an identity. By enjoying a specified genre of music or a specific song, one identifies with other fellow people who enjoy the same song or type of music. Numerous music genres from indie-rock to Latin reggae exist to allow listeners to find where they fit in. Combinations of genres also build identity. Notice that music culture changes over the decades and as Hall explained, as the environment changes, so will people’s identities. In other words, there were periods of time when a certain genre was the dominate type of music such jazz in the early to mid 20th century, rock music since the 1950s, hip-hop beginning in the 1990s etc. Additionally, I think it’s interesting to consider that every movement or time of change in the USA has been accompanied by music. Consider as an example the Roaring Twenties, a period of increasing wealth and moral relativism with jazz and ragtime as the soundtrack.
Music is another tool or method for the process of identification.
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