Sophia Feng Period 7 12/1/22 Modern Mythology 2023

 Sophia Feng

Period 7

12/1/22

Modern Mythology 2023

Socio-political Consciousness

• What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

• How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

As an avid listener to all genres of music, my social media feed usually consists of new albums, dating rumors, and anticipated concert dates. However, these common topics changed when I stumbled upon headlines about “Shakira refusing to perform for the World Cup.”  Although watching soccer is not a part of my usual routine, I always highly anticipated the performances. As days passed, more and more news of other artists such as Dua Lipa and Rod Steward was released stating that they also rejected this year's performance. Traditionally, this is a large honorable stage for artists to expand their careers. But it was not until one of my favorite artists, Jungkook from BTS accepted the offer that I realized the reasons behind each of the rejections.

In 2010, Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup, and this year, this decision has sparked heavy controversy with regard to human rights. With Qatar being a small country, they lacked the resources to host an extremely large event. Thus, they turned to migrants for labor to create a suitable stadium and hotels for the game. However, this work environment was extremely harsh due to exploitation, danger, and climate. As a result, many workers have passed away due to the building of new infrastructure. In addition, numerous Western countries have also spoken out against Qatar’s LGBTQ policies in fear for visitors’ safety. Qatar, on the other hand, has also released their own statements in regard to the controversies. They have assured viewers that the majority of the deaths were due to outside reasons rather than the new infrastructure. They have also mentioned that LGBTQ viewers would be welcomed and safe in the stadium. However, with Qatar’s reputation for lack of freedom of expression, many critics do not believe their statements. 

With these concerns, my actions as well as many others have been split between supporting human rights, respecting culture, and/or supporting sports and music. Moving forward with the game, football players have demonstrated their stance by wearing clothing that supports LGBTQ such as rainbow armbands. Many football fans have also continued to watch the game despite the controversies. While on the other hand, there are people who decided to completely boycott by not watching the game at all. And similar to the football players and fans, I continued to watch the music performances. As the World Cup is an event where all countries come together to play football, I believe that players and viewers should be able to enjoy their interests as well as express their own beliefs. Through this event, I hope that Qatar’s controversies and concerns are highlighted and addressed to allow migrant workers and LGBTQ fans to feel safer in their environment.