REFLECTING AND MODULATING TRADITIONAL MASCULINITY IDEOLOGICAL STANDPOINTS: A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF ABEL CHUNGU’S SONG ‘MWAMUNA SAMALILA’

Abstract

Using artistic expressions undergirded in musical affordances, this article interrogates Abel Chungu’s song, ‘Mwamuna Samalila’ (A man does not cry) as a resource that enacts, upholds and contests ideologies. In particular, the article draws attention on the social constructs that are often produced through language and musicology, developed, deployed and strategically positioned to project phenomena such as masculinity ideologies. For its theoretical and methodological grounding, the article draws on stylistics as it takes the song in question as a text. This is in a bid to enhance the understanding and conveyance of ideas and themes reflected in songs as a text occurrence. Thus, it becomes apparent that there is a sense in which the lyrics respond to core theoretically derived social constructs of traditional masculinity ideologies. Through close examination of stylistic elements, it is observed that lyrical efforts are made to reflect and modulate seemingly dysfunctional aspects of masculinity ideologies. The song serves as a call for attention to prevailing and problematic masculinity ideologies and practices, kindling more rethinking, restructuring, theorising, and re-evaluating.