Almost everything we do has an effect, every decision, action, or thought breeds another. However, sometimes this connection isn’t clear. I will discuss the connection between Marvin Gaye and Rachel Carson, two seemingly unrelated people that I think have a strong overlap. I will then explore the important of this connection in todays world.

        Mercy Mercy Me is a song made by Marvin Gaye, it centers around the environmental issues of the time. This song was on his iconic album “What’s Going On”, this album is filled with Marvin’s opinions on the state of the world. There are topics of racism, financial instability, and violence. This album was made in 1971 which is in the middle of the Vietnam War. This detail is what makes this album so important, Marvin Gaye was one of the few African-American people who had the influence to speak out about these issues. He was able to use his music as a tool to educate and influence people all across America.

        Rachel Carson is an environmental scientist who revolutionized the global environment movement through her work. She led to the ban of the pesticide DDT and she inspired the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This was all achieved through the success of her book Silent Spring. This book was one of the first to ever acknowledge our environmental issues throughout the world. The meaning behind the title itself was able to inspire people to care about the environment. The idea behind a silent spring is if we continue to harm our world as we have, the start of spring will no longer be marked by the singing of birds because there are no more birds to sing. This book discusses many of the topics covered in environmental classes today such as bioaccumulation and radiation. These topics became the center of the environmental movement at the time.

I think that Rachel Carson’s work indirectly caused Marvin Gaye to make Mercy Mercy Me. Every topic covered in the song was introduced to the general public through Silent Spring. To prove this I used the methods of analization used in Art and climate change by Reuben Fowkes and Maja and Art and climate change, and Climates. Habitats. And Environments. by Ute Meta Bauer as inspiration for how to analyze his lyrics.

“Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas (Have mercy, please have mercy, Father)

Fish full of mercury”

This lyric talks about the bioaccumulation of mercury in fish. Bioaccumulation is one of the most prevalent topics discussed in Silent Spring. Mainly through DDT which is a banned now banned pesticide used in the 1960’s.

“Radiation underground and in the sky”

Not only was radiation another topic covered in Silent Spring, but it also talks about how our impact has been spread throughout our world. Both of these sections

“Animals and birds who live nearby are dying (Oh, please help us, Father, Father, help us, Father)”

This was also one of the main topics discussed in Silent Spring. As discussed earlier, the title of this book is about the death of birds.

The connection between rachel carson and Marvin Gaye shows the importance of media in the development and goals of movements. Rachel Carson was able to introduce environmental topics to the general public and shape it into a movement. Marvin gaye was able to put her lessons into a more accessible form of media and spread those ideas across our country. This is important to learn from because it shows the power the people we look up to have. This can both be harmful for our society and helpful. With this in mind I hope that people think more critically about the message the people they look up to are spreading.

        Looking back in time shows us how the environmental movement has changed. While the topics covered in the song and book are still important today, the environmental movement’s goals has completely shifted. This is why I think it is important that we think of the  environmental movement in the context of the future. The Environmental movemnt could completely shift goals in the next 50 years to something unreconizable today. Rifkin, the author of “The Age of Resilience” talks about restructuring our societies and mindsets. I think this is extremely important as we move into the future, and to do this I think we should use the best tool we have, the past.

The connection between these two people can be learned from and used as we progress through the environmental movement. The similarities and differences between the environmental movement now and then, and the importance of media coverage both can be used as tools for our future. T

Art Works Used

[1]Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye, "Mercy Mercy Me," track #6 on What’s Going On, Motown Records (Tamla), 1971

That Which Once Was by Kimi Takesues

[2] Takesues, Kimi, “That Which Once Was”, Film, March 2011

Still Running Water

Robertson, Genevieve, “still Running Water,”, Film 2017-2019

The General’s Stork

Amin, Heba Y, “The General’s Stork I”, Book, 2020

Poisoned by men in need of some love

Halilaj, Petriy, “Poisoned by men in need of some love” Musée d'Art Moderne de la

Ville de Paris, Paris (France) from 11 Oct 2019 to 16 Feb 2020

Sources

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Carson, Rachel. Silent spring. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

Climates. Habitats. And Environments. By Ute Meta Bauer

Bauer, Ute Meta. Climates. Habitats. Environments. MIT Press, 2022.

Carson, Rachel, and Rachel Carson. Man’s war against nature. London: Penguin Books, 2021.

Course Book

Reuben, Fowkes Maja and. Art and climate change. THAMES HUDSON LTD, 2022.

• Still Running Water by Genevieve Robertson
• Poisoned by men in need of some love by Petriy Halilaj
• The General’s Stork by Heba Y. Amin

Age of Resilience by Rifkin

Rifkin, Jeremy. The age of resilience: Reimagining existence on a Rewilding Earth. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 2022.