Media Representation in Piano Man by Billy Joel

Media Representation in Piano Man by Billy Joel
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Media Representation in Piano Man by Billy Joel
The American working class has accurately been portrayed across multiple media, especially in music and film. As a person who had been born and raised in a typical working class, I feel that the song “Piano Man” by Billy Joel makes me contemplate all the problems that I and millions of other Americans face and the few places that people can go to forget about their life. To start with, the conception of the song reflects a life that Billy lived and that reflected what most Americans live. Piano Man was the result of a gig that Billy had to do for six months to get a means of paying rent. He had to work under an assumed name and played the stylings of Bill Martin. Yet, the song had become so popular. Regardless of the success, Piano Man represents what working-class Americans go through when engaged in a life that they do not prefer, and the same message is echoed in the song itself.
Every character represented in the song can be described as living a life that they are trying to get out of. For example, the waitress is practicing politics and yet is stuck with her job and its challenges. This means she wants to be a politician but the path towards that goal is not open yet. Even the real estate novelist could be considered doing well in his occupatio...