When we first learned about the concept of suburbia, I was instantly reminded of the song "Jesus of Suburbia" by Green Day. Now having learned more about the negatives of suburbia, I can fully comprehend the lyrics that Green Day has written. For instance the lines,
"
Get my television fix sitting on my crucifix
The living room or my private womb,"
speak to how sheltered suburbia and how addicted its residents are to their televisions. Referring to the living room as a private womb compares the safety of the living room to the safety a mother's womb gives to a child before it is born. This also speaks to the lack of real life experiences suburbanites have. Just as a child in the womb has not yet experienced life and only knows of the world in its immediate surroundings, so do sheltered suburbanites.
Another quote that fits in with what Suburban Nation says is,
"I read the graffiti
In the bathroom stall
Like the holy scriptures of a shopping mall."
These lines focus on how important shopping malls are to suburbanites. Green Day implies that the shopping mall is a holy place that people flock to like a place of worship. The use of the word scriptures implies that the mall controls their lives, because religious scriptures often suggest how one should live.
There are many more references to the negative aspects of suburbia scattered throughout the song. It is a very clever song that one can only appreciate after knowing about suburban issues and closely analyzing the lyrics.
-Vikrum Sheorey
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