流行音乐被赋予新使命

But actually, these themes are not daring enough, at least not for Perry. Earlier this year, she announced her new album Witness, together with a new idea for pop music. Perry calls her new style “purposeful pop”, meaning pop with a social and political message. It seems that Perry has become tired of simply encouraging people. Now, she wants to educate them politically as well.
但事实上，这些主题并不够大胆，至少对佩里而言。今年早些时候，她发布了自己的新专辑《见证》以及对于流行音乐的新想法。佩里称自己的新风格为“目标明确的流行乐”，指的是带有社会和政治信息的流行乐。看来佩里对仅仅鼓励人们已有所厌倦。现在，她还想教育他们一些政治内容。

Part of her inspiration (灵感) came during the 2016 US presidential election between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. Perry was a very public supporter of Clinton because Trump was a candidate (候选人) with a record of disrespectful behavior toward women.
她的一部分灵感来源于2016年唐纳德·特朗普和希拉里·克林顿之间的美国总统竞选。佩里是希拉里的公开支持者，因为候选人特朗普曾对女性有过不敬行为。

The best example of Perry’s purposeful pop is probably the song Chained to the Rhythm, in which Perry criticizes people’s obsession (痴迷) with their own ideas and the fact they are unwilling to think more critically (批判性地) about the world. As the song’s lyrics say, “Aren’t you lonely? Up there in utopia (理想国). Where nothing will ever be enough. Happily numb (麻木的). So comfortable, we’re living in a bubble (气泡), bubble. So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, trouble.”
歌曲《锁住节奏》或许是佩里“目标明确的流行乐”的最佳范例，在歌中佩里批判了人们对自己想法的痴迷以及他们不愿更批判地思考这个世界的事实。正如歌词中所唱，“你感到孤独吗/在乌托邦的臆想世界里/一切都取之不尽/幸福地麻木着/如此惬意，我们生活在泡沫般的幻想之中/如此舒适，我们看不见种种困扰。”

Even though the election is long over and Trump won, Perry’s political message seems to be continuing.
尽管大选早就结束，最后由特朗普胜出，但佩里依然在传递着自己的政治信息。

But when it comes to the concept of purposeful pop, it is, in fact, something a lot of pop stars have been doing for a while. Beyonce’s 2016 song Formation, for example, deals with various social problems such as the dispute (争执) between white policemen and black citizens (公民) in the US, hoping to create change through music.
但谈到目标明确的流行乐这一概念，事实上不少流行歌手都已经对此进行了一段时间的尝试。比如，碧昂斯2016年的歌曲《站队》就涉及了美国白人警察和黑人公民之间的争执等社会问题，希望能够通过音乐带来改变。

“Formation isn’t just about police brutality (暴行) – it’s about the entirety of the black experience in America in 2016, which includes standards of beauty, disempowerment, culture and the shared parts of our history,” wrote Jenna Wortham in The New York Times.
“《站队》不仅是关于警方的暴行 —— 它包含了美国黑人2016年的所有经历，如审美标准、去权、文化以及我们历史中的共有部分，”詹娜·沃瑟姆在《纽约时报》上写道。

To singers like Perry and Beyonce, songs are not just entertainment, but part of a movement. It may have seemed strange when this concept was first introduced, but it’s on its way to becoming normal.
对于像佩里和碧昂斯这样的歌手而言，歌曲不仅是一种娱乐，也是运动的一部分。这一概念首次出现时或许看起来有些奇怪，但它正慢慢变为一种常态。

“The truth is, not speaking up in 2017 means you’re part of the problem. It’s no longer OK to be quiet and complacent (满足的),” wrote Shannon Carlin on entertainment news website Bustle.
“事实是，如果你在2017年都不能勇于发声，那就意味着你是问题的一部分。沉默不语和安于现状现在都行不通了，”香农·卡林在娱乐新闻网站Bustle上写道。