AESTHETICS BLOG #4
INFECTIOUSNESS OF ARIANA GRANDE'S pov (2020)
It seems to me that music is the most 'infectious' art form. I am carried away when listening to music; certain emotions are evoked in my soul that even those things that I have not even experienced in my 21 years of existence come to light.
Recently, I encountered the song 'pov' by Ariana Grande. When I heard it, certain emotions were evoked in me, and I was immediately reminded of Tolstoy's aesthetic notion of infectiousness. According to Leo Tolstoy, an artwork is valuable when it is able to infect its audience with feelings and emotions lived/experienced or imagined by the artist. Applying this to Grande's song, I am able to testify that pov is a valuable artwork.
According to Elle.com, the song talks about Grande's experience with her husband (her boyfriend during the time of the song's release). The chorus tells the listener that her lover sees her for who she is and still loves her for "all of her pretty and all of her ugly, too." Hence, she wants to see herself from his point of view (pov). This is such a beautiful song; I would like to commend Ariana Grande for infecting me with her experience, even though I have not experienced such a thing in my existence-- or have I?
Infecting me with emotions associated with having a significant other, I realized something. I have never experienced having a girlfriend, but pov made me recognize that I long for something-- I long to see, love, and trust myself the way that God sees, loves, and trusts me. Honestly, I have very low self-esteem and a low amount of self-love. But, pov made me see something bright in my existence.
The scripture tells us that God loves us unconditionally; despite our many flaws and sins, God's love still abounds infinitely. Psalm 139 also tells us that God, being our creator who made us, has probed us and therefore knows us truly and intimately. This teaching reverberates in some lines of pov:
You know me better than I do
Can't seem to keep nothing from you
How you touch my soul from the outside?
Permeate my ego and my pride
Furthermore, I find the chorus as the most infectious part of the song. It says:
I wanna love me (ooh)
The way that you love me (ooh)
Ooh, for all of my pretty
And all of my ugly too
I'd love to see me from your point of view
I wanna trust me (trust me)
The way that you trust me (trust me)
Ooh, 'cause nobody ever loved me like you do
I'd love to see me from your point of view
I realize that I also long to see and love myself just as how God sees and loves me-- unconditionally, and without seeing my many errors and inequities.
Hence, I say: I'd love to see me from God's point of view.
references:
https://genius.com/Ariana-grande-pov-lyrics
https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a34532850/ariana-grande-pov-lyrics-dalton-gomez-meaning/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQJEp-k-ogs