Green Day releasing first book: Last of the American Girls

[Signe]

I have been a green day fan, diehard if helps, for 10+ years but this is the first time they have actually fucking downright baffled me.  What in the holy spirited fuck are they thinking? Are we even at a level where we can understand how offensive that title is to the female gender and oh holy fuck all mary, the very description….

This is the dumbest shit I have ever seen. Holy god damn freaking avocados.  

Are they this dumb? Really? Is it some american backwards thing? Holy god damn hell. 

It's so terrible it's heartbreaking. 

 

[pacejunkie punk]

31 minutes ago, Signe said:

I have been a green day fan, diehard if helps, for 10+ years but this is the first time they have actually fucking downright baffled me.  What in the holy spirited fuck are they thinking? Are we even at a level where we can understand how offensive that title is to the female gender and oh holy fuck all mary, the very description….

This is the dumbest shit I have ever seen. Holy god damn freaking avocados.  

Are they this dumb? Really? Is it some american backwards thing? Holy god damn hell. 

It's so terrible it's heartbreaking. 

 

Did you feel that way about the song back when it came out though because it’s not something new.   The title hasn’t changed in ten years.  

[Signe]

1 hour ago, pacejunkie punk said:

Did you feel that way about the song back when it came out though because it’s not something new.   The title hasn’t changed in ten years.  

I did not. Because it was a song title. It's different when you turn it in to a book and promote it as a handbook for "rebellious Girls" 

I don't have an issue with the song itself, or the pictures we have seen so far, but the very promotion and the title of it (I know it's the same as the song, but oh dear), and it's coming from an all male band and a male artist. It's insane and offensive. 

I have been a green day fan for 15 years, and I am a woman. Why do they need to promote a book to Girls (which is what we call female children)? What makes them think we haven't related as much to their music as our fellow male fans? Why do we need a special book? It's weird. It's backwards and it's ignorant. 

[DookieLukie]

31 minutes ago, Signe said:

What makes them think we haven't related as much to their music as our fellow male fans? Why do we need a special book? It's weird. It's backwards and it's ignorant. 

I don't think releasing this book says any of those things. I think you might be reading into this a bit much.

From what I've heard from many female Green Day fans, Billie Joe writes about women in his music in a very respectful and progressive way.

[Hermione]

8 hours ago, AlissaGoesRAWR said:

It wasn't just the description, though — it was also already pointed out that the girl on the cover is blonde, white and pretty though, like it was a problem and against what the song describes, which is just difficult for me to wrap my head around (I see these sort of comments all the time on advertisements that feature women on social media, too). 

Like, I get that it's toxic for society to communicate that you can only be pretty if you're blonde and white, but I don't think making the cover girl blonde and white in it itself is problematic. Maybe they could've included multiple, diverse women on the cover? I don't know the answer. I guess sometimes I just feel like I'm a bad feminist... 

That's not the problem on its own, it's that it was described as a book about being a rebel woman but the "rebelling" depicted is wearing some boots (with an otherwise completely conventional girly outfit/look) and pouting like a little girl. Just a cringy way of depicting a "rebel woman" in the year 2019.

As just a picture to illustrate the song (presumably as part of a set) it's not so bad though I guess. And it does seem to be kind of like a children's book so maybe it is meant to be more of a young girl. I'll reserve full judgement for when the book is out but if it's given a shitty and misleading description to advertise it before it's out people will judge it accordingly.

[Beerjeezus]

Look who's getting hate for this

https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2019/apr/03/what-makes-green-day-think-four-men-are-the-perfect-authors-for-a-book-about-female-empowerment

https://www.nme.com/news/music/music-fans-annoyed-green-day-releasing-inspiring-homage-handbook-rebellious-everywoman-refuses-capitulate-2470931

They put out that description so I guess it's deserved, but really it's just a picture book with a cartoonist's take at their lyrics and I don't think that's problematic in any way. Maybe this could teach them not to put out bullshit statements.

[Joe.]

1 hour ago, Beerjeezus said:

Look who's getting hate for this

https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2019/apr/03/what-makes-green-day-think-four-men-are-the-perfect-authors-for-a-book-about-female-empowerment

https://www.nme.com/news/music/music-fans-annoyed-green-day-releasing-inspiring-homage-handbook-rebellious-everywoman-refuses-capitulate-2470931

They put out that description so I guess it's deserved, but really it's just a picture book with a cartoonist's take at their lyrics and I don't think that's problematic in any way. Maybe this could teach them not to put out bullshit statements.

If they release a stupid description they’re quite rightly going to get criticism for it

[DeJennsitized]

The description is what people are supposed to base their opinion on, as it's the only thing we get before the book is out. Someone fucked up on that, trying to sell it as an 'ideal rebel girl' handbook written by four dudes. 

IMO, if the band didn't know about the description, they should next time read the publicity material that's going to be attached to their name before signing off on something so condescending and insulting, or if they read it and thought it was okay, they can learn from the criticism that no, it wasn't. I'm gonna bank on them not knowing though and it's a desperate attempt by the publisher to make it sound more exciting and revolutionary than what it actually is.

[Beerjeezus]

41 minutes ago, Joe. said:

If they release a stupid description they’re quite rightly going to get criticism for it

Well, yeah.

16 minutes ago, DeJennsitized said:

The description is what people are supposed to base their opinion on, as it's the only thing we get before the book is out. Someone fucked up on that, trying to sell it as an 'ideal rebel girl' handbook written by four dudes. 

IMO, if the band didn't know about the description, they should next time read the publicity material that's going to be attached to their name before signing off on something so condescending and insulting, or if they read it and thought it was okay, they can learn from the criticism that no, it wasn't. I'm gonna bank on them not knowing though and it's a desperate attempt by the publisher to make it sound more exciting and revolutionary than what it actually is.

I suppose it's the publishers work to have the description done but I'm still in awe someone managed to fuck something like this up so badly. What's difficult about writing a copy about a cartoon, my goodness.

[Hermione]

I mean I'm not offended by it or angry with Green Day, it's just a badly written description. They've made their book seem dumb and unappealing is all  

[solongfromthestars]

16 hours ago, AlissaGoesRAWR said:

It wasn't just the description, though — it was also already pointed out that the girl on the cover is blonde, white and pretty though, like it was a problem and against what the song describes, which is just difficult for me to wrap my head around (I see these sort of comments all the time on advertisements that feature women on social media, too). 

Like, I get that it's toxic for society to communicate that you can only be pretty if you're blonde and white, but I don't think making the cover girl blonde and white in it itself is problematic. Maybe they could've included multiple, diverse women on the cover? I don't know the answer. I guess sometimes I just feel like I'm a bad feminist... 

I still don't think anyone was overreacting or suggesting the band meant any harm by the cover though. Like Hermione said, it's not inherently bad that the character is white, blonde and stereotypically attractive. But without knowing it's just a picture book that someone wrote a bad description for (which we weren't sure about when the thread was made), I can see how that seems ironic - since it's supposedly a "handbook" for the "rebellious everywoman" as if white, blonde women actually need more representation. I'm not saying anyone involved intended it to come across that way or even that it's offensive. I don't think it is. It's just another thing that at first glance, makes the book seem more cringeworthy or faux woke than it is.

6 hours ago, Beerjeezus said:

Look who's getting hate for this

https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2019/apr/03/what-makes-green-day-think-four-men-are-the-perfect-authors-for-a-book-about-female-empowerment

I mean I get people feeling this way without looking into the book more because the description is so bad. It's a stretch that the trilogy lyrics are misogynistic, though. He was just writing about his feelings for someone and I thought he addressed potentially dodgy issues like her mental stability pretty respectfully. That's one of the reasons I love Wild One and Wow! That's Loud so much.

[Beerjeezus]

4 hours ago, solongfromthestars said:

I mean I get people feeling this way without looking into the book more because the description is so bad. It's a stretch that the trilogy lyrics are misogynistic, though. He was just writing about his feelings for someone and I thought he addressed potentially dodgy issues like her mental stability pretty respectfully. That's one of the reasons I love Wild One and Wow! That's Loud so much.

I agree. I don't think any of his lyrics are misogynistic, on trilogy he was working with that "dirty relationship" thing, but I don't think the woman is depicted in a worse way than the man character.

[pacejunkie punk]

Even George Takei is sharing this around now:

 

That publisher’s description is really biting them on the ass. And it’s just an illustrated song book. 😕

[duckez]

I think (being the extremely unintelligent person that I am) that I'm the only one that thought the description sounded kinda cool. I thought of it being an inspiring story of a woman who does what she wants, despite people telling her she couldn't do it. Could work the other way around too. Obviously I don't know what the book I should really about, but people are so mad about it, like really? I thought of it as a story, (like how a man could write a story about a female man character) rather than a book telling you what to do. I think an actual book would be more interesting than just pictures and the song lyrics.

[Beerjeezus]

I think this goes straight to the top of the list of completely preventable Green Day fuckups.

[Hermione]

A book of song lyrics with some nice pictures to illustrate it, what could go wrong?

3 hours ago, duckez said:

I think (being the extremely unintelligent person that I am) that I'm the only one that thought the description sounded kinda cool. I thought of it being an inspiring story of a woman who does what she wants, despite people telling her she couldn't do it. Could work the other way around too. Obviously I don't know what the book I should really about, but people are so mad about it, like really? I thought of it as a story, (like how a man could write a story about a female man character) rather than a book telling you what to do. I think an actual book would be more interesting than just pictures and the song lyrics.

Yeah an inspiring story would've been cool. But the description makes it sound like a non fiction handbook/guide lol (rather than a story or what it actually is, just illustrated song lyrics), that's what turned people off.

[emenius]

1 hour ago, Beerjeezus said:

I think this goes straight to the top of the list of completely preventable Green Day fuckups.

I agree the whole thing is completely cringeworthy, and I’m sure it wasn’t what the band/illustrator intended. But is it just me who thinks that, if it was intentional, the press release was actually a bit of marketing genius......this has had significantly more coverage than an illustrated book of a 10 year old song would ever normally receive! All press is good press, and it’s very unlikely to have any lasting negative impact on the Green Day brand. 

[DeJennsitized]

Makes you wonder how many of the people writing the scathing articles will read the book when it comes out and realise it’s literally just the song in picture book form  

[greendepent]

Are they planning to rerelease Breakdown? I mean, this promotion is 10 years late

[Beerjeezus]

5 hours ago, emenius said:

I agree the whole thing is completely cringeworthy, and I’m sure it wasn’t what the band/illustrator intended. But is it just me who thinks that, if it was intentional, the press release was actually a bit of marketing genius......this has had significantly more coverage than an illustrated book of a 10 year old song would ever normally receive! All press is good press, and it’s very unlikely to have any lasting negative impact on the Green Day brand. 

I don't know, making it look like an absolute douchefest definitely secured more press for the book, but it's so bad that it might put people off rather than make them interested.

[pacejunkie punk]

When the Bruce Springsteen one came out (Outlaw Pete) I remember he did the talk show circuit promoting it. Now his didn’t have any controversy attached to it but I wonder if GD will do the same in the fall and just kind of explain what it is and why they wanted to do it. My guess is they saw the Springsteen one which was about a boy and thought they had songs that would work for a girl and it would be cool to see a song illustrated. 

[Beerjeezus]

It really is cool though, it's a little sad they fucked up.

[Billie Joes Eyelids]

GD management needs to put out a statement and correct the mischaracterization of this book ASAP

[papa]

the whole damn thing should just be pulled. it's stupid. it's offensive. it's dumb. the end.

[DeJennsitized]

"Any last words?"

Me, on my deathbed: "Why did they call it a handbook for the rebellious everywoman?!"