Disco remains one of the most ridiculed popular music genres of the late twentieth century. But as scholars have argued,...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Disco remains one of the most ridiculed popular music genres of the late twentieth century. But as scholars have argued, the genre is far less superficial than many people believe. Take the case of disco icon Donna Summer: she may have been associated with popular songs about love and heartbreak (subjects hardly unique to disco, by the way), but like many Black women singers before her, much of her music also reflects concerns about community and identity. These concerns are present in many of the genre's greatest songs, and they generally don't require much digging to reveal.
What does the text most strongly suggest about the disco genre?
It has been unjustly ignored by most scholars despite the importance of the themes addressed by many of the genre's songs.
It evolved over time from a superficial genre focused on romance to a genre focused on more serious concerns.
It has been unfairly dismissed for the inclusion of subject matter that is also found in other musical genres.
It gave rise to a Black women's musical tradition that has endured even though the genre itself faded in the late twentieth century.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Disco remains one of the most ridiculed popular music genres of the late twentieth century." |
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| "But as scholars have argued, the genre is far less superficial than many people believe." |
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| "Take the case of disco icon Donna Summer: she may have been associated with popular songs about love and heartbreak (subjects hardly unique to disco, by the way)," |
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| "but like many Black women singers before her, much of her music also reflects concerns about community and identity." |
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| "These concerns are present in many of the genre's greatest songs, and they generally don't require much digging to reveal." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Despite being ridiculed as superficial, disco actually contains deeper themes about community and identity that are easily discoverable in the genre's best songs.
Argument Flow: The passage opens by acknowledging disco's poor reputation, then presents a scholarly counter-argument that the genre is more substantial than believed. It supports this with Donna Summer as an example, noting that while she's known for typical love songs (which aren't unique to disco anyway), her music also addresses deeper community and identity issues. The passage concludes by extending this observation to disco generally.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? What the text most strongly suggests about disco as a genre
What type of answer do we need? An inference about disco's characteristics or treatment
Any limiting keywords? "most strongly suggests" - looking for the best-supported inference
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage makes several key points: disco is ridiculed despite having deeper content, and the dismissal seems unfair because the surface-level themes (love/heartbreak) that disco gets criticized for aren't even unique to the genre
- The parenthetical comment is crucial - it suggests that other genres have the same romantic themes but don't face the same ridicule
- The right answer should capture this sense of unfair treatment - that disco gets dismissed for something that's actually common across musical genres, while its deeper qualities are overlooked
It has been unjustly ignored by most scholars despite the importance of the themes addressed by many of the genre's songs.
- Claims scholars have ignored disco despite important themes
- But the passage explicitly states that "scholars have argued" for disco's depth
- This directly contradicts what we read
It evolved over time from a superficial genre focused on romance to a genre focused on more serious concerns.
- Suggests disco evolved from superficial to serious over time
- The passage never mentions any temporal evolution or change
- It argues that the deeper themes were there all along, not that they developed later
It has been unfairly dismissed for the inclusion of subject matter that is also found in other musical genres.
- Says disco has been unfairly dismissed for subject matter found in other genres
- This perfectly matches the parenthetical comment about love and heartbreak being "hardly unique to disco" and captures the unfairness aspect - other genres have the same themes but don't get ridiculed
It gave rise to a Black women's musical tradition that has endured even though the genre itself faded in the late twentieth century.
- Claims disco gave rise to a Black women's musical tradition
- But the passage says Donna Summer was "like many Black women singers before her" which suggests the tradition existed before disco, not that disco created it