Another Brick in The Wall (Part 2): Breaking Down Barriers in Education

- Mohana

                                            

Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (part 2)" is a timeless piece of social commentary. It was released in 1979 as part of the concept album "The Wall"; the song became a rallying cry for generations of young people who felt suffocated by rigid institutions, particularly the education system.  At its heart, the track is an indictment of a system that values conformity over individuality, obedience over creativity, and silence over critical thought. More than four decades later, its social message about education, taboos, and discrimination still resonates with urgency.

Education and Control 

The famous refrain that We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control is often misunderstood as a rejection of learning itself. However, the song critiques not the pursuit of knowledge, but the kind of schooling that reduces young people to passive, unquestioning recipients of authority.  Education, ideally a path to empowerment, is exposed as a factory-like system that mass produces obedient citizens 

The metaphor of "Brick in the Wall" should be emphasized. Each student, stripped of individuality, is molded into another identical brick used to reinforce the walls of conformity and repression. Children are not being shaped into free thinkers but absorbed into a larger, faceless structure where doubting is unwelcome.

Obedience and Absurdity: 

One of the most striking moments in the song's dramatisation is the infamous classroom scene where the teacher commands, "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!"

At first glance, this line seems humorous, but within the context of the album, this becomes a metaphor for the absurd demands of authoritarian systems. The rule itself is arbitrary, as what does eating meat have to do with eating pudding?? Yet, children are expected to accept this without hesitation. The moment encapsulates the heart of the band's critique.

Blind obedience to nonsensical authority:

The teacher's insistence reflects an education system where rules are enforced not because they are meaningful or beneficial, but simply because they reinforce the hierarchy of control.  The meat & pudding metaphor thus exposes how discipline in schools often prioritizes obedience over logic, creativity, or emotional well-being.  Students learn not to think, but to comply.

Rebellion against Taboos

Beyond its attack on the rigid school system, the song also points to a broader culture of repression.  In many societies of the late 20th century, conversations about class inequality, race, gender, and mental health were often considered taboo or swept under the rug. The classroom becomes a microcosm of this larger silence, where harsh reality is suppressed and those who question authority are punished. 

By giving voice to students' frustration, the song tears down this silence.  It suggests that questioning norms, no matter how scared or ingrained, is a valid and necessary act of resistance.  This was particularly radical in 1979 (Time of release) as it was a period marked by widespread youth disillusionment with political institutions, economic systems, and social expectations. 

The chants of children's voices in the chorus make this more powerful. It is not the solitary complaint of an individual but the collective roar of generations refusing to be silenced.  In doing so, the song legitimizes the act of challenging social evils that too, not only in school but in overall politics or in society.

Discrimination through Uniformity 

The music video for the song "Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall(Part 2)" reinforces the song's message with haunting visuals. Rows of children wearing identical masks are marched along conveyor belts, stripped of individuality, and eventually ground into meat grinders.  The grotesque imagery is a direct metaphor for how institutions, in their obsession with order, erase differences. 

Here, Pink Floyd broadens the critique from education to society as a whole. When individuality is erased, diversity is erased with it. Systems demand uniformity. (Whether in schools, workplaces, or cultural expectations)

In this sense, the "wall" is not just a metaphor for the barriers created by oppressive education, but for the social divisions reinforced by discrimination. Race, class, gender, sexuality, and even creative expression can all become fault lines along which people are forced into silence or conformity.  Each lost voice, each silenced perspective, is another  'brick' reinforcing that wall.

The Call for Resistance 

Despite its dark imagery and angry tone, the song is nihilistic. Rather, it carries within it a call to resistance. By amplifying the voices of children chanting in unity, the track insists that collective defiance has power. The act of questioning authority, or refusing to accept absurd rules, becomes the first step toward freedom.

The song suggests that true education is not about obedience but about nurturing creativity, encouraging curiosity, and fostering individuality.  To break down the wall, students must not only be allowed to think but also to challenge and to imagine alternatives to the systems handed down to them.

That message struck a chord across the world. In apartheid-era South Africa, for instance, the song was even banned after it was adopted by Black schoolchildren protesting against racial segregation in education. Its global resonance underscores its  central point as oppressive systems may differ in form, but the need to resist them is universal.

Breaking the Wall

As an artistic protest, " Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" transcends time. It’s not only a critique of one school system or one political era but a reflection on the dangers of conformity, silence, and authoritarianism in all forms.

The education system is its primary target, but the metaphor of the wall extends far beyond classrooms.  Every unjust rule, every silenced voice, every discriminatory policy becomes another brick.

And every act of resistance or every refusal to accept "meat before pudding" becomes a way to chip away at the wall.

Pink Floyd's song reminds us that liberation begins with questioning. Walls are built brick by brick, and they are being constantly rebuilt. However, there's hope that, similarly, no matter how tall the wall, it still can be dismantled brick by brick.