Editing Godspeed You! Black Emperor (section)

== Politics ==
''[[The Guardian]]'' wrote that Godspeed You! Black Emperor "don't simply espouse [[anti-capitalism]] but embody it, rejecting the selfish individualism at its core", pointing out how the band's operation as a collective challenges traditional notions of hierarchy. In a 2012 interview, Menuck said, "All music is political, right? You either make music that pleases the king and his court, or you make music for the serfs outside the walls ... We started making this noise together when we were young and broke. Whatever politics we had were born out of living through a time when the dominant narrative was that everything was fine."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Costa |first=Maddy |date=2012-10-11 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor: 'You make music for the king and his court, or for the serfs outside the walls' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/oct/11/godspeed-you-black-emperor-interview |access-date=2024-02-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Several of its songs also incorporate voice samples which express political sentiments, most notably "The Dead Flag Blues" (on ''F♯ A♯ ∞'') and "BBF3" (on ''[[Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada]]'').

In 2014 Menuck identified himself as an [[Anarchism|anarchist]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Rubsam |first=Rob |date=April 2014 |title=The Rumpus Interview with Efrim Menuck |url=http://therumpus.net/2014/04/the-rumpus-interview-with-efrim-menuck/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525232305/http://therumpus.net/2014/04/the-rumpus-interview-with-efrim-menuck/ |archive-date=May 25, 2014 |access-date=May 25, 2014 |publisher=The Rumpus}}</ref> This perspective has influenced the band's political activism.<ref>{{cite web |last=Richardson |first=Mark |title="Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!" Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17283-allelujah-dont-bend-ascend/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520031951/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17283-allelujah-dont-bend-ascend/? |archive-date=May 20, 2014 |access-date=May 6, 2014 |publisher=Pitchfork.com}}</ref> The back cover of ''[[Yanqui U.X.O.]]'' depicts the relationships of several [[Music industry#Sales statistics|major record labels]] to the [[military–industrial complex]].<ref>{{cite web |date=May 25, 2007 |title=EMI Defies Fate as Predicted on Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Yanqui U.X.O., Bought Out By Terra Firma for $4.7 Billion; Sorry Warner Music Group |url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/emi-defies-fate-predicted-godspeed-you-black-emperors-yanqui-uxo-bought-out-te |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012432/https://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/emi-defies-fate-predicted-godspeed-you-black-emperors-yanqui-uxo-bought-out-te |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=Tiny Mix Tapes}}</ref> The liner notes of [['Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!|''<nowiki/>'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!'']] criticize anti-environmentalist economic development and student protest suppression.<ref name=":0" /> 

Menuck is a vocal critic of Israeli policy towards Palestinians.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Christopher J. |title=Can There Be a Guernica for Gaza? |url=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/godspeed-you-black-emperor-gaza |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Jacobin |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Paul |date=2008-03-06 |title=A Silver Mt. Zion: Hi, How Are You, Efrim Menuck? |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/interviews/a-silver-mt-zion-hi-how-are-you-efrim-menuck |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=The Skinny |language=en}}</ref> The [[liner notes]] to ''[[Yanqui U.X.O.]]'' (2002) describe the song "09-15-00" as "[[Ariel Sharon]] surrounded by 1,000 [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli soldiers]] marching on [[Temple Mount|al-Haram Ash-Sharif]] & provoking another [[Second Intifada|Intifada]]".<ref>{{cite web |date=June 25, 2013 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 'Yanqui U.X.O.' (Constellation) |url=https://www.spin.com/2003/06/godspeed-you-black-emperor-yanqui-uxo-constellation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022355/https://www.spin.com/2003/06/godspeed-you-black-emperor-yanqui-uxo-constellation/ |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=Spin}}</ref> The title of ''[[No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead]]'' references the death toll of Palestinians in the [[Gaza Strip]] during the [[Gaza war]] at the time of the album's conception.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> In 2021, the band joined more than 600 other musicians in pledging to [[Boycotts of Israel|boycott Israel]] until it ends its occupation of Palestinian territories.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-28 |title=More than 600 musicians sign letter pledging to boycott Israel |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-boycott-musicians-pledge-stand-solidarity-palestine |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last= |first= |date=2021-05-27 |title=Questlove, Run the Jewels, Rage Against the Machine & More Urge Artists to Boycott Israel in Open Letter |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/israel-boycott-artists-open-letter-palestine-9579426/ |access-date=2025-01-02 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>