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Post world war 2 american literature
American literature since the civil war
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The Beat Generation: A Cultural Revolution
In the 1950's, society's prudish view on art was drastically altered. If not for this era, art (literature, music, and fashion) would not be as exceptional as it is today. Prior to the beat generation, the conformists of America censored everything; freedom of expression was unheard of. The Beat Generation, blooming in the 1950's, inspired a group of people whose unparalleled creativity shaped the worlds definition of art today. It sparked an interest in people and encouraged uniqueness and the idea of being open to new experiences. The Beat Generation stimulated the minds of Americans, inspiring people to think beyond the nation's conformity. This cultural phenomena pushed people to their limits and outside their comfort zones to create literary and musical masterpieces that would later change the world by expanding the boundaries of free speech.
Firstly, the poets of the Beat Generation were the geniuses behind the success of the movement. Beat poetry began in the 1940's in New York, later blossoming in San Francisco during the 1950's. Post World War II left poets questioning modern politics and culture; they made the battle against social conformity and literary tradition their central focus (“Brief Guide to Beat Poets”). The three most prominent Beat writers were William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac. Burroughs wrote his highly controversial book Naked Lunch while on vacation in Morocco; it was published in 1959, but later banned in 1965 due to its vulgarity. Years later Naked Lunch was included in Time Magazine's "100 Best English Language Novels." In 1957 U.S. customs seized over 500 copies of Ginsberg's novel Howl on grounds of obscenity. These c...
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...ments. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Dealunion. "Beat Generation." Beat Generation. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
"Importance of the Beat Generation - AP Comp: The Beat Generation." Importance of the Beat Generation - AP Comp: The Beat Generation. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
"Jazz and the Beat Generation." LitKicks:. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
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Patterson, Eric V. "Blowing: Poetry Meets Musicin the Writing of the Beat Generation." Empty Mirror Beat Generation Arts Literary Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Rahn, Josh. "The Beat Generation." - Literature Periods & Movements. Jalic Inc., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
"Tricycle | Awake in the World." Buddhism & the Beat Generation. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
"William Bouroughs & Jack Kerouac: The Beat Generation." William Bouroughs & Jack Kerouac: The Beat Generation. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
The bebop revolution coincided with the birth of the Beat Generation. In a slightly unbalanced relationship, Beat writers often molded their poetics and style after the playing of such jazz music. "Jazz writers," such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, upheld their poetic ideals to the techniques of jazz musicians, such as rhythm, improvisation, and call and response. The structure of creative writing underwent a change, as the importance of form equaled that of theme.
The word “jazz” is significant to America, and it has many meanings. Jazz could simply be defined as a genre or style of music that originated in America, but it can also be described as a movement which “bounced into the world somewhere about the year 1911…” . This is important because jazz is constantly changing, evolving, adapting, and improvising. By analyzing the creators, critics, and consumers of jazz in the context of cultural, political, and economic issue, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz.
“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, Angel-headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.” The opening lines of Howl, by Allan Ginsberg, melodiously encapsulates the beat generation. The beats alluded to by the verbatim ,“The best minds”, are a group of idiosyncratic poets whom through the instrument of prose(driven by spontaneity and a primal lifestyle) , orchestrated a rebellion against the conservative beliefs and literary ideals of the 1950s. Howl, utilizing picturesque imagery, expounds holistically upon the instigator of the movement in culmination with personal experiences of beat members. Accordingly “Howl” evokes feelings of raw emotional intensity that reflects the mindset in which the poem was produced. The piece is structured into three stanzas, sacrificing temporal order for emphasis on emotional progression. The first sequence rambles of rampant drug forages and lewd sexual encounters, eliciting intonations of impetuous madness, one ostensibly hinging upon on a interminable need for satiation of hedonistic desires. Concordantly the following stanza elucidates upon the cause of the aforementioned impulsive madness (i.e corruption of the materialistic society motivated by capitalism), conveying an air of hostility coalesced with quizzical exasperation. Yet, the prose concludes by turning away from the previous negative sentiments. Furthermore, Ginsberg embraces the once condemned madness in a voice of jubilation, rhapsodizing about a clinically insane friend while ascertaining the beats are with him concerning this state of der...
Tytell, John. Naked Angels: the Lives and Literature of the Beat Generation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.
Post World War II there was a new generation known as the “baby boom” generation. The arrival of this new generation called for new entertainment (Rock and Roll). Music of the 1960s was the new entertainment for the baby boom generation and impacted America by: starting new trends in genres of music, opening diversity of artists, counterculture movements, and music festivals.
While the Beats experimented with drugs, they were more mild in their departure from the mainstream culture than the counterculture of the hippies and acid-heads . Tom Wolfe observed that, ““Kerouac was the old star. Kesey was the wild new comet form the West heading Christ knows where”” (Lytle, 4). Even though Kerouac was a major part of the Beat movement and experimented with drugs, he was not cut out for the world of LSD. When considering On the Road, Sal Paradise, does in the end return home to his mother just as Kerouac did when Neal Cassady tried to get him to join Kesey. In Howl, Allen Ginsberg laments over the deprivation of his generation. He addresses one of the roots of the problem, “Moloch whose mind is pure machinery!” (Part II, l.5). He blames the mechanization of the mind, prefer a more steeped in nature approach, drugs as bringing us closer to our own nature The ideas of the Beats echo in the ideas of the counter: a rejection of materialism, an embrace of experimentation with drugs, sexuality, and forms of expression, especially music. The change from the Beats to the Hippies was not so much a ra...
The ‘60s were the age of youth, as millions of children’s from post World War II became teenagers and rebelled against the conservative fifties. Denying civil rights to African-Americans and liberation to teenagers in previous decades and Vietnam War, created a vortexes which lead to massive rebellion against the status qua. Music of the 1960s was characteristic of the revolution that was going on during the decade. It was a time of rebellion and counter-culture in which the teenagers and college students were critical of government, business, religious institution and other various aspects of life. Era marked by civil rights movement, Vietnam War, environment of drug abuse and sexual freedom formed new music like: folk rock, soul and psychedelic rock. These genres starkly contrast the teen idol music of ‘50s pop mainstream. Writes John Covach; “World was exploding, and rock musicians were listening more closely than ever.”(Covach, 152) Such stark contrast in pop music directly relay to changing social culture in America, which further echo’s the relationship between music and culture.
van Elteren, Mel. “The subculture of the Beats: a sociological revisit.” Journal of American Culture, Fall 1999, v 22, i3, pg 71.
Jeffries, M. P. (2011). Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-hop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Firstly, the group of friends and writers most commonly known as the Beats evolved dramatically in focal points such as Greenwich Village and Columbia University, and subsequently spread their political and cultural views to a wider audience. The three Beat figureheads William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac each perceived an agenda within American society to clamp down on those who were in some way different from the accepted ‘norm’, and in response deliberately flirted with the un-American practices of Buddhism, drug use, homosexuality and the avant-garde. Ginsberg courted danger by lending a voice to the homosexual subculture that had been marginalised by repressive social traditions and cultural patterns within the United States.
In Total Chaos, Jeff Chang references Harry Allen, a hip hop critic and self-proclaimed hip hop activist. Harry Allen compares the hip hop movement to the Big Bang and poses this complex question: “whether hip-hop is, in fact a closed universe-bound to recollapse, ultimately, in a fireball akin to its birth-or an open one, destined to expand forever, until it is cold, dark, and dead” (9). An often heard phase, “hip hop is dead,” refers to the high occurrence of gangster rap in mainstream hip hop. Today’s hip hop regularly features black youths posturing as rich thugs and indulging in expensive merchandise. The “hip hop is dead” perspective is based on the belief that hip hop was destined to become the model of youth resistance and social change. However, its political ambitions have yet to emerge, thus giving rise to hip hops’ criticisms. This essay will examine the past and present of hip hop in o...
Through the progression of the last several decades, Hip Hop has transformed into a culture and artistic phenomenon that has impacted youth culture throughout society. Hip Hop and the academia surrounding the culture reflects the social, cultural, political, and historic truths of the hip hop generation, speaking to these young individuals in a dialect that they understand. The studies of the hip hop culture influence society to understand the perspectives that are not necessarily considered to be traditional within a standard curriculum.
During the 1950’s, a group of young American writers began to openly oppose societal norms in favor of other radical beliefs. These writers believed in ideas such as spiritual and sexual liberation, decriminalization of drugs, and opposition to industrialism as well as consumerism (Parkins). Over time, these writers became known as the Beat Generation and created the Beat Movement. Among the members of this rebellious group was the infamous Allen Ginsberg, who is considerably one of the most influential poets of his time. By utilizing tools like imagery, allusions, and symbols, Allen Ginsberg’s “A Supermarket in California” discusses themes such as consumerism, sexuality, and alienation, which reflect Ginsberg’s personal beliefs and desire for change.
17 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Hicks, Jeffrey. A. How Hip-Hop Destroys the Potential of Black Youth.
jazz/) Works Cited:.. Andrews, John. The. a. The adage of the adage of the adage of the adage of the adage of What bebop means to jazz history. A review of Scott Devine’s book “The Birth of the Bebop: A Social and Musical History.”