What does "The Wasteland" mean? (This is apparently a joke question)
- How has it been interpreted?
- What are some of the key features?
- In what way has it been influential?
Post Modernism
- What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why were they called 'beats'?
- How is beat poetry linked to rap?
- How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversies during the Bush Administration?
- On what grounds was 'howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defence?
- What kind of protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade. Is there a spirit of Protest any more?
On what grounds was 'howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defence?
ReplyDeleteHowl was accused of being obscene due to its depiction of homosexuality and drug use. It’s suspected that line “…who let themselves be fucked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists, and screamed with joy” which appears in the first section of Ginsberg’s poem, was the primary example of “obscenity” in the trial against him (King, 2007). These days homosexuality is generally accepted as a part of life (regardless of whether one takes an anti-gay stance for whatever reason), and depictions and allusions to homosexuality usually don’t result in a government crackdown on the offending media. To understand the controversy, you must remind yourself that America in the 50’s was an especially confusing place. Television began to boom during this period, and so too did the idea of mass culture. TV executives and musical taste makers were now in a position to attract a much larger market, and it was this that led to programming and music that were specifically designed to be bland, mild and completely inoffensive in order the gain the largest audience it could. On the other hand, this created a niche for much more diverse forms of entertainment. It could be said that Howl was a response to the aforementioned blandness, and the beats in general as well; they were not content to be fed mass marketed entertainment items. Despite films such as “Rebel Without a Cause” popularising the misfit character; the loveable alienated rogue – there was still only so much misfit-like behaviour (sex, drugs, etc) that were socially acceptable, thus the legal drama that followed Howl’s publication. 1950’s America was also a segregated (racially, but also by sexual orientation, gender, religion etc) time and many social taboos still existed (Culture in the 1950’s, n.d.). There was most definitely a line you would need to stay clear of if you were to stay out of trouble.
It is insinuated (Slate) that the outcome of the trial was in part due to the lawyers on each side. The smart, suave, show-boating J. W Erlich defended Howl, while Ralph McIntosh the elderly and “plain-dumb” D.A.’s assistant prosecuted. The case was presented in court before Judge Clayton W. Horn, who would eventually rule in Howl’s favour based on its “redeeming social importance” and the unlikelihood it would “deprave or corrupt readers by exciting lascivious thoughts or arousing lustful desire.” Despite America’s first amendment firmly establishing the grounds of freedom of speech (which obviously applied to Ginsberg in his depiction of life in Howl), it was the redeeming social importance of Howl that guaranteed its eventual release and success. And, this social importance that Judge Horn saw in Howl’s pages can never be seen more clearly than in hindsight. Horn could not possibly have known the influence the poem would have, but he was certainly accurate in his prediction.
Culture in the 1950’s. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.shmoop.com/1950s/culture.html
Kaplan, F. (2010). How “Howl” Changed the World. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/life_and_art/2010/09/how_howl_changed_the_world.html
King, L. H. (2007). ‘Howl’ obscenity prosecution still echoes 50 years later. Retrieved from http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/%e2%80%98howl%e2%80%99-obscenity-prosecution-still-echoes-50-years-later
What kind of protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade. Is there a spirit of Protest any more?
ReplyDeleteThere have been many notable protest songs (and other media excursions) in the last decade. When answering the question of whether or not there is still a spirit of protest, one must examine the cultural evolution between the 1950's and now. Being that there is so much to say in response to that question, I will leave my comments to the end. Firstly, I want to discuss several examples of recent protest song.
Immortal Technique - Caught In a Hustle 2005 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcYVKrBatj8)
Technique released this song in 2005 and lyrically it deals with issues surrounding incarceration and some of the facets that make African American culture a self perpetuating stereotype. Technique makes a call here for people to make more of themselves. It may not be "how many roads does a man walk down" but this song is unquestionably screaming for change.
John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up! 2010 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJgxJ6JrPkc)
Although this song is a cover of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes 1976 hit, the fact this song was resurrected in 2010 and blew up speaks volumes. The song calls for forward thinking and might even be more relevant today as it was in the 70's where the air of protest was still strong. Perhaps people need to wake up even more today.
Against Me! - White People for Peace 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY9TbZMlTaI)
Lyricist Tom Gabel wrote this song which is about war and protest. But I personally see something between the lines here; that Gabel is really singing about the futility of protest and the inevitability of war all the time.
Perhaps then, "protest" has changed shape since the days of The Beats. In a time where counter culture has almost become mainstream culture; in that almost everyone recognizes there are social injustices but most do nothing to realistically challenge them. The spirit of protest still exists though, to some extent, in tiny little pockets spread all across the media landscape. Musicians, artists and activists still work for their cause, maybe the problem we have now is that it's less clear cut how to change things. And perhaps the smartest of us see that there will always be something to protest, that humans will never truly be free and maybe it's in our nature to just need to challenge something?
You make some good points.
DeleteIn regards to the Immortal Technique track 'Caught in a Hustle', it made me question what can be considered a 'protest song/rap'. While this Immortal Technique song does have strong messages imbedded in it, can it really be considered protest rap?
Rodnitzky (1971) questions what should be considered a protest song. He asks, "does the song have an obvious message, or does it drive him its point in some subtle, symbolic, cultural code". Although 'Caught in a Hustle' has obvious messages imbedded in it's lyrics like the majority of Immortal Technique songs, I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a protest song. I believe it's due to the fact that the lyrics are directed about a tough lifestyle rather than a message in protest of an issue. Yes, as you say, the song is no doubt calling for a change, but there is no dominating issue which is clear to a listener. There are of course scattered lines within the lyrics calling for change, however the song as a whole does not seem to be a protest song.
In my previous post on my own groups' blog, found here:
http://litdesire2013eight.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/weeks-10-12.html
I chose an Immortal Technique song (The Cause of Death) which shows Immortal Technique's clear criticism and debate against the Bush Administration. In regards to Rodnitzky's (1971) statement that I previously mentioned, this song has an obvious message and was made in order to get his message out to enlighten minds.
References
Jerome L. Rodnitzky (1971). The decline of contemporary protest music , Popular Music and Society, 1:1, 44-50.
Hi Nicole,
DeleteIn response to your question: can it really be considered a protest song? I think the answer is most definitely YES. I'm not prepared to accept a 40 year old definition of protest and apply it to music that came out in subsequent years.
I agree that Caught in a Hustle isn't Technique's most relevant song in relation to a traditional definition of "protest song" but I was hoping to move away from any traditional definition of form to begin with. The Against Me! song is even less in line with the this definition.
I think Immortal Technique's whole career exists to enlighten people. Picking one song over another to suit a definition is fine, but really, "protest" is a core part of his entire sound, persona etc. Where you say "there is no dominating issue which is clear to a listener." I can only respond with: "are you serious?" I'm sorry, but I'd rather hear a poet examine a sociopolitical theme (in this case, the destruction of his own culture) than have someone tell me the exact issue they are singing about as part of the lyrics. Look at two of the most prolific protest song-writers there are: Bob Dylan, whose entire body of lyrical work is buried under half a metre of metaphor and has more obscure references than a conversation with Paul M. And on the other hand, there's Woody Guthrie whose entire first album is about dust.
Sometimes the issue isn't clear cut. Sometimes it's not black and white. Bush was awful. Everyone outside of America knows that. The protests against Bush and his regime were global. If the topic of a protest song has to be clear cut and defined, don't you think then that there must already be a high level of public knowledge surrounding the issue? Don't get me wrong, Immortal Technique is brilliant in The Cause of Death but how enlightening was it for you? Did you respond with "Oh shit, Bush is evil? Better take the poster down off my wall" or did you respond with "wow, this guy knows how to rap"? Because, and I'm repeating myself here, the entire world plus slightly more than half of Americans knew that Bush was up to no good. So how enlightening was this song to the public at large?
If somebody asked you "what is wrong with the world today?" would you know how to even begin answering that question? As far as I'm concerned it would take me the rest of my life to answer that in a cohesive and accurate way, by which time it would be irrelevant. So really, the best you could do would be to chip away at it, to say Factor A through to M, even though there are innumerable other factors that are simply unquantifiable.
My last qualm with Rodnitzky's definition is that the use of the word "obvious" in reference to music immediately deems his entire definition moot. Obvious is not a desirable quality in music. Obvious means I never want to hear that record.
My whole point here is that protest has changed shape as a cultural force. You can rally around a cause on Facebook. You can anonymously rant all you like on a blog. Even record a song and release it, but to be frank; the guy who stands on stage every night shouting rhymes about what he sees wrong with the world has more spirit of protest in a single one of his pubes than those who make the difficult choice to change their profile picture to spread a message to their 200 friends (only 70 of which will actually notice anyway).
It's not enough to tell people that X is wrong. You have to tell them why X is wrong, and if you can, do everything you can to avoid perpetuating X. Be the change, don't talk about it. You know?
Good post James, I think that the spirit of protest indeed still does exist. And yes I don't think that would never really go away. You still to this day can see songs of protest. For example dear my president by pink is a current and song of protest. So I am sure that we will see plenty more of these sorts of songs in the future which is quite refreshing I guess as it's not like the generic type that come out every week.
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