Modernism:
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
In New York and the west coast during the 1940s, “beat” poetry evolved and in the early 1950s, San Francisco became the heart of the movement. Beat poetry was influenced by jazz music. The word “beat” was a slang term, supposedly coined by Jack Kerouac was mainly used after World War II by jazz musicians and hustlers. The term “beat” intended meaning was “beat down”, out or poor and exhausted (Janssen, n.d.). Many terms from jazz/hipsters slang of the 1940s were borrowed by Beat authors.
ReplyDelete“Beat” poetry is mainly free verse, often surrealistic and rejects educational formalism, materialism and traditional values of the American middle class. Mattix (2014) from the American Conservative states that both rap and poetry share certain attributes such as literary devices, which are assonance and alliteration but they are not the same thing. Both rap and poetry use words and are spoken, however rap is a musical verbal art and poetry is verbal-musical-typographical. However, beat poetry might not have the same word flow as rap because beat poetry isn’t necessarily focused on rhyme. Beat poetry is linked to rap through two aspects, word flow and storytelling. Donohue (n.d.) suggests that beat poetry and rap both desire to convey a message and both desire to evoke an emotional response. Beat poetry and rap naturally expresses the poet or rapper who wants to state their point of view of the world or society.
Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” was released in 1963 and isn’t considered as the usual protest song. Bob Dylan wrote this song expressing his criticism of the American leaders and officials which was during the Bush administration. Words in a Bucket (2015) state that Dylan was surprised by the anger expressed through the lyrics, “I’ve never written anything like that before. I don’t sing songs which hope people will die, but I couldn’t help it with this one. The song is a sort of striking out… a feeling of what can you do?”
There have been many protest songs/rap that has come out in the last decade. An online article by Baker (2017) from spinditty.com list “The 10 Best Political Protest Songs of the 2000s”
10. K’naan – Somalia (2009)
9. System Of A Down – Boom! (2002)
8. Steve Earle – The Revolution Starts Now (2004)
7. Green Day – Minority (2000)
6. Joe Pug – Nation of Heat (2011)
5. M.I.A – Paper Planes (2007)
4. Arcade Fire – Intervention (2007)
3. Patti Smith – Radio Baghdad (2004)
2. Josh Ritter – Girl In The War & Thin Blue Flame (2006)
1. Bright Eyes – When the President Talks to God (2005)
A popular protest song/rap that first comes to my mind was in 2016, “Where is The Love remix with the Black Eyed Pea’s (feat. The World)”. The original song was released first released in 2003 and was very popular for its lyrics because of its messages and views conveyed about the state of the world of post 9/11. Thirteen years later Black Eyed Pea’s came together again to make a new version of the song. The music video not only shows various people coming together to protest about the state of the world but pictures of actual outcomes of terrible global affairs. An only article by GQ Magazine UK (n.d.) states the music video features images of the war in Syria and the migrant crisis. The song itself has new musical artists who sing in the new version of the song with the new version also having new inspirational lyrics.
Black Eyed Pea’s – Where is the Love (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc
Black Eyed Pea’s – Where is the Love (2016)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsRMoWYGLNA
An online article by Dorian Lynskey (2016) titled, Music Got Political in 2016 with Beyonce & Neil Young, but did it make a difference? In the article the answer was “not much”. I believe there is still a spirit of protest however, through music it isn’t a very popular topic that musical artists sing/rap about.
Reference
DeleteBaker, CJ. (2017). The 10 Best Political Protest Songs of the 2000s. Retrieved May 23, 2017, from https://spinditty.com/playlists/The-Protest-Movement-The-10-Best-Protest-Songs-of-the-2000s
Donohue, C. (n.d.). Similarities & Differences Between Poetry & Rap. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from http://www.ehow.com/info_8508048_similarities-differences-between-poetry-rap.html
GQ-Magazine. (n.d.). Every Person Appears In The Black Eyed Peas Star-Studded 2016 Remake of ‘Where Is The Love?’ Retrieved May 23, 2017, from http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/black-eyed-peas-where-is-the-love-2016
Janssen, M. (n.d.). Jazz and the Beat Generation. Retrieved May 23, 2017, from http://www.litkicks.com/Topics/Jazz.html
Lynskey, D. (2016). Music Got Political in 2016 With Beyonce & Neil Young, But Did it Make a Difference? Retrieved May 23, 2017, from http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/year-in-music-2016/7616882/music-2016-politics-beyonce-neil-young-protest
Mattix, M. (2014). Is Rap Poetry. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from http://www.theamericanconservative.com/prufrock/is-rap-poetry/
Poetry Foundation. (2017). Beat poets. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/glossary-terms/detail/beat-poets
Poets.org. (2004). A Brief Guide to the Beat Poets. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-beat-poets
Songfacts. (n.d.). Masters Of War by Bob Dylan. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=7112
Songfacts. (n.d.). Where is the Love? By The Black Eyed Peas. Retrieved May 23, 2017, from http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3301
Study.com. (n.d.). The Beat Generation: Characteristics of Beat Poetry. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-beat-generation-characteristics-of-beat-poetry.html
Wordup411. (2015). What is the Difference Between Spoken Word Poetry, Rap and Poetry? Retrieved May 17, 2017, from http://wordup411ng.com/what-is-the-difference-between-spoken-word-poetry-rap-and-poetry/
My comment is in reply to questions under Post-Modernism, 2,3&5.
DeleteGreat answer, Clarice - shows some enthusiasm. Some examples of beat verse to illustrate your points would have helped.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHow was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
To understand why Bob Dylan’s “Master of War” was controversial during the Bush administration, one must know what the meaning of the lyrics was.
“Masters of War” (1963) is a pacifistic song. Dylan describes men who start wars “ain’t worth the blood that runs through your veins” and that “even Jesus would never forgive what you do” The song composed during the 1960’s era. The rise of Civil Rights movement and the escalation of the Vietnam War.
One of the key figures of the 1960’s protest movement was Bob Dylan. His social activism incorporated notions of equal rights and peace. Dylan wrote this song to criticise American leaders and officials. The lyrics of the song were meant as a realisation of the times, what war was coming to and why war became a pointless act, rather than a means of defence.
So, why was the song “Masters of War” which was written in 1963 controversial during the Bush administration? It is because George W. Bush’s administration and committee were pro-war. Bush’s pro-war agenda were the opposite of what Dylan stands for, and that is why the song became controversial. Bush and his administration sold a campaign of outright lies to the public to involve the United States in an unnecessary war that killed between 150,000 and 1 million Iraqis and destabilised an entire region.
Come you, masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion'
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud
The first and fourth stanza “Masters of War” significantly illustrates the reasons as to why the song was controversial as it exemplifies the brutality of war and the politicians who serve their self-interests. The lyrics demonstrate how people in position of authority persuades and influence the public with their hypocrite lies and encourages the ignorant to kill the innocent while they hide behind their supremacy and power.
Reference:
Dylan, B. (1963). Masters of War. Retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/mastersofwar.html
Marcetic, B. (2017, March 16). Trump May Be Worse, But George W. Bush Was a Godawful President. Retrieved from http://inthesetimes.com/article/19973/the-perils-of-the-new-shiny-george-w-bush-trump-iraq
Masters of War. (2007, May 29). Retrieved June, 2017, from https://isiria.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/masters-of-war/
Songs and Poems that Changed the World. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thehypertexts.com/Songs%20and%20Poems%20that%20Changed%20the%20World.htm