Change IS NOT BAD!

This week in my Poetry class we dove into mid twentieth century poetry movements, specifically the Beat movement. Apart from the awesome slang vocabulary that the poets used, there was a lot more to be learned about these individuals. Beat Poets were often judged as impoverished rebels whose aesthetics ruined their public image. They were seen as people who aimed for spiritual and sexual liberation, while being entwined with nature.  They were very explicit, and wanted to abolishing censorship and protect the environment. Some people were alarmed from their motives and thought their radical ideas came from the illegal drugs that they consume, while others believed it was just decadence and communistic ideas. Although the former might be true, the latter is what was the public image. The Beats did not care though, because like all other cultural movements, the initial reaction of a new style is disapproval. Ironically, the Beat poets were not very affected by the general public, because they too were describing and disapproving of the decadence in society.

One of the most famous Beat poets, Allen Ginsberg, described a lot of these ideas in his poem, “A Supermarket in California.” He begins the poem by initially preaching about his distaste for consumerism, and how the “American Image” is being revolutionized; however, he points out that this change contradicts the American image of the average working class man. He also disapproves of the idea of consumerism, adding on to his disapproval for a new America. One more common characteristic of beat poets was inserted into his poem: the image of sexual liberation. He describes people near “avocados, peaches, [and] watermelons,” all fruits that have a very sexual connotation with them as well. He also describes “fruits,” in general, addressing homosexuals.

I find it very unfortunate that people are not more open to cultural movements. Now, I understand that it is human nature to sometimes not accept change, but come on now! The Beatles were arguably the most successful band of the twentieth century, and Americans initially hated them. Another prime example is art, music, and literature during the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement (BAM). My question though is why? Why are people so ignorant to different approaches to music, art, poetry, culture, etc, especially in America? It seems that there is an unwritten law throughout the country that there is one ‘correct’ view on multiple aspects of culture. Hopefully this image will change one day, because a society that is accepting to changes in culture and ideas often is a lot more successful (Renaissance HELLO!!!!).  Maybe one day things will change . . .

-pemitpat

P.S. I wish people would be able to be as open to change as Tupac in the song, "Changes."