Romanticism:
1. How is the Romantic construction of the Sublime reflected in the
ideological, conceptual and linguistic construction of the texts under
consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples...
Post-/modernism
1. What are the key features of High Modernism and what was the ‘movements’ agenda with regards language use?
2. How can you identify Modernist texts?
3. Is post-modernism an extension or refutation of Modernism?
4. What is ‘Beat’ poetry ?
5. What is the link between Beat poetry and blues, Beat poetry and rap?
6. What is it about both Beat poetry and rap that has provoked censorship?
Post-/Modernism
ReplyDelete4. What is 'Beat' poetry?
Beat poetry was a style that emerged in the 1950s, when a group of American writers and poets came to prominence. Poet and novelist, Jack Kerouac, created the phrase "Beat Generation" to represent their anti-conformist ideas. The Beat Generation became known for their bohemian lifestyle which was reflected through their works.
Recurring elements featured in Beat poetry included anti-materialism, sexual and spiritual liberation, and anti-censorship motifs.
Allen Ginsberg's "Howl", and William S. Burroughs’s "Naked Lunch" are two of the best, and most well-known, examples of Beat.
- Charters, Ann. The Portable Beat Reader, 1992. ISBN 978-0-670-83885-1
Beat Poetry and Rap both caused controversy because of the different political climates which they question. Beat poetry, an alternative, anti-conformist movement focused particularly in San Francisco, who wrote about things like experimental drugs, Eastern religions and freedom of expression. This too can be seen in some part in the early explosion of hip-hop and rap movement in the late 70's early 80's in New York, not so much a counter-culture movement but a response to how society was behaving at the time. The Beat Movement arising post-WWII as a response to the patriotic, conformist, imperialist ideal of the victorious American Nation. Rap as an act of rebellion to the mistreatment of urban black kids in the cities of America, especially in California after the Watts Riots a group named NWA became particularly influential in the rise of what is known as Gangster Rap, an expression of the conditions they lived in. NWA referred to it as reality rap as opposed to gangster.
ReplyDeleteThe Beat movement was staunchly anti-censorship, they spoke and wrote about what was on their minds, and going forward to the late 80's NWA were one of the first artists to have the Parental Advisory labels attached to their Straight Outta' Compton EP. However with the stigma attached to these labels, the buzz around the album increased and went double platinum. So both movements are influential as far as censorship goes, with the Beat Movement laying the groundwork for societies acceptance of freethinking and with Rap allowing urban youth to express themselves as never before and also to be heard by the public on a major scale.