Week 7-9

How is the bible referenced in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein?

There are many instances where Frankenstein refers to the Bible, with most of it referring to the book of Genesis. In Genesis, it tells you how God created the world, and everything in it, including the first humans; Adam and Eve. It then tells us of how God takes them to the Garden of Eden, and tells Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan enters the garden and tempts Eve into eating the fruit, who also persuades Adam to do the same, thus disobeying God’s command. God then expels them from the Garden.

There are parallels of this story in Frankenstein. The monster can be linked to Adam, who is the first of his kind, the first creation. Frankenstein rejects his creation, similar to how God had cast them out of Eden. In the Bible, Satan turns his back on God and falls from heaven, waging a war against God and all mankind, similar to Frankenstein’s creation. ("The Bible: Creation » Frankenstein Study Guide from Crossref-it.info", 2019)

There are other references to the bible in Frankenstein, however, they’re not taken directly from the bible but instead are done through the monster’s reading of Paradise Lost.

REFERENCES:

The Bible: Creation » Frankenstein Study Guide from Crossref-it.info. (2019). Retrieved from https://crossref-it.info/textguide/frankenstein/7/333

Week 10-12

In what ways are beat poetry and rap linked?

In the 1940s, Beat poetry began in New York City and other West Coast states. According to Mark Cantor, “Beat poetry emerged from the disillusionment that followed World War II, a period of unimaginable atrocities including the Holocaust, and the use of nuclear weapons against Japan. Following the end of the war, the United States and the Soviet Union quickly entered a Cold War, a period of geopolitical hostility that created paranoia and cultural and political repression at home.” ("An Introduction to the Beat Poets", 2019) By the 1950s, the beat poetry movement was developed, with its heart in San Francisco. ("A Brief Guide to the Beat Poets | Academy of American Poets", 2019) Beat poets wanted to bring poetry “back to the streets,” and occasionally read their poetry while accompanied by progressive jazz. “The verse was frequently chaotic and liberally sprinkled with obscenities but was sometimes, as in the case of “Allen Ginsberg’s Howl (1956), ruggedly powerful and moving.” ("Beat movement | History, Characteristics, Writers, & Facts", 2019) They also used hallucinogenic drugs to achieve “higher consciousness”, and meditation and Eastern religion were incorporated into a few of the poets’ works. ("A Brief Guide to the Beat Poets | Academy of American Poets", 2019) This paves the way for what is known as rap. Rap borrows from spoken word poetry, “rap can be heard as spoken word, or chanting, over a melodic or rhythmic base,” and it’s also a form of the Black artistic expression. (Price-Styles, 2015)

Price-Styles, A. (2015). MC origins: Rap and spoken word poetry. In J. Williams (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Hip-Hop (Cambridge Companions to Music, pp. 11-21). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CCO9781139775298.003

An Introduction to the Beat Poets. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/147552/an-introduction-to-the-beat-poets

A Brief Guide to the Beat Poets | Academy of American Poets. (2019). Retrieved from https://poets.org/text/brief-guide-beat-poets

Beat movement | History, Characteristics, Writers, & Facts. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/Beat-movement

Week 10-12

Literature/ Desire 

Week 10-12

5. What were the links between black protest music and revolutionary political movements, such as the Black Panthers, in the 1960’s and how did things play out then and into the 1970’s?

The 1960’s Black Civil rights movement marks a monumental pivotal moment in American History. A stance made against the segregation of the blacks and whites, and severe oppression caused in the face of overt racism towards the African Americans. The 60’s decade saw a huge wave of cultural and political upheaval. The 1961 election placing John F. Kennedy as President of the United States saw a sense of hope within the black community for progress on civil rights (John F. Kennedy Library, n.d). However, due to Kennedy’s assassination just two years later in 1963, it sent the whole nation into shock, especially Black America sparking the abrupt push for racial equality. (Allen, 2013)

A movement primarily led by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X; two historical figures, each sharing the common traits of religion and politics to work in hand for the civil rights of their people. Baptist minister Martin Luther King, was known for his non violent and civil disobedience tactics, deeply rooted to his Christian beliefs. However, in comparison to Malcolm X who was of the Nation of Islam Faith, (NOI) often challenged those ideals of King, urging his followers to defend themselves against white supremacy “by any means necessary” (History Channel, 2019). However, Malcolm X was often judged on his extremist views that often led violent outbursts at protest rallies. 

As Martin Luther King was a notable minister of the Christian church, he had huge crowds of followers attentively listening to every word he said. However, his services were not limited to spoken word, but also the power of gospel music, calling them freedom songs stating “the freedom songs are playing a strong and vital role in our struggle” (Longwood, 2013). For centuries, blacks carried their stories of oppression through songs such as ‘Oh Freedom!’, ‘Go down Moses’ or ‘Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around’. Therefore, it was no surprise that black artist during the 60’s such as Sam Cooke, Nina Simone, James Brown and Aretha Franklin among many others released freedom songs that were sung during testing times of protest (Longwood, 2013). 

The Black civil rights movement allowed music to become a medium of deep expression, much like preaching was for Martin Luther King and his faith using gospel music as a form of peaceful protest. Its evident music was a strong focal point in uniting mass communities to speak their suppressed truths no matter the consequence.        As this carried over into the 70’s, soul and disco music dominated that era, playing a huge influence on the black community bringing artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Freda Payne, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder and all of the MoTown artists. (Wikipedia, n.d) 

7. what kind of protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?

The spirit of protest is still very much alive in rap and hip hop music. However, much like the early history of fugitive slaves in the nineteenth century, to the civil rights movement in the 60’s, the evolution of black music has had a huge impact on rap and hip hop music today. The 90’s rap era introduces a vast range of rappers such as Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls or N.W.A. The nature of the songs often caused radio stations and MTV to refuse playing their songs, because of the explicit language and hard core tracks. But behind all of that, these rappers were speaking on major issues from police brutality, racism against blacks in America, poverty, violence, the list goes on (Kennedy, 2017). 

Kanye West who ideally is a creative genius has taken samples from the archive ‘Strange Fruit’ by Billie Holiday, dating back to the late 30’s in the jazz age. A song that is noted as the first great protest song in history, which was ultimately about the torturing method of lynching. As we are aware that this was not the first instance of protest music, it was one of the first to send a message on a political issue in an area of entertainment (Lynskey, 2011). This can be seen in his 2013 song ‘Blood on the leaves’ from his album Yeezy, with Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’.

Many African Americans still continue to release protest music, and I believe will always do so as it is their platform to speak out on universal issues that need awareness or carry importance. A few examples are Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ about gun violence in America, Joey Bada$$ ‘Land of the Free’ about the state of America and how their minorities are treated, and YG’s ‘FDT’ about Doanald Trump. 

References:

Allen, C. (2013) How John F Kennedy’s assassination spurred the drive of racial equality. Retrieved May 28, 2019. From https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/john-f-kennedy-assassination-racial-equality-jfk

History Channel. (2019) Malcolm X. Retrieved May 28, 2019. From https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/malcolm-x

John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. (n.d) Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved May 27, 2019. From https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/civil-rights-movement

Kennedy. G, D. (2017) The moment N.W.Z changed the music world. Retrieved May 30, 2019. From https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-nwa-parental-discretion-20171205-htmlstory.html

Longwood. (2013) The Impact of Music on the Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved May 28, 2019. From http://blogs.longwood.edu/musicblog2/2013/03/28/hello-world/

Lynskey, D. (2011) Strange fruit: the first great protest song. Retrieved May 29, 2019. From https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/feb/16/protest-songs-billie-holiday-strange-fruit

Wikipedia. (n,d) Protest songs in the United States. Retrieved May 29, 2019. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_songs_in_the_United_States#1970s;_The_Vietnam_War,_soul_music

Week 10-12 :)

Modernism

What does The Wasteland mean (Lol)?

OK, well, let's unpack that:

2. What are some of its key features?
References to many other literary works and it dances through multiple styles/ narrative perspectives. Literary wise to name a few The Tempest is quoted in the line 257 “This music crept by me upon the waters“. The White Devil (Webster, 1612) in line 407. Paradise Lost (Milton) in line 98 “upon the sylvan scene” which is a reference to paradise before it fell.
Nursery rhymes “London bridge is falling down, falling down..” 426 and a pub landlord calling to close “Hurry up please it’s time” 140 are heard as well as many other voices from various walks of life. As well as the cries of birds throughout “Co co rico” 392, and nature features as having its own voice for instance thunder in the fifth part ‘What Thunder Said’. By having all these narratives in each verse he manages to create a diverse work which reaches most parts of culture and society as upper, middle and lower class would find something that appeals or is relatable to them in some manner. German and Italian are used as well, although to quote famous texts such as Dante’s ‘Inferno’ in its original form.

Post Modern

2. On what grounds was Ginsberg's HOWL accused of being obscene, and on what grounds was it defended?
Ginsenberg’s HOWL was accused of being obscene due to covering topics such as illicit drugs, rock n’ roll and sexual practises that were both heterosexual and homosexual. Judge Clayton W. Horn (Chandler, 1957) declared the poem to hold “redeeming social importance” and seeing it as a literary artefact of the time.

3. In what ways are Beat poetry and rap linked?
Ginsenberg (1995) in an interview said that both beat poetry and rap share the same origin. An ancient African tradition called griot, which has an element of boasting within it. Warriors would boast, sexual boasting occurred and social commentary as well as the village commentary were used within this verse. It changed when it came to America with slaves as it wasn’t allowed in its pure form. Later down the line poets like Amiri Baraka added in democratic, political elements towards their people’s rights and heritage. Which relates to the griot social commentary and ‘village commentary’. Through rap we often see the other parts of griot used, the ‘warrior’ and sexual boasting. Dissing also seems to come from this in rap to balance out the boast. Ginsenberg also says that a lot of rap is intentionally hyperbolic and exaggerated for the humour of the rhyme which relates back to the warrior boasting.
Through the exaggerated lyrics in rap and through the issues beat poetry can explore to illuminate flaws in society, we see both works censored. Ginsenberg finds his work often censored and rap artists often have to write more ‘appropriate’ versions of their lyrics so that they can be played on air.

4. How was Bob Dylan's song Master of War involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
Master of War was involved in controversies in both Bush administrations although lesser so in Bush Seniors. The song originally came out in 1963 and was controversial for the time. Protest songs were popular however Dylan’s song differed in that his celebrated the death of the masters of war quite directly. There was no subtlety in “And your death will come soon. I'll follow your casket. In the pale afternoon. And I'll watch while you're lowered. Down to your deathbed/ And I'll stand over your grave till I'm sure that you're dead” , it was a direct call for warmongers and leaders demise. So the song was not performed in Dylans sets for a few decades post release.

1991 – Gulf war, Americans in Iraq with Bush Senior as president. Bob Dylan performs Masters of War at the Grammys, which is specific due to the fact he has not played it much in the last 3 decades and has a large repertoire. When asked why he played that song he said “the war is going on”. Due to heavy television coverage on the war at the time, the Grammys were a prominent show that year as they provided a break from the subject. So it was perfectly used then for the masses.
2002 – Played Master of War in Madison Square Garden days after Bush Jr announced intent to reignite an Iraq war. Played a set without grand props and only three musicians which gave it a natural calm yet haunting vibe (Lipner, 2002).
2003/2004 – The song was covered heavily as it gained new popularity, with Amendola band doing a particularly haunting nine minute cover which slowly lowers to a post-apocalyptic silence. A Minneapolis record store owner put out a version of the song with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ashcroft on the cover of his album in red white and blue. Dylan once again covered the song on election night, singing the song fiercer than before with an electric guitar. The next day in Boulder Colorado students staged a sit in at their school library, saying that they understood Bush’s actions would directly affect their generations future and that they were upset that they had no say in receiving the aftermath. The school’s principal refused to move them so a television crew arrived as did a senator-elect Ken Salazar.
A fortnight later the children had a talent show on and performed Dylan’s Master of War. A student who auditioned told their parent they heard one of the students sing “Die, Bush, Die” instead of the lyric “I hope that you die”. The parent called the news stations, the secret service arrived as they thought the students posed a threat. But left after grabbing a copy of the lyrics (Westword, 2004).

5. What were the links between black protest music and revolutionary political movements, such as the Black Panthers, in the 1960s and how did things play out then and into the 1970s?
Nina Simone made a few protest songs and was affiliated with the Black Panthers directly.

7. What kind of protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
I believe there is a spirit of protest in today’s music and in a variety of genres, although rap would cover it more often than other genres and perhaps more in passing lines then the whole song having that commentary. There is not as much as there was decades ago and sometimes the protest is more in the form of bringing inequities to light or questioning them/pointing out the glaringly obvious. Although, adding a decent pop beat with the right status of artist seemingly can draw up conversation that begin or add to movements. My first example was a massive conversation starter. I’ve witnessed multiple times the dark irony in white dj’s in clubs cutting out the shooting noise when remixing, to make it more palatable for clubs as it does have a good “club” beat. Which appropriates the careful use of catchy beats mixed with an auditory break to remind one that the song had purpose. The second is not so much protest as questioning why some have more rights than others, no violence is brought up but rather the aim is compassion. However, it has been accepted widely by the community it was made for and used within marches for rights.
This is America by Childish Gambino/Donald Glover (2018) is an interesting and popular modern protest type song. It portrays a number of inequities within society including a jarring few shooting scenes which further emphasises the problems with police brutality and murder specifically towards people of colour. The first shooting scene involves Glover shooting a man in a Jim Crow pose then gently placing the gun down a cloth with care as the bodies dragged off showing more care for the weapon than action. The Jim Crow laws were used to segregate the population post slaves being ‘freed’ so that they couldn’t use the same facilities as white people. So seeing him separate himself from the victim with this pose is intense. The second shooting directly references the 2015 massacre that happened at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina where 9 choir singers were shot by a white supremacist. Glover skips up to them, shoots them then shrugs it off and passes his gun once again with some care to a random person. There’s many more symbols and references throughout the video and the lyrics hold true to the motive of protest. However, there is no call really to rise up. Rather it aims to grab ones attention.
Macklemore’s ‘Same Love’ (Haggerty, 2013) Covering homosexuality, gender, religion, oppression, human rights, hate and skin pigment. With lines such as “No freedom ‘til we’re equal”, “our culture founded from oppression”. Although it may not be as much for protest despite it being used within that, rather it’s a call for acceptance.

References:
Chandler, A. (2012) “Howl” and the Obscenity Trial: Allen Ginsberg’s Date with History. Tablet Magazine.
Glover, D. (2018). This Is America, mcDJ
Hagerty, B. Lewis, R. Lambert, M. (2013). Same Love, Macklemore LLC.
Lipner, R. (2002). Bob Dylan Concert Review. Classic Rock History
Milton, J. (1667) Paradise Lost, Samuel Simmons
Webster, J. (1612). The White Devil.
Westword. (2004). Off Limits. Westword Magazine.