tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post415554138234479206..comments2024-03-01T10:16:11.283-08:00Comments on AmericanStudies: March 5, 2014: AmericanStudying Non-Favorites: The BeatsAmericanStudierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483077716534996778noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-57534036963474481682014-03-06T08:38:35.010-08:002014-03-06T08:38:35.010-08:00I enjoy Thompson (especially Fear and Loathing LV)...I enjoy Thompson (especially Fear and Loathing LV), but I feel like the hero worship that has been accorded to him by people like Johnny Depp is a bit over the top. He was an original mind, no doubt, and a talented if tormented voice of his times. Updike also leaves me cold - in a way that makes me wonder if I just have a hard time connecting with the mindset of that generation of writers. I can't seem to relate to the pressing need to escape, perhaps because I did not experience the weight of social expectation that was likely a heavy burden to those writers. As an aside, Updike's piece on Teddy Ballgame was inspired, although also a bit distant if I recall correctly.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15382043180810012389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-70457387682163999652014-03-06T07:30:23.824-08:002014-03-06T07:30:23.824-08:00Thanks for the comment! I think that's a valua...Thanks for the comment! I think that's a valuable way to see the Beats, and yet I would say that there's some irony in that so many of them (at least the most prominent ones) seem so defined by masculine relationships and community, while pushing back on those overarching (and paternalistic to be sure) cultural norms.<br /><br />As for Thompson and Updike, both important and complex post-war American authors and voices for sure. I tend to prefer Thompson because of his satirical voice and side, and can forgive him his own masculine emphases because he's so willing to push back on American ideals and narratives and myths in every other way. Updike has always left me cold, perhaps because it feels as if he's more removed from his subjects and themes, rather than caught up in them and engaged with them in the ways that Thompson seems to be (and that the Beats certainly were too, whatever their flaws). <br /><br />I'd love to hear more of your thoughts too!<br />BenAmericanStudierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06483077716534996778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-39784342187171285302014-03-06T07:23:42.092-08:002014-03-06T07:23:42.092-08:00Thanks for the comment, Roland. I think there are ...Thanks for the comment, Roland. I think there are all sorts of reasons, both very positive/meaningful and very silly, why we root for sports teams, and that they connect in both cases to pretty deeply rooted parts of human nature as well as aspects of how we were brought up (although certainly ones that impact different people very differently in any case).<br /><br />Beyond that, though, I do agree that kinds of communal rabid fandom are very frustratingly divisive and (often) hateful, and that's what tends to turn me into the contrarian I mentioned.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />BenAmericanStudierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06483077716534996778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-74933413187982784332014-03-05T14:01:42.908-08:002014-03-05T14:01:42.908-08:00Given this post, I'm curious how you feel abou...Given this post, I'm curious how you feel about works like *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* (assuming that doesn't step on a future post) and, in a different way, the Rabbit novels by Updike. Regarding the Beats, I have always considered their work (I am most familiar with Kerouac) to be a cultural "first-step" (although it was not the first step) away from a culture that celebrated a strict paternal structure.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15382043180810012389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3939909775405220345.post-86806323702008756402014-03-05T13:52:08.082-08:002014-03-05T13:52:08.082-08:00"At this midway point of my non-favorites ser..."At this midway point of my non-favorites series, I should make sure to note a couple of important things. First, my goal in writing these posts is not to convince you that I’m right about these figures and artists, not to argue that anybody who likes my subjects is mistaken, not to start such arguments at all. Moreover, I’m not doing this for the thrill of contrarianism—something that I certainly feel on occasion (particularly when rooting against popular sports teams), but that doesn’t generally animate my AmericanStudying. Instead, my goal is to think analytically about some of the things that don’t work for me, considering what that might say about both my own perspective specifically and about AmericanStudies topics more broadly. I say those things here not only because they apply to the whole series, but also because they’re especially relevant to this post, wherein I express my lack of positivity toward a group of writers and artists of whom many of my friends and colleagues (and, I believe, my Dad) are big fans."<br /><br />Dear Ben and fellow bloggers,<br /><br />CONTRARIANISM is actually a new term for me - or maybe I should say a new definition for something I didn't even know there was a word for. I think some contrarianism in human adults is just human nature... tracing back to early childhood; when a child first starts learning and applying the term "No!" in conversation with their parents (I'm not a parent myself, but I've read about this phenomenon, and I suspect you parents out there know exactly what I'm talking about).<br /><br />At the risk of sounding too contrary, too unpopular, or too closed-minded (which I hope is clear is not my goal) I just don't get into rooting against (or rooting for) popular sports teams. <br /><br />There are two main reasons for this conclusion of mine: #1. I think the relationships in these popular and organized games are incredibly primitive, and we all need to grow and evolve in terms of what we want to get out of observing these kinds of human interactions. #2. I think there are so many harsh and dramatic (tragic, really) things happening to real human beings all around this country and this world every day - the poor, the sick and disabled, the minorities - through no real fault of their own - I just don't have time to work against (or root against) anybody, just because they are supposedly on a different 'team' than I.<br /><br />Why can't we all be on the same worldwide team? I would naturally expect less from relationships between lesser animals like sheep, lions, etc.. what's our excuse as human beings in 2014? Too complicated? Too time-consuming? Not thrilling or exiting enough for people?<br /><br />(This is where I sit back and wait for responses... I thank you for your attention to my perspective on this subject).<br /><br />Roland A. Gibson, Jr.<br />Sincerely,<br />IDIS MajorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com