Essay on Resistance To The Modernity of American Culture

In the poem Howl, Allen Ginsberg challenges the political modernity of American culture that enforces the â€Å"best minds† to give up their freedom to gain the desired sense of normalcy that is glorified. He states â€Å"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked/dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix† (Ginsberg 9). That angry fix that he describes is what all of these â€Å"best minds† look for after being striped of their freedom to conform to the new American culture after World War II. Without question a â€Å"best mind† in Ginsberg’s reference is one with all the freedom and insight before the turn of American culture that explicitly loose it through modernity. The†¦show more content†¦Lastly, Ginsberg repeats â€Å"I’m with you in Rockland† in the final part. This addressed that not just Ginsberg himself is with â€Å"you†, the re ader, but also all the people that were destroyed by the desired normalcy of living. â€Å"I’m with you in Rockland/ where we hug and kiss the United States under/ our bedsheets the United States that coughs all/ night and won’t let us sleep† (26) Ginsberg states. Ginsberg reflects on the satire of people worshipping American culture when it is actually the cause of their trouble. They are glorifying a culture that restricts you to normality, and destroys the best minds. These parts take the reader behind who Ginsberg thinks the â€Å"best minds† are and how the American culture changed the fundamental desires to destroy them. American culture after World War II changed the idea of what people should desire for in life. The shift to looking for normalcy is what left the â€Å"best minds† looking for something more. The battle of politics left some people dishonestly worshipping Capitalism, or others resisting Communism. The ones â€Å"who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tabacco haze of Capitalism† (13) says Ginsberg were just falling in to the consumerism that Capitalism aspired to, regardless that they claimed to be resisting it. The politics of America left those â€Å"who distributed Supercommunist pamphlets in Union/Show MoreRelatedModern Film On Our Rational And Critical Thought Processes1372 Words   |  6 Pagessubjectivities that will help the masses assimilate into modernity. Horkheimer and Adorno s understanding of film reflects our current reality. Although Benjamin acknowledges film s current state, he envisions a future where film trains us to cope with the pressures of modernity. In The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception, Horkheimer and Adorno argue film oppresses our ability to think critically. 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