The Meaning and the Influence

The Beat Generation, or the Beat Movement, was one carved out of a distain for the society that encompassed them. The very idea of “beat” was used to describe one who had been broken down to a sense of primal consciousness... weary from the encasement by a society deemed destined to fail in it’s plateau of war, poverty, and social conformity.

John Clellon Holmes described it quite eloquently in his 1952 New York Times Magazine article, “This is the Beat Generation” when he says, “In short, it means being undramatically pushed up against the wall of oneself.”

If you study it long enough, you will find that history often repeats itself as time progresses. When reading Holmes' article about the circumstances that spawned the philosophical and literary movement of the Beats, I found a connection that shined relevant to the situations we find ourselves in today.

The time-frame of the prominence of the Beat Generation places them fresh off days of World War II. The country was still hurting from the Great Depression of the 30s and the war that played out in the 40s. There was a sense of belonging that they seemed to lack.

The era of the Beats was a generation very similar to the modern day youth. We live in times of never-ending war and financial struggles through a recession with no certainty to when we may bounce back.

Holmes states in his article that generations are often defined by the wars that separate them. It was certainly the case for these men and women as their war separated them from the era of the Lost Generation of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and from the hippie generation that would follow their lead.

One must keep in mind that it is the younger generations who are sent to answer the call of duty demanded by the elder-statesmen. We are sent to war to fight, prepared to die, often for reasons we don’t agree with. Those of us who are lucky enough to avoid the battle ground unfortunately find ourselves connected to family, friends, and families of friends who have been injected into the conflict.

Eventually, the feelings of national duty go cold and leave us pondering where we went wrong and why we continue to follow in the self-destructive patterns that repeat themselves as the decades pass. This is the normality of being an American citizen.

The Beats rejected these social and political norms in their days and this was the realm of influence they offered. It became a direct precursor for the rebellious years that followed into the 60s and 70s when the battlefront switched from Europe and Japan to Vietnam.

While the Beats where comprised of men and women who were beaten down by the times, they found beauty in their art and peace in their spirituality. Holmes explains that they believed the main problem with their "modern" lives was a spritual one.

Holmes also goes on to explain that the group was reluctant to take claim to their fame, even refusing to accept acknowledgment of their cause. In fact, it wasn’t until the movement reached a popular fad status that it all began to deteriorate.

There was a pressure that came with their cause as they pushed back on society and opened the doors to a literary movement unlike any other since their day. There was a method to their madness and a meaning that fueled it’s exuberance.

Sources

Holmes, John Clellon. (1952, November 16). This Is The Beat Generation. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.litkicks.com/Texts/ThisIsBeatGen.html.