classe: iii-iv-v sc. prof.ssa carmen gresia. on the road edward hopper, gas, 1940
TRANSCRIPT
Classe: III-IV-V Sc. Prof.ssa Carmen Gresia
ON THE ROAD
Edward Hopper, Gas, 1940
ON THE ROAD
• The US “on-the-road theme”
• The US “on-the-road generation”
• The US novel On the Road (see following file)
JOURNEY as a means to discover the surrounding world and oneself
Existential experience for those who choose to travel in order to react against the restlessness and unsatisfaction deriving from daily routine and securities.
Travelling implies accepting the possibility of unpredictable encounters and situations so as to test oneself and to acquire a deeper knowledge of the world and of oneself
It is also a spiritual journey/adventure since, involving different experiences, usually imples a deep change in the traveller.
JOURNEY in the US culturepursuit of happiness and freedom
THE AMERICAN DREAMJOURNEY as DNA of the USA
The United States originates from a journey
First English colonies in northern America(i.e. Pilgrim Fathers, 1620).New England: land of opportunities and rebirth
The Frontier myth/Go west incitement : the journey in the journey.Once settled in the new land, the Northern Americans went west to pursue their happiness in unknown lands.
Frontier= the edge of the settled country where unlimited free land was available and, consequently, unlimited opportunityWild West Frontier: WEST portrayed as open space and as the effective place of happiness and freedom
GOING WEST/ADVANCING means to conquer unexplored lands (this idea is also reflected in national sports).
GO WEST: American FootballGame philosophy:
Gradual conquest of the land/field:
Points are scored by advancing the ball into the opponent’s end zone for a touchdown (worth 6 points) or by kicking the ball from the playing field through the raised vertical posts in the back of that end zone for a field goal (worth 3 points).
American football players are in some cases allowed to throw the ball forward whilst in rugby league fortward passing is always illegal.
Coast to Coast: BasketGame Philosophy:
Gradual conquest of the land/court
Each team tries to score by shooting a ball through a hoop or basket.
When a player secures a rebound or gets a steal and immediately sprints or passes the ball quickly down court, a slang term is used to describe this succesful offensive play strating at one end of the cort and finishing at the opposite one: COAST TO COAST.
It is a sort of revival of the American frontier myth and of the coast-to-coast ‘migration’
COAST TO COAST: ROUTE 66 THE MOTHER ROAD
U.S. Route 66 or simply Route 66
1926-1985 (as of 1985 replaced by the Interstate Highway System)
From Chicago to Santa Monica, through the States of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Overall length: 3.755 km (2.347 miles).
Now known as "Historic Route 66”.
Road of many small family-run (mama-and-papa) enterprises
Route 66 Road of the emigrations towards the Wild West
…. towards Eldorado, California, the beaches and the cinema of Hollywood
… towards the ‘pursuit of happiness’
JOURNEY = ESCAPE
Restless life and wanderings across America
through bus rides and hitchhiking escapades…
experiencing any kind of freedom and rejecting any kind of restrictions
Pursuing a natural, spontaneous and authentic way of life.
The 50s
The Generation Gap starts
‘Fathers’
Representative the middle-class
Conformism and good-manners
Uniformity to mass society
‘Children’
The Rebel and the Drifter
Mood of irriverence and rebellion
quest for self-expression and liberation
Individualism
The ‘50s (The Tranquilizzed Fifties)
Sudden blossoming of mass prosperity:
Families have cars, phones, washing-machines, refrigerators, their own houses in the suburbia and go shopping in the new ‘shopping malls’
Education bigger affluence in universities and college which receive the government financial support.
Full employment, good wages,
public services, technical improvements
The ‘50s: social phenomena
CONSUMERISM
Television as revolution
Change in style with popular series and quiz shows.
1950s advertisement for Coca-Cola
The ‘50s: the young and their tastes
• Great interests in music, fashion, drinks and vehicles.
• Working-class adolescents spending money on their pleasures.
• Leisure activities dancing and listening to rock’n’roll.
Poster for Rebel without a cause (1955)
Invented by Kerouac in 1948.
Introduced to the public by an article on
“New York Times Magazine”.
BEAT =
1. tired reaction against capitalism and
Puritan middle-class values.
2. beatific Kerouac’s reverence for certain
aspects of Catholicism and Buddhism.
The term “Beat Generation”
A beatnik rock’n’roll compilation
Suffix -nik borrowed from Sputnik, a
Russian satellite. (1951)
Their main features: illegal way of life,
acting on first impulses.
They advocated escapism and created
underground culture.
The beatniks...
A group of Beatniks, 1950s.
Spiritual and sexual liberation. Liberation from censorship. Decriminalization of the use of marijuana. The evolution of rhythm and blues into
rock and roll. The spread of ecological consciousness. Respect for land and indigenous peoples
and creatures “The Earth is an Indian thing”.
...and their influence upon artistic movements
The Hip, a 1986 book about the Beat Generation
The on-the-road theme in the American culture
The Road in movies
The Road in music
The Road in painting (roadside landscape)
Music on the Road
Charlie Parker
Elvis Presley
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ‘n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
Quante strade deve percorrere un uomo
prima che tu possa chiamarlo uomo?
E quanti mari deve navigare una bianca colomba
prima di dormire sulla sabbia?
E quante volte devono volare le palle di cannone
prima di essere proibite per sempre?
La risposta, amico mio, soffia nel vento,
la risposta soffia nel vento.
Blowin’ in the wind (Bob Dylan)
The On-the-Road Generation
Starting from the Sixties, a widespread countercultural movement
grew, mixing opposition to war, black nationalism and feminism.
The ‘60s: the young
• Sensitive to their age spiritual
problems
Commitee for nuclear
disarmament and pacifist marches
(1959-1975: Vietnam War)
• Mood of irriverence and rebellion
university occupations and
demonstrations.
A student demonstration
THE USA ON THE ROAD
Pacifist marches and feminist movements
WOODSTOCK (1969)