Today in class after the finishing of Style Wars my class had a very animated discussion concerning one of the key aspects of the movie. Put quite simply the major direction that the discussion took was rather graffiti as an artform is inherently right or wrong, and if so why or why not. Now while I heard a lot of compelling arguments from both sides of the argument, I never actually formed an opinion of my own. There are parts of both arguments that I agreed with and parts that I didn't feel quite so strongly for. Still, even after giving it quite a good bit of thought I really can't form an solid opinion on whether I think graffiti is right or wrong. Honestly I think that's where my opinion is going to stay. The best way I can articulate my opinion on graffiti as an artform is to say that perhaps there are parts of it that make it both wrong and right, and this is what makes it so unique as art.
In the argument against graffiti I heard a few points made, but best I could tell they, for the most part, fit under the statement that graffiti is defacement of property and that it is rude and unpleasant to put your art in a place where other people are forced to look at it. Mr. Mitchell pointed out a good parallel to this, which is desktop doodles. Now, while I think desktop drawing can show a profound sense of creativity and artistic talent, they can also show a profound lack of creativity and an impressive showcase of teenage immaturity. A poorly drawn penis is not exactly what I would call the epitome of artistic ability. I don't want to have to look at this, because I don't think it's good art. Along this same stream of thought it's important to understand that taste in art is opinionated obviously, and perhaps there are those that consider phallic doodling to be true art. Unlikely, but related to this there is always the possibility that people find graffiti simply unattractive as art, and find it unpleasant to be constantly subjected to it.
In contrast to this view of graffiti as unpleasant art being forced upon you rises also one of the strongest support ideas that it has going for it. What makes graffiti so unique as an art form is precisely the statement it makes by shoving it in your face. Regardless of whether you want to see that penis on your desk, it's there and you've noticed it. This is not to say that all graffiti is as unpleasant as dick doodles, in fact a lot of graffiti displays tons of artistic talent. The point here, however, is that graffiti is a way for a demographic that America usually likes to pretend doesn't exist to express itself and let itself be heard. Bombing, the simple act of putting your name down somewhere, is the way that an inner city youth, who otherwise doesn't have much, can earn himself recognition and acknowledgment. The very thing that makes graffiti so undesirable to some, being forced to view it, makes it so attractive and unique to others.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Freedom by Death
In White Boy Shuffle the novels concludes with a seemingly very perplexing and potentially controversial ending. Starting with Gunnar's speech at Boston University he seemingly endorses the idea of mass suicide on the part of African Americans as a way of showing their devotion to the cause. Immediately this has repercussions as people all over the country start to commit suicide and send Gunnar their death poems. This includes Nick Scoby, who after a discussion with Gunnar about suicide hikes to the top of the Boston University Law Building, writes Gunnar a letter, and then throws himself of the top of the building.
The suicide doesn't stop at Scoby, however. As Gunnar is staying in Hillside at his new hotel home, he receives letter after letter containing poems written by African Americans who have committed suicide after being provoked by some racial injustice committed against them. During all this Gunnar and company are reading Japanese love-suicide stories. Clearly these works of literature are a major influence on Gunnar's perception of suicide and death, and after nearly committing suicide by drowning himself Gunnar states, "What the fuck, it took Osamu Dazai three ir four times to get this suicide thing right" (209).
By the end of the novel we have reached the unlikely scenario in which Gunnar, during a memorial for Scoby has revealed the existence of a remaining atom bomb, and has dared the U.S. government to drop the bomb on Hillside. While this is a seemingly preposterous scenario, I think the message is clear; race relations in the U.S. are so hopelessly misbalanced that there can be no fixing. The only reasonable option from here is mass suicide. At least this is the message that Gunnar gets across to African-Americans.
The concept of suicide being a reasonable option is a hard concept to grasp for people in our society, but to Gunnar perhaps it made sense. Gunnar had recently been reading japanese love-suicide stories in which suicide was not seen as a dishonorable action, but in fact a fairly honorable mode of death. I think even more importantly is that Gunnar feels as though in life he has absolutely no control. In a way I think Gunnar is supposed to see suicide as the only way that he can take control of a life which he feels is otherwise out of his control. As he says "You may love me, but I'm tired of thrashing around in the mud and not getting anywhere, so put a nigger out of his misery" (226). I think that Bigger sees the best way for himself to take control of his life is to end it. In this way he takes control of really the only aspect of his life that he feels that he can possibly control, which is his own death. Suicide as a reasonable option is hard for members of our society to understand, but for Gunnar he feels that his situation is so bad that the only way for him to take control of his life is for him to decide to end it.
The suicide doesn't stop at Scoby, however. As Gunnar is staying in Hillside at his new hotel home, he receives letter after letter containing poems written by African Americans who have committed suicide after being provoked by some racial injustice committed against them. During all this Gunnar and company are reading Japanese love-suicide stories. Clearly these works of literature are a major influence on Gunnar's perception of suicide and death, and after nearly committing suicide by drowning himself Gunnar states, "What the fuck, it took Osamu Dazai three ir four times to get this suicide thing right" (209).
By the end of the novel we have reached the unlikely scenario in which Gunnar, during a memorial for Scoby has revealed the existence of a remaining atom bomb, and has dared the U.S. government to drop the bomb on Hillside. While this is a seemingly preposterous scenario, I think the message is clear; race relations in the U.S. are so hopelessly misbalanced that there can be no fixing. The only reasonable option from here is mass suicide. At least this is the message that Gunnar gets across to African-Americans.
The concept of suicide being a reasonable option is a hard concept to grasp for people in our society, but to Gunnar perhaps it made sense. Gunnar had recently been reading japanese love-suicide stories in which suicide was not seen as a dishonorable action, but in fact a fairly honorable mode of death. I think even more importantly is that Gunnar feels as though in life he has absolutely no control. In a way I think Gunnar is supposed to see suicide as the only way that he can take control of a life which he feels is otherwise out of his control. As he says "You may love me, but I'm tired of thrashing around in the mud and not getting anywhere, so put a nigger out of his misery" (226). I think that Bigger sees the best way for himself to take control of his life is to end it. In this way he takes control of really the only aspect of his life that he feels that he can possibly control, which is his own death. Suicide as a reasonable option is hard for members of our society to understand, but for Gunnar he feels that his situation is so bad that the only way for him to take control of his life is for him to decide to end it.
Integration
When Gunnar moves from Santa Monica to Hillside he has a decidedly difficult time acclimatizing himself to his new environment. Obviously he experiences culture shock switching from growing up in a mostly white society, to living in a predominantly black society. Not only is he unfamiliar with the type of neighborhood he's in, but he has a remarkably hard time making friends with the other kids in the neighborhood. They see him as being too "white", and after his first few attempts to assimilate himself he gets himself quite thoroughly beaten up.
The first place that Gunnar finds himself finally making friends is in his drama class, where he manages to befriend the "nerds" in this group. This doesn't really settle very well with him, however, and he soon grows tired of these new found companions. As he says on page 65, "I was cooler than this, I had to be -- I just didn't know how to show my latent hipness to the world." All this changes, however, when one day in drama class Gunnar meets a guy who will be a life long friend of his, Nick Scoby.
When we first meet Nick, we immediately are painted a picture of a very cool and collected individual. Nick sits apart from everyone else, with his headphones on, enjoying his Cannonball Adderley. Simply put Nick is real cool, and immediately Gunnar starts to fall for him. Admittedly I was crushing pretty hard on him as well. But what's so special about Nick is that he not only accepts Gunnar, but uses a term to address him that puts Gunnar into a state of elation. On page 67, as Gunnar asks "You wanna learn the monologue together?" Scoby eventually responds with "Yeah, nigger, let's get together later this week. Cool? Later." Gunnar is animated. As he says himself "He called me "nigger."My euphoria was as palpable as the loud clap of our hands colliding in my first soul shake"For Gunnar this is a very important moment in the novel. It represents his first "integration" into the black culture that surrounds him.
Two things about his interaction with Nick combine to make Gunnar so happy. The first is that Nick while not exactly a popular kid, is respected throughout the school. The second is that Nick accepts Gunnar, but not just in anyway, Nick accepts him with his use of the N-word. Now Gunnar had been called this before by other people around Hillside, but this is the first time that any other black person has addressed Gunnar like that as a term of affection. I think in this use of the word it would be very similar to Nick addressing Gunnar as brother. The affect that this has on Gunnar is that it makes him feel as if finally he is being accepted into the black culture he's been striving so hard to work himself into. It's no wonder that after his talking with Scoby that he "skated away cool" and "pimp-daddied back to his seat."
The first place that Gunnar finds himself finally making friends is in his drama class, where he manages to befriend the "nerds" in this group. This doesn't really settle very well with him, however, and he soon grows tired of these new found companions. As he says on page 65, "I was cooler than this, I had to be -- I just didn't know how to show my latent hipness to the world." All this changes, however, when one day in drama class Gunnar meets a guy who will be a life long friend of his, Nick Scoby.
When we first meet Nick, we immediately are painted a picture of a very cool and collected individual. Nick sits apart from everyone else, with his headphones on, enjoying his Cannonball Adderley. Simply put Nick is real cool, and immediately Gunnar starts to fall for him. Admittedly I was crushing pretty hard on him as well. But what's so special about Nick is that he not only accepts Gunnar, but uses a term to address him that puts Gunnar into a state of elation. On page 67, as Gunnar asks "You wanna learn the monologue together?" Scoby eventually responds with "Yeah, nigger, let's get together later this week. Cool? Later." Gunnar is animated. As he says himself "He called me "nigger."My euphoria was as palpable as the loud clap of our hands colliding in my first soul shake"For Gunnar this is a very important moment in the novel. It represents his first "integration" into the black culture that surrounds him.
Two things about his interaction with Nick combine to make Gunnar so happy. The first is that Nick while not exactly a popular kid, is respected throughout the school. The second is that Nick accepts Gunnar, but not just in anyway, Nick accepts him with his use of the N-word. Now Gunnar had been called this before by other people around Hillside, but this is the first time that any other black person has addressed Gunnar like that as a term of affection. I think in this use of the word it would be very similar to Nick addressing Gunnar as brother. The affect that this has on Gunnar is that it makes him feel as if finally he is being accepted into the black culture he's been striving so hard to work himself into. It's no wonder that after his talking with Scoby that he "skated away cool" and "pimp-daddied back to his seat."
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