The Beat Movement Analysis

Despite the negativity surrounding the Great Depression, music continued to march on through the Great Depression. In fact, it was used as a moral uplift for those who hit the ground hard from the adversity. What type of music genres formed and/or developed during this period of time? Jazz and Blues music primarily, as they developed further down the line. However, the former showed the most growth, as Jazz music has always thrived in adversity and came to symbolize American freedom(s). In fact, Jazz was used as a moral uplift for those who hit the ground hard from the adversity and not to be frightened from the unknown. While in the process it began to break barriers that had separated Americans from each other for centuries. ​

*Jazz music is significant in America because it progressed in many ways. Although, blacks struggled to survive and were economic decline, the development in wealth of pop and rock, there have been many opportunities for the survival of jazz. Jazz has always been important and a part of the American culture.

Music has the ability to make somebody feel a wide range of emotions just by the lyrics, the artist, or the genre. One major example of this is jazz. The forceful rhythms, energizing beats, and rousing styles of jazz have been known to reveal a large impact on people. The vast ways of performing jazz enable it to entertain people widely. Most commonly in correlation with African-Americans, jazz hit its peak during the twentieth century. With segregation being a major affliction during that time, many African-Americans turned to this type of music with open hearts. In fact, a numerous amount of cities began making a name for themselves due to this spirited style of music and its mass effect during the mid-1900s. Kansas City, Missouri is just

In order to analyze the impact that Louis Armstrong had on American jazz and the Civil Right’s Movement, there has to first be an understanding of the contributions of jazz to American culture. Jazz is a genre of music that was created in New Orleans by African Americans around the 1920’s. This form of music is based off of syncopation and improvisation, and comes in the style of dixieland, bebop, free jazz, and swing. Louis Armstrong, a famous jazz musician, had brilliant trumpet playing skills and a voice that made him widely popular across America, and well known by every race. Armstrong’s amazing abilities transformed jazz from being ensemble music into being a soloist art along with widely popularizing the use of scat. As a result

In observation of Langston Hughes, he was considered a modernist that contributed a major part in the African American community. He was one the founders who incorporated jazz and poetry. This was during the period of the Harlem Renaissance when the African American culture was at its highest. The Harlem Renaissance was of the embracing of literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts it was set apart for whites. Many of Hughes writings were derived from the African American culture and the struggles of their society. The infusion of jazz into his writings created a positive stain in the community.

Shel Silverstein was a very famous American songwriter, cartoonist, author, and poet. He has written award winning books, songs and poems beloved by all ages. Silverstein can be considered a literary figure and role model because of how different he wrote his books compared to how most other authors wrote their books in his time. Silverstein is well known for his work on children’s books, but he also wrote songs, poems, and drew cartoons for everybody to enjoy. Silverstein has been writing books since the age of twelve, which fueled his creativity to last until 1999, the year of his death. Silverstein is an author everybody should remember because of the advancements and improvements he made to book creation and literature.

At the close of the Second World War, European allies along with their American counterparts took it upon themselves to divide and claim occupation of European countries that the war influenced (Brogan, 1985: 16). Allies were able to rule their own countries again, once the German occupation had been revoked. The next progression was the allies’ conjoined occupation of Germany, where Berlin, Germany’s epicentre, was segmented for all to occupy a sector (Gelb, 1986: 19).

American counterculture is the rejection of conventional social norms. Usually counterculture is expressed by a subculture of people who have different ideals from mainstream society. From the 1950’s through the end of the 1970’s some of the social norms included racial segregation, the Vietnam War, and materialism. Through outspoken writings and loud rock concerts, American counterculture was loudly expressed and changed America to what it is today.

The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920s-30s and was recognized for its advancements in music, art, and literature for African Americans. The Great Migration was one of the major factors that contributed to the movement of African Americans from their farms in the South to cities in the North in order to try to establish a better life and attain greater economic opportunities for themselves(The Harlem Renaissance). Many African Americans also wanted to be relieved from the harsh racism and impoverished standard of living which they had previously experienced in the South. A place in New York City known as Harlem was considered to be the center for African American life after the Civil War (Alchin). African Americans established many

The Roaring Twenties has another name, in fact. The 1920’s can be referred to as The Jazz Age. The 1920’s was a time for African American’s to express themselves through many different art forms. The Great Migration is what caused many chain events that led to the Jazz Age. The Great Migration brought a tremendous amount of African Americans from the rural south to the urban north. Most, if not all, of these African Americans left the rural south due to the lack of economic opportunities, and harsh laws against them. They were intrigued to move to cities in the North because of the better pay they would receive for less work than they were doing in the South, a higher standard of living conditions, better political rights and to take

“Even before Jazz, for most New Orleanians, music was not a luxury as it often is elsewhere - it was a necessity” (“A New Orleans Jazz History, 1895 - 1927”). Without music, New Orleans’ culture would not be the same as it is today. Jazz was not only an immense part of culture in New Orleans, but in the rest of the United States as well. Eventually, Jazz even diffused across the oceans, where different cultures gave their own twist to Jazz. A large factor to many individual cultures, Jazz widely influenced the youth on what they are and what they could be. Jazz exhibited the morals of the young generation, and therefore was a significant influence in the 1920s, not only in the United States, but in Europe as well.

By the end of the Second World War, the United States (U.S.) experienced profound prosperity. The affluence of the nation was partly due to mass-production which stimulated an increase in conformity in the American society. Clothing, houses, and families looked identical with matching styles and ways of life. Disapproving of the the new consumerism and conformity, a group of divergent thinkers rose: the Beat Generation. Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, and others rejected American values by romanticizing their poverty, practicing Buddhism, and abusing drugs. The youth culture in America was fascinated by the Beat ideas and began to follow the Beats. Their actions in the 1960s reflected aspects of the Beat philosophy. The anti-establishment

The Jazz Age of America happened in the 1920s, begun by the end of the Great Depression. The richer classes in America lived an American Dream of wealth, freedom, and never-ending entertainment. This sometimes led to corruption from people seeking more money, more fun, more love, and more. The Great Gatsby is a prime example of this phenomenon. F. Scott Fitzergald’s The Great Gatsby demonstrates the human nature of dissatisfaction through Gatsby’s struggle to become his ideal man, the frequent changing location of characters, and through Tom and Daisy’s broken marriage.

John F Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” The Roaring Twenties were filled with many changes from social and political change to important consumer products arising. There were new fashion trends, new technologies, and new possibilities. Thanks to the spread of chain stores and nationwide advertising, people from everywhere were listening to the same things, buying the same objects, and also using the same informal language. Though a small number of young people quite enjoyed the new beginnings the twenties brought, for others it brought many cultural conflicts.

"Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life." (Art Blakey). There may not be a quote that describes the era of Jazz in a better sense. The Jazz Era was a time of innovation and change to the everyday norms of society. Jazz brought about a new form of music, and the artists allowed people to let loose and find a way to express themselves better. Of all the influential musicians in the time period, there were none better than Jelly Roll Morton, Joe King Oliver, Sidney Bichet, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. Each artist has their own story, and their own reason for the end of their career. Some lived their life out in fame and glory, while others were shown the more dramatic side of life. Their upbringing may differ, but they all had one thing in common; a lasting contribution for not only the Jazz Era, but for all other generations and genres of music to come.