Beatniks

In article <77jr2j$3p1$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, tropea RemoveThis @webtv.net says...

 >I am trying to fully understand the earlier Ned and his parents scenes
what
 >exactly is the difference if any between Beatniks and Hippies. I always
 >thought Beatnik was just another word for hippy.

Beatniks in a way laid the groundwork for the hippies. The beatniks were
a subculture that grew out of the societal strictures of the Eisenhower
era.

This subculture manifested itself first in literature, with a group of
writers known as the Beat Generation. Key figures of the Beat
Generation, or "Beats", were novelist Jack Kerouac, poet Allen Ginsburg,
writer/junkie William S. Burroughs, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet
Gary Snyder. Works by any of these writers during the period 1950-60
should give you a good impression of what that era was about. I
particularly recommend Kerouac's "The Subterraneans" and Ferlinghetti's
"A Coney Island of the Mind."

Of course, like many artistic/creative movements, innovation eventually
turns to imitation as the movement becomes mainstream, eventually
turning into self-parody. This is where the stereotypical beatnik, with
his bongos and beret and black clothes, comes in. See Maynard G. Krebs
from the old TV show "Dobie Gillis".

Lisa Simpson's poem (the one she writes after Bart tosses her "Women in
American History" table centerpiece into the fireplace) is a direct
parody of Ginsberg's "Howl", which became the centerpiece of an
obscenity trial and landmark First-Amendment case, and perhaps the
single most recognizable work of the Beats:

"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" (That's from memory, no flames please)

A few differences between hippies and beatniks:
Where the hippies made mind expansion through drug use a centerpiece of
their mantra (tune in, turn on, drop out), the beatniks were more about
dropping out than turning on (though they were no strangers to drug
use). Themes of constant travel, freedom, wandering are important in the
beatnik ideology: see John Clellan Holmes' "Go", Kerouac's "On the
Road", and Ginsberg's "The Blue Automobile".

Both hippies and beatniks were very into music; for the hippies it was
psychedelic rock, for the beatniks it was jazz (Charlie Parker, early
Miles Davis) and spoken-word poetry.

Where the hippies' principal enemy was the war (as well as The Man), the
beatniks were in rebellion against "square" society and the
homogenization of American culture. This is where Ned Flanders comes in.

This is not to say that there were not many strong links between the two
subcultures, and that one developed from the other. For example, Neal
Cassady (aka Dean Moriarty), the hero of On The Road, cropped up in the
late '60's as one of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, and driver of the
Further bus. Allen Ginsberg got spiritual, and got naked at numerous
be-in's. A large number of the later beats simply traded their black
turtlenecks for tie-dyes and kept on truckin'.

Jack Kerouac, unable to cope with his sudden leader-of-a-movement
demigod status (Kurt Cobain is an imprecise but still useful analogue)
drank himself to death in the late 60's.

I'm sure this is much more information than you wanted. Sorry for
rambling. But at least now you can sleep through the first 3 weeks of
Postwar American Literature.
JD

A nice capsule history buried in the archives.
Will

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jnn7.DeleteThis@webtv.net wrote in message news:<24721-3FD69B48-631.DeleteThis@storefull-2175.public.lawson.webtv.net>...
> ....so you can see clearly that the beats were much hipper and in all
> ways better...than the made up name of a "group" that came
> 2nd......which I would never use as it is insulting
> beats....
> ~actually were and are really great.... as is there eternal poetry...as
> in the ones you mentioned as well as Gregory Carso and the coffee house
> poets........
> ~
> a hippie is a hippopotamus
>
>
> j. nottingham

From a website:

Maynard G. Krebs, Dobie Gillis' best friend, was the first beatnik on
national TV and remains the most famous beatnik in history. Sure
Kerouac was the real thing while Krebs was just a fiction, but what a
memorable fiction he was! Maynard's character was created by Max
Shulman specifically for the TV show. (When Bob Denver asked Shulman
why Maynard wasn't in either of the books, Shulman would only reply
"Because I wanted to sell a few copies!") But it was Denver himself
who fleshed the character out, mainly because the writers had no idea
what beatniks were really like. Actually Denver didn't know anything
about them either -- he'd been a Catholic school teacher when he
landed the part! Denver didn't do any research on real beatniks to
develop the character. Instead he just played Maynard as a more
childlike and innocent version of himself. Denver dug jazz so jazz
musicians became Maynard's idols too. (A great example of just how hip
the Dobie show was: Can you name any other 50's sitcom where Dizzy
Gillespie and Thelonius Monk were praised on a regular basis?) When he
wasn't listening to records, Maynard played bongos, ocarina and
whatever else he could get sound from. If no instruments were
available he just sang scat. Maynard loved scary movies, especially
"The Monster that Devoured Cleveland" which seemed to enjoy a
never-ending engagement at the Bijou Theater. He also loved to watch
the wrecking ball swing on the "Old Endicott Building" which must have
been the sturdiest structure in town because it seemed to be under
demolition almost every week! Maynard lived in his own world with its
own twisted logic. The G. in his middle name stood for Walter! (He was
named after his aunt.) His speech was full of colorful catch phrases
such as "You rang?" and "Like, I'm getting all misty." But Maynard G.
Krebs will always be best remembered for his involuntary response
whenever anyone mentioned the subject of work. He would
instantaneously shudder and recoil and let out an anxiety-ridden wail
of WORK!?!! Just before the Dobie show ended its run in 1962, Maynard
recorded his legendary "Like, What?" album. But when the show was
cancelled, the record's release was scrapped. Only a few hundred
promotional copies were ever manufactured. "Like, What?" is now a
highly sought after collector's item fetching thousands of dollars in
mint condition. A smoky mixture of cool scat, jazz and beat poetry
with a truly bent perspective, the lp is deadpan hilarious. The
listener is never quite sure if its a put-on or not. An instant
classic, the album's influence far exceeded its limited distribution.
When Rolling Stone magazine asked Bob Dylan where he got the
inspiration for "If Dogs Run Free", he said "I wanted to get that
Krebs sound, you know, with the girls in the back, 'Like What?' "