Ginsberg’s Moloch is probably one of the best-known motifs
of “Howl” and also seemed to be the most thought provoking for our class and
section. Maybe it’s because we are all fed up with capitalism’s toxic enslavement
or find the poetry in this section to be especially genius, it’s safe to say
that Moloch is a very moving and visceral portrayal of the sick nature of late
capitalism.
Ginsberg, in his clever manner, used Moloch’s biblical status to portray all that is wrong with the world in his time and ours. The figure is thought provoking and excellent at personifying our current day struggles against the temptations of decadence and consumerism. In class, hearing Ginsberg himself read the poem aloud made me shiver. It was quite powerful.
Ginsberg, in his clever manner, used Moloch’s biblical status to portray all that is wrong with the world in his time and ours. The figure is thought provoking and excellent at personifying our current day struggles against the temptations of decadence and consumerism. In class, hearing Ginsberg himself read the poem aloud made me shiver. It was quite powerful.
Here’s a rendition of the poem from a 2010 film adaptation of “Howl”. I have to
say that James Franco’s whiny delivery of the piece makes me cringe, but the
animation and sound felt quite complimentary to the poem’s tone. Does it
compare to Ginsberg himself? Obviously not. It’s still a very cool
interpretation though.
I've noticed that the main defense of Capitalism tends to come from the political right, which is also the group that tends to use their religion as a basis to selectively choose from to govern the people who live in our country. I thus love that Ginsberg uses a concept that is found in both the Jewish and Christian texts as something to compare to Capitalism. In an obscure way, it makes me feel like he is using the political right's own text against them, using the same "moral judgement" as a way to condemn their practices. It certainly makes this section of Howl particularly interesting for me. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI did my project on relating the themes of Ginsberg's Moloch versus the very powerful Moloch that we live in today. I think that the allusion ties in perfectly because it makes reference to a lot of classics, therefore placing Ginsberg in a respectable enough position to to get peoples attention and realize the very consistent theme of the destruction of our future. This is a really sick video because it shows the reality of Moloch in a dark way.
ReplyDeleteGod fucking damn it James Franco
ReplyDelete