Howl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqCPfr5OiOE

Here the poem is performed by Coen brother's favourite John Turturro on an urban backdrop, backed by jazz music on a neon lit night. All of these elements give this reading real charm as well as reflecting the occasionally romantic sentiments of Ginsberg's poem. Despite the often contentious and vulgar language, his descriptions seem almost like a lament in places and Turturro's strolling and hand gestures represent this whimsy. Of course, this is juxtaposed at times, especially later in the poem by outbursts of anger and explosive linguistics possibly to reflect the passion and life of the people Ginsberg is recalling and how strongly he feels about them. At these points the cinematography flails and Turturro roars at his surroundings, implying perhaps that the scene of Ginsberg's characters is just as vital as the meme and that society is responsible for their failings and descents. Finally, the video is, in comparison to the poem, somewhat conventional. It is tempting when dealing with contemporary beat poetry to create a reading that is surreal or odd to reflect the opposal to conformity and convention that was prevalent in the beat generation; however by having a far more standard approach the focus is kept on the poem as oppose to the video. Also, it add's depth and in my opinion resonance and digntiy to 'Howl' as the video implies that this is not simply a post modern poem that is contriversial for the sake of being controversial but far more expert and insightful to the point that it should being understood and appreciated by all people.