Mumbo Jumbo’s Jes Grew epidemic can be compared to that of a cultural wave. Aligning roughly with the jazz revolution and Harlem Renaissance, the novel provides a general framework by which artistic/media trends come about, spread, and eventually exist in their original spirit or die by losing the flair that made it special. In today’s culture, where Jes Grews seem to be coming from everywhere on social media, will we ever see a Jes Grew die in the same way Jazz did according to Mumbo Jumbo?
To begin this argument we must first define what it means for a Jes Grew to ‘die.’ I think Mumbo Jumbo is trying to make the argument that a certain cultural wave doesn’t disappear, but loses its emotional spirit or flair. Let’s take Jazz for example (I am not completely familiar with Jazz history, but I think this is a reasonable generalization). Jazz began to gain popularity for its spontaneous and improvised nature, and how that provided listeners with excitement. It was frowned upon by classical members of the music society, for its experimental nature. Jazz contained connections with black culture, through artists like Louis Armstrong and the setting from which it grew. I think Jazz ‘died’ as a Jes Grew in that we don’t consider it the same way anymore. We now consider Jazz to be boring, classical, high-browed, and suited for balls or fancy restaurants. Yes, Jazz music itself persists, but its spirit as a youthful and exciting musical genre has disappeared from the general perception.
Now we live in a world where a myriad of trends and cultural waves seem to be occurring at once. For example the protest against the Minecraft Mob Vote was a recent one. Not all of these trends are comparable on the scale of Jes Grew, but I think there are a few which are comparably large. Movements like Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ are comparable to the Jes Grew patterns of spread and containment in terms of the criticisms and hardships they went through as social movements. In our recent culture however, it is slowly becoming increasingly uncommon for direct criticisms (criticizing BLM protests while agreeing with the cause). I wonder if in a society shaped like now, if it is possible for a Jes Grew movement to completely die like Jazz did. Perhaps it seems impossible because we are already infected, or because the issues that these movements tackle go beyond the scope of music or art.
Taehan, I like how you identified the upswing in "cultural waves" (the mention of the Minecraft Mob Vote hit me particularly hard). I think the wide array of concurrent social movements serves as a device which promotes Jes Grew in an unprecedented manner. The internet and overall interconnectedness of modern society allows social movements to spread like wildfire, thus spawning new strains of Jes Grew and providing traction to existing variants.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Taehan! I like how you focused on the cause behind the parallel 'deaths' of Jes Grew and jazz. In particular, your statement on how jazz and Jes Grew still persist, but simply exit the youth entertainment and media mainstream can help us realize other Jes Grew movements of the present. While jazz exited the mainstream, rap, hip-hop, and R&B became popular among youth, revitalizing Jes Grew and providing it a foothold in the new generation of media, art, and Afrocentric youth culture.
ReplyDeleteI like how you clarify that Jes Grew didn't truly die as they proclaimed in the book, but rather it just faded into the background temporarily. Jazz still exists (I don't think it's boring necessarily though). You also connected Jes Grew with current movements and posed thoughtful questions about the future.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that jazz is no longer cutting-edge popular music, and it is no longer "changing the world," whether or not we find the music itself to be "boring." There have been minor "revivals" of things like swing music (see late 1990s), and there are certainly avant-garde musicians who continue to work within jazz to push improvisation in new directions. There are some especially interesting examples of younger jazz artists collaborating with hip-hop artists (Robert Glasper and Kendrick Lamar, for example). But jazz is "dead" as a revolutionary art form that is going to get people up in arms about the young kids dancing in lascivious ways--it is no longer "dangerous," from the Atonist perspective. And it has become a "classical" music--something to be performed in black tie and tux, at Lincoln Center, maybe for a PBS fundraiser. That doesn't mean there isn't still a vital underground--but it's *underground*, marginal, "experimental," and not popular.
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