How would Bukowski be resonded to today? (1 Viewer)

It's a hard question to answer. I am 25 years old so if you study generational theory....

Bukowski:
G.I.
(Hero, born 1901–1924) This generation developed a
special and “good kid” reputation as the beneficiaries of
new playgrounds, scouting clubs, vitamins, and childlabor
restrictions....

ME:
Millennial
(Hero, born 1982–2004) This generation first arrived
amid “Babies on Board”signs, when abortion and
divorce rates ebbed, the popular culture recast babies as
special, and hands-off parental styles....

Not saying I'm anything like Bukowski...just saying the cultural climate now is the same conservative one he grew up in. Bukowski only really got big in GEN X which started to embrace chaos and outsider types.
He was a cultural misfit of his time and I think if he was around today...there's no way his style would fit with the self help obsessive and conservative culture we live in now.

There is a high chance things will become even more conservative for a generation and maybe after that there'll be some backlash...by that point I'll be on my way to the grave though and won't be able to really get into it

I know you could argue 'well...look at us...we all love bukowski' but let's be honest here...the guy is a brand now....same as burroughs/carver/keauroac/hunter s thompson....he's a rock and roll writer....

I don't think we even need a 'dirty realist' style the way people might have in the 60's and 70's because there's nothing much to chip away from. Everyone is open now - it's the new popular style. Just listen to podcasts. I think he'd struggle with his style to standout from everyone else exposing every detail of their life. He was kind of the first one to do it to the extent he did and one of the best of all time...but I don't think it's necessary now because it's totally normal for people to over share.

Just some thoughts,

Ewok
 
You seem to be saying that writers or artists or musicians aren't "necessary" once their generation passes out of favor or dies off. That Bukowski or Mark Twain or Dostoevsky aren't relevant or interesting anymore because Instagram was invented.

Or that the music of Jimi Hendrix or John Coltrane or Mozart doesn't matter because we have Lady Gaga now.

Thomas Edison? LOL! We have smartphones! Who needs him?

That's kind of a short view, isn't it. You should probably think these things through before you post them.
 
he did, that's the disturbing part.

it's all those cardboard box fumes - they're messing up his brain...
 
Wait ...there are people out there who think Mark Twain is relevant in 2015 ?

That's ...more depressing than anything I have to say

Also, although that post mocked me. I truly believe its true and that culture is dead. Also, I've thought it through and researched it.

Technology replaced art in terms of cultural importance quite a while ago

Jimi Hendrix does not matter in 2015. That's a fact. He's an idol and a symbol like Micky Mouse but that's where it ends.
 
there's a difference between relevance and importance. Hendrix may not be relevant to a 13 year old picking up a guitar today, but he is important whether that 13 years old knows it or not. it happened to me when I was 13 (33 years ago) and it will happen for generations to come.
 
although that post mocked me...
I mocked your ideas, which will change over time.

We've all been 25 years old, full of the unshakable confidence that we've got it all figured out. It's why I'm glad there was no Internet when I was in my early 20s, and also why I suggested that you think things through before you say them in public. I said that rather than simply mocking you or insulting you as a person, which would have been a lot easier, and more fun for everyone.
 
Let's not over-think all this.

You want a simple way gauge to such things? Try this:
Does it fucking rock?

That can mean a lot of things (and should). But if it rocks (to you), then who gives a damn about the rest of the world?

We all have our own spackle-and-duct-tape belief systems, held together with whatever reasons and delusions we use. Something that doesn't matter to you is just that...something that doesn't matter...to you.

But, the good news is: In 30 years you can patiently sit by while all the young whippersnappers dismiss many of the things that have mattered to you for decades...while they claim that the dumbfounding tripe they pack into their ear and eyeholes is the best that's ever been. So there's that to look forward to.
 
It's [...] why I suggested that you think things through before you say them in public.
I try not to spend time thinking about if making some grand statements on a message board to provoke discussion is a good or bad thing ...

I think I've made a number of points to encourage discussion in this thread and multiple others.

The main point I feel is true is that we live in an incredibly conservative time and also a very fraudulent one with the false appearance of openness.

There is no way the culture we live in now would develop or embrace a talent like Hendrix. And even moral boundary pushing stuff like Breaking Bad is in my mind 'safe' badness in that it's mostly 'cool' almost Tarantinoesque.

I think Bukowski was refreshing because of his honesty but feel if he was writing today his work would be top edgy to be embraced.

I feel Bukowski really had to ride it out until the culture was ready to embrace an outsider extreme figure.
 
You encourage bullshit. You've not made one salient point about Bukowski in any post. Your "thoughtful" insights are fairly mundane and mind numbing. Not that you give a shit.
 
If today's society is conservative, and I'm not arguing that it isn't, there will always be backlash from the non conservatives. It's been that way for ever with culture.

Moral boundary pushing in culture is safe today? Have you seen a Lars von Trier movie or read a Michel Houllebecq book? I'm not saying they're good or bad, but they're not safe.

There is always safe bullshit in culture, but there is always someone bucking against it. Bukowski was recognized by like-minded people when he started to find his voice, it's not like he was ignored. He wasn't rich, but he was a touchstone for the counter culture. Someone didn't find a trunk of Bukowski's writing in 1987 and say "Jesus, no one would've read this in the '60s or '70s! Good thing I didn't find this until now, when culture is ready for it!"

Ginsberg, Miller, Burroughs and others were all aware of Bukowski. He wasn't unread, unknown and sitting in the basement waiting for society to catch up with him. He was King of the Littles for a reason.
 
Skiroomaulum, When you write things like that I feel bad.

I agree in general that I should keep my thoughts to myself and will in the future.
 
This is cyber bullying. I'm going to call my mom about this. Also, I am special. Back in elementary school I won the 'star of the week' prize ...TWICE
 
What's ironic to me is that the bulk of hipster detritus teeming through Brooklyn with their waxed mustaches and curated hand-crafted pickles are the exemplars of cultural conservatism.
Dust bowl dresses, adult kickball and banjos are not the heralds of a new and cutting edge. Some abused and lonely kid with no crew is the better bet. If they can keep their shit together long enough, that is.
 
Hold on a minute - dust bowl dresses rule.

But yeah, if we're using hipsters as a gauge, everything's gone backward.
 
I was tempted to post a response to Ewok, but by the time I finished reading this thread...I realize that I really wouldn't have anything earthshaking to add. Well done, gentlemen.
 
reminds me just how I've missed Olaf.

Man, Olaf! That was a long time ago. Whatever happened to him? He was one of the First 9 too! :D

This is cyber bullying. I'm going to call my mom about this. Also, I am special. Back in elementary school I won the 'star of the week' prize ...TWICE

First funny thing I ever read from you. There might still be some hope.
 
cow1.jpg
 
I think that we should stop all artistic expression because it is only going to get old and then in the future it won't hold any meaning because young people won't be familiar with it. You know what I mean? All of the musicians and artists and writers should stop creating right now. I mean come on guys all of their stuff is just gonna get old and stuff. Scientist should probably stop trying to figure stuff out because time has shown that some of the stuff they do is proven wrong over time so like why should they even bother. Um so like there shouldn't be any new music because it gets old and creepy. By the way...what's a Jimmy Hendrix?

I won an award once in the 3rd grade for a drawing I did. My mom said I was special.
 

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