If you are reading this text, surely you want to know about Beatnik movement. You probably have this desire because the name sounds so strange to your ears that you have no idea what it means.

Indeed, would not be a very easy charade to kill without knowledge of a little world history. We will help you understand more about this subject below.

Table of Contents

• What is beatnik?
  • Beatnik: name meaning
• Historical Context
• Characteristics of the Beat Generation
  • Bohemia
  • Free sex
  • Drug Use
  • Constant wanderings through the American territory
  • Admiration for jazz
  • Minority Presence
• Writers of the Beat Movement
  • Jack Kerouac
  • William Burroughs
• Beatnik poetry: learn more about the production of the movement
• Final considerations about the beatnik movement
  • Get to know our Psychoanalysis course

What is beatnik?

When we talk about Beatnik, we are referring to a movement that young Americans led in the 40s and 50s of the 20th century They criticized the conformism, the hypocrisy, and the alienation of their times.

In addition These young people had a life marked by jazz and other factors such as free sex, drugs, and wandering around the American territory.

Beatnik: name meaning

There are several possible explanations as to why this generation was given the nickname "beat" or "beatnik".

Broadly speaking, "beat" means rhythm or beat, so the name would have everything to do with the influence of jazz on this generation. However, one of its representatives, Herbert Huncke, used the term in the sense of "tired", implying his weariness of life. So that is the most plausible explanation for its use.

In turn, the addition of the suffix "nik" makes reference to the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik in the 1950s.

Historical Context

It is important to point out that the beatnik generation was in the post-World War II context.

Thus, society in the United States was experiencing a moment of economic euphoria, which resulted in unbridled consumerism. In this scenario, the beatniks found themselves experiencing a great weariness with the way of life of their generation.

Characteristics of the Beat Generation

It is worth taking a closer look at the characteristics of the young people of this generation. After all, they will help explain the influence of these factors on the art they produced.

Bohemia

The lifestyle of the Beat generation was in contrast to that of their generation. They lived carefree and simply in the company of like-minded people. In addition, his involvement in artistic activities was also remarkable.

In addition, they often appeared around prostitutes and had a reputation as wandering individuals, adventurers, and vagabonds.

Free sex

The young people of the beatnik generation were also known for challenging the conservatism of the American society of their time, having a sexual liberation discourse Therefore, they were often involved in prostitution and orgies.

Moreover, they were advocates of agendas such as free love, which means that they Moreover, beatniks often had homosexual relationships.

Drug Use

The beat generation was also marked by the exaggerated use of drugs and heavy drinking. Such addictions often stimulated them to produce their works of art.

In view of this, It is not too difficult to imagine how his lifestyle shocked the conservative American society of the time.

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Constant wanderings through the American territory

You could say that the young people of the beatniks generation were also true wanderers, aiming to discover the real America, Many of them lived adventuring around the country and documenting their discoveries in some way.

Admiration for jazz

Jazz was of fundamental importance to the beatnik movement.

We have already commented that the very name of the movement makes reference to jazz rhythms, especially the Bebop current. It was fast-paced, irreverent, and improvisational.

These characteristics were imitated by the writers of the beat generation, who tried to imprint this unbridled rhythm in their work. Thus, they sought to give the admirers of their works the impression that they were listening to jazz when they were reading them.

It is important to note, therefore, that the works of these authors had a very elaborate sound and a fast pace in order to cause the desired sensation in those who read them.

Minority Presence

Many young people of the Beatinik generation reached out to audiences that were marginalized by the American society of their time. This was very evident even in their works, in which they repeatedly gave attention to these groups.

Two of them were the black community and the illegal Mexican community. Both groups were part of what was considered the American underworld at the time and were targeted by the movement. In addition, it is worth saying that many of the jazz artists were black and were idolized by the "beat" youth.

Writers of the Beat Movement

Now that we have listed the main characteristics of the young beatniks, it is worth introducing two of the main writers of the movement. It is important that you keep in mind what we have already talked about them so that you can better understand the purpose of their works.

Jack Kerouac

Kerouac was one of the great names of the movement. He is known for having written the book that is considered the bible of the young beatniks, "On the road" (1957).

The book is about his travels in American as well as Mexican territory. The work is very marked by the frenetic rhythm, which we have already commented is a characteristic of the productions of the authors of the movement.

William Burroughs

This beatnik author produced the autobiographical novel "Naked Lunch" (1959), which is an excellent demonstration of the movement's works.

Burroughs had a dramatic life to say the least, as he had his life greatly affected by drugs. In addition, he accidentally killed his wife by trying to hit a glass that was balanced on her head with his gun.

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Beatnik poetry: learn more about the production of the movement

Regarding the poetry of the movement, it is important to point out that they aimed to contest the country's posture after World War II. So his language was very simple, close to what was heard on the streets. Therefore, do not expect the far-fetched style that is usually found in genre texts.

It is important to mention that one of the big names in the poetry of the movement is Allen Ginsberg. The author of "The Howl and Other Poems" (1956) takes a stand against sexual and also racial prejudice, and criticizes materialism, war, and many other topics.

Final considerations about the beatnik movement

Without a doubt, the beatnik generation went down in history as a strong counterculture movement It was a great inspiration for the later hippie movement (which took place in the 60's).

We show that these young people took a stand against values such as consumerism and also conservatism, which were very present in their time. Thus, they raised flags that were contrasting to what was acceptable in their generation, such as free love and drug use.

In view of this, it is worth noting how human beings can have different ways of reacting to the positions of the society in which they live. These can be healthy or harmful (as was the case with those who indulged in destructive addictions.) Yet somehow these reactions ended up being eternalized through art.

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