Sonny's Blues

I have to say that Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin is one of my favorite pieces of literature we have read thus far in class. I thought this story was filled with emotion, history and tragedy, and most importantly it really had me hooked. I thought that it was creative of Baldwin to have the two brothers represent the two sides of African American experiences in the 1960's; limited privileges with assimilation into society (narrator) versus pain , isolation and abuse (Sonny). It is an interesting battle for African Americans during this time period, I gathered through the reading that the narrator is viewed as less of a black person because he is trying to assimilate into the "white" culture which is seen as escaping from the suffering of his culture. I think this is sad because the narrator is trying to make a better life for himself and his family but it isn't completely accepted by his own culture. On the other hand Sonny is trying to escape the pain and suffering associated with his culture through music, which ultimately seems to destroy him simultaneously. Each character in this book seems to be running away and "escaping" from their problems. For example Sonny uses music, which then leads him to drugs and the streets and ultimately jail, Sonny's father uses alcohol to escape, Sonny's brother tries to escape using the military and later a job as a teacher. All the characters are trying to leave behind their pain and suffering only to gain more pain and suffering. Although Baldwin's book is skillfully written and an intriguing story I find it to be tragic. I understand that during this time period African Americans struggled in more ways than I can ever imagine and I think that Baldwin's Sonny's Blues truly capture the pain, suffering and struggles that many individuals underwent during this time.

Why are the bad men in culture so popular?

Although there are numerous examples of bad men in past and current media the response to the question of why these characters are so popular still remains unanswered. Nealon and Giroux discuss in The Theory Toolbox the impact that popular culture and the media has on an individual, as well as how individuals can influence cultures. One of Nealon and Giroux’s theories that relates to the “bad man” question is as follows, “Media cultures, like culture in general, tends to favor or encourage the production of certain subjectivities over others – explicitly through the institutions of law and order and implicitly through norms that inform our perceptions of morality and social conduct” (73). Although I agree with the basis of what Nealon and Giroux are saying I feel as though they are digging too deeply into the topic at hand. In my opinion the attraction to the music and stories about “bad men” is rather simple. I believe that it is how the character of Stagger Lee and Railroad Bill are portrayed in the song, rather than their actual crimes committed in actuality. They represent more than a drunken murderer and a murderous railroad man to the people who listen to and love these songs. In both ballads these men become extreme characters, which readers and listeners tend to gravitate towards. People fall in love with the extremely funny, the extremely passionate and the extremely evil. These characters are our favorite because they are unlike the people we know in reality because they only have one strong dimension. By experiencing the extremity in their personalities we get to escape the everyday norm. Look at the contemporary popular culture as well; so many individuals emulate the mafia drug lord in Scarface, the song “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce, and the real life bad-ass Eminem. Due to the extreme nature of these individuals their presence and actions stay with a person long after the song or movie is over. Another reason why people take interest in the “bad men” is because people see a confidence and assertion in these characters that they may not see in themselves. Although Stagger Lee may not be the best role model there is no denying that he asserts himself in a way that most people don’t know how.

Bad Man Stagger Lee

One of the most popular and covered songs in history is the tale about a very bad man named Stagger Lee. This folk song which had first been recorded in the early 1900’s has been recreated by numerous artists ranging from Duke Ellington and Bob Dylan to the most recent recording by Josh Ritter in 2010. Clearly, Stagger Lee has made a profound impact on American culture and shows no signs of stopping. The story of Stagger Lee (Stagolee, Stackalee, etc.) began in 1895 when Stagger Lee, an African American cab driver, shot a man named Billy Lyons after they had been drunkenly arguing with each other. According to the newspapers Billy had grabbed Stagger Lee’s hat from his head, only to cause Stagger Lee to shoot Billy in the stomach, afterward Stagger Lee, “took his hat from the wounded man and coolly walked away” (History of Stagger Lee). Although this crime is heinous, there is no outstanding difference from the countless other murders that have taken place before and after this one. What makes Stagger Lee a true villain is how he is portrayed in the various versions of songs that have been created. One of the first and most well-known versions is Stack O’Lee Blues by John Hurt made in 1928, I feel that this rendition of the song set the tone for the legend of Stagger Lee.  Hurt describes a horrifying picture of a person so evil even the police are afraid to arrest him, “Police officer, how can it be? / You can arrest everybody but cruel Stagolee.” Since then the standard was set and even more gruesome and vivid descriptions of Stagger Lee was introduced to the public. A perfect example of the more harsh bad man is in Lloyd Price’s re-recorded version in which Stagger Lee not only turns into a gambling drunken man but also has Billy pleading for his life, “I’ve got three tiny children and a very sickly wife.” Other renditions of the story continue to get more satanic and morbid, which I believe only draws people to the character more.

A Realization

Today in class I have made a realization about jazz music, I find it to be extremely irritating to my ears. I can honestly say that I have given it a fair shot numerous amounts of times throughout middle school, high school and now college. Each time I find the music so difficult to follow and it essentially having no true form. Perhaps the reason why I don't like the system of jazz music because the type of music I enjoy is something I can follow and remember. Mr. Deumer said in class today that jazz has a different system than what our ears are trained to hear, and then eventually with time the ears can pick up on it. I'm starting to think that I must not have sophisticated enough ears for jazz because the amount times I've listened to jazz and have even accompanied some of my more musical friends at their gigs in a small downtown Syracuse clubs I always have to regrettably inform them that I didn't like it. Although I have had these experiences many times I think what made me finally realize that I will never enjoy jazz was the video shown in class of Thelonious Monk also known as the Rain Man of jazz, I thought the music that was being played was so painful to listen to that I literally had to leave the room for a bathroom break to get a moment of relief. I understand that early jazz has inspired countless artists of today to create the music that I enjoy now but I cannot comprehend how jazz could be inspirational. I am just hoping that class will take a turn into a realm of music I can actually enjoy because thus far I have been struggling to find any interest or relation to these topics.

Why did Levee murder Toledo?

While in class the discussion of the play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, swiftly moved to the question of, why Levee had murdered Toledo? The stabbing of Toledo had happened so quickly and so surprisingly that there was certainly much to talk about. We discussed the contrast between Levee and Toledo, specifically how Toledo has accepted his life and the way it is while Levee has not and is most definitely not ready to keep his life the way it is. Levee dresses differently and is incessantly looking for ways to move u in the social ranks. He hopes to do this by breaking free from Ma Rainey's dominant role in the band and creating his own solo album. After working hard to record his own songs Sturdyvant (the white manager only interested in revenues made for the recording studio) decides to not go through with making Levee his own album and only offers him five dollars for each song. Levee is outraged, and after years of pent up hopes and dreams to make something of himself that no on else expects, he begins to grow slightly insane and unstable. After this occurs between Levee and Sturdyvant, Levee and Toledo get into an argument and whether it was intentional or unintentional  Toledo steps on Levee's shoe which ultimately sends Levee into a fit of rage because he feels as though he has been stepped on his whole life.

Although I think that this ending is fitting for the play I often wonder what it would be like if Levee had killed someone else. Perhaps if he had killed Sturdyvant for essentially crushing his hopes and dreams. Or even if he had turned the knife on himself because he had been so intensely upset and believed that he had failed himself and that he had nothing else to live for. I wonder if August Wilson purposely avoided black versus white violence in order to show that not all violence is between opposing races. Also, I would love for someone to write this book from the perspective of Levee or even Ma Rainey. I think that to be able to actually know what is going through the minds and understand the feelings of one of the individuals would be extremely interesting.

Class Discussion 2/9/11

Today in class there was a discussion pertaining to Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson. Our class discussed how the character Levee prided himself on his style specifically his shoes and what his style meant to him. The class concluded that his shoes meant a level of status, the separation of urban culture with country culture and white individuals versus black individuals. However one particular meaning that I found most interesting was a system of identity and how an individuals style is a marker of both group and personal identity. Furthermore how musicians specifically tend to establish these trends and styles that are then adopted into popular culture. For example how in "gangster videos" some rap artists may be wearing colored bandannas, specific athletic jerseys and sometimes even gold platted teeth. Without much surprise the discussion touched upon on how these style may be adopted by "white hipsters" because they want to be seen as popular and in style, because this is what the media has portrayed. The majority of the time the teenagers who are sporting these styles don't understand or even know about the symbols that these clothing styles actually represent. Which in turn can act as an irritant to the people have created the styles with an actual purpose in mind, resulting in a greater racial difference. As I had mentioned previously I found this topic particularly interesting because I have seen young adults who are white sporting these same styles. I feel as though that since the majority of them see these styles on television and essentially everywhere they look. I think these kids believe they relate to this music artists in some way and they like the overall message and confidence that these people portray through their music. I understand how these people model their style similar to those artists because they look up to them. Additionally I feel that those artists who get irritated by their style being mocked need to understand that they have desired to be in the spotlight so they have to expect that people will latch on to their style, just like those artists probably did when they were younger. Overall I think that this is a topic that could have been made into a large discussion within class, but I am glad we had at least touched upon it since I find it very interesting and controversial.

My Favorite Billie Holiday Song

In today's class I realized that Mr. Deumer had brought up Billie Holiday several times. I don't know much about her but there is one song of hers that I really do love and definitely one of the few songs that I enjoy from this style of music. My favorite song of hers is "I'll Be Seeing You". I first heard the song about a few years ago when I saw The Notebook and I immediately fell in love. I think it's a really classic and sweet sounding song and I am interested to possibly hear more of Billie Holiday's music.