Week 4 Paper Literature & Language Essay Resaearch

Name
Tutor
Course
Date
Week 4 Paper
The Beat Generation: An American Dream is a revealing title of American life's two aspects, as seen in the 1950s. In the documentary, writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac represent the beat generation, while most of the United States (U.S.) population represents the American dream. Views from common Americans are not emphasized in the documentary. But the opinions of beat generation enthusiasts are used to highlight what people like Ginsberg and Kerouac believe in.
The documentary is very touching because it tackles issues regarding the very question that people ask themselves daily. What is the purpose of life? In the documentary, it is obvious that the beat generation's view is that life should be lived spontaneously. By this, they mean that people should learn to experience every minute and every day in their life to the fullest. This means ignoring the established order of things where one has to go to work, make money, buy nice things, and live a good life. To the beat generation, this is not what life is about.
The documentary could not have been filmed at a better time. The 1950s were the post-war period. People all over the world were beginning to get back their lives in order. Everything for the last twenty years had been characterized by uncertainty. But after the war, people had to find something else to do. All the young men waiting to enlist had to look for actual paying jobs. Women had to raise children and families, in general, had to prosper.
I believe that every individual who lived in the 1950s got to experience what it was like to start all over again. But, as seen, there was and continues to be a clear divide between how society thinks life should be lived and how counterculture thinks it should. A show like Mad Men covers the dispute in these two cultural viewpoints. As seen in the documentary, those who supported the beat generation were viewed as ignorant, mad, and irresponsible. Today, such individuals are viewed as bums and lunatics. It is hard for other people to understand why they view the world in the way th...