Episode 41: The Beat Era: Kerouac’s On the Road and the Movement It Started
We start our collection of episodes about The Beat era with the release of Jack Kerouac’s iconic book On the Road in 1957. We discuss who the Beats were beyond Kerouac (Ginsberg, Burroughs and more), the conformity and consumerism they were questioning and rebelling against, and their impact on pop culture for future generations (including the one you’re in).
E X T R A S :
(Top to bottom): The original New York Times review of Kerouac’s On the Road; a page from Kerouac’s original notebook he kept while writing; a still from the late-1950s TV show Leave It to Beaver; a still from the 1985 film Back to the Future; a typical mid-century magazine ad for a car; one of the original “burbs,” Levittown, Pennsylvania in 1959; a magazine ad for an early 17" television (with a built-in radio and record player)
More About The Beats
Austin Kleon’s take of On the Road (with link to a New Yorker article)
A review of an On the Road companion book app from 2011 (“The Millions” article)
“Beats in The Village” (“All That’s Interesting” photo essay)
Interviews
Kerouac with hippies on Firing Line (YouTube video)
Allen Ginsberg interviews (Fresh Air)
William Burroughs interview (Fresh Air)
The United States after WWII
The United States from 1945-1964 (Wikipedia article)
“Making Sense of the Sixties” PBS documentary (YouTube video)