While I was perusing others' blogs, I stumbled upon a comment that Dr. McIntire-Strasburg left someone about Bakhtin and the carnivalesque. To paraphrase what Bakhtin argues in Rabelais and His World, carnival allows social hierarchies to dissolve, and bodily elements such as excrement, reproduction, drunkenness, exaggerated bodies (i.e., animalistic bodies, dwarfs, giants), and food consumption bring people together in communal laughter and celebration. The world is "inside out."
Thinking about the carnivalesque inverted world made me return to my first blog entry, where I glossed over some of Jimmy Buffett's funnier songs: "Cheeseburger in Paradise," "Pencil Thin Mustache," and "Why Don't We Get Drunk." All three of these songs embody the essence of carnival in that they celebrate basic bodily acts of drunkeness, sex, and consumption in a humorous manner. Also, when people attend Buffett concerts, they abandon their regular identities and collectively become "Parrotheads," drunkenly singing along with Buffett. At a recent Buffett concert, additional cues pointed to the inverted realm, where prohibition and laws failed to exist: signs throughout the parking lot read "NO ALCOHOL OR TAILGAITING." Yet Parrotheads placed their own makeshift tiki bars next to the signs, and policemen drove by, deliberately ignoring the laws...if only for a few hours. Arguably, Buffett's music, lyrics, and persona promote the collective essence of carnival laughter, which may be why the singer remains so successful.
Other musicians create carnivalesque atmospheres; however, I can't think of many who do it quite so well and so consistently. Chuck Berry's "My Ding-a-Ling" is one song where carnival themes blend together for a humorous 7 minutes of bodily celebration, but others by him aren't as definibly carnivalesque. Another carnivalesque contender could be Bruce Springsteen; he specifically mentions the carnival, dwarfs, and alcohol in some of his songs ("Spirit in the Night," "Blinded by the Light," etc.). He also brings together various classes through his pro-blue collar themes. Yet because his lyrics rely so heavily on dark political issues at times, the longevity of the carnival is undermined.
The carnival theme also has me thinking about concerts where people arrive in disguise (I've heard people at Marilyn Manson and NIN shows do this; correct me if I'm wrong). There are some carnival elements there in people's abandonment of identity, and cynical/sinister laughter emerges as well. But, the darkness and and cynicism almost makes these concerts "anti-carnival." The world is indeed inverted, but something is amiss.
What about musical parodies like those by Weird Al and Adam Sandler? Hmm... They take others' themes and ideas, and they turn them "inside out." The collectivity seems missing, though. Rarely do I see people abandoning original lyrics in favor of singing "I'm Fat" or "Gump." Adam Sandler pokes fun at traditional opera through is Opera Man character on SNL; but, I don't see huge groups of people gathering together to celebrate the lyrics of "Seven Foot Man."
Overall, when it comes achieving traditional notions of the carnival, Jimmy Buffett--at least to me--is the big cheese[burger].
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Stop making me look bad, smarty pants! Seriously, though, I enjoyed this entry.
ReplyDelete"Rabelais and his World" is posted in the Blackboard course for anyone interested in the full account, but this is as good a reading of it as I've seen. Most musical artists find Weird Al's parodies of them flattering, but there are a notable few who are NOT amused...perhaps this says more about them than about Al, but carnival is about being able to laugh at oneself and the absurdity of life--if God didn't have a sense of humor, why would he have 'invented' the more humiliating physical aspects of life?
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the carnival is not, however, to overturn the status quo--instead, it offers a brief respite from social taboos and norms, expecting the return to 'normal' after the carnival is over and the circus leaves town.