Suburbia by Phil Kaye: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-spXvscU80&feature=related
SLAM! or Spoken Word Poetry is a contemporary form of poetry which both conflicts with and conforms to traditional styles. Suburbia by Phil Kaye is one of the best Spoken Word poems ever produced. His poem, Suburbia, narrates the individual’s feverish struggle against conventional living and society’s forcefully encouragement to conform to normality as it promises “happiness”. The poem describes the self-induced dream in which “the city” lives in to avoid the result of her operation that has left her body devastated and unrecognizable. Although the city’s dream is initially euphoric the terror of reality slowly presents itself and challenges the happiness she believed suburbia to be with the nightmare it really is. The poem is intended to appeal to an audience who acknowledges that modern society is not ideal and want change. These individuals tend to be teenagers and young adults.
The poem Suburbia conveys an overwhelming statement about the conformity. The poem features a dispute between accepting and rejecting suburbia. It begins with the Kaye expressing that, “I love this place [suburbia]. The community, the people, the sense of stability. And this place, is amazing. This place is amazing.” (0:09). On the other hand, Kaye also urges the audience to, “Go [away from suburbia]. Farther, farther.” (2:57). He also address a loss of identity asking if, “We are all the same. Are we? Are we?” (3:31). In the poem, Kaye struggles with the concept of accepting suburbia because he understands the uniformity and loss of individuality associated with it. However, he often becomes distracted and diluted by the ‘amazing’ and ‘happy’ life suburbia promises. In the end, Kaye says, “Breathe. Breathe. Everyone is happy. You are only making this more difficult for yourself.” (3:38). Kaye is explaining that rebelling against conformity does not stop loss of identity because conformity is destined to happen. Everyone is doomed to become part of homogeneous society.
The content of Suburbia is very complex and thought provoking; however, it is the manner in which Phil Kaye preforms and structures his poem that makes it rise above others. When Kaye preforms Suburbia he uses facial expressions to highlight changes in tone and perspective. When the poem’s tone becomes more heated Kaye acts jittery and his voice becomes louder. When the tone is calmer, Kaye relaxes his posture and speaks slowly. Kaye uses hand actions to emphasize key ideas. For example, when talking about the implosion of a hundred thousand Japanese homes he closes his hands, when he talks about the explosion of American suburbia Kaye opens his hands. After viewing other SLAM! poetry videos its is clear that Phil Kaye uses a unique, dramatic style which draws in his audience in ways which other Spoken Word poets are not able to do. Through his voice and body language, Kaye is able to manipulate the mood of Suburbia so it portrays a higher level of the desperation and melancholy.
There are several literary devices used in Phil Kaye’s Suburbia. The most prominent device used in the poem is repetition. Kaye uses repetition to create many different, contrasting effects in his poem. In the beginning of Suburbia he says, “This place is amazing. This place is amaz, is amaz, is amaz.” (0:24). By using repetition in this way, it gives the words a broken quality and makes them sound like a song skipping on a vinyl record. Kaye also uses the repetition of words with similar endings to create flow. For example when he says, “This is the twentieth century, we knew we’d reach the Pacific eventually, this is only a new manifest destiny.” (1:23). Metaphors are also central to Suburbia. The city is metaphorically referred to as a woman with, “the suitcase of her chest ripped open. Her highway innards scattered around the room.” (1:41). To describe the city’s body strong imagery is used. The city’s body in over populated, suburban areas is described as, “wrinkled, cracked, loose.” (0:52). In areas where her body remains untouched by man she is described as, “thick, overgrown…virgin.” (1:08). During the poem, Kaye alludes to the American Dream, “I was never truly sleeping, just for that moment American dreaming.” (2:00). By alluding to the American Dream Phil Kaye refers to the ideal life American society pursues, one key component of which was once to live in the suburbs. Kaye also alludes to the American Civil Rights Movement by referring to “Mr. Kennedy” or John F. Kennedy who was the president of the United States in the sixties. In conjunction with this, Kaye metaphorically compares the invasion of weeds into one’s front lawn with the movement to eliminate segregation and allow social minorities to live in purely white neighborhoods. In the 1960’s, both were seen as destructive and detrimental.
I am not a fan of classic poetry. When reading a poem by Edgar Allen Poe or William Wordsworth I can pick out the themes and literary devices but I can never understand the most important aspect of the poem, the mood. With Spoken Word Poetry, poems are recited so mood and tone can be interpreted through the speakers’ voice. I like Phil Kaye’s Suburbia because he is overly dramatic when he presents his poem. I felt like I could feel a stronger connection with this poem because of this dramatic element. Further, this year I took a Psychology and Sociology class in school. We spent a lot of time focusing on the concept of conformity and its impact on the individual and society. By having this specialized knowledge I was able to relate to and draw out different meanings within the poem. Understanding the message behind the poem is very important to me as it determines whether I will like or dislike the poem. I really like Suburbia because I can see the complexities of it’s structure and understand it’s meaning. There’s even a part of me that agrees with it.
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