In his poem A Supermarket in California, Allen Ginsberg stresses his idea that American ideals and values have been altered in order to accommodate new ones that on the surface, appear better than they actually are. These artificial ideas are, what Ginsberg believes to be, shaping the new America—An America in which the whole is more regarded for than the individual. In the last lines of the poem, Ginsberg compares the state of American to Charon (the boatman, who in Greek mythology, ferried the dead to Hades) quitting poling his ferry, as Walt Whitman watches the boat disappear in the black waters of forgetfulness. If America is an optimistic man forgetting the past, values essential to our positive existence will be forever lost.
Even though A Supermarket In California was written fifty-seven years ago, its ideas remain contemporary. In the 1999 film American Beauty, director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball explore the de-individualizing impact that American conformity has on the average American and how by remembering the past, a sense of self can be restored. The film’s protagonist is Lester Burnham—a man in his 40s who, despite having the family, the job and the house that all Americans are “supposed” to aspire to obtain—is extremely depressed. Early in the film, Lester narrates how he has lost his sense of self. When he remembers his life without the limitations and restrictions that currently bound him into his depression, the film’s story kicks in, his soul is lifted and he no longer dreads the familiar mundaneness of his American life.
Both American Beauty and A Supermarket in California pay ode to Walt Whitman and his ideas. American Beauty reinforces Ginsberg’s prediction of a tediously conformed America, while using the Whitmanesque ideas of rebirth and reawakening. Unfortunately, Allen Ginsberg died in 1997, two years before American Beauty was released. If he were to see the movie, I think he would enjoy it. He would be comforted by the fact that a man who is de-individualized by American conformity is reawakened (much like Whitman in Song of Myself) to find purpose in a clouded world.
I definitely agree that Ginsberg would have enjoyed watching Lester’s reawakening American Beauty. I think that the fact that the idea Ginsberg wrote about American conformity, despite being written over half a century ago, says a lot about our society. Even 14 years after the movie was released, these ideas are still relevant. America is still concerned with “fitting in” and achieving the “American Dream.” The Whitmanesque qualities of both Ginsberg’s poem and American Beauty highlight what American’s strive to achieve, though many fall short of this goal. Though many contemporary sources in the media emphasize how important uniqueness is and that it’s okay to be yourself, our society still looks down upon the few “weirdos” that embrace their unique qualities. This is why the idea of American conformity is still relevant in today’s society.