Whitman Culture

I was really surprised to find this ad by Old Crow Whiskey. The ad depicts Whitman, after a long hard day writing poetry, sitting down to enjoy a glass of whiskey. The poster is trying to (depict) Whitman as a classic American writer enjoying a classic brand of American booze, never mind the whole temperance thing. In this scene Whitman could really have been replaced by any other classic American writer: like Twain or Thoreau, but not Poe they don't want to frighten their demographic. Whitman becomes, in this ad at least, an interchangeable part of Americana.

The second representation I found in a very short lived TV show called New Amsterdam. I couldn't find a clip to show because nobody seemed to care about the show. Anyway the series is about an immortal man who has recently joined the homicide branch of the NYPD. In this particular episode the detective, John Amsterdam is dealing with a suspect who has PTSD. Like in modern detective show the protagonist has a special ability, John Amsterdam’s ability is to remember, not that he has a photographic memory, but he remembers his own experiences in the past. In the episode he reminisces back to the days when he was surgeon in the civil war. He recalls a conversation with another surgeon about PTSD, or as they called it "soldier's heart." It turns out by the end of the show that the other surgeon was, you've probably guessed it, Walt Whitman. In the show Walt has his beard fully grown and he seems to be a man of great wisdom, he was the one to first refer to PTSD as "soldier's heart" as though he could delve into the depths of the soldiers' soul. Whitman is very connected with all the people around him, and unlike the other surgeons he attempts to make relationships with his patients while John is complaining how awful everything is. The shamanic Whitman gives very good advice and lifts john’s spirits and the show ends with Whitman giving a first edition of Leaves of Grass to John.

http://soundcloud.com/myrobotfriend/walt-whitman-zombie-nation

The link above will transport to a website containing a song called Walt Whitman by My Robot Friend. The song’s lyrics are attempts at asking questions of Walt Whitman and attempts to speak to him directly.

“We wash your clothes but the dirt won't come out
and no one knows what the hell your all about

Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman”

It also incorporates the poem itself and attempts again to directly contact the poet.

“What rivers are these
What forests and fruits are these
What persons and cities are here
What myrids of dwellings are they filled with dwellers
What widens within you Walt Whitman”

The song itself is a remix of a remix originally made by Zombie Nation. Both are DJ’s who work mostly in the electro techno genre. I don’t really know what that is nor do I have any idea who these guys are but My Robot Friend has done a very good job of incorporating Whitman into the song. How does this tie into Whitman you may ask. Well I’ll tell you, Whitman’s poetry is itself a remix. Whitman goes back to his own work to change things around adjust the flow and diction in much the same way one artist does to another. By incorporating Whitman My Robot friend is remixing to different artists, melding them to fit together.