04-11-2016, 12:29 PM
I'd think that beauty and ethics were separate things -- what's good in one could be bad in another. Hitler had good speeches, but also bad ones, usually both being for the same -- good as in powerful, bad as in racist. But are those speeches good, or bad? I guess
it'd depend on priority -- what would be more important, in the reader's frame of mind? Since this is a critical forum, I don't think ethics has as much weight, unless it intrudes upon how a poem shoots its message, ie the poem's beauty,
but generally, ethics ultimately holds more swords over our and others' heads than beauty (even if an evil poem, if ugly, won't really be effective), so I guess ultimately, and by ultimately I mean considering pretty much all contexts, an ethically unsound poem, especially if beautiful, is just plain bad.
as for that poem, ethically, i think it's in a gray spot -- little brown women can be bad to the sensitive, can be fun to the nonchalant, although personally i missed the racism, and feel the fucking sexism (I think shem said it best, above) -- and aesthetically, well, it's a bit of a meh. it's pretty, but i've read better, more punchy or properly fluffy, especially from the poet.
but focusing on its ethical aspects in the critical forum is a little unfair, especially since even at the most extreme, its sexism/racism isn't advocating anything violent, just a few raised eyebrows (and where I live, coincidentally it seems the same country where billy's wife comes from, I'd have to raise eyebrows every time I leave the house xD) -- ultimately, it might be a bit detracting, but not enough, i think, to completely ruin its sentiment (which is ultimately racist/sexist, from more, er, extreme points of view),
its, i feel i must reiterate, ultimately unpunchy-fluff piece of sentiment :|
it'd depend on priority -- what would be more important, in the reader's frame of mind? Since this is a critical forum, I don't think ethics has as much weight, unless it intrudes upon how a poem shoots its message, ie the poem's beauty,
but generally, ethics ultimately holds more swords over our and others' heads than beauty (even if an evil poem, if ugly, won't really be effective), so I guess ultimately, and by ultimately I mean considering pretty much all contexts, an ethically unsound poem, especially if beautiful, is just plain bad.
as for that poem, ethically, i think it's in a gray spot -- little brown women can be bad to the sensitive, can be fun to the nonchalant, although personally i missed the racism, and feel the fucking sexism (I think shem said it best, above) -- and aesthetically, well, it's a bit of a meh. it's pretty, but i've read better, more punchy or properly fluffy, especially from the poet.
but focusing on its ethical aspects in the critical forum is a little unfair, especially since even at the most extreme, its sexism/racism isn't advocating anything violent, just a few raised eyebrows (and where I live, coincidentally it seems the same country where billy's wife comes from, I'd have to raise eyebrows every time I leave the house xD) -- ultimately, it might be a bit detracting, but not enough, i think, to completely ruin its sentiment (which is ultimately racist/sexist, from more, er, extreme points of view),
its, i feel i must reiterate, ultimately unpunchy-fluff piece of sentiment :|