The Ultimate Extra

So it seems to be that Whitman makes multiple appearances in twenty-first century media, whether it be in a romanticized movie or dramatic television show, he manages to get cast in small yet influential digressions.

Purposeful Digression #1:  Breaking Bad

Now I know this isn't from "Song of Myself" but it is an influential poem of Whitman's that helps drive home the point Gale (the man reciting) is attempting to make.  For those of you who don't watch Breaking Bad (which is blasphemy you're missing out) Gale is reciting "The Learned Astronomer" in order to explain that he needs to be physically enveloped in what he is interested in, and is not satisfied with being a simple bystander.  Although this is not part of Song of Myself as I said earlier, it directly relates to Whitman's need to touch everything and take everything in in order to truly understand and be a part of it.


Purposeful Digression #2:  Leaves of Grass (the movie)

Now obviously this movie is going to reference Whitman seeing as they stole the title from him, but what's interesting is how they tie in the themes of the movie to the poem "To You" which is being recited by the lovely Keri Russell in this scene.  In this part of the poem Whitman seems to be saying one must toss all preconceived notions of what they think they know to the wind, and embrace the beauty and freedom of decisive irrationalism.  However, in the movie Norton's character takes issue with this concept, and essentially says that he does not buy into the whole free verse thing Whitman stood for because poetry has rules, and if everyone goes around making their own, how do you know what’s true?  Yet this notion is the catalyst that drives the unbridled passion in Whitman's verses!  The fact that this kind of thinking makes it so there is no solid ground to rely on, opens up countless possibilities in the realm of untouched thought.  Whitman is the aboriginal advocate of equality by means of unrestricted mental expansion and expression, because he understood that once one believes they have it all figured out, in actuality there is nothing left.


Purposeful Digression #3:  The Notebook

Now unfortunately I must step into the realm of ultimate popular culture by referencing The Notebook.  I'm sure you all know that this movie is undeniably a love story in every cliche sense of the term "love story" but what's interesting is the fact that it takes place in a southern rural setting, and even more intriguing is the fact that the father finds it pertinent to mention that he is a fan of Tennyson more so than Whitman.  Tennyson and Whitman were in fact contemporaries with completely different stylistic tendencies.  Whitman incorporated the careless free flowing savage style (compatible with that of Goslin's character) whereas Tennyson took on a much more reformed approach to literature (much like that of the other dude she dates, whose name I cannot remember).  Anyway, in the end McAdams chooses the free-flowing savage over the man in the suit thus embracing, to the best of her ability, the rugged path that Whitman would have paved.