While Jake may have been TiVo-ing it, I bet he was watching Martin Scorsese’s Bob Dylan: No Direction Home tonight. It just finished, and one of the things that really struck me was how many people saw Bob Dylan as the heir, the youthful successor of the folk music tradition. As someone more partial to Dylan’s earlier music, I’m quite sympathetic to what they saw, and what they wanted.
It’s my impression Jake is more into the electric end of Dylan’s career (probably better watching for you tomorrow, Jake) - but tonight was more than just about music. It was about political understanding.
I can see what a conservative might see in a person like Bob Dylan, however strange that might sound to some. He has an Ayn Rand hero-like quality (and while I’m absolutely no fan of Rand, this is not meant as disparagement). There is the great individual in Dylan, the man who masters his craft and moves beyond it to master others, without commitment, without regret for what he leaves behind.
I can, of course, also see what progressives saw in Dylan. He himself may not have been overly political, but he communicated a politics that gave voice and resonated. He spoke to progressives in their language, mastering it, informing it and becoming it.
Not having seen before much of the footage shown tonight, I gained a deeper understanding of Dylan, who I’ve listened to for over two decades now. There was a lot to learn tonight about politics and political communication from a master.
Post a Comment