Jes' Grew and the Internet
Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo describes Jes’ Grew as a virus that causes people to sing and dance, causing a flourishing of black culture in the 1900s that took form in uncontrollable singing, dancing, and jazz. In general, Jes’ Grew seems to describe the genesis of new culture and its sometimes virus-like spread through society, characterized by the backlash against it (in Mumbo Jumbo, it was the Atonists against jazz). This backlash usually seems to arise from the older generation, who protest that Jes’ Grew’s manifestations are frivolous and not “real culture.” Jes’ Grew maintains its relevance today, perhaps even more so because of how easily different cultures can intermingle and spread through technology and the Internet. In fact, it seems that technology has exacerbated the spread of Jes’ Grew throughout the youth of today’s society. The internet is the prime place for culture to be established, created, and publicize itself to not just a single country or ...