Duke Ellington and Critical Theory Today Essay

Duke Ellington was a great jazz musician during the 1900s. He began his music career in the 1920s by leading a band from the piano bench. Most of the artistic work of Duke Ellington focused on encouraging the blacks through their then oppression as well as fighting for equality (Lawrence, 2004). Additionally, Ellington focused is music on feminism and the welfare of the black people in the United States. The focus of the music can be related to the critical theory today in various aspects in that like the theory, the work of Duke Ellington examines equality, welfare as well as feminism among other aspects. The personality, life, and works of Duke Ellington are believed to have been shaped by the events and life experiences as well as his childhood upbringing. The focus of this paper is to analyze how the works and life of Duke Ellington relate to the critical theory today.

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The critical theory today explains Marxism as a way of life in which the one inferior party would want to feel equal to the superior one. In this case, the inferior party would work to ensure that they even copy the lifestyle of the superior. Duke Ellington in his work points out various aspects of Marxism. He encourages the black Americans do not feel inferior in the eyes of the white, which were considered a superior culture. In most of his artistic work, he urges the African Americans to work hard and be themselves as well as to live their lives not in relation to the white. In his fight for equality, Ellington participated in the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s. He moved from Washington to Harlem where he composed songs and performed with his band encouraging the movement.

Moreover, Ellington refused to be held down by the discrimination that was rampant at the time. The African Americans were considered with less respect than the white people. Despite this Ellington worked hard and ensured he lived just like the whites of the time. He would go and entertain the white in the suburbs and would always assume a regal posture both on and off the stage. His career in music was not determined by the fact that he was a black man in an era where the African Americans were considered second class citizens, rather he considered himself a music artist whose music is meant to pass a message to the society.

Deconstruction criticism is an aspect of the critical theory today that is more profound in the life and the work of Duke Ellington. According to the theory deconstructing human identity states that the language that a person speaks is determined by the environment that a person is brought up in (Tyson, 2014). for Ellington, he was brought up by religious parents who emphasized on respect and hope. For example, at the initial stages of his career, Ellington would face rejection, disrespect, and segregation from the white people. Despite this, he did not lose hope in his career rather he endured all and worked hard to become the successful artist he is known.

Another example is that from his background, Ellington learned to respect and optimism. Despite being oppressed and rejected, there is no one time in which Ellington spoke ill of the white culture or the white people. In all his artistic work, he spoke about welfare and encouragement to the black people to work hard and ensure they better their lives.

Furthermore, an aspect that is evident in the life and work of Duke Ellington is the psychoanalytic criticism. The criticism holds that human beings are motivated by the desires, needs, and fears which are unconscious to them. Often human beings would work hard to ensure that they meet their desires or eradicated their fears. For Duke Ellington, his career in jazz music was motivated by the desire to be successful as well as overcome the fear of oppression as noted by Cohen (2010). Ellington was deemed an optimistic individual, he hoped for a better future where equality would dominate. In this case, the artist was motivated by the fear of continuous oppression as well as the desire to overcome that fear and achieve a society where equality would dominate.

Another example is that Ellington majorly focused on his music in order to suppress his feelings of being oppressed and humiliated. Success in his music career is most that mattered to him. He made his music to be the centerpiece of his life; he called it his mistress which is second to none. According to the psychoanalytic criticism of the critical theory today, Ellington seemed to distract himself from the reality of the oppression and used his music to hide his true feelings. However, he would express them through songwriting and singing. Additionally, Ellington would compose songs that seemed to be a consolation to the oppressed. He would encourage the African Americans that the oppression would come to pass and that it is the will of God that they are suffering.

The defense, anxiety and core issues are some of the aspects presented in the theory that are adamant in the life of Duke Ellington. According to the theory, people tend to employ various defensive mechanisms when they encounter an event that seems to undermine their self. In Ellington's life, he employed various defense mechanisms in his career and his life. One of the fears of the artists that seemed to be one of his defense mechanism was the fear of intimacy (Lawrence, 2004). The fear of intimacy holds that people who suffer from the same have a tendency of distancing themselves from other people so that they would not form any emotional attachment. Ellington seems to be suffering from the same in that, throughout his life, he never married. In turn, he had a series or relationships which never lasted.

Lastly, feminism criticism is one of the aspects that relate the critical theory today to the work and the life of Duke Ellington. The feminist criticism argues that, in order to maintain the male monopoly, men have justified that they are superior to the female. However, as the feminist put it, the male is equal to the female and that there should not be any distinction between the duties and responsibilities. In relation to this theory, Ellington purports that the biblical aspect of feminism should be upheld. He held that the male is superior to the female and that, according to the biblical context, the male should lead and female be subject to the male.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the composition of Ellington's work and his life significantly relate to the critical theory today. Most of the aspects and events that were present during his time are deemed to determine the course of action in which the artist took. His early life is believed to have determined his personality of respect and optimism. The compositions of his jazz music were a motivation to the oppressed black people of the 1900s.

References

Cohen, H. G. (2010). Duke Ellington's America. University of Chicago Press.

Lawrence, A. H. (2004). Duke Ellington and His World. Routledge.

Theriault, S. A. (2011). Duke Ellington's Jazz Narrative of the African-American: Black, Brown, and Beige. Inquiries Journal, 3(06).

Tyson, L. (2014). Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. Routledge.