Machinima and "Suicide's Note" by Langston Hughes

“Suicide’s Note” by Langston Hughes, in itself is a very powerful poem. The three verses it is written it give the feeling of solitude and sadness. However, the Machinima does add to the poem for me. This is hard for me to admit, being that I detest video games and I love Langston Hughes. It is a very literal translation of the poem which still leaves the reader (or viewer) to make out their personal interpretation of the poem itself. The first time I watched the video, I did not pay any attention to the lyrics of the song. The music itself would have sufficed to give the video that miserable touch to the video. The lyrics did not add anything to the video for me. But the slight movements of the soldier are what gave the poem the most personality. You feel the aloneness of the soldier. I can feel his pain as he looks down to the river or up to the sky. Makes me want to go console this video game character.

Poetry is integrated into every aspect of pop culture: from movies, to commercials to music. For example, “Maud: A Monodrama” by Tennysons is quoted in the movie A Cinderella Story. Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” is presented in the television show The West Wing. The episode in which it is recited is called “The U.S. Poet Laureate”. The poet laureate holds the position as the consultant in the Library of Congress to help raise consciousness of poetry to America. I’ve never really paid attention to how much poetry is a part of the popular culture until this assignment. Between my own research and the research done by my fellow classmates, there are many great poems, that maybe are seen as a little antiquated, can be seen in a new light with the help of popular culture.