Jes Grew represented in the modern day
A main topic in Ishmael Reed's book was Jes Grew. Jes Grew is a virus that causes people to dance. To keep the virus alive, a text was created. Towards the end of the book, the text was burned, killing Jes Grew. The Virus was killed, but it can still be shown in 2025 through different media of art or technology. Jes Grew is a Fictional virus that can be seen still to this day, as represented in Music.
Jes Grew is first introduced as a virus that causes people to dance. As all viruses are, Jes Grew is very contagious. In Mumbo Jumbo, Reed first describes the viruses as “[Jes Grew spreads] with the astonishing rapidity of Booker T. Washington’s Grapevine Telegraph” (Reed 13). This quote shows that Jes Grew spreads to everyone quickly and how contagious it is. Music is similar to Jes Grew in a way that it can be easily spread through social media, the radio, and many other ways. With a catchy tone or an infectious beat, music can pull people in. Just like Jes Grew, music can make people just not stop dancing.
Even though Jes Grew is fictional, it is similar to music in today's modern era. Music and Jes Grew are two different things; they are similar in a way that they can both be spread easily and are very contagious. At the end of the novel, Jes Grew was killed. As readers, we thought that the dance virus would just be gone. Music helped to revive Jes Grew. Reed might have killed Jes Grew, but in 2025, we can still be reminded of Jes Grew through Music.
Works Cited
Reed, Ishmael. Mumbo Jumbo. Scribner, 1996
Nice blog Antje! I found your parallel between Jes Grew and modern music reallying interesting. Your idea that Jes Grew lives on in present day though catchy rhythms and social media trends is very relatable, and makes a lot of sense. In a way, this blog modernizes Reed’s concept of Jes Grew. This is best shown in your comparison between Jes Grew’s wildfire like spread and the way music “goes viral” today as it shows Reed’s themes from Mumbo Jumbo are still present in 2025.
ReplyDeleteIt is wild to contemplate how Reed in 1972 is essentially anticipating the emergence of the term "viral" to describe cultural spread in the internet age--and indeed the analogy is apt, as there is something "contagious" about popular culture, and we do sort of "catch it" from the people around us. We see what our friends and neighbors like, in other words (and that means hitting "like" on social media as well as just *liking* stuff), and we want to join in, be a part of the fun. I think Reed is correct that this viral compulsion is especially strong with music, and there are a bunch of lyrics over the years that refer to dance "crazes," or "catching the fever" as a good thing, or even maybe a "sick" beat or lyric. But remember that the metaphor ALSO frames this cultural spread as something that could be viewed as an illness or a contagious problem from the defenders of the status quo, so there's something "dangerous" about a virus that young people WANT to catch. If we consider all the hand-wringing among adults about young people and social media, and these absurd trends that keep spreading which make no sense to us but seem vaguely problematic in some way, the internet indeed seems like a fruitful ground for the spread of Jes Grew. And the ways in which corporations and politicians don't want to be seen as actively suppressing the new media, but instead try to "get in on it," could surely be framed as a "Talking Android" attempt to coopt and subvert that culture from within. (Think of those ads that present themselves as a kind of "viral video" then you realize they're selling you gum or skin cream.)
ReplyDeleteHi Antje! It's so interesting the comparison between culture spreading and diseases spreading in Mumbo Jumbo. It sort of flips both concepts on their heads- a disease that some people want to catch, and a culture that some people want to destroy. With social media in 2025, different iterations of Jes Grew can spread rapidly online. Despite the jazz manifestation of Jes Grew being destroyed, it lives on.
ReplyDeleteHey Antje, it is super interesting that culture is compared so much with diseases in this book, through very panicked language like "viral" that kind of exaggerates how scary it would be to "catch" Jes Grew. It's kind of crazy that now we refer to music with those exact same terms (ie viral) but this time in a more positive light, and I really like how you frame that. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteHi Antje, I definitely agree that music can be infectious and fast spreading in the same way that Jes Grew was. I also think that certain types of music represent Jes Grew well. A key concept of Jes Grew is that it comes with a lot of Atonist background. When I think about this in terms of music, rap definitely comes to mind, as there is a lot of backlash against rap culture, especially from the older generation. Rap can also be a very creative, experimental genre, which I think aligns well with Jes Grew. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Antje!! I really liked your connections with Jes Grew and music as it's definitely one of the best matches in the modern world. There was a quote somewhere talking about how Jes Grew will never truly die out and that it'll eventually come back, and I think the modern-day music industry is an example of that when it comes to reinterpretations and the arguably appropriations of music genres. Great post!!
ReplyDeleteHi Antje! Music and Jes Grew is a great connection, especially right now with social media where you can easily be introduced to new artists and genres. Compared to the time of Mumbo Jumbo, there's a seemingly infinite amount of songs to listen to, and it's so much easier to distrubute your own music on a large scale. Great post!
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