Group D Blog 3
April 05, 2018, by Christiana
In “Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker” published by Homebrew Press, the work provides the narrative of a liberally-rebellious social justice group that emerged in New York City during the 1960s. “The Family,” as the group was called privately, took inspiration from various other emerging groups fighting for reform in America during that time. Interestingly, the author cites the San Francisco Diggers as an inspiration for The Family which I also discovered as an inspiration for the creation of the “Your House is Mine” project. However, this group was far tougher and much more stubborn. I enjoyed the imagery of this group of whistle-blowers as “flower children with thorns” or a “street gang with analysis.” (3, McIntyre). The group epitomized the flourishing atmosphere of counterculture New York City, in its unwavering opposition to injustice. Their name, “Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker” was masterfully taken from a Leroi Jones poem titled, “Black People” which recites the lines “All the stores will open if you say the magic words. The magic words are: “Up against the wall motherfucker this is a stick up!” In this way, UAW/MG used their slogan to critique the system of oppression against black people brought forth by the police and larger American establishment systems. It is obvious that the Motherfuckers became symbols for the rebellious and anarchistic sentiments in the ‘60s felt by many groups/figures who were frustrated with the status-quo.
One of the most interesting aspects from this reading was the author’s explanation for the possible misunderstanding in public memory of the intentions of the Motherfuckers. He explains that the group embodied a youth culture movement which has become tainted by the impressions of others; there tends to be a projection of one’s perspective of the 1960’s onto their opinion of the Motherfuckers. This is a result of the group’s extremist and iconoclast messages that forced the larger public to question solutions to the issues they presented. As history reflects, many who look favorably upon this timeframe may look favorably upon the intentions of the Motherfuckers.
I was also interested in the methods of protest taken by the group, as the work largely describes the aggressive, nihilistic, and confrontational nature of the Motherfuckers. The author explains, “Their avant-garde protests generally lacked even a pretense of strategic efficacy, and were entirely unsuited toward their goals of fomenting a genuine revolution. They might as well have dedicated themselves to changing the colors of a rainbow.” (10). I can imagine the stark cultural contrast between the perspective of establishment figures and the messages projected by this social justice group.
During McIntyre’s interview with Ben Morea, I found it funny to imagine a group of guerilla artists disrupting academic art lectures on the NYU campus as a form of humorous commentary. This was one of the group’s ways of combatting pretentiousness and elitism, and instead promoting the lecture as an open event to the public. The group made a call to break cultural boundaries and promote more open-dialogue for all voices that desired to be heard.