Rhythm in Expression

"Poetry is a rhythmic articulation of feelings" (Not sure where that was said, but I wrote it down). Starting around 00:48:25, Franco as Ginsberg starts reading the second part of his poem, at "What sphinx of cement and aluminium bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination?" and the film articulates the word "Moloch!"

I found this moment of the film particularly interesting because of the way the audience reacts to the words that are being read by Ginsberg. Not only do we see a literal representation of this work through the animation, we see the audience moving in tune with this beat poetry, causing the entire venue to elude a sort of rebellious and lively energy. This entire piece has so much life and the reality that this youth is faced with, and we can really understand the sincerity of how it affects the crowd. It seems that the audience most reacts to Ginsberg's articulation of "moloch". According to wikipedia, the Moloch "is often used to refer to a person or thing demanding or requiring a very costly sacrifice." In some ways, Ginsberg is requiring his audience to sacrifice the world and it's expectations to reach freedom of expression. The audience members are fully engaged and seem to move with the words, seemingly eager to subscribe to his ideas and sacrifice the control of their surroundings in the "real world." It's interesting that the audience has been so smitten by Ginsberg's words, and that the rhythmic appeal of Ginsberg's monotone spiel causes the audience to become entranced, making the entire room move with his words. It's important that the audience's reaction is shown in the film, for the popularity of Ginsberg's poetry and the rise of the counterculture is what sparks the want for literature to be censored, thus this piece is tried in court.

Though I completely admire Ginsberg's expression in his poetry, I wonder if the venue of choice causes this energy to take over, inspiring the crowd to engage in "group think." Can location and surroundings change the way literature is read or received? Had Ginsberg's poetry been read initially to an audience in a more academic setting, would his piece ever leak out to become part of the counterculture?