19 pages • 38 minutes read
Gil Scott-HeronThe Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1971A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy (1971)
Like Scott-Heron’s poem, Piercy’s poem uses images from pop culture to make a serious critique of the forces of conformity. While Scott-Heron is primarily focused on pop culture’s impact on Black liberation, Piercy’s target is the damage done to American women, especially white American women, by unrealistic beauty standards that circulate via pop culture and mass-produced objects like the Barbie doll.
“Howl” by Allen Ginsberg (1956)
In this first-person poem, Ginsberg relies on strong imagery, repetition (including anaphora), and informal, assertive language to denounce the conformist ethos of the United States during the 1950s. Thematically, “Howl” and “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” both focus on oppressive structures in society. Both poems also show the influence of spoken-word on protest poetry.
“Riot” by Gwendolyn Brooks Hayden (1969)
In this narrative poem, Brooks imagines a riot from the perspective of a wealthy white resident of a city. This poem is rich in irony and allusion. Brooks uses a famous Martin Luther King, Jr., quote, “A riot is the language of the unheard,” as the epigraph for her poem. Like Scott-Heron, she intervenes in Black representation.
Further Literary Resources
“Every Historical Reference in Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’” by Tom Taylor (2023)
Taylor describes “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” as the “first rap song”—a debatable point. This piece in Far Out Magazine includes direct quotes from Scott-Heron on the purpose of the song. Even more useful for the readers is the detailed list of allusions in the poem.
Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man by Marcus Baram (2014)
A biography from Scott-Heron acquaintance Marcus Baram, this book includes detailed information about Scott-Heron’s early life with his activist grandmother, what it was like when he moved to New York during the 1970s, fame, and his experiences with substance use later in life. The book provides cultural and historical context for Scott-Heron’s work.
“[The 90’s Raw: Gil Scott-Heron]” by Skip Blumberg (1989)
In raw footage, interviewer Skip Blumberg from MediaBurn and Scott-Heron discuss the message of Scott-Heron’s work and how he sees then-contemporary culture. When asked about the message of the poem, Scott-Heron responds by saying, “The first change that takes place is in your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you live and the way you move.”
Listen to Poem
Scott-Heron performs his poem as a song in this 1974 album.
