Poetry Assignment #1

1) The poem that Levi's borrowed for their commercial without giving credit to the author, Charles Bukowski, was titled The Laughing Heart.
2) The use of the poem by the corporation is extremely ironic in many ways. First, the company used the uplifting, influential poem to promote and sell their product which has absolutely no resemblance or relation to the purpose of the poem. Also, Levi's attempted to provide its audience with the knowledge to be independent and to stand tall when faced with peer pressure all while the company is trying to persuade their audience into purchasing their product which is considered peer pressure. In other words, the corporation contradicts itself big time.
3) Personally, I do think the poem reflects Charles and his own life. I believe because of all of the hardships he had encountered in his life, whether it be his obsession of alcohol, sex, and violence, or his troubles dealing with an abusive dad, drove him to express to the youth that a better life is always awaiting. He desperately wants to encourage his audience to live their life to its fullest and to be independent individuals.
4) I first searched for the "Levi's Go Forth 2011" video on Google browser and then clicked on the first video that popped up. I then watched the video several times before I observed and obtained the gist of the poem. I became curious as to what his intent of this poem was so I researched him and his career on Google.  After acquiring facts about Charles and his successful career, I then made sense of why he wrote the poem.