The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

In the first stanza of “The Revolution Will Note Be Televised,” the speaker warns Black readers/listeners that they will “not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out / You will not be able to lose yourself on skag” (Lines 2-3). These lines are an allusion to Timothy O’Leary, an evangelist for the use of psychedelic drugs to untether one’s mind from conventional norms, which countercultural figures like O’Leary believed were the roots of suffering and injustice. Countercultural figures like the “hippies” rejected societal norms around dress, work, gender, sex, family, and race as a part of their efforts to achieve a more liberated consciousness. O’ Leary popularized the phrase “Turn on, tune in, and drop out,” by which he meant people should engage in introspection, sometimes with the help of drugs (turning on), instead of getting caught up in consumption of material goods. Dropping out is the rejection of conventional lifestyles that deny the authentic, natural self.

Scott-Heron’s poem does have a countercultural message. He critiques consumerist culture, epitomized by the passive activity of watching television programs and ads, by revising O’Leary’s catch phrase to include the words “plug” (Line 2) and “cop” (Line 2).