Bob Dylanis one of the greatest songwriters of all time, but he’s also quite a controversial figure. The singer-songwriter has been at the front of pop culture since late 2024, afterA Complete Unknownhit theaters. The film has gotten a lot of buzz during award season, especially after Timothée Chalamet took home the Best Actor Award at the SAG Awards.A Complete Unknown, based onDylan Goes Electric!by Elijah Wald, gives moviegoers a front-row seat to Dylan’s rise in the music industry and some of his most controversial moments.
The most controversial moment of the film came duringthe 1965 Newport Festival. However, one might argue Dylan became such an icon because he took the risks that led to these controversies. Even in today’s industry, stars likeBeyoncé and Taylor Swift have had their fair share of controversiesmostly linked to their penchant for trying things the public doesn’t always agree with. However, while Bob Dylan caused a lot of controversies throughout the height of his career in the 60s, one of his biggest controversies came five decades later.
Bob Dylan Has Been A Controversial Figure Multiple Times In His Career
The 1965 Newport Festival Was Just One Of Dylan’s Many Controversies
Bob Dylan’s many career controversies have become a part of his allure. One of the most memorable, and most prominent scenes inA Complete Unknown, was the Newport Festival. Dylan had made his mark on the folk music scene and fans were not necessarily open-minded regarding him branching out into other genres. However, Dylan was growing tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Like all great artists, he wanted to challenge himself and try something new. What is now calledthe Electric Dylan Controversybegan when the singer-songwriter decided to start making more electric rock music.
Why The Crowd Booed Bob Dylan At The 1965 Newport Folk Festival
Bob Dylan was famously booed off the stage during his performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, which is explored in A Complete Unknown.
His albumsBringing It All Back HomeandHighway 61 Revisited, which featured “Like A Rolling Stone,” were his first electric rock records. The Newport Festival was Dylan’s first time playing his new music live, and it didn’t go well for the star. Instead,he was booed by an angry audience who missed the folk musicthey fell in love with. About a year later, another controversy arose when Dylan was on tour. This time, anangry audience member yelled “Judas” at Bob Dylan, comparing his betrayal of folk music fans to the way Judas betrayed Jesus in the Bible.
Bob Dylan Won The Nobel Prize In 2016
Dylan Is A Literature Laureate
In 2016, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize, a highly respected award that has also been given to people like activist Malala Yousafzai and physicist Albert Einstein.Awarding Dylan with the prize seems a little out of left fieldcompared to the other recipients. However, the singer-songwriter was honored in the literature category. According toThe Nobel Prizewebsite, Dylan received the award for having created new poetic expressions with his lyricism. Some others who have won in the literature category are South Korean writer Han Kang, best known for her novelThe Vegetarian, and celebrated novelist Toni Morrison.
Why Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize Win Was So Controversial
Some Felt Dylan Didn’t Deserve The Honor
Unfortunately, Bob Dylan’s accomplishment wasn’t positively received. Many felt it was unfair to put Dylan in the same category as others who have won the literature award. WhileBob Dylan is without a doubt a fantastic songwriterand one of the most influential people in the music industry, that doesn’t mean everyone feels he was Nobel Prize-worthy. Dylan is more fit for Grammy Awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions. AMen’s Journalarticle explained it felt unfair giving it to Dylan because he was already an established musician.
Dylan’s career is nothing if not an array of controversial moments that made his music even more prominent.
Giving the prize to someone lesser known is an opportunity to give them publicity and introduce them to a wider audience. Some recipients were unheard of by the general public, andwinning the Nobel Prize was a major career boost. Another argument is that just because Dylan is a prolific songwriter doesn’t mean his work is up to par with writers like Morrison or William Faulkner. However, Dylan’s career is nothing if not an array of controversial moments that made his music even more prominent.
He’s also built his career on stepping out of line, so boxing him into only music awards would go against his legacy. While it may have beencontroversial to give Bob Dylan the Nobel Prize, it actually fits his career trajectory quite well. While this may have been one of his biggest modern controversies,Bob Dylan’s career is still going, and he’s likely to continue to anger the public no matter what he does.
