Comments on: The Friday Afternoon Movie: Naked Lunch

By: DavidS

DavidS — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:19:37 +0000

I won’t argue that it’s confusing or a mess, but it’s not nonsensical. It has very compelling things to say about language (as virus), power (addiction to), paranoia, systems of domination and manages to relate them (obliquely, I’ll admit. Metaphorically.) to the larger culture. In a way, it’s Burroughs projecting his own complex of sex/addiction/neurosis/necrosis onto America. But that’s no different from any other writer, and his vision is persuasive. Looking through his warped lens, you see our culture as addicted (to violence, power, control) and suffering torments of flesh and denied sexuality. Hell, that’s the story of Elvis.

By: kendra

kendra — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:02:15 +0000

my brain its still trying to process what i have just witnessed..maybe a little too hard..I think I have to add another book to wishlist..

By: E.Bloeak

E.Bloeak — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:46:43 +0000

I definitely read Naked Lunch too young – I remember thinking, “Wow, that must be what drugs are like!” I think I’ll take the cosmic hint and finally sit down long enough to watch the movie.

If nothing else, apparently there’s some great body horror going on there. :)

By: Ben Morris

Ben Morris — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:27:48 +0000

I hate to nit-pic because this is a great post on both a book and film that I really love I feel I must.

William S. Burroughs’s most famous work, made possible by the cut-up technique he championed was decried as pornographic when it was published in Paris in 1959.

This is incorrect. Burroughs didn't use the cut-up technique on Naked Lunch, he first learned of the technique from Brion Gysin in 1959 shortly after Naked Lunch's publication. The first work Burroughs used the technique on was 1961's Soft Machine.

By: Paul Komoda

Paul Komoda — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:40:40 +0000

While I think it’s far from the definitive Burroughs movie( that’s something that has yet to be made ), and contains what is possibly the single worst animatronic creature effect scene for that era, I still claim a steadfast fondness for this film.
I’d go so far to say that it’s quintessential “comfort” viewing for me.

Thanks for posting this!

By: vikki

vikki — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:42:06 +0000

I saw the movie before reading the book and whilst worth reading it is a lot more hard going in a fever dream kind of way but worth a look nontheless … then with your new found reading weird books skill you can move on to gravitys rainbow.