Naked Lunch: Difference between revisions

 

My God, how do you summarize the 1959 novel ''Naked Lunch'' in mere words? The seminal work of [[The Beat Generation|beat generation]] author, [[William S. Burroughs]].

 

Some editions of the book include an author's foreword, where Burroughs [[Don't Explain the Joke|explains the title]]. The phrase "naked lunch" is meant to describe the [[Cassandra Truth|unvarnished truth about what people do to survive in society]]. The specific lunch that Burroughs wants to unclothe is the custom of [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|capital punishment]]. He objects to the fact that many [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner|people who endorse capital punishment]] are still reluctant to pull the switch, throw the first stone, or otherwise take on the moral responsibility for what he considers murder. In a sense, "naked lunch" is the opposite of euphemism. Thus his famous quote, "Let them see what is at the end of that long newspaper spoon." Of course, Burroughs, by his own admission, [[This Is Your Premise on Drugs|doesn't remember writing most of the actual text of the book]], so the author's foreword could very well be [[Retcon]].

 

[[David Cronenberg]] released a 1991 film adaptation of 'Naked Lunch' [[Pragmatic Adaptation|that used very little of the book's material]], claiming a literal adaption would be not only impossible, but "[[Banned in China|banned]] [[Up to Eleven|in every country in the world]]". Instead, he creates a [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story|heavily fictionalized biopic]] about William S. Burroughs, in which Burrough's long time [[Author Avatar|avatar]], William Lee, is working as exterminator and [[Everybody Must Get Stoned|gets high off his bug powder]]. He later flees to Interzone after the now-legendary [[I Just Shot Marvin in the Face|shooting of his wife]], Joan Vollmer, where he becomes tangled in a world of surreal espionage, through contact with several giant bug-shaped, alien typewriters who talk out of their asses. [[Widget Series|You read that right]].

 

{{tropelist}}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Lit Fic]]

[[Category:The Fifties]]

[[Category:Bizarro Fiction]]

[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]

[[Category:Films Based on Novels]]

[[Category:Canadian Films]]

[[Category:Film]]