“The problem
when it comes to literature is this. There are many writers that have
preconceived ideas about what literature is supposed to be but, their ideas
seem to preclude everything that makes it most interesting in casual conversation.” (16 minutes into the film)
This quote takes place in one of the many sections of the
movie where Alan Ginsberg, played by James Franco, is being interviewed and
discusses the development of his writing. To start off, Ginsberg was under the
assumption that Howl was never going
to be published so he could write whatever he wanted to. In doing so he was
able to avoid using the conventional form of writing, which is taking into
account his audience, and simply write what was on his mind. This allowed him
to maintain a level of realness as you would have done if you were simple
talking to a friend thus, giving the reader insight about the author by
expressing certain attributes of his personality.
This was particularly important to one of the themes of the
film which was freedom of expression. Ginsberg’s lack of inhibition permitted a
rare view, especially during the 1950’s, of a social group that was not part of
the social norm. By using words that are considered obscene he was able to
truly illustrate what it was like during the rise of the beat generation.
Q: Do you
think that certain aspects of the poem Howl
still apply to society today?
--Jonathan Virdell
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