Thursday, May 19, 2011

♥ howling at the moon.


this rainy evening, i settled down to watch the handsome james franco play
beat poet allen ginsberg in the much talked about biography, howl (2010).

much like my reading of patti smith's just kids, i went into
this film not knowing much of ginsberg's work (except this poem!),
the time period in which he wrote, and i had not even the slightest
inclination about the trial that took place as a reaction to
the publication of the poem, howl, into book form.

the film is made up of interview style dialogue with franco as ginsberg,
layered with beat style poetry readings, which are at times animated,
and other times read on stage. i can't say that i understand
all of his work- but i understand ginsberg's desire to
take what was in his heart and put it on paper.

"i am hitting on an area that's absolutely true. in that sense..
able to be read by someone and wept to maybe centuries later.
in that sense- prophecy- because it touches a common key.
i mean what prophecy actually is, is not knowing whether the bomb
will fall in 1942- it's knowing and feeling something which someone
knows and feels in one hundred years and maybe articulating it in
a hint that they will pick up on in a hundred years."


12 ♥ love notes.:

  1. So what's the word? Worth a watch. It's in my Netflix queue, but I admit to not really knowing much about it other than the fact that I like James Franco.

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  2. I haven't watch this movie yet, but I'm looking forward to. Not only I admire so much Allen GInsberg's production but also I think Mr. Franco is one of the best actor around
    Sara C.
    http://styleyoustylemestylish.blogspot.com

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  3. Love James Franco. So do you recommend it?

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  4. it's pretty good ladies- but kind of weird because his poetry is kind of weird! you know? i liked how artistic it was and appreciated it for that.

    xo
    sami

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  5. This looks super interesting, I need to see this!

    Enter to win a $100 Shopbop gift card giveaway!
    xoxo
    Miss Neira

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  6. I enjoyed this movie - I don't know as much about Ginsberg as other beat poets and writers (William S. Burroughs lived in Lawrence, KS and his old house was really close to mine so there was a fascination) but I remember the beat unit in my junior english class and loved it completely. Then I took a really awesome class about American literature, music and movies in college and my professor was really into the whole beat generation so we focused on that a lot. I really appreciated the art in the movie and learning more about Ginsberg but some of it was lost on me.

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  7. other than a brief mention on "gilmore girls" (if you've ever watched that show, you might remember the episode when rory finds out jess' love of reading), i've never heard of this book. now i definitely want to read it!

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  8. I haven't heard of this movie, it looks great! Did you like it?

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  9. I must admit that I do not know much about Ginsberg but you have just totally inspired me to watch the movie!!! Plus who doesn't love James Franco!! Thanks for sharing!!

    xox,
    karen

    www.rubytuesdayfashionanddesign.blogspot.com

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  10. That's so funny... we almost watched this on Netflix the other night but went with This is Spinal Tap instead. Haha. Is it worth seeing?

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