Big Sur is a movie that is due for release sometime in early 2013. It is based on the book of the same name by Jack Kerouac, and it describes the time he spent in the wilderness while trying to come to terms with his addiction to alcohol. The movie trailer has just been released, and it looks as if this is going to be another superb portrayal of addiction. It was filmed in some of the most beautiful parts of North America, but this is contrasted by the gloom and hopelessness that Jean Mark Barr (who is playing Jack Kerouac) is dealing with in the film. This is a movie that anyone who is interested in addiction is going to want to see.
The Addiction Problems of Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was one of the most famous novelists and poets to have come out of the US. His most famous books include “Dharma Bums” and “Satori in Paris.” He was one of the pioneers of the Beat Generation, and his work has influenced many other writers and poets around the world. Jack Kerouac was also an alcoholic. This addiction to alcohol eventually killed him in 1969 while still at the peak of his career – he was only 47 years of age. The exact cause of his death was bleeding oesophageal varices as a complication of cirrhosis of the liver. His final hours were spent choking on his own blood. It was a terrible way for him to leave the world, but this is an all too common fate for alcoholics.
Many people tried to excuse the alcoholism of Jack Kerouac as just part of his talent. There are even those who have tried to glamorise his addiction, and this has encouraged other people to associate heavy drinking with being creative. There have been many other examples of artistic people like Jack Kerouac who were also alcoholics or drug addicts. It is understandable that people can begin to associate addiction and creativity as being somehow related. The truth is, though, that Jack was a successful writer despite his addiction to alcohol and not because of it. Without this addiction he would have undoubtedly have had years of productive writing ahead of him.
The idea of addiction and creativity being linked has been smashed by other successful writers and artists who did their best work after they gave up their addictions. A good example of this would be Stephen King, who once had a serious alcohol and drug problem. He managed to break away from this substance abuse before it killed him, and he has gone on to produce some of his most successful work after becoming sober. A less positive example of this would be Jackson Pollock. He managed to become sober for two years and this is when he created all of his famous paintings. Unfortunately, he later relapsed and this took away his talent and eventually destroyed his life completely.
Big Sur Movie
The Big Sur is expected to provide a realistic depiction of what happens when alcohol gets a hold on a creative individual. Hopefully the director has managed to capture the emotions that were so easily picked up from the book. Perhaps this film will help people have a better understanding of what the addicted individual is dealing with, and it will help to break the myth that addiction is positively related to creativity. Jack Kerouac was a wonderful writer, but he undoubtedly could have been so much more if he had managed to break away from addiction.
