Blog No. 8, May 7th

Part I:
My thoughts are quite scattered abot the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. While it is about the American Dream and symbolism runs abound in this movie, the drug trips and the overall weirdness of the movie was a little too much for me, as it kinda prevented me from actually absorbin the symbolism. I'm not saying the movie's bad nor am I saying it's film of the year, it's just I found it way too odd to actually dig too deep into it. It is a comedy, and the way that the main characters act is comedy all in its own right. I mean, we all laugh at misfortunes that happen when somebody's drunk or high, there's no denying it. But my main gripe about this movie was that it appeared to be a little too strange, even for my open mind. I was trying to make sure my eyesight wasn't getting affected by warped reality that overtakes this movie.

Part II:
"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." Found at the beginning of the movie, this quote can be viewed as ironic to the movie. While both characters do make savage beasts of themselves, it doesn't seem to take the pain away from being a man. In fact, it could add onto it if some very bad events happen. The reason that Duke and Gonzo make beasts of themselves is painfully obvious, since the many drug trips they take are the main reason. Throughout the movie, while under the influence of these said drugs, they begin to do not only some odd things, but they also do some brutally savage things, usually on Dr. Gonzo's end. Usually this included his knife and some death threats against a few innocent people and even against Duke himself. But a few other things happen during their drug trips, like when Duke though that Gonzo completely abandoned him during his recovery from a drug trip. In short, deception, death threats, and no control over their own selves are what make them savage beasts. But to be honest, it didn't really take away the pain of being a man, as the drugs were only a temporary detour to escape pain. Sooner or later, the detour returns to the main road. The same goes with escaping pain and suffering through drugs, as they do have to live with what has happened. Even though whatever happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas, the events are forever imprinted into their subconscious. This could be viewed during Duke's final (yet most twisted) drug trip where he actually had a tape recorder, playing back events that have happened. The pain can only be increased from what Duke and Gonzo have done. Sure, drugs might escape it at first, but in the long run, it adds more pain to the pain that they have previously. So when man makes a beast of himself, he can eliminate the pain of being man, but when beast reverts back to man, the pain returns twice as hard.