"Less Than Zero" representations

For this weeks blog post, I will be using a review/analysis of Bret Easton Ellis's 'Less Than Zero', written on HubPages, to help give understanding to the drug-addiction issues within the novel, and the representation they have on the 1980s.     

Link to review: http://hubpages.com/literature/Less-Than-Zero-A-Look-into-the-Depths-of-Depravity

Ellis first wrote the novel during college, origninally as one of his assignments, and according to a 1991 Rolling Stone article, he was 'on a crystal meth binge'. 
The novel it'self is about a group of teenagers living in LA during the mid eighties, with cocaine problems.The main character, Clay, is known to constantly consume cocaine, the review describes Clays addiction as him "snorting coke almost constantly to the point where his nose is bleeding frequently". Another character, Julian, is a heroin dealer/addict. The reviewer comments on how the novel was a 'cold, harsh look at the Gen Xers lead in L.A at the time.' He goes on to discuss how the book is a curse to the world that Ellis grew up in, and says that he feels his generation isn't much different from that described in the novel. These concepts may not necessarily be regarding the drug issues in the 80s in particular, but they definitely relate. 
During the 80's there was a waging war on drugs. Cocaine in particular, but many other street drugs were everywhere at the time. It went from being a drug which  only stereotypical drug-users abused and teens and young people dabbled with, into becoming something which was then used by investment bankers, almost glamourising it to and extent that it would be no surprise or shock that people in big office/bank jobs were frequently using. 

I believe this book shows a very real representation of the American Crack epidemic of the 80s. The epidemic was a surge of cocaine use across major cities in the USA during 1984 and the early 1990's. Crack cocaine reportedly began to be used, on a large scale, in L.A during 1984. 

Scholars believe the epidemic was an example of a moral panic in the country, which I believe is very relevant in the novel.

Additional Sources:

• http://www.npr.org/2013/07/27/206148964/how-americans-said-no-to-cocaine-after-years-long-addiction
• http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/crackcocaine/a-short-history.html

Full Metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket 

The film Full Metal Jacket firstly received much criticism after its release being called just another war movie, however in recent years the director Stanley Kubrick has been acknowledged for this brilliant piece of work not only for its commentary of the war but for the artistic way in which it is done. What most people say when you mention the film is that they only liked the first half of the marines training camp but given a closer look the camp is merely there to foreshadow the young troops involvement in the war. This can be seen with the speech given to the troops at the start of the film where the Sargent states that you need your killer reaction otherwise you yourself will be killed, compare this to the final scene against the sniper were joker misfires and is then quickly fired upon.
 
 As for commentary on the Vietnam war Kubrick doesn't directly come out and say an opinion, he rather gives you the pieces to work it out, for instance when the platoon are clearing out the city Kubrick shoots them coming from left to right, the classic good guys on the right and bad guys on the left but then switches it around so you have the troops advancing fro the left. This makes the scene have a physical confusion and gives the idea that America is either the bad guys in the war or that the whole invasion is just as messy as this scene is visually.

Another way in which Kubrick comments on the war is offering the question who is the enemy, with many mentions of the soldiers not knowing who they are fighting, one quote summarize it well "if they run their V.C. if they don't run then their well trained V.C." this is the solution provided or excuse to kill the many civilians that the US army did during the war.

The film can also be interpreted as a feminist revenge story as it is well known that many US troops raped their way through the country and any women resorted to prostitution for money. Full Metal Jacket provides a look into this as the "lust hogs" barter for a women then one by one use her for obvious sexual gains, with one of the soldiers referring to sex as "boom boom". Now throughout the film sex and violence are constantly linked into one from "this is my rifle" as a way of mixing pleasure with killing to the name "lust hogs".  The narrative of vengeful women is then completed when the "lust hogs" are gunned down by a single female sniper and as she is killed one soldiers even says no more "boom boom for her".

Kubrick is also praised for the realism of the training camp, with actor R.Lee Ermey who was an actual drill Sargent in the US military providing a gruesome depiction of what basic training was like. Private Pile is the unfortunate soldier who just can't take it and shows what could happen to the mentally weak and sympathetically shows the murder of their Sargent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Lft6EQh-Y






 

Less Than Zero

Less than Zero is the story about a rich university student returning to his home town only to realize the price of being stuck in the city you start in. Surrounded by all sorts of narcotics ranging from coke to Heroin the book touches on some dark parts of society, but all having little to no effect on the protagonist. Clay is simultaneously one of the easiest characters to relate to and the hardest at the same time, having most people experienced the feelings you get visiting old friends who are stuck where you escaped but the casual acceptance of what his friends are doing and his apathy to do anything to stop them can frustrate and even disgust the reader. A good example of this is Clay's only moral eureka moment as it's in the final passages of the book when he lovingly decides not to rape a 12 year old girl,  this is obviously seem as not enough for the reader just to simply walk away in a passive manner.

The book itself seems to lend itself to a frustrated youth with nothing to live for, which could be a theme of 80's art and literature with Movies like the Breakfast Club. Though only difference is, it doesn't glorify it as others have instead giving a harsh and gritty reality of hopelessness, this becomes clear to Clay and he aptly decides to go back to college to escape the nightmare.

(Week 4) Race in 1980s America (Catch Up)

Race issues in the 1980s (The Cosby Show). Education and Class.

The Cosby show is iconic of the 1980s in representing issues surrounding black culture and stereotypes of the 1980s. The show seemed to encourage black people to break the race barrier and cultural stereotypes and live the life they wanted to. "Of all its legacies, the one most noted when discussing The Cosby Show is its depictions of race and class. Nothing like it had been seen before on television, and nothing has had its level of impact since".

At the time The Cosby Show targeted many race issues in many of its episodes. Its popularity in comedy meant it was able to get the messages it made across to a wide audience of viewers.
At the time it was made the show tackled many different issues of race in many different episodes.

The show focused around a wealthy Black family in America, which straight away tackled the common feeling of black families being less fortunate than white American families. The show spoke against many common racial stereotypes of the 80s and flipped them on their head, encouraging African Americans into education and to pursue a good career.

Here are a few of the issues it tackled and what episodes they can be found in:
"A Shirt Story" (season one, episode 5)
In this episode the meanings portrayed are ones of what hard work can get you and what you should be entitled to. The real focus of the episode is what a good education, a degree  and a good job can get the younger people of America and that they should not rely on parents money to get the things they want. This episode really speaks out the the African American children of the 80s and encourages them to pursue education and a good job.

"Hillman" (season three, episode 25)
"Encouraging black kids to go to college was one of Cosby's greatest passions, and that message saturated the show throughout its run. Beyond merely demonstrating how Cliff and Clair's  advanced education was instrumental to their class mobility, Cosby practically turned the show into a commercial for historically black universities". The Cosby show seemed to be heavily set around the ideas of race not determining educational rights and that black children could achieve just as much as white children, no matter their financial background. The show broke down the class barrier separating poor and rich black families and suggested they could all achieve the same.

"Period of Adjustment" (season seven, episode 4)
By this time in the show the theme of normalizing rich children and encouraging black children to go to college had been thoroughly used by the writers in all the ways it could be used. But by introducing a character called Pam and showing her struggle to adapt to a lifestyle completely different from her own it  breaks down the class barrier as she is accepted by many of the children and young adults in the tv series. The show focused heavily on education for black children, normalizing rich kids and what they are entitle to and breaking down the class barrier between African American from the rich to the poor with this introduction of Pam in season 7.

At the time the show spoke to many of these issues and offered an alternative for African American children, but what legacy does it have today in terms of these issues. The article that is the main focus of this blog task suggests that the Cosby show has many legacies to live up to and can still be used today to tackle issues of race saying that nothing had such an impact on tv before and "nothing has had its level of impact since". The show was very effective in its messages because it was funny, and it is this light-heartedness that has given it such a legacy. It can be seen as not only tackling issues of race but can be seen as inspiring styles of stand up and other sitcoms that tackle race and class issues today.

(Week 3) The Representation of The Yuppie (Catch Up)

"Yuppie"

The Yuppie is an iconic image of 1980s culture in both its role in society and how it was used in the 1980s by big companies to sell goods after the image initially became popular among most Americans.

The term itself stands for 'Young Urban Professional' and was used to describe most commonly college graduates in high paid jobs who had to have the latest gadgets, cars and cloths. They were extravagant in spending and cared little about savings.

the yuppie was a very sort after lifestyle for many reasons and the aspiration to become a yuppie really took hold of people in the 1980s.

A website called Investopedia.com says the yuppie is represented as "young business people who were considered arrogant, undeservedly wealthy and obnoxious. Yuppies were often associated with wearing high fashion clothing, driving BMWs and gloating about their successes. The term has become less of a stereotype and now promotes the image of an affluent professional."

The website goes on to say that Yuppies tend to be highly educated in high paying jobs and either live in or near to big cities. Many fields of employment are linked with the yuppie lifestyle in the 1980s, most commonly "finance, tech, academia, and many areas in the arts, especially those associated with liberal thinking and style". They were represented as the upper-class or society, one that does not care about anyone or anything else, except for making money and spending it.

The use of the word became increasingly popular in the 1980s and even caused some spin off sayings such as "Yumpie" standing for "Young upwardly mobile professional". However this never gained any real attention and Yuppie remained the focus of the 80s. But, After the 1987 stock market crash the term lost its political standing and gained more of the social implications it has today. "Although its usage declined in the 1990s it has since come back into the United States lexicon. It has been used and cited in articles, songs, movies and other pop culture media". The saying has almost returned to how it was used in the 1980s to describe these young professionals in society.

Sources:
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/y/yuppie.asp 

Less than Zero

'I realize that all it comes down to is that I'm this eighteen-year-old boy with shaking hands and blond hair and with the beginnings of a tan and semistoned sitting in Chasen's on Doheny and Beverly, waiting for my father to ask me what I want for Christmas.'  (Clay)

The presentation of 'youth culture' of the 1980's American, in Bret Easton Ellis' 'Less Than Zero' , that is highlighted in many review works such as the article written by the New York Times, in 1985 provides a insight into the immediate reactions to Ellis' presentation of west coast junior elites and their pursuit and infusing of sex, drugs, music and other consumerism. establishing a view that 'youth culture' is in a state of moral and social decadence, 

Perception of 1980's lifestyle and culture, especially in elitist settings i.e. Bel Air, Beverley Hills, Malibu, (new money America, in California), is not a clear representation of the lifestyle of all 80's youth culture. However, the patterns of social behavior of the protagonist and other characters (including, adults, peers and younger teenagers) that becomes apparent in the novel, present a sub-culture within that of the YUPPIE.  This subculture of highly funded consumer capitalists, focusing on the condition of the YUPPIE's immediate juniors, who maintain similar characteristics and idea (other than working hard) on liberalized drug use, extensive spending of capital (to achieve happiness through the possession of material wealth), an apprehension of conformity to standard social norms and they maintain the means and motivation to avoid responsibility. In the book review, the priorities, actions and ambitions of of the characters,(mainly those of the protagonists Clay's age group) are composed to show that the youth elites of 80's California to be - [And they are] willfully intent on numbing themselves to life - Valium, Thorazine, downers and heroin are their favorite drugs; soap operas, MTV, and video games, their idea of recreation. Most of the time, they are too stoned - wasted or strung out - to remember whom they slept with the night before; too out of it to even get to the right restaurant or right party on the right day.' 

As the link is to a review of the novel, the use of it to identify whether the novel either provides greater clarity of the era's cultures or it inhibits the reality at the time, it is useful as it specifically touches on the theme and relevance of 'youth culture'. However, the tone of the author, highlights a genuine concern for how the representation of these sub-cultures impact the greater image of american youth; presenting a generation of mass consumers of everything; such as MTV, drugs and clothes. It also highlights the non-physical issues and themes within the novel, that are not immediately apparent to be, (and later become) synonymous with post-baby boom teenagers. Issues such as mental health, sexual orientation, racial ignorance and paternal neglect, that can be seen to have manifested and almost exacerbated  into trends. Michikio Kakutani's article not only outlines some of these key themes, she also maintain a strong advocation of Ellis' work, although the work is viewed to be "one of the most disturbing novels I've read". Showing this work of 'blank fiction' has a inherent impact upon its readers because of the vivid pictures Ellis' sets and the representation of certain groups, their inherent problems and  that become further exposed and linked to the 1980s. 

Source. - 

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/08/books/books-of-the-times-the-young-and-ugly.htm  

Reactions to the Vietnam war in film - "Missing in Action"

Missing in Action (1984)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgmADv4tkLQ

Missing in action is the story of Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris) who survives being in a Vietnamese POW camp. After the war ends Braddock still believes that American soldiers are still being held captive in POW camps so Braddock goes back to Vietnam to find these soldiers with his veteran friend Tuck (M. Emmet Walsh).

This film is one example of the way the Vietnam War was represented in film in the 1980’s. This film is a sensationalised interpretation of the issue of missing in action soldiers. As in this film Colonel Braddock essentially single-handedly rescues the American prisoners of war from Vietnam. Whereas in reality US POW were released from Vietnam through a series of diplomatic negotiations in January 1973, called ‘Operation Homecoming’. Furthermore, in ‘Missing in Action’ Colonel Braddock saves the prisoners of war ten years after he escaped from a POW camp himself. So not only does he save the prisoners of war but he has previously been one himself, which makes the story more of a revenge story, rather than one about America wanting to save its missing soldiers.

During the Vietnam War 58, 209 American soldiers died, and 2,489 went missing. And of those missing soldiers around 1,300 soldiers are still unaccounted for. During Nixon’s presidency, the Secretary of Defence first used the terms POW/MIA to refer to these missing soldiers. These phrases were used as propaganda to make it seem like all of these 1,300 missing soldiers were prisoners where as in reality a vast majority of them were thought to be dead. Referring to these soldiers as ‘Missing in Action’ or ‘Prisoners of War’ was a way for the US to influence international opinions of Vietnam to make the Vietnamese seem cruel.

However films like ‘Missing in Action’  can be seen as showing America as actively fighting for the freedom of these prisoners, as the President sends Colonel Braddock back to Vietnam to free the US prisoners of war. When in reality those Prisoners of War that were released were released through peaceful means and for a period of time America’s way of dealing with the POW issue was to deny there were any US prisoners in Vietnam. So it can be seen that the representation of POW in the 1980’s had a very pro America approach, rather than showing the realities of the situation.

http://www.thenation.com/article/enduring-cult-vietnam-missing-action/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2154450/Vietnam-opens-sites-search-remains-missing-action-soldiers-hands-troops-belongings.html

http://thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-veterans/