Naked Lunch is a 1991 surrealist science fiction drama written and directed by David Cronenberg and staring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, and Roy Scheider. The film centres around William Lee an exterminator who after getting addicted to the substance he uses to kill bugs accidently kills his wife and becomes involved in secret government plot run by giant bugs in a port town in north Africa. Naked lunch is both an adaption of the book as well as a semi-autobiographical story of the author William s Burroughs life creating a story that is a medication on addiction, the writing process and creativity.
The film starts out introducing the protagonist William Lee a bug exterminator who is dressed like a secret agent hinting at his true identity as he sprayed a person’s house for roaches as the examinator business operates like there secret agents. William Lee’s friends talk about the creative writing process and creativity. They talk about re-writing being censorship and that to write you must exterminate all rational thought. William lee’s secret identity is further hinted at as he is a bug exterminator who is dressed like a secret agent as he sprays a person’s house for roaches as the business runs like a secret service. William Lee’s friends talk about the creative writing process and creativity. They state that re-writing is censorship and that you must exterminate all rational thought. They surgent that Bill should write porn, but Bill gave up writing when he was young as it was too dangerous, they also know that his wife has been stealing his bug powder to use like heroin.
This is an interesting semi-autobiographical account on Burroughs life with him being a junkie with aspirations of becoming a writer. The film is also an examination of addiction with bug powder being used as heroin. His wife describes the drugs as a very literary high and a Kafka high as they feel like a bug. This showcases addiction being used as a form of creativity this shows that drugs can be used in the writing process as a form of creativity. One of the examinators switches form fluoride to yellow powder as he has become addicted to it showing addiction. William Lee then gets interrogated by the police as his an ex-drug addict showcasing addiction. The police show Bill a giant bug that covers itself in powder. The bug when talks to him calling him William Lee as he explains that he is his case officer, and he is his agent. Bill rubs powder on the bugs anus as the bug give him instructions to kills his wife as she’s an agent for interzone incorporated and that he must kill her, Le ignores this and kills the bug. This showcases the dangers of addiction as it can cause hallucinations and make people do terrible things. Bill returns home to find his wife who is killing roaches with her drug beath as her wife in a junkie. Joan like the bug also wants powder rubbed on her lips and is a toxic evasive force. This shows that the film is semi-autobiographical in how they are both drug addicts the film also shows how addiction can change and destroy people. Bill tries to steal a friend’s bug spray as he goes to a general practitioner about bug powder addiction for a friend and gives him medicine made from centipedes to get off drugs showcasing the dangers of drug addiction. In getting the bug powder the examinators says the powder is like agent that believes his own over story but hiding waiting for the right moment. This links to the book where William Lee is a secret agent and shows addiction being infectious under the service.
Bill ends up looking at fried centipede in the market linking to the dangers of drug addiction. He then comes on to find his friend having sex with his wife on heroin as another guy reads passages form the bible. This shows the power of addiction to in that it makes you horny and infects your mind. This also shows how addiction fuels the righting process and creativity and how drugs can create a piece of art. Bill shots up centipede powder as they talk in a nonchalant way about her cheating on him, this demonstrates the film being semi-autobiographical with Burrough’s wife cheating on him and well as addiction with his wife being a junkie. Bill attempts to shoot a drinking glass off Joan’s head emulating William Tell as he accidently kills her. This is semi-autobiographical as in reality William s Burroughs accidently killed his wife trying too shoots a glass off her head in a William Tell like game. Bill ends up getting drunk at a bar to drown his sorrows as a guy next to him asks if his gay to which he replies no however circumstances have made him think overwise. This demonstrates a semi-autobiographical account as William s Burroughs was gay. He then meets with the Mugwong who a weird monster alien like creature is who tells Lee he is a secret agent and must write a report as they know about him kill his wife and he must enter the interzone to lie low. This showcases that this film is about the writing process and creativity in that all he has now is his writing for his job and that all he can do to live.
He talks to his friend as Bill is lying low after he killed his wife and his feeling with a typewriter be brought. This showcases the film being semi-autobiographical in how Burroughs killed his wife fled and became a writer. The film also shows the writing process and creativity in how the typewriter becomes his lifeline. Bill then meets a guy who wants to sell black meat to Dr. Benway who Lee dent know yet. They then all go to the place were insects and turned into black meat as Lee gets strung out on it using it like heroin. This demonstrates the dangers of addiction in how people get destroyed from heroin. Lee’s typewriter becomes a bug and as he types worlds about homosexuality as the bug gets a sexual feel from the writing. This shows the film being a semi-autobiographical account of William s Burroughs life with him being a homosexual. The film analysis the writing process and creativity with that being his only lifeline. Lee is informed that he must contact Dr Benway and seduce Joan Frost who is a doppelganger of his dead wife, as the film again is semi-autobiographical on Broughs life with him cheating with his friend’s wife. Dr. Benways assistant thinks Lee wants to have sex with him, but he just wants to meet him, as the film is semi-autobiographical delving into boroughs homosexuality. He meets Joan at Dr. Benway’s party that he attends and states that he didn’t come for the boys like everyone else. The film is a semi-autobiographical account on Burrough’s homosexuality. Benway talks to Lee about him using a Clark Nova saying it’s too demanding as they talk about being writers as gives him his Martinelli who inventiveness will surprise him. This demonstrates the writing process and creativity in how important and amazing the creative process is.
Benway talks to Lee about him murdering his wife. He says that he has been killing his own wife slowly by being unemotional and intentionally kills her. This relates to the film being semi-autobiographical as it relates to Burroughs accidently killing his wife. Lee ultimately becomes a washed up drunk and talks to a guy who believes he is gay as the film directly talks about William s Burroughs life as well as quoting the naked lunch book. This relates to the film being a semi-autobiographical account on William S Burroughs life in him being homosexual and writing the book Naked Lunch. Lee ends up killing a centipede with his breath showing the dangers of addiction, and Lee tries Benway’s typewriter as the film meditates on the writing process and creativity, as Lee goes crazy as he wants to get out of Interzone and goes through withdraw symptoms showing the dangers of addiction. The nova Clark insect destroys the other typewriter that became an insect. Benway’s typewriter was an enemy agent for interzone incorporated and tells Lee his mission is to educe Joan Frost Tom’s wife and steal information. The film is semi-autobiographical account if William S Burroughs life with him cheats on his friend’s wife. This demonstrates the writing process and creativity as a creative person must be true to themselves and no one else but also not be controlled by their work. Lee meets Joan who is doppelganger of his dead wife. The film states that writing can be dangerous as they get high off bug spray and write erotica.
The typewriter then transforms itself feeling its fleshing insides as they sleep their hands into it sucking the blood as the typewriter breathes and grows like a penis as they make out and the typewriter transforms into a monster. This again links to the film being semi-autobiographical with Broughs killing and cheating on his wife and becoming a writer. Them getting high of bug spray shows the themes of addiction in how they change and become horny drugged up savages from being classy people. This shows the writing process and creativity and how horrific things like drug addiction and sex can be used to fuel a disturbing but interesting peace of art. The insect becomes Tom’s typewriter which is destroyed showing the creative writing process in that how creativity is a beautiful and ugly thing. The film the shows a woman cutting up giant centipede meat showing the themes of heroin addiction. The insect typewriters mission was to program Lee to shoot his wife Joan and it was not an act of free will. Joan was an agent that married him for her cover not realising she was an agent himself. This links to an idea of ethics and free will in that it questions if Lee has any autonomy in the film and ethically is Lee or the insect and right, as he exposes that Joan was an elite centipede. Benway them burst in demanding his typewriter and upon finding its remains takes Lee’s typewriter. This shows the writing process and creativity in how people take their creativity personality, and their destruction of the typewriter is the destruction of their creativity. Lee is found by his friends in which his writing machine is shown to be a sack of drugs. This shows the themes of addiction and how William S Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch under the influence of heroin.
It turns out that his reports were the book naked lunch that he sent to his friends who in turn sent them to a publicist who wants him to finish it even though he has no recollection writing the book and they read sections of the book. This is semi-autobiographical as Burroughs has stated that he has very little relocation of writing the book in real life. His friends then talk to him about taking drugs for writing as he takes black meat with them showing them the interzone as they decide to go back to the non-drug home. This comments of the themes of drug addiction as drugs can be used for creativity in the writing process. Lee’s friend Kiki takes him to a metal works factory where they repair the machine making it a Mugwomp head which he writes on as it leaks sperm from its tentacle penis. This shows the writing process and creativity in how writing and creativity crates a need for Lee to live as the writing and film is crazy and sexual in nature. He then talks to the Mugwomp about potential CIA job and his love of being a writer as Yves is the person, he must seduce to get information from him about the black meat market.
Lee ends up sleeping with Kiki which links to Burroughs homosexuality, as William Lee recites the talking arsehole segment from Naked Lunch as Lee talks to Yves about Benway as Kiki is forced to be with Yves showcasing the real-life themes of William S Burroughs homosexuality. Lee discovers that Yves true form is a giant shape shifting centipede who devours Kiki. This demonstrates the themes of addiction in the film with Lee’s hallucinations. The film also shows the themes of Burroughs homosexuality and shown with the centipede devouring the boy. The Mugwomp typewriter head then talks to Bill about writing something to calm down. It turns out that the Mugwomp was trying to set him up for Yves to kills him, but Kiki died instead, so they decide to exchange hostages. This demonstrates the themes of writing and creativity and witing is his reason to be. This also links to the real-world themes of the film with William s Burroughs affair with is fiend’s wife Joan.
Bill opens the case and talks to his beaten-up typewriter, blooded, and trades it in exchange for information. This demonstrates the written process and creativity as the destruction of the typewriter is the destruction of Lee’s creativity. Bill ends up finding the secret facility that manufactures the black meat and finds Joan. He finds people are getting high of mugwomp semen, as Fidela doesn’t do black meat for political reasons as Mugwomp semen is now the new drug. Fidela turns out to be Dr Benway is disguise links into the themes of sexuality with William S Burroughs being homosexual. Benway ultimately manages to convince Bill to work for him in exchange for Joan. The film ends with Bill and Joan crossing the border into Annexia as the guards asks him for papers and when he can only deduce a pen when he is asked to write something. He makes Joan do the William Tell routine as he shoots her in the head. Bill is sad and in shock as he mourns her, the guards then welcome him with passage as he sheds a tear in his bittersweet accomplishment. This demonstrates the film being semi-autobiographical in that after his wife’s death he manged to go on a journey that ultimately led him to become a writer and kick his drug habit. This bitter sweetness also shows how something horrible like addiction and from creativity and something positive can be done from an awful experience.
Naked Lunch is a semi-autobiographical story on the author of the book William S Burroughs life as well as an adaption of the book. The film is an analysis on addiction and the horrors it can inflict on the individual. The film is a mediative peace on the writing process and how creativity can come from insanity. Naked Lunch is ultimately a film about moving on form your bad past making something better from it.