The other day I listened to a radio-presenter's outrage
at the number of suicides (called 'self-inflicted deaths')
in what used to be called lunatic asylums
(i.e. refuges for those affected by the moon).
On hearing this I felt like sending off an e-mail to tell
him that anyone would try to kill himself in such a place
(when I visited a friend in one it felt like a descent
into one of the outer circles of Hell) -
and that if there are to be 'Rights of Man' (to be sure,
an insanely arrogant idea) the most important
should be the right to end your life how and when you want,
even if you're locked up and fed with pharmaceuticals.
But the next day, my neighbour told me that, were it not
for having wife and kids, he would commit grievous bodily harm
in order to get back into prison, where he felt safe and secure.
9 comments:
"Thought is an infection. In the case of certain thoughts, it becomes an epidemic."
- Wallace Stevens (an early exponent of Meme Theory)
There is also 'The Word is now a virus' from 'The Ticket That Exploded'(1962)-William Seward Burroughs, not known for meme theory. It was later adapted in song by Laurie Anderson to 'Language is a virus'.
Some of my thoughts are like a virus.
They must run their course before they leave.
Occasionally, return.
This issue was covered beautifully by Miloš Forman in One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest.
Unfortunately the film was a crude travesty of the marvellous book - mainly due to hyper-American hyper-acting by the ultra-ham actor Jack Nicholson.
There is an unwritten rule:
Book is a book, film is a film.
To compare these two is rather unwise...
Of course, you're right Jindra. I know of only one film which is at least as good as the book, and that is "Death in Venice". But "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" was a bad film : I saw it before I read the book.
The film was also disliked and heavily criticized by the American Psychiatric Association for an inaccurate depiction of their treatments and facilities.
This is fantastic!
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