DVD Review of Destroy All Rational Thought

Nearly fifty years after the fact, the Beat Generation is still an important part of American culture. With characters like author Jack Kerouac, actor James Dean, and author/painter William Burroughs, the generation of artists immediately after the end of World War II truly inspired a counterculture still prevalent in America. While the mainstream of the American public was seeking jobs, having babies, and moving to the suburbs, Burroughs and Company retreated to artists’ havens in Paris, New York, Tangiers, and Montreal. Tangiers became the main retreat for the Beat Generation, as the Moroccan artistic community was most amenable to American and European artists. With Burroughs meeting with Moroccan figures like Hamri, the major painter of the time from Tangiers, an international counterculture was created. For this generation of disillusioned youth, or for those looking to learn about the essence of the Beat Generation, the new DVD release of Destroy All Rational Thought is a good selection albeit a bit ephemeral for the uninitiated.

This film centers around the 1992 Here To Go Show in Dublin, Ireland, which was organized by film directors Joe Ambrose and Frank Rynne. The show was a celebration of the eclectic mixture of music, sound, art, and literature that came from the Tangiers art community. The power of the Dublin show came from the willingness of recluse William Burroughs to contribute spoken word recordings, art pieces, and connections to Moroccan artists for the event. As well, the show celebrated Beat Generation progenitor Brion Gysin. Gysin was an artist prominent in Morocco and influential to musicians from Europe and the United States. Gysin’s influence on Burroughs was most noticeable, as Burrough’s seminal Naked Lunch utilized the artist’s Cutup Method to create a disjointed vision of the future.