Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Melissa Long 05-07-07
Part 1:
I love this movie!! Not only because Johnny Depp is one of the lead characters, but also because the way the movie is constructed is creative and humorous. I think it is funny how the characters are searching of the “American Dream” and as a major part of their journey, decide to enlist the help of many illicit drugs. I interpret the purpose of their journey as the freedom to adventure toward fulfilling one’s dreams in any way one desires (in this sense it was with drugs).
Part 2:
The quote, “He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man” seems to be a perfect motto for the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The characters venture on their way to Las Vegas, and bring with them a giant stash of illegal drugs. Regardless of the fact that they were taking drugs before they went on the trip, the use of drugs while on the trip is a recurrent event. Both of the characters travel into Las Vegas with a different viewpoint than they would have if they had gone in sober.
The quote, “He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man" first brings up the idea of being a beast. Being a beast is associated with not being civilized, as is being a man, or human. By taking drugs, both of the leading characters succeeded in making themselves into uncivilized animals, who were as unaware of themselves as any wild beast. However, this unconsciousness and unawareness was such that it allowed them to forget their pains and the pain and anxiety that come along with being human. Their drug habits were a way to escape reality and the pain they encountered in life.
The answer to the question of whether it relieved their pain is most likely the same for anyone who is addicted to or chooses to abuse drugs: No. Drugs for these characters were a temporary escape; a way to get away from their reality for a temporary portion of time. The need to continually renew their “high” (e.g.- with the ether the night they got into Las Vegas and the constant cocaine use by Depp) is proof of their addiction and attempts to escape their surroundings. Their pain was not relieved by the use of drugs or by escaping from their humanity into a world of uncivilized dissociation.