“Naked Lunch” The height of Cronenberg’s “perverted” world was born!

What historical event changed the direction of film?

After receiving Burrows' blessing, all that was left was to start filming. Filming was supposed to begin on location in Morocco, which is Interzone for Burroughs, but this plan was scrapped a few days ago. This was because the outbreak of the Gulf War made it impossible to travel. Instead of three weeks of filming in Morocco, Cronenberg rewrote the script to shoot on set in Toronto.

Although he is in a pinch, he is a genius who can turn this into an Being There. Cronenberg originally wanted Morocco to represent the reality of the world in 1953. However, now that it is impossible to capture that reality on camera, we have no choice but to change our policy. Therefore, he decided to make the image not based on reality, but on a realistic fantasy.

In a way, this made sense. "Everything about Lee's environment is ultimately in his head," explains art director Carol Spier. Inevitably, the burden on the art staff was heavy, but they nevertheless recreated Morocco's exotic atmosphere while creating a dark city, including artificial and lackluster buildings.

"Naked Lunch" NAKED LUNCH Copyright(c) 1991 Recorded Picture Company (Productions) Limited Naked Lunch Productions Limited

Even more eye-catching than the buildings are the creatures, which can only be described as grotesque. The Mugwump that brings Lee into the Interzone is bipedal, intelligent, and looks like an Alien often depicted in science fiction movies. "The Mugwump symbolizes all the temptations and addictions that humans encounter, such as money, power, and sex," Cronenberg explains. Just in the scene where Lee meets this character in a bar and they have a normal conversation without being surprised, you can feel the strangeness typical of Cronenberg.

The visuals of Clark Nova, Lee's favorite typewriter in Interzone, are also strong. The face of a fat cockroach is lined with keys, and when the wings are occasionally opened, a hole resembling a human anus can be seen. At first glance, the creatures called sex blobs that appear in the lustful scenes look like giant insects, but there are also scenes where the motifs are female genitalia and buttocks. In Burroughs's novels, insects are often important characters, and sex is also an essential element, but Cronenberg took this and visualized it in his own ``perverted'' field.

A cruel world that no one can remain indifferent to