Kill the beast

 

Kill the beast...









Warning: the post contains some reference to sexual situations...sort of


     This one comes from a daring PBS production of a trilogy of novels by the philosopher Jean Paul Sartre called "Roads to Freedom" We watched all thirteen episodes in 1972  despite the rather grueling pace and identified with the narrator Mathieu Delarue. The protagonist was a world weary philosophy professor who wanders World War II Paris with the Nazi occupation looming in the near future. We young punks in our early 20's felt we were world weary and often repeated the dark thoughts of the characters. The show was cutting edge since it featured some nudity and an actual homosexual character who was portrayed in a sympathetic way. "Roads to Freedom" was yet another example of how sophisticated, intellectual programs existed on KCET that were part of our lifetime education. While none of us had ever read the fiction of Sartre we did learn to appreciate the existential exposition seen in this series. The actual quote was uttered by a character Daniel who was battling with his sexuality and the deleterious effect his penis had on crucial decisions he made in his life. The depths of his struggle are evidenced by his calling his phallus "the beast." He was so disgusted with the trouble his johnson had caused he suggested he "kill the beast!" Greg and I both when lamenting our defeats in the war between men and womean would curse our sex drive and the damn fool willy that drove these ill-suited attempts by repeating the words "kill the beast."






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