Description
This research studies the presence of Beat counterculture and literature fragments in the film My Own Private Idaho, directed by Gus Van Sant and released in 1991. To achieve such objective, the present study begins by elaborating the concept of the Beat fragment, which is a intertextual unit coming from such counterculture to compose the analysed film. It is from the theories of intertextuality by Julia Kristeva and from the concept of the encyclopedia by Umberto Eco that the Beat fragment idea is constructed. Then, this research compares My Own Private Idaho with two seminal Beat literature books, On the Road, by Jack Kerouac, and Junky, by William Burroughs, looking for these intertextual fragments. Lastly, it elaborates a general panorama about the Beat presence in the film by Gus Van Sant
