Tuesday, March 3, 2009

March 3: On Television

Today's Kerouaction

Given that some of us here in the northeast are snowed in pretty good, and that yesterday's Kerouaction was about movies, today's will be about television.

What did Jack watch? Well, one thing we have documentation of is that he watched The Beverly Hillbillies. We don't know why, but it's documented that he was watching the show and slugging whiskey during the second of only two times his daughter Jan ever met him (see The fight over all things Kerouac). Maybe it was an escape (Crystal's idea). Maybe he secretly liked bluegrass music (the legendary Flatt & Scruggs made some appearances).

Without question, the young, nomadic, vibrant Kerouac wouldn't have made time for television. Maybe you don't, and that's really the beatest approach. But if you do watch television, watch what Jack watched: The Beverly Hillbillies.

1 comment:

david said...

i dunno, man, over the past couple of decades there have been a number of shows that have transformed television into a viable medium for great works of art to be expressed. its ongoing multi-season format allows for a scope and depth of character/story that rivals/equals/sometimes even goes beyond that of film. believe it or not, there's some quality stuff out there.