In this paperwork, I am going to write a critical book review paying a particular attention to issues of race, class, religion and gender. The paperwork requires of me to be a historian, hence evaluate the book from the perspective of its contribution to cultural and social history.
Daniel Sugerman, Jerry Hopkins, No One Here Gets Out Alive [Jim Morrison] (2006).
No One Here Gets out Alive; the work of two great men- Jerry Hopkins and Daniel Sugerman- caught me by surprise when I first saw it on the library bookshelf. The title by itself just blew up my inquisitiveness leaving me with no other alternatives- I had to read the book.
The book clearly depicts the involvements work of Jim Morrison as a poet, vocalist, and thinker who zealously discarded the authority in any form. Jim believed that everyone had the right to express his or her freedom independently without the influence of a third party. It, therefore, led to the eruptions of numerous demonstrations conducted by women who wanted their rights to be recognized. Jim was against those people in the authority since he thought that they were in control of the freedom of the rest of the society. The upper class controlling the lower class, hence creating a good environment for the lower class to fight back so as to restore their freedom- a practice that is currently adopted in today’s society (Daniel and Jerry, 2006).
The life of Jim Morrison is intensively depicted in the book; a smart kid who observed all the protocols of the society during his early life, but, later, after joining high school, a good boy was no more. Jim became a problem to both his family and the authority. In college, Jim formed the band with the help of his friends. He wanted to follow his dream as a rock star, but it is important to note that this is a path that has many challenges and that the probability of one quitting before realizing his or her dream are too high. The case of Jim was not special; therefore, he was faced with numerous struggles with the objective of finding both admiration and recognition. The band exploited all mechanisms available, such as using girls to stream and carries on the shows, so as to both trick and fool the promoters that they were more popular than they were. All this was done so as to get to the top of their game. The female gender, as depicted in the book, has been used, for decades, by the male gender with the objective of profiting their pockets- the male gender. It is the high time that women learned of their status and said no to those who try to abuse them by thinking independently (Daniel and Jerry, 2006).
When it comes to racism, one of the lyrics illustrates of the experience of the Indians dying on the roadside where some see this as a figure of speech, but according to Jims, he sees it as pragmatic and a sight of somebody he could not save. It, therefore, means that the problem of racism started a long time ago, and this problem has been passing from one generation to the next through the help of people you least expected to do so- the public figure.
The book gives a detailed focus on Jim’s dark side; that is, lazy, self-centered and careless. The image of Jim as an alcoholic is clearly brought about and rumors has it that it could have been the cause of his early death at age 27 in Paris (Daniel and Jerry, 2006).
Jim Morrison made himself into a religious symbol through the use of his inspiring lyrics that have been used by many religions in today’s world. Jim, also, left a significant mark on music history, since a lot of his work has been recognized by current musicians. The book depicts Jim as more of a poet than a rock star, since the book perfectly outlines him as a great performer (No one here gets out alive, 2001).
Bibliography
Daniel Sugerman, Jerry Hopkins, No One Here Gets Out Alive [Jim Morrison] (2006)
Hopkins, Jerry, and Daniel Sugerman. No one here gets out alive. New York, N. Y.: Warner
Books, 1980.
No one here gets out alive. DVD. Directed by Jim Morrison. S. I.: Eagle Vision, 2001.
