“A novel (1957) by Jack Kerouac (1922-69), based on several wild trips across the United States with Neal Cassady (1926-68). In it he used the term Beat Generation ‘to describe guys who run around the country in cars looking for odd jobs, girlfriends, and kicks.’ The book became the prose manifesto of the culture in evokes. Crossing media, it also helped to define the genre of the ‘road movie,’ in which the characters take to the road as an escape from something, and/or as a means of self-discovery. Male bonding between ‘buddies’ was a common element in such classics as Easy Rider (1969), at least until such feminist versions of the genre as Thelma and Louise (1991).
Excerpted from: Crofton, Ian, ed. Brewer’s Curious Titles. London: Cassell, 2002.
Mark's Text Terminal 