The Basketball Diaries: The Classic about Growing Up Hip on New York's Mean Streets

Product Information

This article examines the reasons behind The Basketball Diaries ban, a move viewed by some as suppressing uncomfortable truths and by others as necessary to protect our younger generation. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed despite the intense media coverage and emotionally charged circumstances. U.S District Judge Edward Johnstone ruled that it was “unfair to hold filmmakers and publishers liable for productions that depict violent behavior.” In 1995, Canadian filmmaker John L'Ecuyer adapted "Curtis's Charm", a short story from Carroll's 1993 book Fear of Dreaming, into the film Curtis's Charm. [13] Music [ edit ] Most importantly, Carroll established a consistent tone and voice full of sardonic wit and he never flinched at revealing his life at the time. For better or worse – most assuredly worse – Carroll has the guts to expose his ugly self to the reader and holds no punches because he is a man who has accepted his weak and dark self. This makes him one hell of a strong individual in my mind since he had the guts to face himself head-on. This is a very brave work to say the very least. The Basketball Diaries was banned largely due to its frank and explicit depiction of drug addiction, sexual content, and offensive language. Author Jim Carroll, detailing his adolescence in New York City in the 1960s, frankly discusses his experiences with heroin addiction, prostitution, and teenage rebellion.

In Jay McInerney's New Yorker profile of the then-20-year-old "It Girl," he documented the time Sevigny—a fan of Carroll's work—approached him in the East Village and told him, “You can’t let them do this.” McInerney elaborated that she was worried the film would "violate the spirit of the book" and reported that she rolled her eyes at the thought of Marky Mark being involved in the project. 11. THREE FUTURE SOPRANOS STARS WERE IN IT.

However, it also during this time that I have to question the veracity of some of Carrol’s adventures. I’m not going to say they never happened. But, I will be skeptical of how they happened. You see, to me, a diary is only the rebirth of previous memories. Sometimes these memories are shrouded in the fog of time; sometimes these memories have been tinkered with and are no longer a memory of what happened as they are a memory of what has been reconstructed. Regardless, Carrol’s memories of this time evoke a sense of innocence that is about to be corrupted in a manner that can never be uncorrupted. Jim Carroll, a talented writer and poet, masterfully weaves his pain, confusion, and despair into vivid diary entries. The raw, unpolished style resonates with readers, giving them glimpses into the harsh realities faced by rebellious youths in 1960s America. One night during production, Carroll had a "real blow out" with Kalvert, and DiCaprio seemingly took Carroll's side and left the set. "But he just had a crème brulee and returned. Once I lost his cachet, my leverage went way down." 15. IT GOT MORE PEOPLE TO READ THE BOOK. Jim Carroll was a prodigy diarist and "The Basketball Diaries" is a personal journal of his addiction. The power of the words comes not from his creativity but from his fearless account of the truth. He relates the depths of his personal depravity. He confesses to his crimes and sexual servitude. He becomes a beat poet of the real, chanting and shaking to conjure.

Book Genre: Autobiography, Biography, Biography Memoir, Classics, Coming Of Age, Contemporary, Memoir, Nonfiction, Poetry, Sports, Young Adult Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four. Ebert remarked: "At the end, Jim is seen going in through a 'stage door' and then we hear him telling the story of his descent and recovery. We can't tell if this is supposed to be genuine testimony or a performance. That's the problem with the whole movie." [3] Lawsuits [ edit ] a b c Mallon, Thomas (December 6, 2010). "Off the Rim: Jim Carroll's "The Petting Zoo" ". The New Yorker. New York City: Condé Nast. pp.90–93 . Retrieved December 27, 2010. With the exception of Carroll's, all of the characters's names were changed to avoid lawsuits. 9. REGGIE WAS THE ONE CHARACTER IN THE MOVIE NEVER MENTIONED IN THE BOOK. In 1978, Carroll published The Basketball Diaries, an autobiographical book concerning his life as a teenager in New York City's hard drug culture. Diaries is an edited collection of the diaries he kept during his high school years; it details his sexual experiences, his high school basketball career, and his addiction to heroin. [4] [9] [10]

Couch, Aaron (March 7, 2014). "Scott Kalvert, 'Basketball Diaries' Director, Dies at 49". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved June 20, 2020. I don't think of Jim Carroll when I consider those two writers. Because I don't think of Jim Carroll as a writer. However, the power of Jim Carroll’s autobiography lies in its stark portrayal of addiction’s brutal reality. Are we banning it from shielding adolescents from detrimental influences or a crucial life lesson? At thirteen, Carroll’s life began to unravel as he became increasingly drawn to a life of petty crime to support his drug addiction, including heroin. The book is a compilation of the diary entries he wrote during a tumultuous four-year period between the ages of 12 and 16.

Our discussion will journey through cultural contexts, societal responses, and the ongoing debate about freedom of expression and safeguarding youth. Living at the Movies, First Edition - Books by Jim Carroll - CatholicBoy.com". Catholicboy.com . Retrieved July 10, 2009. When they first told me it was gonna be Leo, I didn't know who he was," Carroll told The Los Angeles Times. "If they'd said the kid from Growing Pains, I would have known, because when I first saw that kid, I said, 'This kid has a lot of presence.' I said, 'That kid is very pretty. He's gonna do well.'" 5. MARK WAHLBERG HAD TO READ FOR THE PART SIX TIMES BECAUSE DICAPRIO DIDN'T WANT HIM IN IT.The diaries start in the fall of ’63. JFK is not yet dead. Nuclear holocaust is on everyone’s minds. But to Jim Carrol the only pressing matter is basketball and girls. As a white kid, Carrol is an unusual basketball standout in New York City. He is rated as one of the top twenty prep players in the nation…the world is his oyster. Then, Carrol experiences his first big party. Girls and drugs abound. His life has entered into a phase were the inhabitants of Sodom might be jealous. It is also during this time that Carrol finds his voice. The entries during this time are slowly built upon, giving the reader a unique insight into the vast array of New York City.

The Dicaprio movie isn't bad. But the true spiritual film adaption of this book for me is "Kids". Now that might seem strange. Because "Kids" is not about heroin at all. But it has the same sense of kids acting like adults in an urban world with no boundaries. The Basketball Diaries reminded me of an after school special (look it up, kiddies) gone very, very wrong. And while I'm sure this book attracts adherents because it's “real” or whatever I can't say the book held much of my interest. Carroll, Jim (1987). Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries 1971-1973. New York City: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0140085020.Johnson, Malcolm (April 21, 1995). "DiCaprio's Acting Rings True, But Grim 'Diaries' Feels Phony". Hartford Courant. Carroll was a basketball star in high school, but also developed an addiction to heroin. [3] He financed his drug habit by engaging in prostitution in the vicinity of 53rd Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan. [4] Carroll briefly attended Wagner College and Columbia University. [5] He dated Patti Smith. [3] Career [ edit ] Jim Carroll in New York City (2005) After working as a musician, Carroll returned to writing full-time in the mid-1980s and began to appear regularly on the spoken-word circuit. Starting in 1991, Carroll performed readings from his then-in-progress first novel, The Petting Zoo. [12] Jim Carroll: author of The Basketball Diaries". The Times. September 15, 2009 . Retrieved March 25, 2010.