Guevara And Kerouac Hit The Rhizome: Displacement In Walter Salles's The Motorcycle Diaries And On The Road

Abstract

Going beyond binary formulations such as liberty versus norms, mobility against stability, or movement and stasis, I analyze Walter Salles's movies The Motorcycle Diaries (THE MOTORCYCLE, 2004) and On the Road (ON THE ROAD, 2012) in terms of Clifford's (1999) discussion of displacement and of Deleuze and Guattari's rhizome (2005). Displacement in The Motorcycle Diaries (THE MOTORCYCLE, 2004) arises from the de-centering of the expected homogeneous continent since, instead of finding the indigenous heart of the continent where natives live off their lands undisturbed, and where one single cultural and linguistic unspoiled essence can be found, the protagonists encounter a multitude of biomes, languages, cultures and peoples. In comparison, displacement On the Road (ON THE ROAD, 2012) can be found in the circularity of motion created by a series of travels with apparent no beginning or end, and in the act of travelling itself since it enables eruptions of creativity in the characters as potency of becoming.