Benjamin Smoke Essay

“Benjamin Smoke”, is a documentary that shows the life of a drag, punk rock artist who exemplifies bodily knowledge and spirituality through his unique way of life. Benjamin lives in Cabbage town, a poor neighborhood in Atlanta that has been labeled the “shit”, where most of the town is run down and broken. To an outsider Benjamin Smoke is seen as a queer, drug addict, but Ben shows us spirituality in a purely individualism form. Through Ben’s body and the pain and sickness he experiences daily through being HIV positive, we see his distinctive personality and mischievous attitude towards life. Albanese concept of liturgical spirituality, and achieving bodily knowledge is a key element of the documentary, and shines light on bonding in which

First, if we analyze Ben’s body we see the thin torso and the pain that he suffers and compare that to Jesus Christ and the crucifixion. The key element being the connection between the body and pain as it is a consistent message throughout “Benjamin Smoke”.Additionally, towards the latter half of the documentary we notice how Ben is forced to move homes in a nicer more structured way of life. Through the organization of the apartment and his routine of taking pills we see a complete change in the way Ben used to live. He probably needed more structure and guidance in order to survive his illness, but this was not the way Ben had thrived off of his entire life. The last example of a religious message is seen with his encounters with the local kid on his bike. This local street kid, is shirtless, covered in dirt, and has a “fuck you” mentality that he shares in common with Ben. The boy rides around his bike and gives the cameraman the middle finger to antagonize the audience similar to the way in which Ben mischievously plays against other people. This kid can be seen as a disciple of Ben sharing this rebellious personality that makes him different then