By: Anton Massopust III

“And So, It Goes!” – Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse Five

   A new documentary by Robert B. Weide, “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time” it is about the science fiction author, Kurt Vonnegut and his life struggles. Weide was friends with Vonnegut for 25 years. Every time Weide tried to finish the documentary, Weide got involved with other projects. Weide became the producer of the popular show on HBO: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” as well as documentaries on comedians such as the Marx Brothers. Weide always wanted to write a documentary about Kurt Vonnegut who one of his favorite authors. Weide wrote him a letter with no immediate response, but one day there was a response from Vonnegut who stated that he would love to do a documentary. So, he met Kurt Vonnegut and interviewed him, and he spoke with many of Vonnegut’s relatives and friends.

   The second part of the documentary is about Vonnegut and his struggle to write the big novel. He had already written “Breakfast of Champions”, “Cat’s Cradle”, and “The Sirens of Titan”. 

   Weide spoke to Vonnegut’s biological and adopted children. Vonnegut had adopted his sister’s three sons because their father died in a train accident and Vonnegut’s sister died of cancer. Kurt Vonnegut talked about his family home and how his family went bankrupt, and how he eventually became an author. 

The most difficult struggle he had was writing the novel he is most remembered for: “Slaughterhouse-Five.” 

   The documentary covers how Vonnegut wrote his novel from word#1 to the ending. He rewrote it again and again until he got it right. The novel is about Billy Pilgrim, a veteran of WWII who was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and he was put into the city of Dresden, Germany where he was held as a prisoner of war in a Slaughterhouse which served as their prison. The city was firebombed by the Allies, and he survived just like Kurt Vonnegut did in a similar manner during WWII. The science fiction element of it is that Pilgrim is bouncing around in time and is eventually taken to the Planet of the Tralfamadore, whose inhabitants put him in a zoo along with a woman. Billy Pilgrim relives his entire life over and over again in this antiwar novel. 

   Slaughterhouse-Five also gives you the real experiences of Vonnegut. One reason this novel was so popular is because it was published in 1969 during the height of the Vietnam War. 

   The documentary also speaks about how Vonnegut became famous, and how he abandoned his wife and children to go off with a young photographer. One of the most famous things he ever did, was make a cameo in the famous actor comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s 1986 comedy, “Back to School”. 

   Weide also talks about how he goes through his own personal struggle with his wife’s illness, and Vonnegut’s death in 2007.

   This a documentary it is sort of a tribute to both men. I think you might find this really interesting, especially to know what is like for a writer to go through struggles and what inspires them to write.