In It’s all about being foolish: Reading Henry Fool, I attempt to explore the questions of constructing a subjectivity through both a philosophical and a psychoanalytical aspects. Henry Fool is an ironic comedy, which tells the story about a young garbage man, Simon, transforms into an extraordinary talented great poet of the world. Interestingly, his incredible genius on poetry is first inspired and later discovered by a nomadic ex-con accused of child molesting, Henry Fool. By borrowing the term pharmakon from Jacques Derrida, the first part of this study examines the power of writing versus speech as well as the controversial effects of Simon’s artistic work; whereas the second part draws a picture on how Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection and abject best explain the grotesque scenes represented on screen.
