Less Than Zero

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses rape, drug addiction and overdose, sex work, and graphic violence.

Films and cinema culture are a prominent motif of Less Than Zero. The novel is set in star-studded Los Angeles, and Blair’s father is a film director. Kim's mother, too, is involved in the film industry somehow, probably as a writer or producer, and travels widely to scout locations for her films. Finally, several of Clay’s acquaintances, mostly drug dealers and Southern California college students, are film students. For example, the film student at Blair’s father’s party talks about the “aesthetic indifference” in American movies (119). This industry serves as the backdrop for many of the novel’s vapid conversations.

Apart from this film student, few characters exhibit this level of engagement in films. Clay and Trent, for example, can’t remember the name of the film they’ve just seen when a friend they encounter asks as they are exiting the theater. Rather, the presence of the narrative and its images is significant.

The novel itself represents a series of montages and flashbacks. Its characters are developed through dialogue, actions, and images much more than by descriptions.