RE- 60's changing the World (fwd)

[David L. Pelovitz]

From: WillL at fieldschool.com


David Pelowitz writes of VINELAND as: "a novel that
illustrates
how much the 60's desire to change the world actually did 
change the world."

I dunno.  Those who've taken VL (and Pynchon) to task for
being suddenly (and falsely) "optimistic" seem to have taken
David's view -- that VL somehow endorses or gets nostalgic
about the spirit of rebellion associated with "the sixties."

I disagree with the VL bashers largely because I disagree
with David's assessment.  Many of the quotes from VL that
have been posted recently are precisely on point.  VL paints
a portrait of a "revolution" that never really materializes,
a Counterforce bought out by Them from the start and, twenty
years later (today), destined to be its own tired Force
	(Some cutting)
Of course, I could be misreading David's comment.  Perhaps
the 60's desire to change the world was realized precisely
by failing. When a moment with that much promise and sense
of dawning winds up as a long Gingrichian filibuster, well,
maybe the lessons of GR (and VL too) really hit home.
___________________________

When I made that original statement, I meant that the novel
does illustrate how much change had taken place, but I did
not mean that TRP necessarily presented it as a change for
the better.  On the other hand, I don't believe Vineland to
be optimistic or pessimistic.  Brock's attempt to insinuate
the government into everyone's lives doesn't give the 
governement much control over anyone's life, just the right
to say that person has joined them.  But if everyone joins
and continues doing what they want than very little has 
changed (the perfect example being the agreement between 
Zoyd and Sasha Re: his forced complicity with Brock).
The ending may suggest some optimism in the failure of
REX 84, but I think that is more an issue ofgeneral failure.
The sixties radicals certainly do no better than the govenrment
in remaking the world in their image.
			
David Pelovitz - dqp5805 at is.nyu.edu