Is it OK to be a Luddite?

[Courtney Givens]

>From: "Paul Mackin" <paul.mackin at verizon.net>

>From: "Courtney Givens"
>
> > What he has done in fact, is introduce a cliché in order
> > to make fun, but not to underminde his point.
>
>I don't get this. Why would he make fun of his point if he has any
>confidence in its importance?

I'm not sure he is making fun of his point at all.
He's having fun ("you heard it here first" is a
cliché). Why does he do it? Why introduce the cliché? I imagine he does it 
to add humor to an otherwise humorless
prediction. I think this is characteristic, not only of
his prose (Sloth essay) but of his prose fiction as well.
I think this is why we need to pay very close attention to the texts. I also 
agree with a lot of Malign's criticisms, but I also
believe that the critical generalizations about Pynchon's novels are
not holding up. So, I don't think it's a matter of
ambiguity, self-conscious subversion, indeterminacy, but rather
very cranky prose.   I thank MalignD for introducing a text we
can turn to so that we can at least have a sensible
debate. I think CL49 is a very good idea.

Brainy Smurf? the Brady Buncher?  TV?  movies?
Is this guy serious? Is it high & low culture and a
nostalgia for a  leveller on that Puritan family tree? Or has
he fallen down on  some bad habits and he can't get up?

Help!




The possibility I'll admit to is that his
>fiction writing habit of turning ideas on their head is so strong that he
>may no longer be able to help himself. Well, of course he could if he 
>really
>tried but for some reason or other he is unmotivated. And he is of course
>fairly funny.  And it's a habit, so why change.  Isn't it true that he
>pulled pretty much the same trick at the end of the Sloth essay? The crack
>about  redifining TV time or something like that? Ok, as I said, I don't
>know how seriously  he takes himself as a journalist. I almost hope he IS
>being slightly tongue in cheek. It seemed to me MilignD's critique of the
>essay had much merit
>
>I don't know if I'm right--just throwing out ideas.
>
>             P.
>

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com