Oh, no! War talk on Pynchon-L?

[Richard Romeo]

doug sed:

>  I asked Rich:  "What's unclear about Pynchon's concerns with war,
>complicity in war crimes, multinational corporations profiting from war, 
> >etc. ? That's material that P comes back to in his fiction and 
>non-fiction >writing again and again.  I'm asserting that P takes these 
>issues seriously >in his writing -- a non-controversial statement, surely 
>-- , and that makes >them fair game for discussion on the P-list. "
------------------------
what's unclear to me is the other explanations/interpretations Pynchon 
throws into his novels that you seem to jettison as you deem fit. For 
example, the human element in "Bad Shit", sure blame it on Technology and 
the Systems we've nurtured and perfected, but still the novels come back to 
pretty much nailing everyone.  The systems are here and are with us for good 
(or bad), usually a little of both. Beyond that, what can an artist do, but 
make it easier to swallow the bullshit. Pynchon and others do this very 
well. Doug, I fear, you and all the other armchair critics (left and right), 
without the saving grace of art, cannot offer much else besides platitudes 
of war is bad, our gov't is wrong. Artists know they can't change anything, 
hence the best art is melancholic and aware of its limitations (as we as 
individuals know in the larger scheme of things, are powerless).  One can 
detect Pynchon's lefty leanings, but his critiques about modern society are 
pretty well balanced between horror at what the systems have wrought and 
intrigued by its accomplishments. Unfortunately, much of the alternate-press 
clippings you've posted do not seem very well-balanced, IMHO.

One huge factor that you seem to forget is humor--we've seen a lack of it 
here, recently. Why do folks get so angry here?

Anyone who claims to know what the hell is going on is either a fool or 
worse, self-righteous. Follow the paper trail if you must, you'll find 
explanations for everything.

keep cool but care
Rich



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