M&D or It's about Religion

[Paul Mackin]

Terrance wrote:

> Paul Mackin wrote:>
> > Hope this doesn't sound like too flippant an answer, but can't we say
> > with some assurance and finality that,  in certifiable postmodern
> > fashion,  p-text is invariably about itself? Or, as George Costanza
> > would put it, about nothing.
> >
> > P.
>
> Only problem is that there is nothing at all POST modern about  a text
> being about itself or nothing.  It is one of the hallmarks of Modern
> fiction. So, it can't very well be a POST - modern thing now can it...?

Yeah, but it's a postmodern thing to make a lot out of the text being about
itself. (and George is its patron saint)

What gets me is the way the term postmodern is used. Pynchon is a
postmodern writer. Well of course we know what is meant. Pynchon tends to
make  a lot out of the recognition that the text is about itself. But to my
way of thinking (today at least) postmodern as far as reading is concerned
is most basically a recognition of something with regard to the text rather
than referring to specific features of a particular text, which of course
some will immediately notice is probably a distinction without much of a
difference.

Hope that clarifies things. :-)

P.