VLVL(5) At the Movies and on the Tube

[Terrance]

> 
> Mildred Pierce was a box office smash in 1945 for Joan Crawford.  Zoyd
> says that he feels like the character Bert, because in the movie (as in
> the novel by James M. Cain) Bert is rejected by Mildred, who goes on to
> have a successful life without her husband. So his comment is a
> reference to Frenesi's rejection of Zoyd.  Frenesi tells Zoyd that she
> appreciates being compared to Joan Crawford, but she is not rejecting
> Zoyd so she can go man-hunting.
> 
> It seems strange that these two characters are discussing a movie from
> 1945 in the 1970s.  This was just before cable TV and VCRs exploded the
> availability of old movies. Why do you suppose Pynchon has the two main
> characters bring this movie up?

How would Frenesi know this film? Would her parents have enjoyed this
film? Was Frenesi  permitted to watch this film in her home? How would
Zoyd know that Frenesi would get the allusion? How/why does Zoyd know
this film anyway? What exactly does Zoyd feel like here? Is his allusion
working? Or is Frenesi taking it to mean something else? 

Is it worth it to try to figure this shit out? Just shits and giggles.
Maybe Tom can't even remember how funny he thought this might be to some
really hip film buffs, critics, professors.