Re: VLVL2 (1) Zoyd's WORK

[Tim Strzechowski]

> It's not too early, is it, to begin talking about the role played by the
> media in this pop culture-drenched novel. Zoyd may be paid by the
> government, but he really works for the local and regional television
> stations. His gig is to do a five-minute shock-reality-comedy TV show
every
> year, helping broadcasters satisfy their viewers' enormous and insatiable
> appetite for video diversion. He was twenty years ahead of "Jackass," but
> his clips would have fit in seamlessly. Nor is what he does fundamentally
> different from the work of performers on today's "Survivor," "The
Bachelor,"
> or "Fear Factor" (strong 1984 vibe there, too).
>
> Not only does Zoyd shop carefully for a dress that will look good on the
> tube, the role of broadcast "news" in his annual stunt has become so
> institutionalized that the stations have people who are paid to schedule
it
> and make arrangements. This year they've even replaced the window with
prop
> glass, so the talent won't get hurt (probably on the advice of the
station's
> attorneys). Zoyd is a demi-celebrity, recognized by people on the street
and
> idolized by his daughter's friends.
>
> Zoyd's an artiste in the entertainment business. If the disability money
> dries up, there's always the NEA(for a few years yet, anyway).
>
> Don Corathers
>
>
>


I agree, and your post simply gives a more well-supported and eloquent
rendition of my previous post: at the point we see Zoyd in Chapter 1, the
news crews and government seem to be dictating how the "show" should be
done.

At this point, Zoyd is officially an "employee."