BAR Loon's weapon of opportunity

[jbor]

on 26/3/03 12:36 PM, vze422fs at verizon.net at vze422fs at verizon.net wrote:

> The character is a common stereotype of the time. Very John Ford. The nobly
> stoic truth-telling Indian was considered a "positive" or sympathetic image
> in 1950's America. The young Archie Pynchon may have even thought his
> portrayal of the Native American progressive. Remember The Searchers was
> considered pretty radical in 1956.

I don't think the psychotic Indian on a homicidal spree at a Washington frat
party is particularly "John Ford" at all. Loon isn't a "positive" character,
nor is he a "villain". That's the point. He's barely a character, and while
the way Debbie Considine and the rest of party-goers position him as an
exotic trophy and human outsider is part of Pynchon's theme, Pynchon's use
of a racial caricature as a cheap plot device is ultimately just as
dehumanising.

best