Gnosticism Reloaded

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/18/2003 2:33:34 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
flavordav at yahoo.com writes:


> But my take on the franchise is that,
> ultimately, its appeal lies in precisely the fact
> that, no matter how screwy/scary the "real" world
> "behind" the "illusory" one is, it's gotta be more
> interesting than fliiping burgers ...
> 

Which would be the labor angle. The "real" Matrix is the
economic system, which is dependent not on virtual
reality, but "real virtuality" with which all self-conscious 
beings are forced to cope, and which is the real target 
of co-optation and marketing.

One of the more interesting passages in the foreword
(if I may jump to topic) is Pynchon's  subtle suggestion that 
Orwell's faith in the proles was based on a certain immunity 
from assaults on real virtuality- the unself-conscious alchemy
by which the fat lady turns pre-fab drivel into beauty. Decoding
_NIneteen Eighty-Four_ must deal with this paradox. The
proles are happy! This is another form of doublethink. Winston,
unless he shares the same masochistic turn of mind as
Orwell himself, is miserable in his social role- he wants the
freedom, satisfaction and immunity of the proles- without
giving up his priviledged room with a view.

BIg Brother is, from Winston's POV a bad guy, at least
before O'Brien gets inside his head. But what would Big
Brother seem like from The Proles Eye View? And why
should the Proles aspire to becoming miserable like Winston?

Maybe the fat lady has a good thing going, at Winston's
expense, of course. It might all be a matter of expectations
and desires- again, the manipulation of that real virtuality with
which we are all forced to deal. Could that be basis for Pynchon's
faith in the english language, and perhaps, what lies behind it?

respectfully
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