VLVL2 (9): gaijin

[Tim Strzechowski]

In my younger and more vulnerable years, I used to love Speed Racer.  But
that was about the extent of my childhood-era exposure to Asian culture,
unless you count Saturday morning episodes of Hong Kong Phooey ("number one
Super Guy").

For me, this is just another of those great reasons to read Pynchon: he
immerses the reader in a topic that s/he may never have known about, or even
cared to know about (like _CoL49_'s Jacobean tragedies!), or a time period
or cultural phenomenon that has escaped mainstream notice.

Fascinating stuff, regardless what anyone might think the novel is "about."

Tim


> Okay, am I the only one here who learned most of my
> Japanese/Japanica from Chris Claremont-era X-Men
> comics and The Scorpions' Tokyo Tapes LP?  This of
> course was back when anime here meant pretty much
> "Speed Racer" (er, "Mach Go Go Go") reruns ...
>