VLVL

[Otto]

"Vineland" (insofar I agree to Rob that Pynchon is indeed critical of
the 'hippie resurgence', but with a friendly smile) indeed focuses on some
of the apparent weaknesses of the "movement" while at no moment forgetting
the real crimes of the government. He alludes to every one of those crimes
in the novel. No way of explaining Brock's behaviour with human weakness
alone. He's a product of the society, of the power-elite. Like Darth Vader
(there are strong Star Wars-references in him) he's only a tool in the hands
of the real powers, his powers are only given to him.

Meanwhile I'm thinking about the possibility that there's more of the
Manson-murders in the novel than just the reference to Charlie's musical
career. Pynchon's way is reversing things, then reversing them again and
again to encode them. That's what he does with the Manson-murders and what
they mean. I pretty much agree to James Berger that Zoyd with his chainsaw
is "Charles Manson, the hippie as Satanic mass killer (...) part of a
government funded program designed to keep the memory of the 60s alive as a
memory of insanity (...)."
http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/papers_berger.html

I think it's no coincidence that Brock's initails are the reversal of those
of the main prosecutor in the Manson-case. If Charlie reappears in the novel
as a Gilbert Shelton-like ridiculous comic-hippie, why shouldn't the role of
the government agent be reversed too?

Charlie, another "30-something" among the hippies, has got a lot to say.
He's been in jail for 17 of his 34 years when he's been let out in March
1967. In the jail he'd learned Scientology-tactics and how to pimp girls --
what a combination. Much of this in Brock's way of doing his job. He has
given the gun to the girls like Charlie did, and Rex would be Tex Watson
then.

Just a thought.

Otto