VLVL 24fps and "the Movement"

[Toby G Levy]

I wholeheartedly endorse the  interpretation given by Davemarc in his
message of Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:50:53 -0500 

As Davemarc says, "power" is the enemy in Pynchon's novels, and power is
embodied in the figure of Brock Vond.  He "empowers" Frenesi to
infiltrate PR3 and destabilize it.  

Jbor criticizes the "movement" people, saying "what do they ever actually
do?" but the point is, the less a character actually does in a Pynchon
novel, the more sympathetically he or she is portrayed.  

Jbor also wonders "Where -- in the novel itself -- is there any inkling
that anti-War, Civil Rights (Elliott X from BAAD excepted), drug
decriminalization or free speech causes are the driving forces behind
what these students and agitators are protesting against?"

In Pynchon novels the "good guys" rebel against power not by issuing
position papers and working to change the system, rather they WITHDRAW
from the system and attempt to live out their existence in a pro-life
fashion, shunning the death-culture.  Back in the 60s the people I knew
were almost without exception apolitical.  They had no clear
understanding of what made life in America feel so oppressive to them,
they just attempted to live their lives helping others and being happy. 
The brains did no heavy lifting!

I just can't find in my reading of Vineland that Pynchon is anywhere
critical in his depiction of the powerless.  

Toby

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