Yes! More on the Simpsons!

[jbor]

> With thanks to Jasper, I have the whole clip online here, with links to
> interviews and so on:
> 
> http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_film_tv.html#simpsons
> 
> 

Thanks to Quail and Jasper for taking the time to put this up. Like many of
the celebrity spots on the show -- where a guest "star" allows himself or
herself to be parodied -- it's a neatly self-contained cameo. (Guest "stars"
are credited alphabetically, no? And, while sometimes the voices of "real"
people are done by one of the actors -- Rosie O'Donnell comes to mind, but
there are many examples -- when they're credited it's the real deal. The
only actual voiceover I can recall that wasn't credited was Michael
Jackson's.)

Pynchon's "blurb" for Marge's book is actually a backhander (à la Oscar
Wilde or Dorothy Parker, though not so subtle). As we know, he doesn't like
cameras at all, and for those viewers who don't realise this or don't know
who he is the paper bag over his head is a gimme. It's probable also that
it's a dig at the number of blurbs he has given, often for mediocre works.

The neon sign pointing to the house and the placard he hangs over his neck
play around with his reputation as a recluse -- as we know, he's a famous
American author who has never once given an interview, or done a book
signing tour (i.e. those "free autograph[s]" he's hawking to passers by) --
and, again, for viewers who don't understand he refers to himself as "a
reclusive author".

And, the final quip -- "But wait ... there's more!" -- mimics those late
night tv ads for DemTel products where you get a set of steak knives and a
new garden setting and the state of Tasmania thrown in when you purchase the
exercise bike in four easy payments, and it's funny enough on that level for
the non-aficionados. But, at another level, it does seem to support Tim's
idea (and thanks for the spoiler warning when you posted the transcription,
much appreciated) that the new book is nigh, that that's the "more" which is
imminent -- and, he's making fun of himself for resorting to such a cheap
commercial gesture to promote himself and his forthcoming book. It's a
brilliant example of that trademark reflexivity or self-consciousness of
postmodernism that Pynchon is both sending himself up for resorting to such
a shameless publicity stunt, while at the same time he's actually pulling
the stunt.

best