Yes! More on the Simpsons!

[jbor]

> And then, of course, he *may* just dig _The Simpsons_ . . .

Of course he does; he wouldn't have agreed to do it if he didn't. But how
does that change the way he has let himself be portrayed in the scene, or
the fact that the show itself is a perennial prime time ratings winner all
over the world? That he likes The Simpsons isn't a counter-argument at all.

best 

>
>> What some people don't seem able to get their heads around is the fact
> that
>> the bag over his head and the "reclusive author" label aren't the only
>> aspects of that Simpsons cameo. There's the book blurb he gives for
> Marge's
>> book, that big neon flashing sign pointing at his house, and the fact that
>> he's hounding passers by in cars to accept an autograph from him. These
>> three other components aren't part of some media conspiracy to label him a
>> "recluse" at all. In fact, it's quite pathetic and desperate the way that
>> the cartoon Pynchon, supposedly a "reclusive author", is reduced to this
>> sort of thing in order to get people to notice him.
>> 
>> Sure it's ironic in itself, but the larger irony -- the self-conscious,
>> postmodern irony -- is that doing a guest spot on the Simpsons is
> *exactly*
>> the type of resort to crass commercialism which he's ostensibly parodying
> in
>> the scene.
>> 
>> 
>>> 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.
>>