ATDDTA(10) A Screaming Comes Across The Creek [294-295]

[bekah]

You're both suggesting that I'm being over-sensitive,  perhaps I am. 
(I've been called worse.)   If the the humor was aimed at Indians, 
which would have been appropriate to the geographical area,  (a few 
drunken Indians in the barrooms or along Main Street or selling 
stuff)  it probably would  not have been funny.  Would the response 
to someone noticing that  have been,  "Comedy can be cruel and life 
unfair. "?    I doubt it - but perhaps.    Yes,  I understand the 
difference - Indian history since 1492  has not been a success story 
and that group cannot afford continued character assassination or 
stigmatization in any form.

So I'm not really that aggravated.  It was basically something I 
noticed and thought "wait a minute, here. What's with the 
Finn-jokes?"    The Finn humor does come up over and over (unlike the 
Japanese) and it's directed toward them as a group,  not as 
individual characterizations of stereotypes (Oscar Wilde/ N & N).   I 
guess he poked the Jews via a character  with the scene in Africa. 
I can't remember the Russian humor - was there a whole lot of it? 
But I mentioned the ski thing to my mom and sister on a long car 
drive yesterday and they both thought it was hilarious.

Bekah



   I understand the logic that it's okay to poke fun at success - but 
this is at minority success.   And with the Finns it goes on and on 
and on.  Do you have any "jokes" about Japanese than than the one 
about cameras?  With the British it's not a generalization,  it's a 
characterization of individuals.

Bekah

At 10:47 AM +0300 6/9/07, Ya Sam wrote:
>>However a bigger factor I feel is that literary authors don't and 
>>shouldn't get judged based on their display of good taste
>
>Paul, I didn't judge Pynchon on his 'bad taste', I just beleive that 
>it has a function. He has some 'bad jokes' and 'bad songs' in his 
>writing, doesn't he? I don't think it is because he couldn't have 
>done any better.
>
>>Pynchon no doubt thinks that Finns who leave their skiis on at the 
>>dance are very funny.
>>
>>Also upper class English homosexuals camp-following Oscar Wilde to  America.
>>
>>Comedy can be cruel and life unfair.
>>
>>Pynchon is not for the squeamish.
>
>Well, yes, we're all so politically correct these days but ethnic 
>jokes don't disappear, so someone must be churning them out. I 
>notice certain ambivalence with this, at least in AtD, where he uses 
>words 'Negroes' and 'Coons', but in some place uses the 
>anachronistic politically correct 'he or she' so atypical for the 
>writing style of the period.
>
>>Also, Pynchon (or his character creations) can be a bit snobbish.
>
>Yes, as well as terribly down-to-earth and steeped in popular culture.
>
>>But, yes, the Finn thing is overdone.
>
>The whole of inner Asia is overdone, and isn't the USA is overdone as well?
>
>Paul, I get your point and I do agree with you that all these jokes 
>may be extremely funny and Pynchon perfectly realised their comic 
>potential when writing them. When I was reading the Japanese 
>photographing spree episode I was mightily amused. I also agree that 
>it is not merely 'schoolchdren's socialising' thing. However, I do 
>beleive that Pynchon's purpose was to laugh at us a bit as well, 
>while we are laughing at all these stereotypes. He DID realise that 
>those are stereotypes, didn't he? And his point on the wrongness of 
>displaying 'wild people' at the Columbian Exposition was pretty 
>clear.
>
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