IVIV (0) Vicetube

[Tore Rye Andersen]

I was doubly surprised by this book trailer:
 
1) Surprised that Pynchon was doing it at all. He hasn't exactly
been participating avidly in the marketing (or lack thereof) of his
previous books, so for me it was a big surprise that he played along
this time. Yet another book trailer may not even be one small step for
the publishing world, but I suspect that it is one giant leap for this
particular author. 
 
2) Surprised how little I resented the fact that he did the video and
how much I actually liked it. I had always thought that something like
this would seem like Pynchon losing the virginity he has been preserving
through half a century; like Pynchon selling out, in other words. Others
may differ, but I've always admired how Pynchon has let his works speak
for themselves and has let his publishers take care of all the bookselling.
But somehow this video doesn't feel like selling out, at least not to me.
Dunno why, really. Maybe because it's so fucking cool. Maybe because of
the joke about the steep price at the very end - a perfect note to end
the video with. Or maybe because it still seems very Pynchonian and 
carries a lot of his trademarks:
 
Note for example the appearance in the video of the phrase "and so forth" 
(at 1:38). This particular phrase also appears about 20 times in IV. 
It's a seemingly innocuous phrase, which can almost seem like a verbal tic 
which some editor should have taken care of, but the striking thing is how 
well Pynchon manages his "verbal tics." Thus, "and so forth" is only a verbal 
tic in IV, just as "who should he happen to run into but..." and similar 
phrases are just verbal tics in AtD. They don't bleed into the other books 
and seem to be deliberate, highly controlled effects, giving each book a
distinct flavour.
 
I was overjoyed when I heard Pynchon employing that small, eager stutter he 
also gives to many of his characters - Slothrop, in particular, but also 
characters in AtD and IV (A-and, o-or, etc.). It surfaces a couple of times 
toward the end of the video: "M-maybe you'll just wanna read the book: 
I-Inherent Vice."
 
A-and of course the video also messes around with time in a typically
Pynchonian fashion. Like the beginning of the narration:
 
"If you're driving south from LA International it should take no more than a 
hit or two off of your favorite brand of cigarette before you're right here, 
in Gordita Beach, California. Well, no, actually, this used to be the beach. 
Later on, all this is gonna go highrise, high-rent, high intensity. But right 
now, back in 1970, what it is is just HIGH."
 
When exactly is this narrated? The phrase "right now, back in 1970" is something
of an oxymoron, and the narrator seems to be temporally bilocated. On the one 
hand he's speaking to us from 2009, where he knows that Gordita 
Beach will go highrise etc., and where 1970 was back in time. On the other
hand, he's speaking to us "right now," in 1970, when the novel takes place.
This ambiguity is underscored by the footage, in which Gordita Beach is still a 
beach, but which on the other hand does seem to show us some recent images, or 
at least images from later than 1970. Those highrises make an appearance around 
1:30, and the cop cruiser on the beach around 1.33 does seem to be a more recent 
make of car. Is this artful ambiguity, as we've come to expect from Pynchon, or 
just sloppy editing? Which do you want it to be?
_________________________________________________________________
Share your memories online with anyone you want.
http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/windows/windowslive/products/photos-share.aspx?tab=1