VLVL(12) pgs 239- 246

[Robin Landseadel]

On Feb 27, 2009, at 5:44 AM, Bekah wrote:

> Questions:
>
> What is Pynchon trying to do with the  time switches between 1969,  
> 1984, and in between.
>
> 1.  Are the switches in time and place done arbitrarily or is there  
> a rhythm, a rhyme or a reason to them?
>
> And are they intended:
> 1.  to replicate the way movies were doing the  backflash/forward  
> flash - now meld into three days ago?


On Feb 26, 2009, at 1:04 PM, Robin Landseadel wrote:

> The narrative flow in Vineland often dives into the waste-pit of  
> time. very much in the style of Made for TV movies. And that's just  
> what happens when we meet Dr. Elasmo—oops, I mean Larry. Interesting  
> to note that Weed Atman's memory is triggered because of Dr.  
> Elasmo's TV commercials.

TV is very much the thing in Vineland, and most of the narrative tricks 
—juggling time to push the story forward—are derived from television,  
in particular the conventions of the made for TV movie, a subject  
addressed frequently and with a great deal of invention in Vineland.