VLVL(12) pgs 246-248

[Michael Bailey]

Bekah  wrote:
> Just get this over with:
>
> page 246:     "and the frame twisted off his face... "

moving passage.  I tend to see Vineland as a wonderful comedy because
of all the felicities of writing, and because the happy passages
outweigh the sad...and because of something an English prof said, not
sure if this is canonical lit-stuff or even true or exactly how it
applies to Vineland, but something about how tragedy is individual but
comedy is social...

but nothing comic about this section, is there?

a) "a starter motor shrieking, an engine catching"
- huh? who's starting what?  Rex followed Weed into the alley...did
Weed get a chance to start his car?  I don't think so because when the
light finally arrives Weed is "on his face with his blood all on the
cement"

b) "shirt cloth still burning around the blackly erupted exit, pale
flames guttering out"
- does that really happen?

c) College of the Surf, in PR3's brief time the students discovered
the whole place was a real estate scam...
not completely unlike the Iranian students discovering evidence of
Mossadegh's deposing and other interesting historical material
...as is mentioned early on, some sectors of American society
periodically rejoin the 3rd world

d) in fact, Reagan rode the backs of the Iranian students to victory
in 80, just as he rode the backs of the Watts rioters earlier...
it's almost as if they were working for him (I don't think you need to
be completely paranoid to think that some of them were, or more
accurately that the "systema" of the people he was working for had
tendrils growing into that misery)
though that doesn't completely invalidate some of the coolness of
exposing America's crimes...
and it (agents provocateur) is just a special case of the general
case: when you add violence to the mix you're working for the Man...

e) unlike Brock's little meeting, at least Weed's show trial includes wine.


> of possibly related interest:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0Cp3PbzpZY

I was one of those kids watching the hitchhikers...and later, one of
the hitchhikers, though by that time it was hopelessly retro before
retro was cool


--
 - "Be groovy or B movie" - the old 24fps signoff