IVIV (12): Yakkin' Broads

[Heikki Raudaskoski]

It may tell something of the quality of IV that is seems much more
prone to carry, among other things, the yoke of statistical sexual
representativeness - unlike vintage Pynchon (cf., hehheh, the
statistical dilemma with Tyrone's erections and the V-2 hits, Rachel
and the rest getting kicks from machines, etc etc).

If one wants to find a structural-symbolic meaning to the superfluous
status of cunnilingus in IV, one such clue may hide in Doc's role as
a detective, and, on a larger scale, the "economic requirements" for
the detective genre.

Expenditure is to be avoided. Unfertilizing waste of energy is not
advisable, neither for the protagonist nor for the story. Nothing is
to be wasted. For Barthes, this is typical of "readerly" texts of
pleasure (like detective stories), and untypical of "writerly" texts
of bliss (jouissance). Typical of Bataille's "restricted economy",
and untypical of "general economy" that also includes nonproductive
waste.

My memory of IV gets dimmer and dimmer, so I apologize for possible
misremembrances in advance. If Doc masturbates or somebody goes down
on him, well, just forget what I just hypothesized.


Having been busy writing (and just sending) another grant application,
Heikki


PS. Always found the (at least) American cult of blowjobs quite odd.