IVIV (13) scene one question

[Peter Petto]

I share Michael's instinct to want Doc to be really good, and to be OK  
when he ends up doing some stuff I imagine he probably doesn't really  
want to do.

And I agree with Robin that there are no Galahads in down-the-middle- 
noir.

So there is some inherent vice in all of us, but I for one want to be  
corrupted to a lesser, not a greater extent. I've just started a Studs  
Terkel book, Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Reflections on Death,  
Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith; and chose it because I don't think  
hypocrisy is the greatest sin. I think it's AOK to recognize one's own  
great flaws and try to improve.

I don't know whether I can make a case that Doc has done or is doing  
this, but I'd like to think he is.




Robin and Michael wrote (Robin):

> (Michael):
>
>> I'm as pacifistic a person as any, and try to keep regular on my
>> donations to forusa.org, and I've already mentioned my secret desire
>> for Doc to become a  pacifist too and spend his days in a different
>> manner, but within the context of the story I have no problem at all
>> with his actions.
>
> It's in a Noir where the rules are—"everything is corrupted, to a  
> greater or lesser extant." The more you think of it, the more  
> perfect the title "Inherent Vice" becomes for a Noir.
>
>> It's like, I revere the people who sought CO status even in WWII,
>> but when I read about the Battle of the Bulge, I'm glad the winners  
>> won,
>> and have indeed rejoiced at killing's details in those contexts.
>> I accept uncomplainingly a certain amount of purgatory for those  
>> feelings,
>> but at this stage in my development I can't deny them convincingly,
>> even to myself.
>
> And Puck, elemental force that he be, still is is an imp, a  
> nuisance, AND a natural force. Because us Hippies, Ex-Hippies,  
> Pacifists and other generally thoughtful types like to think of  
> "Nature Good/Opposing Nature Bad" when confronted by a force of  
> nature that is bad—at least as far as we're concerned—we're sorta  
> shell-shocked. Puck's Nazi tattoos further identify him with "Them".
>
> But I'm looking for symbolism here, attempting to find out why the  
> scene still comes as a such shock to me.
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