BtZ42 Section 9 (pp 53-60): Jessica wonders

[Mark Kohut]

P. 54: "searchlights... to light the night, and barrage balloons to
populate fat and friendly the daybreak... even the explosions... only kind
thunder"Monte:
These momentary, optimistic Disneyfications hit their stride in GR -- or at
least I can't recall anything quite in this voice from V. or Col49, while
it's always in the toolkit from here on. Here we get it through Jessica's
wistfulness, but I associate it with Slothrop's immersion in movies and
comix and upbeat pop songs.

Focussing on, the line comes right out of AtD in effect, I suggest.

On Wed, May 11, 2016 at 5:32 AM, Monte Davis <montedavis49 at gmail.com> wrote:

> P. 54: "searchlights... to light the night, and barrage balloons to
> populate fat and friendly the daybreak... even the explosions... only kind
> thunder"
>
> These momentary, optimistic Disneyfications hit their stride in GR -- or
> at least I can't recall anything quite in this voice from V. or Col49,
> while it's always in the toolkit from here on. Here we get it through
> Jessica's wistfulness, but I associate it with Slothrop's immersion in
> movies and comix and upbeat pop songs.
>
> Why is the hovering, out-of-body Jessica "in widelegged, shoulderpadded
> white"? Doesn't sound like the hand-me-down pajamas mentioned a few lines
> later. Is there a specific 1940s visual cue I'm missing, not this but
> something like it?
>
> <http://goog_1442636608>
>
> http://electricka.com/etaf/muses/music/gone_but_not_forgotten/second_world_war_era/zoot_suit/multimedia/calloway_in_zoot_suit.jpg
>
> "...Biblical, maybe, spooky as an old northern fairy tale, but not The War"
>
> Nothing to see here, just ol' Tom doing a fast pivot-cut shuffle of his
> sources: Genesis rainbow and Slothrop preterition: check... Wotan's hunt,
> Hansel and Gretel, Tannhauser: check... and that global Freedom vs Tyranny
> II thing they're podcasting battle by battle at the moment, which may have
> some long-term staying power.
>
> "As the data keep coming in, Roger looks more and more like a prophet. Psi
> Section people stare after him in the hallways."
>
> This reversal -- who's the wizard here? -- is as good a one-paragraph
> snapshot of Pynchon, Science and Magic as there is. They want control, so
> they look for a controller, and he can't convince them that the spooky
> order just...emerges... with nothing for anyone to get a handle on.
>
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