GR translation: a phantasmagoria, a real one

[David Morris]

Good point, Mark:  This Phantasmagoria is a REAL ONE . . .

. . . Was this real?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasmagoria
———————————
*Phantasmagoria*  was a form of horror
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_fiction> theatre
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre> that (among other techniques)
used one or more magic lanterns
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_lantern> to project frightening
images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or
semi-transparent screens, typically using rear projection to keep the
lantern out of sight. Mobile or portable projectors were used, allowing the
projected image to move and change size on the screen [•••]
Some shows added a variety of sensory stimulation, including smells and
electric shocks. Such elements as required fasting, fatigue (late shows),
and drugs have been mentioned as methods of making sure spectators would be
more convinced of what they saw. The shows started under the guise of
actual séances <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9ance> in Germany in
the late 18th century and gained popularity through most of Europe
(including Britain) throughout the 19th century.
-———————-

Prominently described by Pynchon is an incredibly elaborate rail-system
used for zooming an image back and forth onto a screen inducing a
nauseatingly disorientation in the viewer.  So whatever is “real” about the
experience, it is definitely a form of theater: a production for the senses
of the audience.

So maybe it’s “real” in the intent of the “producer” for it to be taken
seriously, not as an entertainment to be laughed about afterwards, and be
forgotten or dismissed.

It might be argued that even a “legitimate” séance is a form of theater
produced by “real” spirit beings.

David Morris

On Sat, Apr 16, 2022 at 10:49 AM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:

> The first simple definition of phantasmagoria is this:
>
> So Pynchon says here that it is real not imaginary
>
> phan·tas·ma·go·ri·a
> /ˌfanˌtazməˈɡôrēə/
> noun
>
>    - 1.a sequence of real or imaginary images like those seen in a dream:
>
>  V12.32-38, P13.7-13   Accompanying will be a phantasmagoria, a real
> one, rushing toward the screen, in over the heads of the audiences, on
> little tracks of an elegant Victorian cross section resembling the profile
> of a chess knight conceived fancifully but not vulgarly so then rushing
> back out again, in and out, the images often changing scale so quickly,
> so unpredictably that you’re apt now and then to get a bit of lime-green
> in with your rose, as they say.