ST Squeezita Thickly

[Joseph Tracy]

I was comparing the shadows of film noir and  the implication of incest 
with Airmont to recent exposure of crimes in Hollywood, like Harvey 
Weinstein. Sean Combs, Kevin Spacey etc. and the Epstein corruption.  If 
I meant to refer to the 30s I would have used the past tense, but 
understandable misreading. It's obvious that connections are being drawn 
between 30s fascism and current fascism.
  There is a Shirley Temple story where  she says MGM head Arthur Freed 
exposed himself to her and she laughed him out of the room.

On 5/4/26 10:47 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:
> Besides Fatty Arbuncle where was a darker (pedophilia) side of movie 
> world "being regularly exposed"
> at the time?he room.
>
> Fatty's story---which I may not know fully---seemed to me Pynchon's 
> shadow synecdoche connection to the
> present.
>
> On Mon, May 4, 2026 at 8:52 AM Joseph Tracy via Pynchon-l 
> <pynchon-l at waste.org> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>     -------- Forwarded Message --------
>     Subject:        Re: ST Squeezita Thickly
>     Date:   Sun, 3 May 2026 21:44:27 -0400
>     From:   Joseph Tracy <coypoet at mailfence.com>
>     Organization: www.brooksideglassworks.com
>     <http://www.brooksideglassworks.com>
>     To:     Robin Landseadel <robinlandseadel at comcast.net>
>
>
>
>     Good stuff. The novel revolves intensely around the mythologies of
>     Hollywood, mostly film noir, all at a time when the darker side of
>     movie
>     world , including the Pedophilia implied with Bruno "dating" his
>     daughter, is being regularly exposed .
>
>     Shirley Temple was always fixing things between people with one
>     song and
>     dance after another, filling some kind of psychological need in the
>     depression.  One is not sure such a reconciliation is the best
>     thing for
>     the Airmonts.
>
>     On 5/3/26 10:03 AM, Robin Landseadel via Pynchon-l wrote:
>     > Starting on 218, continuing through 222, Daphne catches up with her
>     > dad, Bruno Airmont. "Have you been to the movies lately? We used
>     to do
>     > that a lot. How about a date?"
>     > "Sure, April 23, 1928, that good?"
>     >
>     > Shirley Temple was born on April 23, 1928. This scene is set in the
>     > winter of 1932, by then Shirley started her "Baby Burlesks" shorts,
>     > her first movies.
>     >
>     > What follows is a trip to the "Mozik" (cinema) to watch Squeezita
>     > Thickly (an obvious parody of Shirley Temple) in "Bigger Than Yer
>     > Stummick (1931)". Squeezita sings a song about eating that,
>     lyrically
>     > speaking, shares a strong resemblance to "On the Good Ship
>     Lollipop".
>     > This sequence rhymes with the sequence on pg. 473 of Gravity's
>     Rainbow
>     > (I've got the 2000 edition) where young Bianca Erdmann grunts "The
>     > Good Ship Lollypop". This is reinforced later on page 241 when a
>     > Mangalica pig is described as "One of the more loveable pig faces,
>     > surrounded by ringlets and curls. Squeezita Thickly should only
>     look
>     > half this adorable."
>     >
>     > Shirley Temple "saved" Fox Films after William Fox was kicked out.
>     > --
>     > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>     --
>     Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>