Traveller’s Comments (group member since Jan 14, 2015)

Traveller’s comments from the On Paths Unknown group.

:D I was the one who made the muppet comment... yeah, I'm referring to all the furry creatures who are so like stuffed toys...

Linda, how absolutely great to see you joining our chatter again!
I had been thinking about you, wondering what you're up to, and had several times meant to send you a PM to check if you're still alive and well, but you seem to be both, so that's good. \0/

PS. ..and once again, I am the only person in the entire universe besides George Lucas who actually enjoyed silly old Jar-Jar. :P

I've realized not everybody would be interested in the dryer, more academic aspects of every work, but even if you're not, you can just skip over those.

I'm going to try and make things easier by marking those as "academic" and perhaps put them in italics or even hide the worst bits under spoiler tags, and then I'll put the leading questions directed at all of you, in bold and/or underlined.

I hope that will make it easier for everybody to participate. :)

That all sounds wonderful, Dan's. I do hope you get hold of a copy that is helpful to you, and that you will join us soon! :)

You're welcome to lurk or comment, Dan's. :)
Are you familiar with Baudrillard's work?

I'm pretending not to hear you guys. :P

Thread for discussion on chapters 11-20 of White Noise.

Let's do this thread on chapters 1-10 ; I think 4 threads of 10 chapters each might be a good idea.

Tell you guys what; to make the multi-thread format easier, I will post a link to the index page in the first post of every discussion.

Btw, guys, our White Noise discussion has finally taken off!
If you're interested, it's over here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Anne wrote: "You could also ask for volunteers to lead the discussions - in particular for the casual reads. A lot of other groups do that. If you nominate a book you need to be prepared to lead the discussion..."

Yep, that is already part of our established modus operandi. Glad you like the plan, and thanks for the feedback!

Are you also noticing something else here? Woven in amongst all the clutter and noise of the surface focus of consumerist society, the narrator yet interposes musings on deep existential issues and angst; most pertinent for me are his periodical musings on death.

It is as if he is splashing and kicking on the surface of a deep lake, and while the surface things are making noise around him, deeply submerged are these echoes of thoughts around existence and death.

*{Academic} (view spoiler)[
Once more a bit of theoretical background, which at this point, I feel I have to divulge, because it is pertinent to all we are reading here : those of you who did lit or "theory" would be familiar with Theodor W. Adorno and his criticisms of mass media and consumerist culture; with Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism by Fredric Jameson, and with Simulacra and Simulation (French: Simulacres et Simulation) which is a 1981 philosophical treatise by Jean Baudrillard, in which he seeks to examine the relationships among reality, symbols, and society. (hide spoiler)]

Simulacra and Simulation is mentioned in the critical edition of White Noise, because of how White Noise also, in line with commentary by critics like Adorno, Jameson and Baudrillard, comments on the flatness and ‘emptiness’ of postmodern consumerist society. (Our society :P ;) )

What did you think of the whole spiel around Jack Gladney changing his name and appearance to fit a certain image?
(view spoiler)[A good example of how De Lillo illustrates consumerist society’s fascination with outer gloss and surface veneer, would be how the narrator’s advisor wants him to change his name and even his looks to appear more of a “Hitler expert” type of person.

They’re simply concerned with hype and don’t give the true value that Hitler studies could give to the world any thought.

Similar social commentary is given in, for example, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. (hide spoiler)]

What a strange thought that TV viewed with family members should be an embarrassing punishment! TV has become somewhat of a white noise in our family, but when I was a kid, we often watched TV together, so I'm finding that a bit weird.

Of course, these days, the kids sit and text and game at the same time in front of the TV.

The most photographed barn at the end of Chapter 3 is also significant. If you were to see this barn as symbolic, what would you say the narrator's description of the situation around it says to you? *[1]

..and what about this rather enigmatic phrase:
“No one sees the barn,” he said finally. A long silence followed. “Once you’ve seen the signs about the barn, it becomes impossible to see the barn.” [1]

[1] Suggestion: Wouldn't you say that perhaps what he is trying to say is that a lot of media hype about a thing, changes the way we perceive a thing, so that eventually it becomes hard to see the wood for the trees, and much harder to make your own judgements about a thing?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Okay, hold on to that thought.
Btw, though, are you people familiar with the whole digitized white noise thing where people play generic white noise or the sound of waves to help them sleep or concentrate because it drowns out distracting background noises?

That is not exactly the sense in which De Lillo meant white noise, I don't think, but I'm just mentioning it as an aside, especially after Amy's comment.

We used to say it in the context of: "You'd better do what I say, because I AM YOH FATHA! "

Ruth wrote: "Traveller wrote: "..and in chapter 3, the rather brilliant (I think, anyway) commentary on the effect urbanization has on the narrator.

I want to be free of cities and sexual entanglements. Heat..."

Nice observations linking back to his comments there, Ruth - so you are saying that a (modern, high-tech) city is literally hotter due to certain aspects of the technology we use in the tech-advanced West - and yes, these are obviously specifically the kinds of city he is referring to; which makes me wonder if perhaps non-high tech cities would also be warmer, albeit not as much.

Note however, that he does seem to convey in addition a kind of 'virtual' heat as well, especially when you visualize all the sex he refers to and all of those warm bodies in close proximity.

Ruth wrote: "The title Waves and Radiation?."

Oh, I was referring to "White Noise".
(view spoiler)[ ..but okay, let's get a little more "in" to the story, and then I'll get into that aspect more. See, like I said, I know about aspects of this novel as it fit in with some cultural studies I had done at some point, and I suppose I am therefore geared to see things in the novel immediately, because I know what to look for; and yet it's the first time I'm reading it from cover to cover.

So, I just want us to gain some critical mass with the reading - to get to a point further in before I comment more on those aspects; however, it can't [EDIT] hurt to take note of these themes as we go along. (hide spoiler)]

Tell me, what does the term "white noise" signify to you? (It might mean different things to different people).

Hmm, interesting: Hitler vs Elvis.

In which ways would you guys say that those 2 are comparable?

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "We have to have some kind of 'I am your father' reveal in Ep VIII, after all.
"

:D
PS. At one time, "I AM YOH FATHA!" was a fave phrase in our household.

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Traveller wrote: "..I apologize that I'm so behind with the reading, will do my best to catch up; I know you're all far ahead."

I'm not (ahead)!"

Oh! Goodie, then! It's always nice to have a companion close to where you are. :D