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The Literature of Don Delillo: How his Work Shows that the Media Dictates the Lives of Society Just how much dos television shap our perception of th world around us? Don Delillo's post modernistic not, Whit Nois, offers on view concerning th hug impact television has on our liv's and how it shap's our observations of th world. Th television in this book is portland almost as a character du to its important in th individuals liv's. Whit Nois contains th message that th amount of television coverage drains th important of an v. An xml of this is when th rugs from th toxic cloud fl lt down when thy only rat fifty-two words by actual count- no film foot, no liv report" (161) in th nws. A man ponds, Isnt far nws? (161).
Jacks x-wif, They, is should to find that th passengers of a plan which almost cash "wnt through all that for nothing" sinc "thr is no media in Iron City" (92). To th characters in th not, only media coverage brings an v into xis tnc. (Hantke, p. 98) Television shap's th characters behavior in Whit Nois. During th airport toxic v, th Gladny family attempts to kp up with th currently report symptoms could by th v. Th symptoms that Staff and Dnis suffr from during th toxic spill ar forgotten immediately at thy ar told by th television that thy should b xprincing th ffct's of deja vu. Th submission obeying of th citizens of Blacksmith illustrates th controlling power of th television. Th characters try to think as th television has told thm thy should.
Thy fl brand when certain aspects of the liv's do not fit into the blogs based on what thy s in th media. Jack complains to his wif, Babtt, "ths things happy to poor popl who liv in xpos aras... I'm a could professor. Did you vr s a could professor rowing a boat down his own strt in on of thos TV floods? ...
Ths things don't happy in plac's lik Blacksmith" (114). Because Jack has only sn disasters on television, h cannot image th airport toxic v happening to him in reality. Th characters xpc tations ar did by th influence of th television in Whit Nois. Television also impacts th characters' powr's of imagination, and mak's thm imitate what thy view.
An xml of this is when a random woman on th strt only appears as a ral person to Jack at h picturs hr "in a soup commercial" (22). On important function of television in th not is to manipulate th characters minds. Th loss of reality is another native fact television is responsible for. This is bst sn in th xml whr th Gladny family coms across Babtt's fac on TV, as th local station is tl vising hr post class. At th sight of hr, Jack and th children ar immediately schloss and confused.
Thy fl that th short-live imag has bn show transfer to Babtt. Jack stats, "sh was shining a light on us, sh was coming into bing, ndlssly bing for and reform as th muscle in hr fac world at smiling and speaking, as th lc tronic dots shared" (104). Th non-prmannc of hr imag on television also mphasizs Babtt's own mortality. At first Jack words with h is watching "hr spirit, hr sort slf, som two-dimensional facsimile read by th power of technology" (104). To hr family, Babtt appears "distance, said off, times" (104), taking on th characteristics of th television. It sms as if th ral Babtt is not as important as hr imag of lotions and photons (104) on th television.
Television is usd as a family bonding tim for th Gladny family. On Friday nights, Babtt has mad it a rul for th whol family to watch together will ating tak-out Chins food. Sh blogs that, th fact would b to d-glamorize th medium in the ys, mak it a wholesome domestic sport. Its narcotic undertow and ri disease brain-sucking power would b gradually round (16). Communication taks plac through th television rather than through human interaction. Th family only coms together will watching disasters on television.
Jacks colleges reasoning for this bonding activity is, wr suffering from brain fad w nd a catastrophe to brak up th instant bombardment of information (66). Another co-work stats that a forst fir on TV is on a low plan than a tn-second spot for Automatic Dishwasher All (67). H suggests that commercial hav a great impact on th views than a disaster. Our society is dsnsitizd to trades, such as murders, and not fully impact by thm du to vryday media coverage. Murray, a professor of popular culture, offers an award outlook on television, until his students who rfr to it as another form of junk mail.
His big is that television is only a problem if you forgotten how to look and list (50). Television, h claims, provid's incredible amounts of data (50) in our liv's. Murray assets that television has a positive fact on popl only if th view fls as if h is xprincing reality unique to his own thoughts and flings rather than what th TV this him to big. (Lentricchia, p. 177) Th distinction btwn th ral and th until is blurred in Whit Nois. Jack Gladny's world is model at th imag's h viw's on television. A quot in th txt stats, for most popl thr ar only two plac's in th world- whr thy liv and the television st (66). For many popl, the ral lif and th on thy view through television sm to band together at tims.
Baudrillard x plains, th ral is product from miniaturized cll's, matric's, and more banks, models of control- and it can b reproduced an infinite number of tims from ths (Keesey, p. 63). H gos on to stat that th reality that has bn constructed, through television for an xml, is no long rally th ral, because no imaginary nylons it anymore it is a hyprral, product from a radiating synthesis of comminatory models in a hyperspace without atmosphere (63). Television reprints a fictional ral lif that attempts to bcom our ideal lif. Baudrillard stats that technology cause th boundaries btwn th ral and until to brak down, causing what h calls a hyprrality. Television, drugs, relationships, tabloids and supermarkets are icons of postmodern life that help subdue the reality around Jack and his friends and family. All these aspects offer a sense of control and immorality in a world full of fears and chaos.
Delillo uses all of these random aspects of everyday life to poke fun at the complexity of the Gladny family life. The family engages in ritual trips to the grocery store where they purchase items for their material worth and flavored appeal. When Jack encounters Murray at the store one of the first things he notices is Murray's choice of product in his cart. His basket held generic food and drink, non brand items in plain white packages with simple labeling (18).
Both Jack and Babette, his current wife, find Murray's purchases to be absurd. This is an example of Delillo's biting humor. Delillo uses Murray's items to point out that something bland and colorless is avant-garde and futuristic. Its humorous because society today and in the 1980 s, I would assume, was almost obsessed with the physical appeal of things because of the media influence. The bold shapes and colors of the packaging is what drove consumers through television commercials. Delillo suggests that something that relates to past times, like the World War II war efforts, is bold and the wave of the future.
With the supermarket as a safe haven from their fears of death and pollution, Delillo surrounds and obsesses his characters with the uniformity and stability that shopping and interaction brings. The Gladny family is reassured by the supermarkets consistency because they believe that no matter how bad the world gets outside, they will always have that one thing that they can depend and relay on. This aspect almost remains true until the last scene of the novel. The supermarket shelves have been rearranged (309).
This sudden change has set the shoppers in panic. They are confused at the layout and try desperately to find the underlying order. (309) Delillo pokes fun at society through his supermarket scenes. He uses them to establish order and conformity, but also uses them to inflict chaos and panic. The basis and idea that a supermarket and its order runs and dictates someones life is funny but also heartbreaking. The supermarket serves as the insight into the world of the characters. Delillo uses specific placement and displacement of characters in the supermarket to exhibit many themes.
Murray serves as Jacks insight into the confusing world around him. Murray, as opposed to Jack, buys the generic food because of their true representation and purchases items solely based on their simple image. He is trying to save money and to justify his generic food; he comments that he likes the packaging and style. He covers up his need to save money by finding a reason to like and relish in the simplicity of the generic brand. (Simmons, p. 140) This disconnectedness that Delillo establishes between Jack and Murray separates them and establishes boundaries.
They become friends, but are underlying different. I found this to be very interesting because of the profession of each of the men. Murray, who is a pop culture guru, is obsessed with plain material things. I think of pop culture as popping off the page with bright colors and lines. There is another paradox with Jack as well. Jack, who is a professor of Hitler studies, is obsessed with things that are conformed but also different.
This obsession is opposed to his mentor, Hitler, who was obsessed with a perfect white Aryan race. I see the generic food as a symbol of the Aryan race and the bold material items as a symbol of pop culture items. This paradox that Delillo creates separates Jack from Murray in their shopping and daily life. (Osteen, p. 127) During the last scene, panic and commotion has struck the supermarket. Items have been rearranged and set out of their usual order. This symbolism contrasts the ever changing world outside the supermarket. It shows how obsessed Jack and Babette have become with death and the world around them.
Everything outside has become so toxic and tainted that they relay on the supermarket to serve as their order and sanity. When it is all turned around it places them in panic. Though, its quite interesting when all the packaging is rearranged, only one brand is still standing. The generic food is untouched and still the way it always was. Things that have no excitement dont ever change.
People who have no drive and complexity in their life see no reason to become better. If everyone is the exact same nothing would drive you to be different because your world is comfortable and reliable. Its those who break from the mold that are different and inherently unique. Delillo also uses another character in the shopping scenes that creates displacement of the characters.
Wilder, who is only four years old, displays traits that are different then the other characters in the supermarket scenes. While in Jacks cart, Wilder reaches for items whose shape and radiance excited his system of sensory analysis. (164) Wilder isnt attracted to these items for any specific reason, like his mother, father and Murray are, he only sees them as objects because of his young age of four. Delillo uses young Wilder to establish the role that society has on people. In Blacksmith, the town where the book occurs, the people are influenced by the media through news, commercials and shows.
People are influenced and trained to act a certain way due to television. Wilder does not conform to this notion. He is a young child growing up without television and without the influences and desires the media brings. I think that Delillo uses Wilder to serve as a neutral disposition to the other characters whether they realize it or not at the supermarket. Words Count: 2, 024.
Bibliography: Cowart, David. Don Delillo: The Physics of Language. University of Georgia Press, 2002. Duvall, John. Don Delillo's Underworld: A Reader's Guide. New York and London: Continuum Publishing, 2002.
Hantke, Steffen. Conspiracy and Paranoia in Contemporary American Fiction: The Works of Don Delillo and Joseph McElroy. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1994. Keesey, Douglas. Don Delillo. Twayne's United States Authors Series.
New York: Twayne, 1993. LeClair, Tom. In the Loop: Don Delillo and the Systems Novel. Urbana and Chicago: U of Illinois P, 1987.
Lentricchia, Frank, ed. Introducing Don Delillo. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1991. Osteen, Mark. American Magic and Dread: Don Delillo's Dialogue with Culture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.
Reid, Ian. Narrative Exchanges. New York and London: Routledge, 1992. Simmons, Philip E. "Don Delillo's Invisible Histories. " Deep Surfaces: Mass Culture & History in Contemporary American Fiction. Athens: U of Georgia P, 1997. Tate, Greg. "White Magic: Don Delillo's Intelligence Networks. " New York and London: Simon and Schuster, 1992.
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