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Popular Culture In Thomas Pynchon's Vineland

1476 Words6 Pages

Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland” was released in 1990 but its main storyline is set in 1984 with frequent flashbacks to decades preceding the 1980s in order to introduce the reader to the past of the main characters in the novel. Those ages are notable for major political and economic shifts with capitalism going stronger than ever. 1984 is a significant year in American and world history. Most notably, the president of the US at the time was Ronald Reagan, whose was known for his conservative policies and the so-called Reaganomics, and during that year he was just in the middle of serving his first term. However, the first thing that comes to one’s mind when they hear 1984 is George Orwell’s novel of the same name, released in 1949, a dystopian novel. The story of Frenesi Gates is set in the …show more content…

Some would say it includes all forms of art that are well liked by many people, while others argue that the so-called “high-culture” is an exclusive category which is superior to pop culture which appeals to the masses; however, there is no universal opinion on what is considered “high” and what popular culture (Storey …show more content…

Given the political and social circumstances of the time, they were militant and anti-establishment. The group would show up for the events they wanted to document. An especially comical gathering they attended was the declaration of the College of the Surf, which made the decision to split from California and become The People’s Republic of Rock and Roll, being led by a maths teacher called Weed Atman, whose name is not a coincidence as the sudden radicalization of the College of the Surf was started by someone smoking

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Many a literary critic claims that the strongest aspect of the book 1984 by George Orwell is its plot. Indeed, there is some merit in this conclusion, as the entire purpose of Orwell’s writing of this book was not to create a literary classic, but to warn the public about the dangers of communism if it got out of hand, and what better way to do this than to write an engaging plot? Others may claim that 1984’s greatest strength is in its character development. This aspect, too, is quite strong in the book, as not only are the minor characters effected in serving the dystopian theme, but the major characters are believable and very human in their failings. Winston’s transformation from an oppressed office worker to revolutionary and finally

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However, in our modern society, with “fake news” become more and more prevalent, 1984 presents itself as not a view into a dystopian future, but rather as an increasingly likely possibility. That is why, when

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