October 14th, 2010 / 2:59 pm
Film & Web Hype

Pynchon Kubrick Mashup

Weird ass overlaps between Pynchon and Kubrick: V. follows the exploits of discharged sailor Benny Profane and his “Whole Sick Crew” of pseudo-bohemian artists, similar to A Clockwork Orange‘s directionless misanthropy. In both Eyes Wide Shut and The Crying Lot of 49, a secret underworld is unwittingly uncovered, where nightmares, daydreams, and dreams lose their footing. Dr. Strangelove and Gravity Rainbow‘s dystopian protagonists are both missile-dick happy in these re-imaginings of war. Barry Lyndon and Mason & Dixon, both historical period pieces, recount the travels and adventures of ye olde English whacks, a la Merchant Ivory on acid. Thank god for pot, and hot pockets. Get high, netflix, and have fun this weekend.

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15 Comments

  1. Hank

      Is this a generally recognized thing, that there are similarities between Pynchon and Kubrick? Because I’ve thought this for a while, but I don’t know if it’s been brought up elsewhere. I guess I’m just too lazy to google it. The place where it’s probably most apparent, though, is in “Dr. Strangelove.” Jack D. Ripper, Merkin Muffley, etc., etc., etc. The wacky, punny names.

  2. Jimmy Chen

      the notion has probably been passed around, though it wasn’t my initial intent. i turned clockwork upside-down and thought, “hey, V.” then as I was messing around arbitrarily with the covers, i realized the weird connections.

  3. Stomas Pubrick

      the covers are great. the similarities? mile long stretches, all of them.

  4. Sean

      You kill me. Keep it up.

  5. zusya

      pleasantly surprised at how fitting crying..49 cover is.

      Paths of Glory kinda works for Against the Day, but for only for like 5 pages towards the end.

  6. mimi
  7. zusya

      wat

  8. Blake Butler

      the V. thing is freaking me out

  9. mimi

      wat wat

  10. marshall

      aren’t ravers and yogurt avant garde, too

  11. Dannonyogurt

      Mash ups? Really? A bit passe, non? The avant garde is borrowing jargon from ravers and disco dweebs? Is this what it’s come to? Even Dannon yogurt is getting into the mash up craze.

  12. Guest

      aren’t ravers and yogurt avant garde, too

  13. Danonyogurt

      No, they’re not.

  14. Guest

      maybe they’re just avant garde in an avant-garde way

      in a way that you can’t understand within the traditional conception of avant garde

      maybe they’re on some next next shit

  15. Eugenio

      The culture critic Murray Siskind once said that cereal boxes are the only avant garde that we have left.