The critique of White
Noise, titled The (Super)marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated
Mediation in DeLillo’s White Noise,
is written by John Duvall. He is an
English professor and author who looks at some of the contradictory aspects of White Noise, as well as the unnoticed
similarities between the vast mediation in today’s society and Hitler’s fascist
regime. Even part of his title ‘Unmediated
Mediation’ resounds the contradiction of how unpublicized the consequences of
everything being so publicized on television is. The false belief of those in the story that
only things that are mediated on television are important contradicts the
importance of the toxic spill just because it isn’t on television news. The fact that Jack doesn’t realize the
similarity between Hitler’s fascism and modern mediation is another of his
examples of backwards-ness in this book. False auras of reality and the power
of suggestion, especially through television, is a big point that Duvall
makes. For example how Jack lets
shopping become his relief, and how Murray slyly develops his motives through
seduction/suggestion. Duvall’s critique
basically brings attention to the many subliminal/mediated/manipulative
situations the characters, especially Jack, in White Noise unknowingly experience.
By reading this critique, I became a lot more aware
of the similarities between how Jack fit into society and what Hitler wanted to
accomplish through fascism. Hitler
wanted to tightly control his surroundings by any means necessary and modern television
or mediation essentially does a very effective job of this; only in a sneakier,
less in-your-face way than Hitler. I
think this is a bit of a stretch, but there is clearly some truth in the
comparison. Right now I am leaning
towards using option #3 for our third essay, so this critique would go nicely
with how extremely important language and words are. Hitler and television both use language to
get people to do exactly what they want.
Essentially turning language into power.
Duvall,
John N. The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated
Mediation in DeLillo’s White Noise. White Noise. New York City:
Penguin Group, 1998. 432-55. Print.
