Time and Vision Machines in Thomas Pynchon's Novels

The book studies the relations between time and visual technologies in the oeuvre of Thomas Pynchon within the framework of the culture and politics of time. By examining photography, cinema, tv, computers, and the Internet, it puts Pynchon's engagement with these technologies into a perspective that elucidates their workings as time machines.

This book studies the complex relations between time and visual technologies in the oeuvre of Thomas Pynchon within the general framework of the culture and politics of time. It argues that notwithstanding a postmodern tendency towards the spatialization of experience, temporality constitutes a major concern in Pynchon's novels, which explore the problematic of time-experience and temporal representation against the background of the contemporary technosphere and its temporal regimes. By examining photography, cinema, television, computers, and the Internet, this book puts Pynchon's engagement with visual technologies into a perspective that elucidates their workings as time machines in relation to both experientiality and materiality.

Autorentext

Arkadiusz Misztal is Assistant Professor in American Studies at the University of Gdanìsk, Poland. His research and teaching interests focus on contemporary American fiction, narrative theory, and the philosophy of time. He is a member of the International Society for the Study of Time and Polish Association for American Studies.

Inhalt

Thomas PynchonCriticism and interpretation Temporal Imagination and Luddite Horology Photo-Time(s) Cinema and Time in Pynchon's Theater of War Video Technologies and Televisual Temporality 24/7, Digitization and Network Time Perception Speed and Vision Machines