Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Hacking through the Undergrowth

A lot of Infinite Jest is scruffy undergrowth. In fact, any chapter that doesn't focus on Orin, Hal, or Mario Incandenza can be considered as such. But not just any sort of undergrowth, no. It's the sort that a 1920s comic book explorer encounters when trying to find some lost rainforest civilization. It needs to be slashed away to clear a path.

Along that path, though, are caverns or artifacts or temple entryways. All of these things point to the mysterious "The Entertainment" that has apparently killed several people. And "The Entertainment" is one of James O. Incandenza's films, so his three sons definitely have something to do with it. What leads to such a conclusion?

The fact that James filmed and released a conversation between himself and Hal, and that he released a video detailing the relationship between himself and his father. A lot of James' filmography is inspired by things going on around him, and one of those things was definitely his family. His wife's political promiscuity no doubt leading him to pay a little more attention to his sons. Their respective development as football, tennis, and physics stars definitely standing as things of great import and pride for James.

With all that said, there's only one transcript from the Ennet House collection that really matters: The one  pointing back to the trailer dwelling pot dealer who is the nexus of many of this book's subplots. The rest are fun and add layers to the book's world, but those layers are stifling.

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