Light of Thy Countenance by Alan Moore

What exactly is literature? I define it to be any work that elicits thought or emotion from the reader. Take Alan Moore’s Light of Thy Countenance for example. To some it may read as an overcomplicated comic with more illustrations than words. Moore wrote the story to make a point: that television has gone so far as to control the daily lives of people, regulating what they say and how they interact with others. The illustrations only help to emphasize that point. When I read the comic, I felt slightly troubled by how much technology has started to control my life and how it plays a part in defining who I am. That’s probably what Moore was going for: getting a response to his writing. It is true that the comic is not presented in the normal way of back-to-back pages of continuous words segregated by chapters. Still, it tells a story of sorts, of the history of television and its growing control of the minds and attentions of people. It has characters; Maureen Cooper, Carol Lively, and Television who serves as narrator. Most importantly, it makes us think. Why do authors even write novels in the first place? Leaving the money explanation aside, it is because they use their literary works to help put out their opinions on certain topics so that people can be exposed to them. Ray Bradbury most likely did not write Fahrenheit 451 so that parents could read it to their kids as bedtime stories; he wrote it in order to express his views on censorship, something he was against. The only real differences between Fahrenheit 451 and Light of Thy Countenance are that the comic is shorter and has more pictures, and these differences are not valid enough to separate Moore’s work from being in the distinguished category of “literature.”

M. Butterfly by David H. Hwang

David H. Hwang’s M. Butterfly focuses on the turbulent relations between the West and the East and how each side perceives the other. Rene Gallimard and his views towards Song Liling could be taken to show the East vs. West relationship in a more metaphorical sense. On pg. 16 Gallimard, fresh from his encounter with Song, mused about wanting to “take her in my arms—so delicate, even I could protect her, take her home, pamper her until she smiled.” Similarly, the nations of the West feel almost an obligation to “civilize” the rest of the world; Rudyard Kipling coined the idea with the term, “The White Man’s Burden.” The Spanish brought their missionaries to colonize and convert the natives of the Americas; the British felt it was their duty to educate the Indians of Asia and the indigenous folk of the Africa’s with their rules and regulations. Then there were also the French and Belgians and Portuguese who staked their claims in various regions of Asia and Africa in order to manipulate the trade routes to their advantage and to “save the souls” of the savages. As Gallimard wants to protect and care for Song, the powerful Western nations strive to act as the guardians and protectors of the third world countries, many located in Asia. However, this police force attitude could easily be taken with negative overtones. The British, French and other imperialistic nations obviously had ulterior motives; the ability to control a country’s leaders gave them access to the resources available there, be it oil or advertising markets or manpower. Gallimard also had a motive with Song even if he may not have realized it; Song was the only person that he had power over, who could keep him happy. As Gallimard himself said, “While we men may all want to kick Pinkerton, very few of us would pass up the opportunity to be Pinkerton.” Power is something that very few people would give up, let alone wealthy countries.

The Importance of the Internet

Gibson’s world in Pattern Recognition seems to revolve around the Internet and web-based forms of communication. The plot of the story even stems from Casey’s obsession with the videos. One of the first things she does at the beginning of the novel is log on to Fetish:Footage:Forum. Stella, the sister of the creator, Nora, of those aforementioned videos, uses the internet to broadcast her sister’s brilliant works, attracting the minds and souls of millions of people worldwide, one of them Casey. How does Casey get sucked into tracking down the maker in the first place? Through the posts she added to F:F:F, which Bigend tracked and used to his advantage. Casey even finds a vital piece of information regarding the watermarked footage in an email from Parkaboy, her contact through F:F:F, who in turn received it from another email. Casey was able to obtain a map of codes from Taki, through a meeting setup via email. Furthermore, Hobbs-Baranov, a mathematician previously employed by the government, used the Echelon search engine to decipher the map and retrieve the email address of Stella and Nora. Finally, Casey contacted Stella and was able to meet Nora and watch her work, all through an impromptu email. However, Andrei Volkov and his accomplices first became aware of Casey because of her post on the footage forum.  It was also because of the internet that Dorotea was able to keep track of Casey and terrorize her with stuffed Bibendums. The internet was how Boone could hack into Casey’s account and read all her emails, causing his relationship with her to disintegrate.

Obviously, the internet and its many applications played a major part in the story. First of all, Casey was able to communicate with people from all four corners of the earth and form connections with some of them that later was to her advantage. F:F:F was more than an online social networking site; it was where people of similar interests could expand their ideas and thoughts and create theories that would be tested due to difference of opinions. It was where she “met” Parkaboy, and her relationship with him lasted for the length of the story and even went to the next level. Casey’s list of contacts increased through F:F:F; she was able to encounter more people through it than she would have if she never had a computer. In fact, if she did not have Damien’s Cube or her Blue Ant issued iBook, her search for the maker would have been fruitless. She probably would have neither seen nor heard of the videos in the first place.  

The internet does have its downsides. The break-in at Damien’s apartment, the nose-cracking escapade, the drug-induced dream and the anxiety that Cayce experiences throughout the novel could all have been avoided if she had not posted about Russian mafias on F:F:F. Also, Dorotea as Mama Anarchia was able to track Casey’s moves through what she posted on the forum or other illegal means. Every post gives insight to her nature. Another point is that total identities can be concealed. Casey never expected Dorotea and Mama Anarchia to be the same individual. The Internet could be appropriately compared to a coral reef in the ocean; sure there is a lot of free space and life but once in a while, a few predatory sharks can be lurking around the corner.

Pattern Recognition Brainstorming

Mystery and/or Spy Genre of Fiction

As a mystery/spy novel aficionado, I thought this book has an interesting plot line. Who is this “Garage Kubrick” whose short, seemingly unrelated clips captured the attention of the whole world? Why is he (or she) doing it? In order to advertise something? For the fun of it? To simply play with people’s minds? Those questions I feel are the essence of the mystery portion of the novel. And then there are those mentions of James Bond and his tactics for security breaches that Cayce adamantly follows. Furthermore, there is espionage with Dorotea serving as an international spy, and the creation of fake personas with Keiko, Parkaboy’s fictional Japanese girl. There is the central figure Hubertus Bigend, like Bond’s M, who orchestrates the schemes and has the connections and the money. There is the sidekick, Boone Chu, who tags along and provides vital pieces of information. There are enemies and impending violence, and high stakes in case the plan goes wrong (the maker will cease creating more of the videos). All in all, Gibson could consider writing under Ian Fleming’s genre if he ever needs a change in scenery.

Internet and the Prospects of Online Social Networks

The main plot in the novel seems to center around the Internet and the videos posted on F:F:F. Social networks are where people connect without confrontation, where they interact while experiencing the comforts of their home or personal space.  It’s where they can interject opinions and tear down those of others, where they can discuss things important to them without going through the dilly-dallying of small talk. In Gibson’s world, the people following the mysterious footage can connect with other “believers” and share a sense of community and secrecy. That’s why Cayce was shocked when Bigend asked her what she thought of The Kiss. Cayce believed her work to be separate from her life with the forum and when Bigend proposed to merge those two worlds together, it left her feeling confused. The reason that online social networks have catapulted to such great heights as they have, is because people turn to them as others would turn to books or movies. It’s a sense of detachment from dull and dreary lifestyles, a place where one can focus on being someone else. In the “real” world, Cayce is a logo-phobic cool hunter who lives in a house with robots. On F:F:F, she is one of the footage enthusiasts with remarkable insight and high connections. Everyone, for the most part, respects what Cayce says on F:F:F. Not everyone (ex. Dorotea) respects what Cayce says while she’s at work. It leaves little doubt to why she’s so eager to sign in on the forum every day.

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner was written in the first person singular point of view so that the reader could be presented with the facts and gossip regarding Emily as any newcomer to that small town would have been. Emily’s life generates intrigue and curiosity since the narrator and the rest of the townsfolk barely knew anything about the title character besides the fact that she was a lonely, old woman cooped up in her dusty and unkempt house for most of her life.

Tobe, on the other hand, was there with Emily for that blurred part of her existence. He knows what really occurred between her and Homer and why her supposed beau’s dead body was found on Emily’s bed. While the rest of the town looked up on Emily as an awed figure, a type of local celebrity, Tobe knows Emily in her human state. True, he may not have said a word to her during his time as her manservant, but living in close proximity with others usually gives one insight into their true natures. Tobe’s version of the story would probably be more factual. He may not have spoken to Emily very often, but he still chose to remain with her until her death. His story would relay the events in a matter-of-fact style, yet with a hint of guardedness. He was not someone that Emily confided with, him being her servant, so the information he has was probably what he stockpiled from eavesdropping or verbal slip-ups. Even though Tobe may know what went on in Emily’s mind, his narration of the story would be quite biased. He might have even felt a little resentment towards his owner and that would have colored the facts.

Homer is another story. The man dies before the story even finishes! The last thing he may have thought was that Emily and he had patched up things between them since he had left her for a period of time. Little did he know, the woman that he believed to be a friend (since they seemed to be nothing more) was actually planning to poison him. Homer knows Emily in a different light than most people. She actually spoke more than a few words to him, for one. He liked her well enough to visit her. Nevertheless, he still did not see the violent side of Emily that ended his life.  His take on the story would be honest and limited.