(no subject)

[kradeelav]

this whole 1993(!) essay (pdf link) by david foster wallace on digital loneliness elegantly captures an unreal amount of layers of current media discourse, but this bit, wow.

"What we see is far from stolen; it's proffered—illusion (2). And, illusion (3), what we're seeing through the framed pane isn't people in real situations that do or even could go on without consciousness of Audience. What young writers are scanning for data on some reality to fictionalize is already composed of fictional characters in highly ritualized narratives. Plus, (4), we're not really even seeing "characters" at all: it's not Major Frank Bums, pathetic self-important putz from Fort Wayne, Indiana; it's Larry Linville of Ojai, California, actor stoic enough to endure thousands of letters (still coming in even in syndication) from pseudo-voyeurs mistakenly berating him for being a putz."