When during the 1980s short novels like Jay McInerney's 'Bright Lights, Big City' (1984), Bret Easton Ellis' 'Less Than Zero' (1985), Tama Janowitz' 'Slaves of New York' (1986) or Michael Chabon's 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh' (1988) became talked-about bestsellers in short succession, conservative critics were shocked. Their rejection of these novels was mainly grounded in the discrepancy between the expectations of traditional literary criticism and the new forms of expression these young authors used. The referential matrices of their novels are loaded with signs and codes of their decade; images and fictions spread by mass media have become a fixed part in the world of those novels. Traditional critics considered such references trite and superficial. It cannot be ignored, however, that popular culture found its way into contemporary literature and critics will have to get accustomed to the fact that in contemporary literature the referential horizon, which once was formed by the Bible, classical antiquity and the great works of world literature, is increasingly provided by popular culture as disseminated by the mass media.
The fact that these authors were all very young and that they were presented and celebrated like pop stars was, for many critics, proof that pop industry had finally taken over the literary market and that authors would no longer be measured by their achievements as writers but by their celebrity status determined by media-coverage. They felt the end of serious literature was near. On the other hand, there were reviewers, whose praise of those novels and their authors was just as undifferentiated as their denunciations by others. Fashionable terms, from "MTV novels" to "yuppie literature", were attached to the novels, and they were glorified as highly accomplished expressions of a changed Zeitgeist'. Despite the great amount of media attention, most of the novels have rarely been closely examined. The two novels 'Bright Lights, Big City' and 'Less Than Zero' will be the focus of this thesis and subject of closer investigation, because they were treated as the representative novels for the whole group. A broad approach to their subject matter will be chosen in order to do justice to the numerous culture-bound implications they contain.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Sociocultural Background & the 1980s
3. Literary Background of the Novels
3.1 Postmodernism & Fiction in a Media Age
4. Jay McInerney
4. 1 Biography
4.2 Novels and Publications
4. 3 Bright Lights, Big City
4. 3. 1. A Publishing Strategy with Surprising Results
4. 3. 2 The Novel
4. 3. 3 Critical Reactions and Comparisons
4. 4 Literary Influences on Bright Lights, Big City
4. 5 Narrative Strategies
4. 5. 1 The Use of the Present Tense
4. 5. 2 The Second-Person Narrative Voice and Its Effects
4. 6 The World of the Novel
4. 7 The German Translation
5. Bret Easton Ellis
5. 1 Biography
5. 2 Novels
5. 3 Less Than Zero
5. 3. 1 Character Representation: Characters as Cultural Backdrop
5. 4 Critical Reactions and Comparisons
5. 6 Narrative Strategies
5. 7 The World of the Novel
5. 7. 1 Los Angeles, the Heat Death of the Universe and Beyond
5. 7. 2 Fact versus Fiction: the Ubiquitous Mass Media in Less Than Zero
5. 8 The German Translation
6. Conclusion
Objectives & Themes
This thesis examines the narrative strategies and the cultural presentation of 1980s American fiction, specifically focusing on Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City and Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero, to analyze how these works critique the contemporary consumer society and media-saturated environment of the decade.
- The historical and sociocultural context of the 1980s in America.
- Literary influences and the status of these works within the "brat pack" generation.
- Comparative analysis of narrative techniques like the present tense and second-person point of view.
- The depiction of urban settings and the role of mass media as cultural signifiers.
- The challenges and limitations of translation in conveying culture-bound American idiosyncrasies.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
When during the 1980s short novels like Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City (1984), Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero (1985), Tama Janowitz' Slaves of New York (1986) or Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988) became talked-about bestsellers in short succession, conservative critics were shocked. Their rejection of these novels was mainly grounded in the discrepancy between the expectations of traditional literary criticism and the new forms of expression these young authors used. The referential matrices of their novels are loaded with signs and codes of their decade; images and fictions spread by mass media have become a fixed part in the world of those novels. Traditional critics considered such references trite and superficial. It cannot be ignored, however, that popular culture found its way into contemporary literature and critics will have to get accustomed to the fact that in contemporary literature the referential horizon, which once was formed by the Bible, classical antiquity and the great works of world literature, is increasingly provided by popular culture as disseminated by the mass media.
The fact that these authors were all very young and that they were presented and celebrated like pop stars was, for many critics, proof that pop industry had finally taken over the literary market and that authors would no longer be measured by their achievements as writers but by their celebrity status determined by media-coverage. They felt the end of serious literature was near.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the rise of young novelists in the 1980s and the critical backlash they faced due to their use of popular culture and media-laden referential styles.
2. Sociocultural Background & the 1980s: Explores the economic and cultural trends of the Reagan era, including the emergence of the "yuppie" and the obsession with consumerism.
3. Literary Background of the Novels: Contextualizes the works within the "Downtown" literary scene and their relationships to previous generations of writers like Salinger and Fitzgerald.
4. Jay McInerney: Analyzes the biography and works of Jay McInerney, with deep focus on the marketing and narrative strategies employed in Bright Lights, Big City.
5. Bret Easton Ellis: Investigates the works of Bret Easton Ellis, specifically examining the entropic themes and media-saturated environment of Less Than Zero.
6. Conclusion: Synthesizes the analysis, arguing that these novels document the symptoms of a youthful, decadent subculture and utilize narrative innovations that deserve critical attention.
Keywords
1980s American fiction, Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis, Bright Lights Big City, Less Than Zero, Postmodernism, Pop culture, Consumerism, Mass media, Brat pack, Narrative strategies, Literary criticism, Yuppie culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic work?
The thesis explores the narrative strategies and cultural implications of influential 1980s novels by Jay McInerney and Bret Easton Ellis, analyzing them as artifacts of their decade.
Which specific themes are addressed?
Key themes include consumerism, the influence of mass media and MTV on youth identity, social alienation, and the intersection of "high" and "low" culture in postmodern literature.
What is the primary objective of the research?
The primary goal is to shift the academic perspective on these novels, moving beyond the initial negative critical reaction to reveal how they serve as sophisticated "cultural documents."
Which methodology is employed in the study?
The author uses a literary-analytical approach, investigating stylistic devices like the present tense, second-person narration, and the use of intertextual references to popular media.
What topics are covered in the main body of the text?
The main sections cover historical backgrounds, biographies of the authors, detailed critiques of specific novels, and an analysis of how German translations often fail to capture cultural nuance.
What are the primary characteristics of the "MTV novels" analyzed?
These novels are characterized by their present-tense narration, focus on consumer-bound signifiers, disjointed episodic structures, and a preoccupation with surface-level images.
How does the author evaluate the "nothingness" theme in Less Than Zero?
The author discusses how characters in Less Than Zero perceive a void or existential nothingness, often manifested through aimless journeys and drug use, acting as a critique of materialistic affluence.
How does the author interpret the ending of Bright Lights, Big City?
The author highlights the symbolic and ironic weight of the "bread" imagery in the final scene, interpreting it as either a possible path to personal recovery or a cynical comment on the difficulty of escaping the past.
- Quote paper
- Mag.Phil. Michaela Tomberger (Author), 2001, New novels for young readers in/of the 1980s - Narrative strategies and presentation of the novel's world, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1421
