{"id":273,"date":"2009-02-17T23:19:42","date_gmt":"2009-02-18T04:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/?p=273"},"modified":"2009-02-17T23:19:42","modified_gmt":"2009-02-18T04:19:42","slug":"the-art-of-simulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/?p=273","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Simulation"},"content":{"rendered":"

I decided to compose my blog post this week after having read the introduction to Danielewski’s House of Leaves<\/em> and before continuing through the rest of the book:<\/p>\n

So what\u00a0 are we to make of Danielewski’s introduction?\u00a0 I’m not exactly sure, but neither is Mr. Johnny Truant.<\/p>\n

First, we have what appears to be a frame narrative of sorts (or perhaps this is merely an introduction; I don’t know if the book returns to the point of view of Johnny Truant). Nevertheless, we have a narrator addressing the writing that follows him.<\/p>\n

So what does this supposed framing<\/em> establish?\u00a0 Very little…<\/p>\n

I’m kidding of course…or am I?\u00a0 If one thing is for certain of the words of Truant, it is that nothing is for certain (or real for that matter?)…<\/p>\n

Now, surely we have all encountered the frame narrative used in it’s classical form one time or another: William Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales<\/em>, One Thousand and One Nights<\/em>, or Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness<\/em>.\u00a0 Perhaps what all these frames<\/em> have in common is their establishment of incentive for the reader.\u00a0 What do I mean?\u00a0 In each of these examples, the reader is given a reason to enter through the frame and into the heart of the text:\u00a0 Chaucer’s prologue establishes the pilgrimage, its travelers\/storytellers, and a reason to read through their various stories: to find out who gets the free dinner!\u00a0 In One Thousand and One Nights<\/em>, the reader is encouraged to find out if Scheherazade’s storytelling can save the day!<\/p>\n

But in the introduction to House of Leaves<\/em>, the reader is left to question: Does any of this matter?\u00a0 Why should we read on if The<\/em> Navidson Record<\/em> is fake?\u00a0 But in rebuttle, Johnny Truant asks the reader: should it matter if it doesn’t matter?<\/p>\n

“See, the irony is it makes no difference that the documentary at the heart of this book is fiction.\u00a0 Zampano knew from the get go that what’s real or isn’t real doesn’t matter here.\u00a0 The consequences are the same.” (Danielewski xx)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Johnny Truant, Zampano (and more generally Danielewski) are calling into question the relevancy of reality, of Truth<\/em>:<\/p>\n

“They say truth stands the test of time.\u00a0 I can think of no greater comfort than knowing this document failed such a test.” (xix)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As readers, we buy into the ‘reality’ of a story.\u00a0 Heart of Darkness <\/em>is a piece of fiction; its frame narrative is a piece of fiction that ‘sets up’ another piece of fiction…and yet we accept the ‘reality’ of the characters.\u00a0 At times, we sympathize with Marlow, but we also criticize his actions.\u00a0 We are confused, fascinated, and appalled by Kurtz.\u00a0 We root for the cannibals…(just me? okay).\u00a0 We do all of these things as if Marlow, Kurtz, and the cannibals were actually ‘real’.<\/p>\n

Through this introduction, Danielewski questions the simulation <\/em>that is art, and our role in this simulation as readers. Should I continue through the rest of House of Leaves<\/em>?\u00a0 Should I continue to read what I know is ‘fake’?\u00a0 Of course, because the “consequences are the same.”\u00a0 The difference between Heart of Darkness <\/em>and House of Leaves<\/em>?\u00a0 The latter is self-aware of its role as fiction, as simulation.\u00a0 This is not to say that Joseph Conrad and his readers (or any author\/reader for that matter) are unable to distinguish between their lives and the literature they read; but rather, it’s writers like Danielewski and Luigi Pirandello, or directors like Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, and Robert Altman who are willing to play with these conventions and incorporate these self-reflexive elements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I decided to compose my blog post this week after having read the introduction to Danielewski’s House of Leaves and before continuing through the rest of the book: So what\u00a0 are we to make of Danielewski’s introduction?\u00a0 I’m not exactly sure, but neither is Mr. Johnny Truant. First, we have what appears to be a … Continue reading The Art of Simulation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[39,40,32,35,41,36],"class_list":["post-273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-week-5-mzd","tag-danielewski","tag-frame-narrative","tag-house-of-leaves","tag-reality","tag-self-reflexivity","tag-simulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=273"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions\/282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}