V. discussion

The one solid observation from Pynchon which I retain years after reading this novel was his insight about the growth of 'tourism' concomitant to the growth of modernity. When Pynchon wrote V., he was able to associate the dangers of the "tourist world view" merely with the rise of jet travel and leisure. Now that Western Civilization is basically filled with armchair tourists (thanks, internet) what he pointed out feels more and more prophetic. Anyone want to kick this topic around? I mean, probably all of us love to travel to foreign countries and many of us have done so; we always like to claim we've explored the world and even 'strayed off the beaten path' on some of our excursions. But do we really? We always get back on our planes and head home. And even if we did--is it even something to boast about since our vacations are usually only a few weeks? Bit of inherent conceit in it all? What alarms me is that today we're not even bothering to take the trip; we use mouse-clicks and claim we're worldly. Pynchon nailed it.

Hm, it's been a long time since I've read V., and I don't specifically recall the observation about tourism. But my mind immediately goes to packaged "cruise" vacations and "Club Med" resorts, where cultures are commodified for tourist-consumers. I haven't really noticed people feeling as if they've visited a place because they've experience it virtually online, but I suppose such people must exist. The closest I come is to use Google street view to navigate new driving routes. :)