I must not think bad thoughts : drive-by essays on American dread, American dreams

337 Pages·2012·1.91 MB·English

by  Dery

I MUST NOT THINK BAD THOUGHTS
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I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts
drive-by essays
on american dread, american dreams
MARK DERY
FOREWORD BY BRUCE STERLING
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
Lyrics to “The Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke” are reprinted with permission of
Hal Leonard Corporation.
Lyrics to “Wave,” written by Patti Smith, published by Druse Music Inc. (ASCAP),
are reprinted by permission; all rights reserved.
“North American Time” copyright 2002, 1986 by Adrienne Rich, from The Fact of
the Doorframe: Selected Poems, 1950–2001, by Adrienne Rich; reprinted by permis-
sion of the author and W. W. Norton, Inc.
Copyright 2012 by Mark Dery
Foreword copyright 2012 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechani-
cal, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
library of congresscataloging-in-publication data
Dery, Mark, 1959–
I must not think bad thoughts : drive-by essays on American dread, American
dreams / Mark Dery ; foreword by Bruce Sterling.
Includes bibliographical references.
isbn 978-0-8166-7773-3 (hc : acid-free paper)
isbn 978-0-8166-7774-0 (pb : acid-free paper)
1. Popular culture—United States. 2. United States—Civilization—1970–  I. Title.
nx180.s6d477 2012
306'.0973—dc23 2011050383
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
to j. g. ballard
Pathologist of the postmodern,
astronaut of inner space,
matchless stylist, generous mentor.
He sought the gold of time.
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Cadillacs, Coca-Cola, and cocaine, presidents and psycho-
paths, Norman Rockwell and the mafia . . . the dream of
America endlessly unravels its codes, like the helix of some
ideological DNA.
j. g. ballard, Introduction to Hello America
I want to immerse myself in American magic and dread.
murray jay suskind, the professor of Elvis studies
in Don DeLillo’s White Noise
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Contents
Foreword: I Must Not Read Bad Thoughts Bruce Sterling xiii
Introduction 1
american magic, american dread
Dead Man Walking What Do Zombies Mean? 1i
Gun Play An American Tragedy in Three Acts 18
Mysterious Stranger Grandpa Twain’s Dark Side 27
Aladdin Sane Called. He Wants His Lightning Bolt Back.
On Lady Gaga 35
Jocko Homo How Gay Is the Super Bowl? 48
Wimps, Wussies, and W. Masculinity, American Style 57
Stardust Memories How David Bowie Killed the ’60s, Ushered in
the ’70s, and, for One Brief Shining Moment, Made the Mullet Hip 64
When Animals Attack! An Aesop’s Fable about Anthropomorphism 71
Toe Fou Subliminally Seduced by Madonna’s Big Toe 81
Shoah Business 87
The Triumph of the Shill Fascist Branding 94
Endtime for Hitler On the Downfall Parodies and the Inglorious
Return of Der Führer 101