David Foster Wallace: The future of fiction in the information age

[TheChap36]

I see Wallace as the prototype for future postmodern modernists. (Bare with me.) Not since the last ten years, have people, especially young writers, been able to go online and study great modern literature. Before then, you had to go to university or the library and even then it was more difficult to find a clue as to who is who. In the next 10-20 years, there will be a load of Infinite Jest-esque novels being produced by this internet generation.

[constipatedlecher]

whoah. gonna stop youtubeing now and read a book

[LeonSpinx1]

I hate franzen; he has simple answers for tough problems. DFW is more realistic.

[MrFeejee]

mad eyes

[bradlacey]

Also, trolls: WTF are you doing watching DFW clips?

[bradlacey]

Wow.

[jeffgraham91]

he's dumb

[jas0609]

I noticed that he always looks at the camera.

[poolrug]

Miss him. Big loss.

[chives422]

what does he say at 3:45? "basically i don't read much contemporary avant garde stuff because it's _______ unfun"

[alifeleti]

@chives422 hellaciously

[johnthaimpaler]

@chives422 hellaciously unfun. Hellacious means very overwhelming/great/bad

[BowelofSTFUANDDIE]

His eyes say everything about him. His eyes are usually shifting in conversation as if he's stringing every word together so they can be comprehended by the people hes talking to. I believe he's merely thinking out loud and then making eye contact as if to say "You aren't lost, are you?"

[KennyReddwooddforest]

All the problems we experience ultimately lead back to people not being willing to really communicate with one another. Lots of humans are terrified to communicate their own feelings across to others. Many don't even know what their true feelings are. They guard themselves with religion, hardened positions on anything in the world, ego driven usually men. Women are much more open in general. Men have this horrific fear of being exposed. We need to talk about this and shed the misunderstandings.

[thelivingmanpart2]

Fahrenheit 451 maaaan....

[mlawren7]

Small errata regarding the text: Franzen's novel was called "Strong Motion", not "Strong."

[cooltop1]

I do not quite understand :(

[wuzcloopin]

His observations (as usual) are spot on.

[25Atticus]

If you watch the whole segment of the episode, Wallace seems sort of defensive and hostile when he talks with Leyner and Franzen. I think it's because they have differing point of views, and can't seem to agree on anything. Not that that's wrong, but it was sort of suprising because you would assume they would have some similar thoughts. Also, the aggresiveness towards Franzen is shocking considering their close friendship. But I still love all of them! :) Just commenting.

[SlugChristie]

thank you for listing the link to the full episode, a courtesy that most youtube denizens forgo.

[togglescratch]

he's not talking to anybody. he's verbally writing. he doesn't look anyone in the eye. he doesn't know how to talk to other people.

[CPLains]

@togglescratch that's interesting. i've been annoyed the past few months about people staring at eachother when talking. why do people like that? on me it has two effects; one is that i'm overloaded with details about the person i'm facing (overexposure), and second, it leaves me with less freedom of thought (as if my hands were tied).

[barrett196]

Such a beautiful, brilliant mind. He is so inspiring. It brings me to tears to know that he's gone.

[08901alex]

It's far more comforting to watching him at work within a group, conversational environment. Compare this to his tete-a-tete with Charlier Rose in 1997(or '96) where his anxiety is palpable and, indeed, an admitted point of self-awareness.

[samizdat45]

As Jean Cocteau said of Raymond Roussel's Locus Solus, so I say of DFW's Infinite Jest: "Genius in its pure state."

[CastleRockFan]

The very best, he was.

[TheBlueSheep1]

By "the book", he doesn't mean Infinite Jest. He means The Book in general.

[Namely82]

lmao

[ZachClooney]

Thank you Artizineonline so much for uploading this interview of David Foster Wallace. It is always a great experience to watch & listen to him talk. And once again, what he says about TV is still so true. Thank you for keeping the memory and relevance of DFW alive.

[Artzineonline]

@ZachClooney "All art was, for him, a gift, based in a mutual empathy derived precisely from the necessary attempt to communicate: as he once said in an interview, “if a piece of fiction can allow us imaginatively to identify with characters’ pain, we might then also more easily conceive of others identifying with our own.” "  ---Kathleen Fitzpatrick

[ZachClooney]

@Artzineonline Thanks for these great quotes.