David Foster Wallace on gas prices, war, and the economy of comfort

An excerpt from a lengthy interview American author David Foster Wallace (author of "Infinite Jest") did for German television (ZDF.com) in 2003. In this clip DFW brings up the topic of gas prices, America's wars in the middle east, and the economy of comfort. In light of recent events, i.e. the death of Osama Bin Laden, ever-increading gas prices, and the economic recession, I found the clip both insightful and somewhat prescient.

User WasglotztDuso has uploaded the full interview here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5IDAnB_rns&feature=related

Category:

Education

Tags:

• david
• foster
• wallace
• gas
• war
• politics
• comfort
• america
• infinite
• jest

[TheShannon76]

How massively disappointing. I used to admire the guy, but as I get older I realize that, for all the thought and vocabulary, there's a real intellectual superficiality to David Foster Wallace.

His entire frame of reference is based on these college undergrad notions of material wealth and comfort necessarily being evil. For all his skill with writing, he's just as clueless as the Hope N Changers.

[andrewsjlucas]

@TheShannon76 That may be a tad hasty, DFW specifically says America is not “evil” but he is “scared” of Americans’ potential for choosing material comforts even when it’s contrary to their best interests to do so. In fact, that is a dominant theme in “Infinite Jest.” If you recall, the title of the book stems from the entertainment cartridge of the same name that causes the death of those who view it. It shouldn’t, then, come as a surprise that he has these views concerning the economy.

[smurfieboo]

Why did you upload this when the original interview is on youtube?

[andrewsjlucas]

@smurfieboo As I am sure you are aware the original interview is approximately ninety minutes in length. This particular two minute segment seemed germane to recent world events, so I decided to upload this, much shorter, segment. In the case that one might wish to see the interview in its entirety, likely from the intellectual stimulation from this much shorter clip, I provided a link to the whole thing. I really hope this response has cleared up any fogginess regarding my motivations.

[TwinFlameify]

@andrewsjlucas hello dear friend, here are some reasons the people dislike the evil governments that serves you and does things in your name

type in youtube search the followin,explaining hatred and the fear (scraping the ice)

->The War You Dont See (Full Documentary)

->American Soldier Testimony, Throws His Medals And Stars!!! And Quits. Interview

->American Soldier Testimony, ''I Killed Innocent People''. Interview

->Fema Camp Coffins Investigated

->FEMA Concentration Camps in USA

[SamildanachEmrys]

@TheShannon76 That may be, and in some ways I agree with you, but I think it's still important that, superficial or not, he makes an effort to think. I may not share his stance or feel he's doing justice to the subject matter, but he considers ideas and forms his own conclusions, then articulates them well. That, if nothing else, sets him apart from a lot of others.

[mlawren7]

@TheShannon76 I must agree - he makes the mistake of taking the basest, most general overview and claiming that it is some kind of cause, rather than an effect. There is nothing inherently wrong with market-priced gasoline, either.

[bartelby123]

@TheShannon76 That's an awfully literal-minded and superficial interpretation. It almost seems like youtube is populated by web-bots that leave the exact same copy and pasted comments and sentiments on every video. I see tons of comments referencing a "college undergrad" or "teenager" mindset as though it's novel or clever. Sure, *some* of the points he's covering are obvious, but he does have remarkably keen and insightful thoughts not often brought up that he articulates quite wonderfully.

[kindofbluenyc]

@TheShannon76 You're wrong about david foster wallace.

[smurfieboo]

@andrewsjlucas Thank you Andrew for your charming and articulate reply.