Claire Sims
English 190C
November 3, 1999
The Use of the Present in the Future
__Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash was a much easier book to start reading than the previous
novels read for the class (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, P.K. Dick and Neuromancer,
W. Gibson). The reason is that Stephenson uses elements from the present in the future
he has set up. These elements give the reader a familiar landmark in the unfamiliar
landscape of the future. This paper is concerned with two of the elements, setting
and humor, as they are used in the first five chapters of the book. I'm looking at
the beginning of the book since that is where the reader determines whether she will
finish the book or not. Using familiar things there will ensure the reader's continuing
the book.
__Putting most of the action in Los Angeles was very important and good. The area
is familiar to just about everyone in the world, either because they have been there
or have seen the Hollywood version at sometime. Stephenson's Los Angeles is not much
different than the current one, partly because it is only 30 years in the future.
His LA has the strip malls, traffic, suburbs, etc. that the current one does. They
are in a different form but still recognizable to the reader. Most readers can tell
that the burbclaves are similar to such suburbs as Long Beach, Glennwood, etc. All
cities have strip malls and heavy traffic. They are a fact of life so having them
in the novel gives the reader a sense of being right at home.
__Another way Stephenson makes the reader feel at home is the use of light. Since
most humans are diurnal, not nocturnal, having a setting with lots of light in it
is very comforting to the reader. The futuristic LA has lots of light. Presumably
the air pollution problem had been taken care of because there is no mention of it
nor the filtering of light that would happen if it had gotten stronger. The light
comes because much of the action takes place during the day. If it is at night, there
is always the "loglo" mentioned: the glow from all the neon logos. Even
the Metaverse, has lots of light in the populated areas. Light and location, as you
can see, is very important to this novel in setting the stage.
__Humor is also important in setting the stage for the reader because everyone likes
a good laugh. Stephenson uses three types of humor in the beginning of his book:
puns, situational and referential. Each of these is used very effectively and to
the great enjoyment of the reader, bringing her into the world Stephenson has set
up. Even the title is humorous, as will be shown a little bit later. Not all of his
humor is obvious. It took me several readings to catch some of it but that increased
my enjoyment of the novel and made it richer to read.
__Puns. He uses both easy to spot ones and obscure ones. The problem with puns is
that they tend to be obscure until the reader thinks about them. Not every body likes
them but they are familiar to everyone, so they offer a landmark to orient the reader.
It also offers a place to slow down a little and take a breath since the effect of
a good pun is to groan and then laugh. Stephenson spends pages describing the Deliverator's
delivery car and ends it with one of his easier puns, "roll model" (2).
Pretty obvious to most people but easy to overlook if you're reading fast. Da5id's
name is another pun but it is much more obscure. This pun has the effect of making
the novel seem futuristic because his name is somewhat unusual but not so unusual
that someone can't identity with the name.
__As promised before here is the humor of the title: it's a pun. Snow crash is the
term for a computer crashing and only producing a screen full of static. Snow is
the term for static dating back to television when receiving a bad picture was called
having snowy reception. This happens much less often in these days of cable but still
occasionally happens. Computers are not the only thing that can crash and produce
essentially garbage. So can people's minds when they've used certain drugs. So if
a person takes a drug, their minds could stop processing data and produce garbage
(or the vocal equivalent of snow). Snow Crash thus is both a computer crash and a
mind crash. If the drug is called Snow Crash, it implies that the maker of the drug
wants to cause the collapse of a person's mind after exposure. So the title is a
pun and also the heart of the story.
__As well as puns, Stephenson uses situational comedy in that he devises a situation
that is slightly off kilter, thereby creating the humor. Situational comedy does
include some slapstick. This is as old as comedy itself, so the reader is very familiar
with it. It is also one of the more popular forms of humor which is why it still
exists. Some examples include the Keystone Cops, Lucille Ball ("I Love Lucy"),
and the 3 Stooges. The latter two are still available on television and through videos,
they are that popular. Using such a popular form of comedy gives the reader a strong
sense of familiarity. They know how to react to it and they get a sense that the
future hasn't changed that much; that people still act and react the same as they
do in the present.
__One example of situational humor is having the Mafia run a delivery pizza chain.
It's taking one of the biggest organizations and placing it on the bottom of the
totem pole. Yes, money is money but pizza delivery? Everyone likes to see the big
and mighty things torn down and made human; and if it's done in a funny way, that's
even better. Having the Mafia do something as plebeian as deliver pizzas is funny.
It's like the South American drug cartels running a taqueria stand. Having a powerful
group do something mild is funny by contrast.
__There is an element of slapstick in the beginning of the novel as well. The Deliverator
(Hiro Protagonist) has to deliver a pizza. The humor comes from the fact that, while
there has been no chase, there is the sense of a chase: Hiro must deliver the pizza
within 10 minutes or it will be over 30 minutes late. A big no-no for the company.
Along the way, he gets pooned by a kourier (Y.T.); bumperstickered, and eventually
winds up in an empty swimming pool that's where it doesn't belong (according to his
memory). This is very reminiscent of both the Keystone Cops, who could never go anywhere
without falling over themselves or out of vehicles, and Lucille Ball, who got herself
into some very weird situations by remembering wrong or not thinking at all. Having
Hiro go through this process in the beginning gives the reader a touchstone in the
future. She will link Hiro's trip with both the Keystone Cops and Lucille Ball, even
if she doesn't realize she has.
__The third form of humor Stephenson gets the reader to tie the present and the future
together is referential humor. He continually makes references to present day things
and events in his future world. These references are obvious links and give the reader
a strong sense of familiarity. One of the references comes on page 3 where he gives
a list of foreign lands: "Abkhazia, Rwanda, Guanajuato, South Jersey".
The mention of South Jersey as a foreign land makes people laugh because it is traditional
to put down and make fun of people from New Jersey. Even if the state has split into
two states (countries?), the humor is still there. Jersey is Jersey. The other reference
that may or may not be funny is the Clint avatar which is described as "craggy
and handsome and has an extremely limited range of facial expressions." (37)
Remind you of anyone? This reference to Clint Eastwood is humorous because comedians
still make fun of his spaghetti westerns. They used to make fun of him but his stature
has grown such that is much rarer. Anyway most people would still make the connection
between the avatar and the actor, making them comfortable in the future.
__By using such present-day elements, Stephenson makes the reader very comfortable
in his future world. There are landmarks and references and objects that are familiar
to her. Using current elements in his setting and humor gives the reader a sense
that she knows someone or something in the world he set up.