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Embodiments of the Hyper-Present in Contemporary American Literature University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations December 2019 The Time Is Now: Embodiments of the Hyper-Present in Contemporary American Literature Robert Bruss University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the American Literature Commons Recommended Citation Bruss, Robert, "The Time Is Now: Embodiments of the Hyper-Present in Contemporary American Literature" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 2291. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2291 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE TIME IS NOW: EMBODIMENTS OF THE HYPER-PRESENT IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE by Robert Bruss A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee December 2019 ABSTRACT THE TIME IS NOW: EMBODIMENTS OF THE HYPER-PRESENT IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LITERATURE by Robert Bruss The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2019 Under the Supervision of Professor Jane Gallop For many years, writers have argued the predominant temporality of contemporary experience is an intensified present. David Harvey and Fredric Jameson argued that such an intense emphasis on the present was one of postmodernism’s principle features. Harvey argued that new communication technologies resulted in a "time-space compression” that created the sense that “the present is all there is.” Similarly, Jameson argued that postmodernism reflected the logic of late capitalism, resulting in a society that “has begun to live in a perpetual present” that obliterates one’s awareness of the past or future. Although many consider we have moved beyond postmodernism, our experience of the present has only become more intensified. The omnipresence of online connectivity today through communications technologies, such as smart phones and social media, means almost everything can be addressed in the present moment. In order to better understand this phenomenon, this dissertation examines this intensified experience of the present, what I call the hyper-present, as it is embodied in four different literary texts. Chapters are devoted to The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski, Save the Date by Chris Cornell, and Queers in Love at the End of the World by Anna Anthropy. Although the form of each of these texts is significantly different, they each ii thrust the reader into a hyper-present reading experience. I argue that these texts challenge the pessimistic attitude that most theorists have towards the hyper-present. Although the hyper- present can present a number of important hurdles for contemporary life, it can also help us better recognize the significance of material objects, ecological threats, the limits of narrative tropes, and affectivity. Additionally, this study highlights the value of synthesizing literary and digital studies. This dissertation examines two print-based novels and two digital games. In the process it highlights both how digitality has profoundly shaped contemporary print media and how traditional literary studies has shaped digital media. Rather than being at odds, it shows how the perspectives and methodologies of literary and digital studies prove valuable regardless of media and how each approach highlights the need for and value of the other. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. vii Chapter INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1 The Hyper-Present ...............................................................................................................5 Hyper-Present Literature ....................................................................................................12 Methodology ......................................................................................................................16 I. THE MEZZANINE AS A HYPER-PRESENT RESPONSE TO POSTMODERNISM ..........21 The Expanded Moment ......................................................................................................22 Postmodern Narrative Structure .........................................................................................30 The Hyper-Present and Commodified Consumer Culture .................................................42 The Potential Value of the Hyper-Present .........................................................................58 II. TURNING THE “PERPETUAL PRESENT” INTO THE “EXTENDED PRESENT” IN ONLY REVOLUTIONS .......................................................................................................64 The Complicated Temporality of Digitality in Print Form ................................................65 The Hyper-Present Nature of Only Revolutions ................................................................75 The Implications of the Hyper-Present ..............................................................................84 From “Perpetual” to “Extended” Present ...........................................................................98 III. THE PERILS AND POTENTIALS OF VIDEOGAME TIME IN SAVE THE DATE .........104 Save the Date and the Repeated Moment ........................................................................107 iv Videogames and the Promise of Temporal Mastery ........................................................111 Temporal Mastery, Sexism, and the Radical Potential of the Hyper-Present ..................120 The Value of Studying Digital Texts ...............................................................................128 Digital Dialectics .............................................................................................................136 IV. QUEERS IN LOVE AT THE END OF THE WORLD AND THE QUEERNESS OF THE HYPER-PRESENT .......................................................................................................139 “You Have Ten Seconds…” ............................................................................................139 Queer Temporality in Queers in Love .............................................................................144 Affective Intensity within the Hyper-Present ..................................................................153 Revealing the Influence of Digital Structures through Hyper-Present Literature ...........160 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................167 Bibliography ..........................................................................................................................171 Curriculum Vitae ...................................................................................................................192 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. An example of a chapter break in Only Revolutions ......................................................66 Figure 2. The Now Here Found Concordance as printed on Hailey’s front cover ........................67 Figure 3. Only Revolutions’ physical covers ...............................................................................101 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is indebted to the guidance and encouragement I received from my committee. First and foremost, I want to thank my advisor, Jane Gallop, who has supported me since my first semester at UW-Milwaukee. She has been integral to my development as both a thinker and writer. She fostered my appreciation and understanding of queer temporalities which was foundational to making this work possible, and she has consistently challenged me to communicate my ideas as clearly as possible. I thank Jason Puskar, who always kept me grounded in literary history even as my embrace of the hyper-present tempted me away from it. Thanks to Theodore Martin who stuck with me regardless of our difference in time zones; his expertise in both contemporary literature and theories of temporality have been invaluable. I thank Stuart Moulthrop who guided me through the foundational work in game studies once I realized that it was such an integral part to this dissertation even though I was not originally part of that field. Thanks to Thomas Malaby for his enthusiasm for my project and for his suggestions of how my project might be strengthened by perspectives outside the field of English. Each of these individuals’ time is in high demand, and I am immensely thankful that they have always found time for me. In addition to the support of my committee, I would have never survived this process without the support of other faculty, my friends, and my family. I am thankful for the continuing support of Rebecca Parker-Fedewa; not only is she one of the undergraduate professors who initially inspired me to pursue graduate studies in English, but she has continued to remain in touch all this time, providing advice, encouragement, and support at every stage
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