DIALECTIC OF SPECTRALITY: A TRANSPACIFIC STUDY ON BEING IN THE AGE OF CYBERCULTURE, 1945~2012 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND THE COMMITTEE ON GRADUATE STUDIES OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Haerin Shin May 2013 © 2013 by Hae Rin Shin. All Rights Reserved. Re-distributed by Stanford University under license with the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/ This dissertation is online at: http://purl.stanford.edu/pv959jw0920 ii I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannes Gumbrecht, Primary Adviser I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Russell Berman, Co-Adviser I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Indra Levy I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Youngmin Kwon Approved for the Stanford University Committee on Graduate Studies. Patricia J. Gumport, Vice Provost Graduate Education This signature page was generated electronically upon submission of this dissertation in electronic format. An original signed hard copy of the signature page is on file in University Archives. iii Dissertation Abstract The recent rise of digital media and human-machine interfaces has redefined survival for the conscious human subject. The most advanced technological apparatuses run on the principle of ambiguity and fluidity, countering the long-standing nostalgia towards an illusory state of totality seen in the history of Western ontology. Drawing on psychoanalytic, postmodern and cognitive theories, I reinterpret the fragmented, transgressive and incomprehensible aspects of digital communication and interaction as the fundamental modes, not objects, of individual and collective existence. I situate my discourse in a transcultural framework through Korean, Japanese and American literature and visual media, including works by Neal Stephenson (U.S.), Murakami Haruki (Japan) and Kim Young-ha (Korea). iv Acknowledgements I am immensely grateful to my dissertation advisors (Professors Russell Berman, Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Indra Levy, and Kwon Young-min), for offering me invaluable advice and mentorship, and guiding me through the process of conceiving and writing this dissertation. I owe this project to their support and encouragement. Especially Russell and Sepp; Russell’s Sophomore College “Ghost Stories” class, with which I spent five wonderful, most memorable summers, has been the key inspiration for the ghostly/spectral vein of my research. The theoretical frameworks I propose in each chapter are heavily indebted to Sepp’s tutelage (for which he allotted time for me almost every other week, despite his unbelievable schedule!), his theory on “presence,” and his Heidegger seminar. Russell, and Sepp, you are and will always be the role models of my life. It was an honor to have been your advisee. I wish to thank Professor Stephen Sohn for giving me wonderful opportunities to assist his research and become acquainted with diverse strains of critical inquiry, and awakening my interest in psychoanalytic literary criticism. Professor Andrea Lunsford’s class on Memoria provided the basic building blocks for the reflections on memory and identity in this dissertation. Also, it was a blessing to have spent my last precious year at Stanford with Professor Dafna Zur, my super-woman friend. My dear advisers and mentors, you all are the most inspiring people I’ve ever met; your energy, scholarship, and productivity never cease to amaze me. I must also thank Professor Shin Kwang-hyun. I still can’t believe that he’s no longer here with us, but his legacy will live on through his students. You were the one who encouraged me to return to the study of literature. You were the one who rekindled my love for books, writing, and everything I now hold most dear. v I send my love and gratitude to friends who made my time at Stanford the best days of my life. Angela, the moment you first came up to me at the department reception and began talking about comics and speculative fiction, I knew that I had found a kindred spirit. You are family, and you always will be. Serena, I can’t even imagine what the past six years would have been like without you; every corner I turn I see memories of you, and with you. Adrian, thank you for reading through the chapters, helping me with the copy editing process, and providing me with such detailed, insightful comments. Peering Portal Inc. has been the seedbed of my interest in digital media. I have always loved works on telepresence technology, but I’ve never imagined myself being directly involved with the practical aspect of its intricate build. Peering Portal became my home, training ground, and the window through which I could peer into the inner workings of the technological wonders I explore in my dissertation. My dear parents have made it possible for me to be here. Returning to Escondido Village (in 20 years!), I relived the golden days of my childhood; I fondly recall running around the grassy lawns, climbing trees, and listening to the soothing sound of my father’s typewriter tapping away as I snuggled under the covers. Sean’s family has presented me with the best support system I could ever wish for. Thank you for your patience, care, and love. You are the family I always wished for. I am infinitely grateful for having met you, having become a part of you. And most importantly, Sean. Thank you, for being in this world, and for being there for me. This is for you, as will be everything else to follow. vi Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The Return of the Archetypal Ghost: Technology and the Present-Progressive Mode of Being 5 Chapter 2: From the Ghostly to the Spectral: The Gravitational Force of Technology 40 Chapter 3: The Space “between Material Signifiers and Signifying Materialities”: Language and Being in Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash 74 Chapter 4: Narrativity as Responsibility: Archetyping the Social in Murakami Haruki’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World 104 Chapter 5: The Remainder of Loss: Mediation and Its Failure in Kim Young-ha’s Quiz Show 147 Closing Words 185 vii Introduction Modernity and its horrors, war and social disintegration, brought a crucial shift in the way we perceive the relationship between ourselves and the world. The collapse of faith in the omnipotence of reason, ironically accompanied by an unprecedented degree of technological advancement, foregrounded the inherently fragmentary nature of being and the incomprehensibility of its constitution. The scientific discoveries and technological innovations of the past century, such as quantum physics, digital telecommunications, and instantaneous mass media, appear to have further blurred the boundary between the traditional Cartesian division of body and mind, rendering human existence itself ghostly. How are we to understand “being” in a world where even the solidest material is essentially seen as a loose chain of atoms, which in turn can be again broken down into smaller constituent parts, and when we know and are known by the world through piecemeal sensory inputs of spectral voices and phantasmal projections of images scintillating on computer or smartphone screens? Such confusion is the legacy of the Enlightenment paradigm, which saw technology and science as the crystallization of rationality and the gateway to physical as well as mental amplification. However, upon closer observation, we find that the most advanced mechanical apparatuses in fact run on the principles of ambiguity and fluidity rather than with absolute clarity. In this dissertation, I propose the concept of the “ghost” to frame intellectual history and its present manifestation in our daily lives. Using the “ghost” as mankind’s universally shared narrative of life and death, with its boundary transgression between being and non- being, the incomprehensibility of its agenda and constitution, and the fragmentation of the body and mind implied in its generation, I reinterpret the fragmented, transgressive, and 1 incomprehensible aspects of technologically mediated communication and interaction as the fundamental modes, not objects, of surviving as human. I acknowledge previous works on the relationship between technology and ontology and the motif of the “spectral” or “ghostly” as strategies for blurring and crossing boundaries. However, drawing on psychoanalytic criticism, postmodern theories and cognitive studies, I bring a fresh perspective to the field by positioning the topic in a cross-disciplinary and transnational frame, and triangulating universal as well as culture-specific modes of contemporary life in the age of cyberculture. I offer cultural/historical explorations in three Pacific-rim countries that have shown particular prominence in adopting and incorporating telecommunications/telepresence technology: the United States, Japan, and Korea. The United States is the leading force in information technology innovation both in the spheres of practical science and speculative literature; Japan is the seat of an uncanny culture where cutting-edge technology and pantheistic spirituality harmoniously coexist in reality and fiction; and in Korea, a thorough integration of digital telecommunication into everyday life forms a stark contrast to the utter lack of its literary representation. I situate this discourse in a transcultural framework through readings of Korean, Japanese, and American literature, with designated chapters on the works of Neal Stephenson (U.S.), Murakami Haruki (Japan) and Kim Young-ha (Korea).