I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts: Drive-by Essays on American Dread, American Dreams

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I M U S T N O T T H I N K B A D T H O U G H T S This page intentionally left blank I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts drive-by essays on american dread, american dreams MARK DERY FOREWORD BY BRUCE STERLING University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London Lyrics to “The Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke” are reprinted with permission of Hal Leonard Corporation. Lyrics to “Wave,” written by Patti Smith, published by Druse Music Inc. (ASCAP), are reprinted by permission; all rights reserved. “North American Time” copyright 2002, 1986 by Adrienne Rich, from The Fact of the Doorframe: Selected Poems, 1950–2001, by Adrienne Rich; reprinted by permission of the author and W. W. Norton, Inc. Copyright 2012 by Mark Dery Foreword copyright 2012 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form or by any means,electronic,mechanical , photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Dery, Mark, 1959– I must not think bad thoughts : drive-by essays on American dread, American dreams / Mark Dery ; foreword by Bruce Sterling. Includes bibliographical references. isbn 978-0-8166-7773-3 (hc : acid-free paper) isbn 978-0-8166-7774-0 (pb : acid-free paper) 1. Popular culture—United States. 2. United States—Civilization—1970– I. Title. nx180.s6d477 2012 306'.0973—dc23 2011050383 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 to j. g. ballard Pathologist of the postmodern, astronaut of inner space, matchless stylist, generous mentor. He sought the gold of time. This page intentionally left blank Cadillacs, Coca-Cola, and cocaine, presidents and psychopaths , Norman Rockwell and the mafia . . . the dream of America endlessly unravels its codes,like the helix of some ideological DNA. j. g. ballard, Introduction to Hello America I want to immerse myself in American magic and dread. murray jay suskind, the professor of Elvis studies in Don DeLillo’s White Noise This page intentionally left blank ...