Western Myth and the End of History in the Novels of Douglas Coupland

W e s t e r n M y t h A N D T H E E N D O F H IS T O R Y i n t h e N o v e l s o f D o u g l a s C o u p l a n d W i l l i a m H . K a t e r b e r g I speak o f th e A m erican deserts an d o f th e cities w h ich are n ot cities. N o oases, n o m on u m en ts; in fin ite pan n in g sh ots over m in eral lan d ­ scapes an d freeways. Everyw h ere: Los A n geles or Tw en ty-Nin e Palm s, Las Vegas or Borrego Sprin gs ... ... H ere th e cities are m obile deserts. N o m on u m en ts an d n o h istory: th e exaltation o f m obile deserts an d sim u lation . Th ere is th e sam e w ildn ess in th e en dless, in differen t cities as in th e in tact silen ce o f th e Badlan ds. W h y is LA , why are th e deserts so fascin atin g? It is because you are delivered from all depth th ere— a brillian t, m obile, superficial n eutrality, a ch allen ge to m ean in g an d profundity, a ch al­ len ge to n ature an d culture, an ou ter h yperspace, w ith n o origin , n o referen ce-poin ts. — Je an Baud rillard, A m erica (1986) T h e V an co u v e r w riter D o u glas C o u p lan d p r o v id ed an id e n tity for th e p o st - Bab y Bo o m G e n e r at io n in b is best-k n ow n n ovel, G en eration X (1 9 9 1 ). T h e p e o p le in h is stor ie s are t o u r ist s an d p ilgr im s, u p r o o t e d w an d erers, at o n c e alie n s an d p ar t icip an t s in t h e late m o d e m co n su m e r cu lt u r e o f c o n t e m p o r ar y N o r t h A m e r ic a. H is w or k h a s b e e n d escr ib ed as p o st m o d e r n for its self- co n scio u s, ir o n ic h ip n e ss an d co m p ar e d t o A m e r ic a (1 9 8 6 ), w r it t en b y t h e F r e n ch cr itic Je a n Bau d r illar d , for its p lay fu lly v e n o m o u s d e p ic t io n o f a d e p th le ss, h y p er -r eal so ciety .1 It h as also b e e n r e ad fr o m t h e p e r sp e ct iv e o f Fr an cis F u k u y am a’s id e a o f th e “e n d o f h ist o r y ”— t h e c laim t h a t lib er al d e m o cr acy an d c ap it alism are Like Douglass Cou plan d , Seattle-based ph otograph er Paul Berger explores sub­ jectivity in an in form ation age dom in ated by...