froM pArAtex t to polyproCess: the “Quirk y” MAshup novel
97
Wars – such as Wookieepedia – Doescher’s book is marked as non-canon,
that is, apocryphal (literally: hidden), excluded from the Lucasfilm canon. 33
Similarly, Bertocci never fails to put a disclaimer in his paratexts, for
instance the copyright page of his front matter:
Two Gentlemen of Lebowski is not endorsed by or associated with the
Coen Brothers, the writers and directors of the film The Big Lebowski, or
Working Title or Universal Pictures, the producer and distributor of the
film The Big Lebowski. Any and all adaptation rights in and to The Big
Lebowski are reserved to the Coen Brothers and to Universal Pictures. 34
Thus, we can argue that mashup novels tend to be affirmative and nonconfrontational rather than transgressive or confrontational, actively seeking
the cooperation and endorsement of copyright owners. The political remit
of these texts of “literary popular culture” is close to zero. Refresh and
reinvigorate old franchises they may well do, but they hardly signal “a
mode of empowerment.” Neither do they fulfill Eli Horwatt’s ideal of an
“appropriation art” from below.” 35 This kind of mashup novel therefore is
vulnerable to attacks along the lines of Jameson’s argument (quoted above)
that postmodernist texts are merely nostalgic pastiches.
Nostalgic re-materialization
Mashup novels re-materialize nostalgically from digital culture into print.
Witness the elaborate book designs in all of the cases discussed here, in both
the front and back covers, front and back matter, spine, dust jacket, and so
forth. Doescher’s Star Wars/Shakespeare pastiche comes as a dust-covered
hardback with faux-nineteenth-century designs by Doogie Horner. The Star
Wars cover displays the full splendors of mock-heraldic achievement in the
title pages, a cartouche as shield in marble, complete with supporters, crest,
columns, emblems, feathers, and draperies – the title becoming a sort of
33 “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars,” Wookieepedia: The “Star Wars” Wiki, last
modif ied October 7, 2016, accessed February 15, 2019, http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/
William_Shakespeare%27s_Star_Wars.
34 Bertocci, Two Gentlemen of Lebowski, copyright page.
35 Eli Horwatt, “A Taxonomy of Digital Video Remixing: Contemporary Found Footage Practice on the Internet Cultural Borrowings.” In Cultural Borrowings: Appropriation, Reworking,
Transformation, edited by Iain Robert Smith. Special issue of Scope: An Online Journal of Film
and Television Studies 15 (2009), 97. Web. 20 June 2013.
97
Wars – such as Wookieepedia – Doescher’s book is marked as non-canon,
that is, apocryphal (literally: hidden), excluded from the Lucasfilm canon. 33
Similarly, Bertocci never fails to put a disclaimer in his paratexts, for
instance the copyright page of his front matter:
Two Gentlemen of Lebowski is not endorsed by or associated with the
Coen Brothers, the writers and directors of the film The Big Lebowski, or
Working Title or Universal Pictures, the producer and distributor of the
film The Big Lebowski. Any and all adaptation rights in and to The Big
Lebowski are reserved to the Coen Brothers and to Universal Pictures. 34
Thus, we can argue that mashup novels tend to be affirmative and nonconfrontational rather than transgressive or confrontational, actively seeking
the cooperation and endorsement of copyright owners. The political remit
of these texts of “literary popular culture” is close to zero. Refresh and
reinvigorate old franchises they may well do, but they hardly signal “a
mode of empowerment.” Neither do they fulfill Eli Horwatt’s ideal of an
“appropriation art” from below.” 35 This kind of mashup novel therefore is
vulnerable to attacks along the lines of Jameson’s argument (quoted above)
that postmodernist texts are merely nostalgic pastiches.
Nostalgic re-materialization
Mashup novels re-materialize nostalgically from digital culture into print.
Witness the elaborate book designs in all of the cases discussed here, in both
the front and back covers, front and back matter, spine, dust jacket, and so
forth. Doescher’s Star Wars/Shakespeare pastiche comes as a dust-covered
hardback with faux-nineteenth-century designs by Doogie Horner. The Star
Wars cover displays the full splendors of mock-heraldic achievement in the
title pages, a cartouche as shield in marble, complete with supporters, crest,
columns, emblems, feathers, and draperies – the title becoming a sort of
33 “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars,” Wookieepedia: The “Star Wars” Wiki, last
modif ied October 7, 2016, accessed February 15, 2019, http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/
William_Shakespeare%27s_Star_Wars.
34 Bertocci, Two Gentlemen of Lebowski, copyright page.
35 Eli Horwatt, “A Taxonomy of Digital Video Remixing: Contemporary Found Footage Practice on the Internet Cultural Borrowings.” In Cultural Borrowings: Appropriation, Reworking,
Transformation, edited by Iain Robert Smith. Special issue of Scope: An Online Journal of Film
and Television Studies 15 (2009), 97. Web. 20 June 2013.