«Out there in the world»: The Violence of the Real in America at the End of Millennium
Abstract
This essay draws inspiration from two novels and a film realized at the end of the 20th Century, Underworld by DeLillo, American Pastoral by Roth, and Fight Club by Fincher, in order to develop a reflection upon the relationship between reality and fiction, focusing mainly on the depiction of violence. The analysis of formal and structural aspects is alternated with thematic considerations. Each of these three case studies refers to an «out there» chaotic world in contrast to the characters’ ordinary lives, which are perceived as inauthentic.
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