Today during class, Mr. Mitchell showed us a YouTube loop of the JFK assassination footage (Zapruder film). Keeping in mind that 1. DeLillo made "22 November" as a close explication of the scene and 2. the readers have a sideline expectation of having seen the footage already, I found it interesting that we had a couple differing comments during class about the video vs. book scene.
Some people commented that the the book scene was more emotionally provoking for them than the video footage, and I agree with this point of view for a few reasons. The multiple and direct perspectives from the characters in the book is something we can't get from the video. Lines describing the gore from Nellie Connally ("She heard Jackie say, 'I have his brains in my hand'), the shocked, bloodsprayed woman photographing the scene, or Agent Hill hanging on to the back of the car and staring into JFK's head, are raw and blunt details that burn into our minds in a way the footage can't give us with it's distance, fast-speed, and relatively low resolution.
We also get Lee's personal reactions and emotions during the shooting--we start with his childlike sensation of hiding in a fort in the book depository, then we move to his moment of clearness during the shooting, and we eventually see him start to realize the set-up behind the whole plan. Because Libra follows Lee's developing character, and avoids any of the usual focus on JFK's significance in the American dynamic, the emotions evoked from the shooting scene in the book are much more complicated than anything evoked from a straight dip of the footage. Lowkey shock, pinches of something like sympathy for Lee but not quite, expectancy, inevitability, etc.
Although "22 November" was written with the expectancy that the reader had already seen the footage, I actually hadn't. So watching the video in class, I knew what was coming and DeLillo's close detailing of the scene kind of reduced the impact of the video. I could expect there to have been more of an emotional provocation if the footage had been my first exposure.
Interestingly, during the first play of the footage, I had a thought running through my head that this could almost be a view of the scene from Lee's aerial point while the car passes by. (How conspiratorially post-modern). As the scene started replaying in the second loop though, I finally began getting a feeling of unease, and "here it comes," and inevitability. But I think that just seeing the footage would have just left it at that: a bit of movie-like distance and awe, and some wonderment and unease at the historical realization. Even though DeLillo contains the story from going beyond this exact footage, the book induces some effects that would have been impossible otherwise.
On another note, Libra was interesting to have as our last book. Reading and discussing pretty much taught me everything I know about the JFK assassination. Somehow beforehand, whether due to a gap in my history teachings or impressive misses in my media/cultural exposure, I had known almost nothing about it. I knew JFK had been killed, didn't know (or forgot) by who, where, or what context. Educated now though!
