Time Period
White Noise was written in and is set in the 1980's. As a novel from the late twentieth century, White Noise is classified as a postmodern novel. Postmodern works typically focus on contemporary issues, culture, society, and concerns. Rise of technology and the downfall of human behavior are some of the twentieth century concerns that author Don DeLillo addresses in White Noise.
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In the 1970's, televisions were becoming very popular in America. By the 1980's, television sets were in almost every middle-class American home, and were starting to gain international popularity. By the end of the 1980's, there were about a billion television sets in the world [2]. Different types of programming were broadcast, and watching television quickly became an American pastime, if not an addiction. In White Noise, Jack Gladney recalls, "That night, a Friday, we ordered Chinese food and watched television together, the six of us. Babette had made it a rule" (16). The popularity of television also brought along a variety of programming. Steffie's distaste at the more violent and humiliating television programs is DeLillo's criticism of television's influence on Americans.
In the late twentieth century, radios remained relevant to American culture, even though coming down from usage in the previous decades. Radios continued to be a central form of information and entertainment. DeLillo expresses the idea that citizens have become dependent on technology in his airborne toxic event. During evacuation, Blacksmith residents became desperate for information about the toxic cloud, and were only able to depend on radio broadcasts. DeLillo leaves the question to readers: What will people do without the technology they need every day?
In the 1980's, average American behavior changed, and in some opinions, for the worse. With financial celebrities like Donald Trump, Michael Milkin, and even President Ronald Reagan encouraging lavish lifestyles, Americans became interested in spending more. Americans experienced massive materialism despite being in national recession [1]. DeLillo criticizes American spending as he describes the Gladney family garbage, as Jack searches for Dylar. The sheer amount of garbage suggests that the Gladneys spend excessively. When Jack searches through his trash for a second time, he notes, "There was an immensity of things, an overburdening weight, a connection, a morality" (262). DeLillo essentially connects his spending to morality and death, and suggests that America's consumerism is corrupting domestic lifestyles.
In his postmodern White Noise, Don DeLillo draws inspiration from contemporary issues and integrates them into his novel to criticize changes in America.