Patrick DePeters

Everything is concealed in symbolism, hidden by veils of mystery and layers of cultural material. But it is physic data, absolutely. The large doors slide open, they close unbidden. Energy waves, incident radiation. All the letters, and numbers are here, all the colors of the spectrum, all the voices and sounds, all the code words and ceremonial phrases. It is just a question of deciphering, rearranging, peeling off the layers of unspeakability. Not that we would want to, not that any useful purpose would be served. This is not Tibet. Even Tibet is not Tibet anymore. 38

            The novel White Noise by Don Delillo is inundated with all kinds of symbols and references that, together, represent a larger underlying point that Delillo is trying to make. Throughout the text, Delillo’s characters frequently try to analyze the world around them, but they often avoid looking from any vantage-point that might harm their comforting sense of security. It is the “deeper codes and messages” that Murray believes are too often unnoticed. By exaggerating the value of the ubiquitous symbols, Delillo questions the extent to which contemporary consumer culture accounts for an individual’s personal identity. The grocery store is stocked full of consumer goods that are packaged, or veiled, from truth and reality. This effectively protects us, the customer, from truths. The one reality that packaging “thankfully” conceals is death, which is why few object to the soothing qualities of consumerism. To most, it is more comforting to cover up and ignore the truth than to confront scary realities such as death. Murray prods at us to open are eyes and ears to everything, because the mechanism that filters for only good truths will undoubtedly generate deep fears and apprehensions.

The above passage is taken from a scene in which Babette and her family encounter Murray in the supermarket. In talking with Babette, Murray is quick to overanalyze the many objects and symbols that surround him in the supermarket. Murray’s part in this conversation with Babette seems to be a bit profound for typical small-talk in a grocery store, but that fact too, is important. Why aren’t we all taking about what is going on in the grocery store? To Murray, the boundless data that surrounds him is exciting and enlightening. But to us, we have been conditioned to only look at the surface and to refrain from asking too many questions.  Murray can not be considered a typical consumer of the grocery store. He is an eccentric academic who frequently visits the grocery store to explore and evaluate the hidden symbols of culture and consumerism. From this exploration, he finds solace with the ephemeral nature of life, and just like Tibetans (once did), can distance himself from the attachment of material things. The grocery store helps replace some of the “lost divinity” of the soul, and similarly, helps recharge the spirit for death and the next life. Murray believes that if we stop denying death, and detach ourselves from material things, we can then “proceed clammy to die.”  As exampled by Babette’s quick change in conversation, it seems that most customers are distracted just enough to largely ignore these data combinations and deeper meanings.

The grocery store or gateway–as Murray calls it—is “full of physic data.” That is, data that can literally heal, or help us.  He understands that the symbols that he sees are not apparent to the un-trained eye. One must be capable of looking beyond the surface in this instance. It takes some “deciphering [and] rearranging” to comprehend the “physic data” which surrounds us. But what exactly is he talking about? What is the data? Murray is pointing to the rampant consumerism that overwhelms our society. Stepping outside of the grocery store, we are constantly connected to other mediums (such as the television and radio) that are similarly full of data and “sacred formulas.”  This data is comprised of chants (such as, “Coke is it, Coke is it…”), deceptive labels, vibrant colors, and alluring descriptions on a products packaging. It can all be dissected and understood if we are willing to open ourselves up. Murray later recommends that we “get past our irritation, weariness, and disgust” in order to be “welcomed into the grid” (51).

Because the media and advertising saturate our lives as consumers, we lose the ability to take a step back evaluate what is being broadcasted. The goods on the shelves send a message to the consumer, but the consumer is not receptive of that message. While most people do not care about the “unspeakable” that Murray is talking about, he contends that there is something to gain from the analysis. The grocery store and other mediums like television and the radio effectively make us “cling to life artificially.” This “clinging” to life implies a fear of death for those tied tightly to ephemeral “things.”  Murray’s purpose in White Noise is essentially to provide a voice of reason. Murray’s perspective is a bit philosophical but it is also rational. He begs us to stop denying death because it is senseless. We will all die, and in fact, we are all dieing, just as every other being on this earth will do.  

Most consumers pick up the product without really taking note of the trap they are falling into. Murray is able to see through the miasma and bring order to the “physic data.” But as Murray notes, why would we want to? Peeling back the layers and uncovering the data would not really have “any useful purpose.” He later says, in the grocery store “we don’t die, we shop. But the difference is less marked than you think” (38). Here, he draws a parallel between shopping and dieing, which is an extreme comparison, but certainly worth digging into. From Murray’s vantage point, the consumer is literally giving up his individuality, and perhaps more harshly, sacrificing it to the mass media and widespread consumerism.