Technology, Consumerism and Sexuality: The faces of New Cities in DeLillo’s White Noise

Don DeLillo, in White Noise, pictures city life under the influence of modernity. New Cities, in the postmodernist's representation, have three characteristics which differently connote human sociability. First, technology is the leading facet. DeLillo portrays it as the social force which arises mitigated feelings; it even takes over the human senses. Technological advance comforts city dwellers but also causes their utmost fear. By the same way, technological advance tends to deprive people of empathy. Because of the distance it puts between people mostly, through television, people rejoice in others' misfortune. Consumerism is another aspect of cities which displaces social gatherings. People's consumerist penchant turns supermarkets and shops into social dealing spaces. Their commercial purpose turns social. Friends meetings take place in the latter. Shopping is the activity which leads to feeling family cohesion. At home, the kitchen stands for the supermarkets in miniature. People's intellectual abilities compete in food stores. In addition, the city life painted in DeLillo's novel is characterized by the banality of sexuality. Mostly considered a private matter, sexuality goes public. It hovers in every social sphere. It is a solution to any social situation, a means of bargain. These different facets of modernity depicted in DeLillo's work shape people's mentality. Consequently, the human condition is under their control.