Siebel, Patrick Alan2023-06-122023-06-122018-06-11vt_gsexam:15702http://hdl.handle.net/10919/115397Perverted in Neon is collection of short fictions engaged with various facets of modern popular culture. In its stories, a washed-up rocker enlists the aid of pigeons to deliver messages to his estranged wife; a writer obsessed with finding out what “really” happened to Andy Kaufman is pushed into the fringes of his own life; a kid on restriction discovers a secret level to a video game that threatens to change the nature of his reality; a woman on Airbnb advertises her home—and her life—to potential house renters. The characters throughout this collection tread among the desperate and downtrodden, often seeing some faint impression of hope in the distance, something worth continuing to fight for. Perverted in Neon challenges traditional distinctions of literary genres, often incorporating elements of non-fictional pop culture into fictional worlds, and vice-versa. The stories throughout aim to interrogate some notion of emotional maturity, or lack thereof—characters who think they understand the world, but quickly realize that they understand only their most immediate desires.ETDThis item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. Some uses of this item may be deemed fair and permitted by law even without permission from the rights holder(s), or the rights holder(s) may have licensed the work for use under certain conditions. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights holder(s).pop culturestoriesabsurdmusicvideo gamesformal experimentationhybrid formsperformance artThesis