docwebster ([personal profile] docwebster) wrote2006-01-27 01:38 pm

I am removing myself from any mailing lists or communities that deal with Warren Ellis

Why, you might ask?

Because of this entry, wherein he states:

"“Cigarettes are my food,” said Frank Zappa. And then he died of testicular cancer. Which came as no surprise to anyone who’d heard him wanking in recording studios for thirty years, but still. Anyone who names his kid Moon Unit is plainly asking for his balls to rot off. Because there is such a thing as karma. Welcome to the concept of universal payback."

Fuck off, Warren.

[identity profile] murnkay.livejournal.com 2006-01-27 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
None. Which is kinda uhh... what I just said.

I am shocked at how many ppl seem to NEED THAT.

Not that HE SAID THAT.

[identity profile] cavalorn.livejournal.com 2006-01-27 06:56 pm (UTC)(link)
It's not the people who need it, it's the writer.

[identity profile] murnkay.livejournal.com 2006-01-27 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Uhm. Hi.

No.

See... the...

You know what? Nevermind. You don't get it. It isn't part of you to get it. And I have nothing to gain or lose by you getting it or not, so I'm gonna stop slamming my head into a wall here trying to explain simple concepts.

Enjoy yourself and may your horizons broaden.

[identity profile] filkertom.livejournal.com 2006-01-27 07:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I just got it.

You, that is.

See if this rings any bells:

"Don't you dare say nothin' 'bout Stevie Wonder! He's a musical genius!" [sniffle]

[identity profile] murnkay.livejournal.com 2006-01-27 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow gonna call me a poo-poo head next?

Goodness gracious!

No, seriously. He doesn't get what I'm saying. At all. With the winking. I mean we were both saying one thing then he turned it around and... whatever. I mean this is the same man who apprently thinks some things AREN'T funny - like accidental deaths and shit.

[identity profile] gridlore.livejournal.com 2006-01-27 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
So, does he pay you to explain how he's a misunderstood genius, and really a nice chap?

I've honerstly never heard of him until this post. Went out and read his last twenty or so public postings.

Raging asshole. Nothing else.

[identity profile] murnkay.livejournal.com 2006-01-27 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not saying he is a genius of any sort.

Regardless... sling whatever you want, dearie. Maybe sometime you can go back and read what I've said and see my point. Or not.

[identity profile] cavalorn.livejournal.com 2006-01-28 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
No, you've missed my point.

See, nobody needs to interpret Warren Ellis in the way in which you would like them to interpret Warren Ellis. However, if Warren Ellis doesn't WANT people to take him at face value, then he needs to contextualise his work in some manner OTHER than by simple reputation. So, if there is any 'need' here, it's on his side, not the reader's; but unless you think that his work ought to be read in a given way, there isn't any 'need' at all.

Furthermore, it's not a matter of 'not getting it', it's a matter of not LIKING it. In all sorts of creative endeavour, there tends to be a belief on the part of those who enjoy it that those who do NOT enjoy it do not understand it, the conceit being that if they DID understand it, they would like it just as much as the supporters do.

Not 'getting' a joke is a matter of missing a nuance, or being ignorant of some information, which gives the appropriate perspective (as when a younger kid doesn't get a dirty joke). So, the inference is that the person who doesn't get it is somehow not properly clued in. By contrast, this isn't about whether or not someone gets it, it's about affiliation and familiarity. You've already explained the 'joke' - hey, he's not like that in real life! - but that doesn't make it funny.

Much like jokes about the Irish, or any other group, this is a 'joke' at the expense of those who aren't privy to Ellis's real persona. One 'gets it' by identifying as part of that group. It's not about broadening horizons, it's about buying into a group. And that's why you're coming across as a more ardent supporter than you actually are.