docwebster (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
docwebster) wrote2006-01-27 01:38 pm
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.
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.
no subject
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.