It is freaking cold in here. Seriously. Did my room end up being the source of all the geothermal heat? Because there is none to be found in here, dear readers.
There was a thought for an entry. It honestly may have even been a pretty good thought. It may even make an appearance on some other night when I feel like I won't be soapboxing. But tonight? No. No, that ain't me.
Tonight, we're going to talk about something that I will figure out in the interim while I wash a glass, put it in the dishwasher, and PREPARE MYSELF AND GIRD MY LOINS for going to bed.
Oh man. These loins are GIRDED. And you know what else? I'm listening to the loop of the Game of Thrones theme song. This shit is about to get EPIC. AND WILL MY PHONE STOP BLINKING, GEEZ. I KNOW THERE'S E-MAIL AND THAT YOU'RE PINGING AS I TURN YOU ON (ahurr) TO CHECK THE E-MAIL, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE'S MORE E-MAIL AND APPARENTLY NOW YOU BLINK WHEN YOU FIND WIFI? WHAT IS THAT? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? IT'S STUPID. YOU'RE STUPID, SMART PHONE. But seriously, it's a pretty good phone when it's not being screwy, and it's JUST A PHONE.
I would have used some sort of clip art for that, but there is nothing good out there that is readily findable on the Google. Frau Brow, I believe this is your domain, and yes, you just got called out. (Okay, it's probably not your domain, but you work there, so you're closer than the rest of us.)
My beard continues to be soft, even if it is getting nearly cumbersome. But the beard is not the issue here, dude, and please- well, there's not really a political correct term for beard yet, so groovy. AGAIN WITH THE E-MAIL.
Hooooom. Say it with me now, Gilbert.
There we go. Much better. And once again, my ability to subconsciously loop my tangents into my actual intended discourse flies again.
I've been recalling a few discussions that I had over the summer with some friends. Both of them had seen The Avengers (which I found quite good and worth seeing), and both of them took issue with Captain America. Well, "took issue" probably isn't the best phrase here. They just don't care for Captain America as a character.
To a point, I agree with them. On his own, Captain America has never been my favorite. His character was in the army, and even though he's certainly an... army of one (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit using that cliché), his villains aren't that interesting. (OH NO, IT'S A NAZI THAT EVEN HITLER THOUGHT WAS TOO MUCH OF A NAZI. ALSO MORE NAZIS. Seriously, does he spend ALL his time in Argentina and Brazil? How does he keep finding these Nazis? Unless...)
And let's face it, a good villain makes a good comic. That's a big part of why The Avengers (movie and comic alike) work- they've got room to draw on the BEST villains, and they can pull their respective heroes into the team without much of a problem.
Plus, that's really where Cap works better. He's leading a team, and (at least in 616 universe where he's not being racist anymore) he's standing for ideals. Not "America," but its ideals, which blah blah V for Vendetta, they're bulletproof, blah blah blah. Yes, it's all a bit cornball, but a lot of times, it works.
See, though, Cap isn't really the issue here. He's just an example. Look at Captain America compared to the rest of the Avengers roster (we'll stick to the characters from the movie team, but we'll use comic book traits).
Iron Man- Alcoholic control freak who won't let other people play in his sandbox (and rightly so, because they usually just blow things up indiscriminately. Not that Tony doesn't- he just wants to be the only one doing it.)
Hulk- really? You can't see the character flaw with the Hulk? Okay, fine, here you go- HE GOES CRAZY WHEN HE GETS ANGRY. That's also the only time he can actually do anything in a fight (even though when he's normal, he's a raging badass on the sidelines. Plus, Mark Ruffalo, LADIES.)
Black Widow- ex-Soviet spy/assassin/what have you whose loyalties are never really that clear
Thor- Norse God who gets kicked out of Asgard because HE'S JUST TOO COCKY FOR THE VIKINGS. You know, the race of "I will drink from your children's skull this evening, and I shall take your wife as mine own in your marital bed. Songs will be sung, epics shall be written, and none shall forget this night, unless you pick up your share of the goddamned tab, whoreson." And he's also not that bright.
Hawkeye- ex-criminal, so there's the whole checkered past sort of thing
And then there's Cap. Cap's only big flaw is that he's a fish out of water. Yes, there's a bit of cultural wackiness (hence the racism in his Ultimate counterpart and a bit of sexism even in his normal one).
Thing is, all of these character flaws were well established BEFORE the whole "Dark and Edgy" craze that Frank Miller set off.
Even in the older comics with the old school characterizations, Captain America is a bit bland on his own, and his fish out of water thing only really works when he's not the only one we're looking at. BUT out of his team, he's probably the only really decent one (okay, Spider-man probably counts, but they've really, really, REALLY tried to shoehorn in some issues for him (beyond the obvious Uncle Ben business)). All they could really do with Cap was kill him (and we all know how well that stuck. Here's a hint: It's a comic book that's been going since WWII. He came back.).
This whole Captain America discussion led to me asking one of these friends (more or less) if she thought we shouldn't have "good guys." Her response (unsurprisingly) was a resounding, "No, we shouldn't." I think she had some points about how it's a childish view of morality and not how the world works and the usual, "Well, everything is a shade of grey (of which there are apparently fifty), so anything going with an absolute is being unrealistic." And, to a point, she's right. A lot of the really great heroes and villains in literature, TV, and the like are deeply flawed. We need to be able to relate to them, and that's important.
Okay, so grey isn't bad. What about black? Sometimes, we can't do it. We want to pull the whole, "Well, he loved someone once. Well, she spared that one little kitten," argument, and that can't cut it. People romanticize Snape as this tragic hero of another story, because he was good all along, right? Well, we know my feelings on Snape (namely, the fact that his love for Lily made him MORE evil in a lot of way, not less). Sometimes, though, we can handle it. I mean, sure, Voldemort isn't the most compelling villain around, and nobody likes Cersei. But then, ladies and gentlemen, you have The Joker.
They've occasionally tried to give him a decent backstory, or make him sane, or something else that just doesn't take. Even when he's sane, though, he's still a murderous sociopath. When he's not heavily medicated, he just doesn't care. I don't know if it's because the idea can be so alien to us or because he's doing what we want to do. Maybe it's because he's basically a blank slate, as long as you stick to the rules that he's crazy and will kill you if it makes the punchline work. I don't know why we think he's such an amazing character, but... he is.
So much for not soapboxing, huh? Almost done, I promise.
So, we've seen that gray works, we've seen that black can work, but what about white? Well, okay, comic books- you've got Captain America (obviously) and Superman. I feel like in both cases, the billionaire playboy philanthropist teammates get more love. (Plus, Superman used to be a real dick, so maybe he doesn't count?)
You also get a whole lot of folks from Neil Gaiman's work. Fiddler's Green (pictured above), Silas, and probably others really sell that they're actually good. They get the chance to put themselves on the line, and they do it EVERY TIME.
What about literature? Eh, there's really not much anymore. Jon Snow MAYBE, and I guess you could throw in Selmy from Game of Thrones, but they're both out of their element (and, again, Jon can be a bit of a dick). You could probably throw in Carrot from Discworld, but he's not a main character, so we don't really get to see where he's NOT a hero. And that's part of the problem.
See, even looking at TV, there's not much- on the TV Tropes page for "The Cape" there's really only one not-super-campy example that fits, and that one (the Mountie from Due South) apparently gets treated like he's nuts. The movie examples are Captain America (because I haven't beaten THAT horse to death) and V from V for Vendetta (which is just so wrong on so many levels. Well, okay, maybe he's not actually that bad in the movie, but the comic book does the character more justice, and THERE IT IS AGAIN.).
I'm writing this freaking argument, and even I can't keep from thinking, "Oh, he's in it for himself," or, "Oh, this would be so much better if it were a little more CYNICAL." On the one hand, yes- stories have to be something with which we can identify. But they're more than that. You look at the old oral traditions, you look at the stories that really survive, and some of them ARE cautionary tales. But just as many give us something to which we can aspire. We've gotten lazy and started writing about how, well, no, this person isn't actually good. I can give them a flaw, and I can write around that flaw, and that will identify the character. Yes, the REALLY good character authors (Martin comes to mind) make the flaw a strength in its own way that gets surrounded by other flaws, and you've got a real person that you're working with. That's impressive. But then on the other side, you have writers like Neil Gaiman, who can write the flawed characters but who can also imagine how a character would have to think and act to actually be good. Maybe they'll waver, maybe they'll have their doubts. But when they act, they do the right thing, and SOMEHOW he manages to keep them from being Mary Sues/Marty Stus.
So this one's for you, Mr. Gaiman, you beautiful man that writes the books that keep me from studying.
 |
| Every morning. |
There was a thought for an entry. It honestly may have even been a pretty good thought. It may even make an appearance on some other night when I feel like I won't be soapboxing. But tonight? No. No, that ain't me.
Tonight, we're going to talk about something that I will figure out in the interim while I wash a glass, put it in the dishwasher, and PREPARE MYSELF AND GIRD MY LOINS for going to bed.
Oh man. These loins are GIRDED. And you know what else? I'm listening to the loop of the Game of Thrones theme song. This shit is about to get EPIC. AND WILL MY PHONE STOP BLINKING, GEEZ. I KNOW THERE'S E-MAIL AND THAT YOU'RE PINGING AS I TURN YOU ON (ahurr) TO CHECK THE E-MAIL, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE'S MORE E-MAIL AND APPARENTLY NOW YOU BLINK WHEN YOU FIND WIFI? WHAT IS THAT? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? IT'S STUPID. YOU'RE STUPID, SMART PHONE. But seriously, it's a pretty good phone when it's not being screwy, and it's JUST A PHONE.
I would have used some sort of clip art for that, but there is nothing good out there that is readily findable on the Google. Frau Brow, I believe this is your domain, and yes, you just got called out. (Okay, it's probably not your domain, but you work there, so you're closer than the rest of us.)
My beard continues to be soft, even if it is getting nearly cumbersome. But the beard is not the issue here, dude, and please- well, there's not really a political correct term for beard yet, so groovy. AGAIN WITH THE E-MAIL.
Hooooom. Say it with me now, Gilbert.
 |
| Hoom. |
There we go. Much better. And once again, my ability to subconsciously loop my tangents into my actual intended discourse flies again.
I've been recalling a few discussions that I had over the summer with some friends. Both of them had seen The Avengers (which I found quite good and worth seeing), and both of them took issue with Captain America. Well, "took issue" probably isn't the best phrase here. They just don't care for Captain America as a character.
To a point, I agree with them. On his own, Captain America has never been my favorite. His character was in the army, and even though he's certainly an... army of one (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit using that cliché), his villains aren't that interesting. (OH NO, IT'S A NAZI THAT EVEN HITLER THOUGHT WAS TOO MUCH OF A NAZI. ALSO MORE NAZIS. Seriously, does he spend ALL his time in Argentina and Brazil? How does he keep finding these Nazis? Unless...)
 |
| No wonder Bucky became Winter Soldier. Oh. Spoilers, I guess? That's hardly a spoiler anymore. Shame on your for thinking that it is. |
Plus, that's really where Cap works better. He's leading a team, and (at least in 616 universe where he's not being racist anymore) he's standing for ideals. Not "America," but its ideals, which blah blah V for Vendetta, they're bulletproof, blah blah blah. Yes, it's all a bit cornball, but a lot of times, it works.
See, though, Cap isn't really the issue here. He's just an example. Look at Captain America compared to the rest of the Avengers roster (we'll stick to the characters from the movie team, but we'll use comic book traits).
Iron Man- Alcoholic control freak who won't let other people play in his sandbox (and rightly so, because they usually just blow things up indiscriminately. Not that Tony doesn't- he just wants to be the only one doing it.)
Hulk- really? You can't see the character flaw with the Hulk? Okay, fine, here you go- HE GOES CRAZY WHEN HE GETS ANGRY. That's also the only time he can actually do anything in a fight (even though when he's normal, he's a raging badass on the sidelines. Plus, Mark Ruffalo, LADIES.)
Black Widow- ex-Soviet spy/assassin/what have you whose loyalties are never really that clear
Thor- Norse God who gets kicked out of Asgard because HE'S JUST TOO COCKY FOR THE VIKINGS. You know, the race of "I will drink from your children's skull this evening, and I shall take your wife as mine own in your marital bed. Songs will be sung, epics shall be written, and none shall forget this night, unless you pick up your share of the goddamned tab, whoreson." And he's also not that bright.
Hawkeye- ex-criminal, so there's the whole checkered past sort of thing
And then there's Cap. Cap's only big flaw is that he's a fish out of water. Yes, there's a bit of cultural wackiness (hence the racism in his Ultimate counterpart and a bit of sexism even in his normal one).
Thing is, all of these character flaws were well established BEFORE the whole "Dark and Edgy" craze that Frank Miller set off.
 |
| "Man, I just wanted to draw hot women and cool cars. I didn't know. I DIDN'T KNOW." |
Even in the older comics with the old school characterizations, Captain America is a bit bland on his own, and his fish out of water thing only really works when he's not the only one we're looking at. BUT out of his team, he's probably the only really decent one (okay, Spider-man probably counts, but they've really, really, REALLY tried to shoehorn in some issues for him (beyond the obvious Uncle Ben business)). All they could really do with Cap was kill him (and we all know how well that stuck. Here's a hint: It's a comic book that's been going since WWII. He came back.).
This whole Captain America discussion led to me asking one of these friends (more or less) if she thought we shouldn't have "good guys." Her response (unsurprisingly) was a resounding, "No, we shouldn't." I think she had some points about how it's a childish view of morality and not how the world works and the usual, "Well, everything is a shade of grey (of which there are apparently fifty), so anything going with an absolute is being unrealistic." And, to a point, she's right. A lot of the really great heroes and villains in literature, TV, and the like are deeply flawed. We need to be able to relate to them, and that's important.
Okay, so grey isn't bad. What about black? Sometimes, we can't do it. We want to pull the whole, "Well, he loved someone once. Well, she spared that one little kitten," argument, and that can't cut it. People romanticize Snape as this tragic hero of another story, because he was good all along, right? Well, we know my feelings on Snape (namely, the fact that his love for Lily made him MORE evil in a lot of way, not less). Sometimes, though, we can handle it. I mean, sure, Voldemort isn't the most compelling villain around, and nobody likes Cersei. But then, ladies and gentlemen, you have The Joker.
 |
| Yeah, there's no way I'm NOT putting a picture here. |
So much for not soapboxing, huh? Almost done, I promise.
So, we've seen that gray works, we've seen that black can work, but what about white? Well, okay, comic books- you've got Captain America (obviously) and Superman. I feel like in both cases, the billionaire playboy philanthropist teammates get more love. (Plus, Superman used to be a real dick, so maybe he doesn't count?)
 |
| Ladies and gentlemen, Krypton's finest. |
You also get a whole lot of folks from Neil Gaiman's work. Fiddler's Green (pictured above), Silas, and probably others really sell that they're actually good. They get the chance to put themselves on the line, and they do it EVERY TIME.
What about literature? Eh, there's really not much anymore. Jon Snow MAYBE, and I guess you could throw in Selmy from Game of Thrones, but they're both out of their element (and, again, Jon can be a bit of a dick). You could probably throw in Carrot from Discworld, but he's not a main character, so we don't really get to see where he's NOT a hero. And that's part of the problem.
See, even looking at TV, there's not much- on the TV Tropes page for "The Cape" there's really only one not-super-campy example that fits, and that one (the Mountie from Due South) apparently gets treated like he's nuts. The movie examples are Captain America (because I haven't beaten THAT horse to death) and V from V for Vendetta (which is just so wrong on so many levels. Well, okay, maybe he's not actually that bad in the movie, but the comic book does the character more justice, and THERE IT IS AGAIN.).
I'm writing this freaking argument, and even I can't keep from thinking, "Oh, he's in it for himself," or, "Oh, this would be so much better if it were a little more CYNICAL." On the one hand, yes- stories have to be something with which we can identify. But they're more than that. You look at the old oral traditions, you look at the stories that really survive, and some of them ARE cautionary tales. But just as many give us something to which we can aspire. We've gotten lazy and started writing about how, well, no, this person isn't actually good. I can give them a flaw, and I can write around that flaw, and that will identify the character. Yes, the REALLY good character authors (Martin comes to mind) make the flaw a strength in its own way that gets surrounded by other flaws, and you've got a real person that you're working with. That's impressive. But then on the other side, you have writers like Neil Gaiman, who can write the flawed characters but who can also imagine how a character would have to think and act to actually be good. Maybe they'll waver, maybe they'll have their doubts. But when they act, they do the right thing, and SOMEHOW he manages to keep them from being Mary Sues/Marty Stus.
So this one's for you, Mr. Gaiman, you beautiful man that writes the books that keep me from studying.
 |
| Who am I kidding? I can't stay mad at that. |
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