© Chris Port, 24 August 2013
"You is all a bunch of pooftahs."
“US releases Chelsea Manning”,
The Daily Mash,
23 August 2013
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/us-to-apologise-and-release-chelsea-manning-2013082378910
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/us-to-apologise-and-release-chelsea-manning-2013082378910
The po-faced left (“This is NOT FUNNY!”) are missing a trick here. Manning is being exploited as part of a cunning volte-face. Comedy is amoral. This is funny (albeit tragi-comic).
First, look at all the historic sex scandals being unearthed. Many of these seem to have occurred in the back corridors of light entertainment. Suddenly, that ‘Golden Age’ image of Auntie Beeb has become tarnished and perverted. If I were looking for ways to soften up the BBC for privatization, that’s the way I’d go: make the cosy sinister.
Second, look at how this whistleblower is being put to bed. The sinister is being made risible. The most effective way to undermine a ‘martyr’ is to make them look ridiculous. I'm not saying that transexuals are ridiculous. I’m saying that they can be made to look ridiculous. Manning’s troubled psyche is being used as an ad hominem attack to discredit his motives (and thus his actions, and supporters).
I’m not saying The Mash is part of any such conspiracy. Like all good satirists, it’s just taking something big and making it small. That's what incongruity does. Who would have thought it? All those “I am Bradley Manning” supporters are now being made to look like people in the ‘wrong’ gender / politics / country etc. The CIA didn’t choose a patsy. But they did find one. At least, that’s what I would do if I were in their shoes...
I look forward to revelations of Edward Snowden’s interest in Japanese tentacle porn (or whatever).
Ethics aside, it’s fascinating how much damage can be done by one lowly private. Once quantum computing is up and running, it will be possible to track and analyse every electronic communication in the world simultaneously. No matter how they try to tighten up their security protocols, there are no longer any secrets in the information age. There's only info, disinfo, and misinfo.
The
trees don’t need to know…
Whispering Grass, Don Estelle and
Windsor Davies
(Original
music and lyrics by Fred & Doris Fisher, 1940)
You
promised me green grass, not to tell what you ‘eard
Whispering grass, say you can’t keep your word
Keep your word, sing Lofty
Why do you whisper, green grass
Why tell the trees what ain’t so
Whispering grass, the trees don’t have to know, no, no
Why tell them all your secrets
Who kissed there long ago
Whispering grass, the trees don't need to know
Don't you tell it to the breeze
Or she will tell the birds and bees
And everyone will know
Because you told the blabbering trees
Yes, you told them once before
It’s no secret anymore
Why tell them all the old things
They're buried under the snow
Whispering grass, don't tell the trees
‘cause the trees don’t need to know
Don’t you tell it to the breeze
Coz she will tell the birds and bees
And everyone will know
Because you told the blabbering trees
Oh yes, you told them once before
And it is no secret anymore
I will not have gossip in this jungle
Why tell them all the old things
They’re buried under the snow
Whispering grass, don’t tell the trees
‘cause the trees don't need to know
Whispering grass, say you can’t keep your word
Keep your word, sing Lofty
Why do you whisper, green grass
Why tell the trees what ain’t so
Whispering grass, the trees don’t have to know, no, no
Why tell them all your secrets
Who kissed there long ago
Whispering grass, the trees don't need to know
Don't you tell it to the breeze
Or she will tell the birds and bees
And everyone will know
Because you told the blabbering trees
Yes, you told them once before
It’s no secret anymore
Why tell them all the old things
They're buried under the snow
Whispering grass, don't tell the trees
‘cause the trees don’t need to know
Don’t you tell it to the breeze
Coz she will tell the birds and bees
And everyone will know
Because you told the blabbering trees
Oh yes, you told them once before
And it is no secret anymore
I will not have gossip in this jungle
Why tell them all the old things
They’re buried under the snow
Whispering grass, don’t tell the trees
‘cause the trees don't need to know
See also:
Don’t Frighten The Horses: Frau Blücher, Frau Thatcher, and the Law of Increasing Returns
http://martygull.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/chris-port-blog-346-dont-frighten.html
On Directing Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo: An Evaluation of ‘The Serious Business of Comedy’
http://martygull.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/chris-port-blog-144-on-directing.html
Talking Out Your Arts
http://martygull.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/chris-port-blog-145-talking-out-your.html
Humour in the Holocaust: Does Laughter Relieve Our Suffering or Diminish Our Objections to the Suffering of Others?
http://martygull.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/chris-port-blog-146-humour-in-holocaust.html
First
Draft PhD Proposal - What Is The Current Role of The Martyr? Skeptical
Romanticism and a Metamodernist Renaissance: The Resynthesis of Art, Science and
Philosophy in the Context of Musical Drama
Blog
Facebook
Notes
on Metamodernism: The Pit and the Pendulum; Existing Between Oscillations of
‘informed naivety’, ‘pragmatic idealism’ and ‘moderate fanaticism’
A Crash
Course in Aesthetics
How To
Teach Art In Schools (As A Crime)
The
Evil That Bureaucrats Do...
Think
Tank Debate Forum Notes: “In your opinion, has WWIII already begun?”
The Name of the Ghost
^ CONTINUED/...
ReplyDeleteJK: Perhaps your next one should titled "[LT] is mental so I probably shouldn't waste my time trying to prove I'm funny to her"
MG: Oh, my.
JK: That's definitely a first on the mash threads, all that work and as chubby brown says"it's either funny..or it f**king isn't"
RM: Haven't read all the posts on this thread, cos life's too short- but basically this short article seems to be NOT taking the piss out of Bradley/ Chelsea Manning but saying that American prison guards are thick... and what's wrong with that? Poking fun at authority figures surely what satire is all about?
MG: ^^It's like that old saying - 'Analysing comedy is like dissecting a frog; it's for c**ts'.
CP@JK. Thanks for the advice :D I'm not wasting my time (and please don't let me waste yours). And I'm not trying to prove I'm funny, to her or anyone. At least, not here. I leave that to the Mash and save it for my scripts.
@MG. The actual saying (by E.B. White) is "Analyzing humour is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies." He's right. Then again, as Žižek observed, "Humanity is OK, but 99% of people are boring idiots". I couldn't care less what idiots think (except as script material). It's the thinking few I'm interested in.
Comedy is a deadly serious business...
Comedians, Trevor Griffiths (1979) The key scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkimhgT3YCI
^ CONTINUED/...
ReplyDeleteDH: Oh dear, few ego's flying around on this thread, eh? Bottom line is, you either find something funny or you don't. You don't need a PhD to work that out. I didn't find the joke funny: no analysis involved, just a binary yes/no response, based on a visceral reaction. There ya go Mash...I think we can safely say this wasn't your best work.
CP: Thanks D. I'll write this very slowly for the hard of understanding (not you).
"Oh dear, few ego's flying around on this thread, eh?"
More ids and super-egos, I would say.
"Bottom line is, you either find something funny or you don't."
Correct.
"You don't need a PhD to work that out."
Correct.
"I didn't find the joke funny: no analysis involved, just a binary yes/no response, based on a visceral reaction."
That's your business. Nothing to do with what I've been talking about (context).
"There ya go Mash...I think we can safely say this wasn't your best work."
I liked it :D I was just making a wider point in my original post, then responding to some obscure criticism. I find it useful for some research I'm doing. Egotistically, I couldn't give [a] toss :)
TP: i like the way everyone on this thread seems to be writing a thesis, where the fuck youse think you are, youse write words with more than 2 syllables i'm lost, i know you guys think how clever you are, actually your all self righteous pompous c**ts who shouldn't be let out of the classroom
JK: Well, , you're a bit of a c**t aren't you
JK: Not every one T, just one loon that's stumbled upon the mash
TP: no jk, but these scripts that c**t was talking about must be Ritalin, you'd think he might share that instead of the bullshit he spouts, i know it's bullshit coz i don't understand it, i don't understand it coz i don't use Ritalin, so you got any to spare port old buddie,
TP: speed freaks can only connect with other speed freak
TP: what c**t advertises his own blog, f**king coming on here pimping is outrages, what a slut you are port old pal
TP: port you ought to pay mash for advertising space
^ CONTINUED/...
ReplyDeleteCP: Thanks, TP. You're exactly the sort of case study I've been looking for! Ignorant, intolerant, rude, lazy, irrelevant, apoplectic at arguments and links (which you're not under any compulsion to read) - and proud of it! Hope you enjoyed your fury :)
TP: fury? you give yourself to much credit, as you do me, smarmy git, but i do like it when you speak dirty.You are speaking dirty aren't ya?
TP: advertising your own blog is the same as you thumbing your own comment,
MF: Advertising your own blog is the same as laughing at your own joke, tool!
CP: @TP(& MF, Hi).
Ah, so it’s not my observations so much as I’ve DARED to refer critics to EVIDENCE.
If my blog was a commercial enterprise (i.e. if I earned advertising revenue from hits) then your criticisms would have some merit. It’s not. It’s an academic blog. That said, there are some commercial projects proposed within it. But not in any of the posts referenced.
My original post was self-contained. However, since it prompted some obscure criticism, I referred the critic to some theoretical underpinning. My guess was they didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. It’s this academic ‘arrogance’ which seems to so infuriate you (which, given your pseudo-analytical posturing earlier in the thread, I find quite funny).
The nature of complaints often inadvertently reveals interesting subtext in the psyche of the complainant - which is why I find you so ‘interesting’. For example, people fixated on complaining about nudity on late night television often go looking for it to be offended, and are possibly repressed perverts. You self-evidently see no problem with advertising your own dangling analyses, but are fixated on complaining about references to my explored ones. So I’m guessing there’s some kind of violently expressed repression going on (like repressed homosexuals who tried to ingratiate themselves with the Nazis by going out queer-bashing). I’m not suggesting you’re a pervert, gay, or a Nazi by the way. These are just analogies.
I’m always fascinated by tangled inferiority/superiority complexes, so I’ll use you as a case study (anonymous, of course). If I make any money out of them, I’ll buy you a T-shirt.
http://www.moretvicar.com/collections/the-daily-mash/products/worthless-iii-informed-opinions-mens-black-t-shirt
Right, that’s my academic trolling over. There are other threads out there waiting to be teased. I’ll keep one lazy eye out for anything interesting here. Have bitchy fun without me :)
MF: Chris, have a look around you, walk to the first wall you see and talk to it. I'm not listening or reading your boring blog. You are, in my opinion, slightly short of a half wit. More of a f**kwit.
CP: Have a nice day :)
'Network-Centric Quantum Communications with Application to Critical Infrastructure Protection'
ReplyDeleteRichard J. Hughes, Jane E. Nordholt, Kevin P. McCabe, Raymond T. Newell, Charles G. Peterson, Rolando D. Somma
Cornell University Library, arXiv:1305.0305v1, 1 May 2013
http://arxiv.org/abs/1305.0305?utm_source=feedly
'Government Lab Reveals It Has Operated Quantum Internet for Over Two Years'
The Physics arXiv Blog, MIT Technology Review, 6 May 2013
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/514581/government-lab-reveals-quantum-internet-operated-continuously-for-over-two-years/
'Declassified: The Government’s Quantum Internet'
Benjamin Plackett, The Connectivist, 8 May 2013
http://www.theconnectivist.com/2013/05/declassified-the-governments-quantum-internet/?utm_source=taboola
'First Demonstration of A Quantum Router'
The Physics arXiv Blog, MIT Technology Review, 3 August 2012
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428706/first-demonstration-of-a-quantum-router/
'Experimental demonstration of an entanglement-based quantum router'
X.-Y. Chang, Y.-X. Wang, C. Zu, K. Liu, L.-M. Duan
Cornell University Library, arXiv:1207.7265v2, 31 July 2012
http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.7265
https://www.facebook.com/notes/chris-port/first-draft-phd-proposal/397025593660968?comment_id=86355203&offset=0&total_comments=188