Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT - 6-10 September 2010 (1746-1750)
J:
--- Quote from: raoullefere on 12 Sep 2010, 20:00 ---Chinese writing does not make a word magical—all words in all languages have that same 'magic.' I was joking about Odin before, but the old Norse had the right of it. Using symbols to represent something that's not even 'there' is high magic indeed.
--- End quote ---
i very much agree with this, however, i don't think there's anything wrong with choosing a language/character/font/etc on aesthetic grounds. if it says the same thing (in theory) and you (hopefully) know what it means, then how much does the style really matter beyond that?
raoullefere:
It matters if you screw up or get screwed and instead of, say, "Courage" have "Does Not Move" or "Giant Chicken" or somesuch written on you. Or it least it would to me. There are some, I admit, who possess the ego or natural obliviousness to bull it out if this is revealed to them, of course.
To such individuals, though, I say this: selecting something that has an actual meaning to millions, perhaps even a billion or so people and trying to make it have another for you because you feel it 'looks cool,' to me, says some things about yourself that may not be cool at all. China, for example, has a teeny bit of history of being plundered by people who didn't understand her in the slightest and didn't really give a damn about what they were appropriating (and sometimes destroying), either. Why join those assholes?
The Mycenaeans, however, don't much care anymore.
Border Reiver:
--- Quote from: raoullefere on 14 Sep 2010, 03:57 ---It matters if you screw up or get screwed and instead of, say, "Courage" have "Does Not Move" or "Giant Chicken" or somesuch written on you. Or it least it would to me. There are some, I admit, who possess the ego or natural obliviousness to bull it out if this is revealed to them, of course.
To such individuals, though, I say this: selecting something that has an actual meaning to millions, perhaps even a billion or so people and trying to make it have another for you because you feel it 'looks cool,' to me, says some things about yourself that may not be cool at all. China, for example, has a teeny bit of history of being plundered by people who didn't understand her in the slightest and didn't really give a damn about what they were appropriating (and sometimes destroying), either. Why join those assholes?
The Mycenaeans, however, don't much care anymore.
--- End quote ---
That's the whole joy of plundering though - I get it because I'm better at taking it than you are at keeping it.
On the other hand, suddenly finding out that what you thought was a symbol of badass masculinity actually means that you perform unnatural acts with farm animals might be quite embarrassing, and allows the "plundered" to get a good chuckle at the expense of the stupid.
Tergon:
This conversation brings to mind one time when I was a teenager and my family went to a fancy Chinese restaurant. There was a framed picture on the wall, with beautiful calligraphy and borderwork around a set of characters. It was simple, striking, and beautiful. It drew our eye so much that my Mum proceeded to ask the waiter what it meant.
He gave her an odd look, then laughed and told her it said "No Smoking."
As far as getting foreign characters tattooed on yourself goes, I can certainly appreciate aesthetic beauty. Writing in other languages can look beautiful. But if you saw someone walking around with the letters SMPELAT tramp-stamped over their arse, you'd wonder what the hell they were thinking. Let alone if they had random words like BANNANA CHAIR FROG BUBBLE there instead. If you're on about aesthetics, I'd have to think that having the body-art equivalent of Tourette's Syndrome permanently affixed to your skin would be kind of a drawback.
I do like simpler variations of this, though. Celtic symbols, for example... they're beautiful and carry simple meaning. As long as you do your research, and make sure it means what you think, there's no issue.
tomart:
--- Quote from: Tergon on 14 Sep 2010, 08:08 ---Celtic symbols, for example... they're beautiful and carry simple meaning. As long as you do your research, and make sure it means what you think, there's no issue.
--- End quote ---
I do calligraphy, and have seen some Chinese (hand-lettered with those handmade brushes) characters that are beautiful art, AND have meaning; it seems obvious to me that these are worth preserving and displaying...
That said, I will never get tattoos on my body. :-)
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