Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT 2056-2060; Nov. 14-18, 2011

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Sidhekin:
I read your posts, and all I can think of ... is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u9rAOx20dk

DSL:
Don't send FrozenPeas any glitter.

ZBixby:
I think what this past week of comics has shown to us is that Marten isn't just overtly mopey. Yes I think we can agree that his moping characteristics were quite obviously shown and pointed to but he did do something that made him momentarily happy even if he isn't quite dealing with it perfectly now that that momentary happiness has dispersed. It also gives us a rather good view of Marten becoming more self evident as per the last strip of the week. However the context of him acknowledging is idiocy can still be implied either way until we get further comics.

As it goes with Padma, I would side with the people on this forum that say that she is either not at all at fault here or only slightly at fault. Elliot talked to her on the phone and joked about how she should hook up with Marten, tone of voice would be very smart to try and imagine here when reading that specific comic. I know if I was in that specific situation and someone who had just confessed they loved me not a day or two ago had been talking to me on the phone had suggested that I would probably do what Padma had done. If your listening to the person and their tone is implying that they are joking about the idea especially if they had just confessed there would be a certain strain to their voice. I can't say I know if Elliot would be able to mask his emotions or not when speaking of it but his voice may have cracked or heightened or had a slight laugh to it which would be how someone in his situation may jokingly mention. This coupled on the fact that Padma does respect Elliot as a friend means she would more then likely say what she believed would not hurt his feelings and thus "Not wanting to get involved with someone" would be the optimal choice.

We can't say that either party is fully at fault or not though because a one night stand involves a certain amount of emotional detachment, yet we can also not assume that this is only going to be a one night stand. In 2058 Padma shows no reluctance to being close to Marten or holding his hand either, which to me shows that there is a certain amount of affection that she has for him even when they have both had the night to sober up. She also knows hes planning to call her the next day which by the vast majority of standards mean that another date may be set up.

Regardless of the outcome of the relationship whether it be just a one night stand or a relationship that Marten has to deal with when and if she does eventually move away I see this as a chance for Marten to grow as a character. Pintsize has the right idea wanting to celebrate the hook up because it's finally breaking the cycle of his sadness over the break up with Dora and thus grants an opportunity for growth and some sort of knowledge to be gained by him, even if it is just that he isn't completely undesirable to opposite sex.

Honestly only time will tell what will happen but I honestly can't wait to see what happens with Marten and Padma, as well as with Faye and Angus. 

raoullefere:
Nothing wrong with glitter, provided one isn't Hanners… and you're not putting it on your face.


--- Quote from: FrozenPeas on 19 Nov 2011, 08:08 ---One of the hardest forms of addiction to break is addiction to an emotional state. When you're addicted to stress and anger and depression, it doesn't matter what is happening in your life, you will find something to stress out and become angry about (which will then turn into depression).

Stress and anger give us a short boost of adrenaline, which gives us a temporary high, and make us feel like we're in control of situations that we're totally not--after all, we're caring about the situation, and that's like doing something, isn't it? And then depression kicks in once we realize just how powerless (or, if not powerless, ineffectual) we are--and, as a nice little button, often helps us embrace victimhood as an excuse for not making the changes in our lives that would end the cycle.

Eventually, we get habituated to existing in a particular mental state, and WILL find whatever way is available to keep us in that mental state. My theory is that half the people in the world (probably more) who follow either sports or politics only do so because they want an excuse to be outraged at any given time.

And here's where it comes back 'round to the comic: Marten lives in a headspace of uncertainty and a vague sense of mild depression. That's home to him; it's where he's comfortable, because he understands it. He doesn't enjoy it (who would?), but, speaking as someone wallowing in a crappy job, apartment, and city, I gotta tell you, it's hard to leave the devil you know for the angel you don't.

Marten isn't Al Bundy--he doesn't have to stay in a particular headspace because the series would be over without it, so I don't think that this is just a way of maintaining the status quo. Really, Jeph has never been a creator who embraces the status quo style of comic-writing; I think this is Jeph really playing out the character logically: Marten grabs things that he think will make him happy, but, because he isn't changing the way he approaches life, he ends up spoiling it for himself by hunting down whatever will ruin the experience for him. The fact that he recognizes that is a good thing, though... if he does something about it.

So, really, this was probably just a thing that happened on the way to other things and its immediacy is the only thing giving it real importance (although it is a nice little ticking time-bomb in his friendship with Elliot).

--- End quote ---

Two things: one, while I agree there is such a thing as addiction to emotional states, that's not quite what you're describing when you get to what you call Marten's 'headspace.' I've remarked on this before: people have a tendency to adhere to what's familiar, be it working well for them or not. Many a person will endure fairly horrible, stressful conditions rather than venture into a new situation, because the terrors of dealing with the new are, to him, worse. Change holds great fear for many people, and they will go to great lengths to avoid it. I wouldn't call it an addiction to that familiar state, though; it's fear, plain and simple. In other words, avoidance, rather than need (and yeah, the two can get intermixed, but that's a whole other ball of wax).

Dora, as I've said before, is a good example of a person who fears the unfamiliar; she'd rather move from failed relationship to failed relationship than try to change things about herself in order to make a relationship last: being in a relationship that won't last is what's familiar to her. When things didn't end with Marten the way she'd expected they would, Dora got afraid, and when that didn't work, she got angry, with the result being she finally had an excuse to end the relationship, which is the outcome she'd been expecting all along.

Marten, to me, doesn't seem in quite this place. He's not so much stuck in a pattern as he is directionless. I suppose that, too, could be considered a pattern, but we've yet to see Marten actively struggle not to have a direction, so to me, anyway, the jury's still out on that. On the other hand, were Marten 'addicted' to moping, or were that his familiar place, it seems far more likely to me he'd have turned down Dora and kept waiting for Faye, using one excuse after another to not move on. One could argue he picked Dora because he knew it couldn't last, but it doesn't seem to me he knew her well enough at the time to predict that.

So I think Marten is basically still in the 'down' after what happened with Dora, and, as I said, the 'fresh' little down of realizing Padma will soon be leaving pushed him back downslope a little. And yet, rather than wallowing in that, we see him trying to work his way back 'up' by examining the situation and explaining to himself that a little fun with Padma is a good thing.

Meanwhile, I love seeing Pot Faye sitting next to him, piping away about how 'black' Kettle Marten is (when he's mildly smudged at best). Until recently, Faye's a poster child for staying in one place, and she's fresh off another attack of it.

jwhouk:

--- Quote from: raoullefere on 19 Nov 2011, 23:25 ---<snip some very good points>

Marten, to me, doesn't seem in quite this place. He's not so much stuck in a pattern as he is directionless. I suppose that, too, could be considered a pattern, but we've yet to see Marten actively struggle not to have a direction, so to me, anyway, the jury's still out on that.

</snip>

--- End quote ---

A wise Canadian philosopher once said, "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."

Of course, Marten doesn't care much for that philosopher's theories.

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