Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT: 2286-90 (1-5 October 2012) Weekly Comics Discussion Thread
Dr. ROFLPWN:
ON THE MATTER OF "DOMESTIC VIOLENCE": the reason that bringing that up got such a rude response is manifold, eschatonic/DNR/muffin_of_chaos/anyone else new to the forums, and I will attempt to enlighten:
1.) Jeph has said, on these forums, that Faye's seemingly violent overreactions are clearly, obviously not okay in real life (with the exception of such as the OWLS Incident) and when you can parse that they are meant for comedy, they are in fact meant for comedy--Friday's strip being a prime example.
2.) Many, many, many posters have come through here bearing the effigy of Faye as Domestic Abuser and decrying her as violent, even psychopathic. Not one of these posters has done so in good faith. They have an agenda, and that agenda is tearing Faye down because they personally dislike her, or they feel she has sinned by not fucking Marten, or they are projecting an ex that they want to do violence of their own to onto her character, etc. This agenda was and is a stupid fucking agenda, and those who post under it are not welcome here. Jeph is not portraying a psychopath.
3.) Jeph has also stated that he gets really aggravated by reading the argument of how violent Faye is over and over again and it is one of the reasons he stays off the forums, is these circular arguments and revolving-door character hate sessions: Faye is violent and abusive, Dora is a frigid harpy, Tai is an obnoxious stereotype, etc., etc.
4.) Jeph is not the only one who tires of revolving-door character hate sessions, or of constant overanalysis of material that, it can be reasonably assumed, is meant for comedy. That's why, I think, jwhouk fairly shouted IT'S A COMIC STRIP: this was not, to my eyes, the beginning of some story arc on Faye and Angus' troubled domestic situation, it is a one-off gag that is nearly as old as situational comedy itself.
FINALLY, I wouid like to caution people trying to play the equivalency game that while violence is never okay, and it is despicable for a woman to victimize a man, it is not the same situation as a man victimizing a woman--there are different power structures in play.
I hope I've been edifying here and pretty chill and I know it's a lot of words, but try to read it. If we really need a tl;dr, suffice to say this: we had this argument before, everyone who brought Faye's "violent nature" up was a jackass, Jeph has addressed it and is super tired of it, so is the rest of the forum.
eschatonic:
--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 05 Oct 2012, 10:57 ---Welcome, new person!
You had no way of knowing this, and it's not a rules thing, but that issue has become an Oh No Not That Again discussion. The points that come up every time, in case you were wondering, are It's Just A Cartoon, It's Just A Smack, But She Left A Bruise On Marten, But He Never Asked Her To Stop, But He Shouldn't Have To, I Smack My Friends And Vice Versa, and several others I don't have the energy to recall.
--- End quote ---
Thank you, this brings a little perspective to the hostility here I guess.
Oenone:
Interesting -- I wonder if Faye's going to start being more sympathetic to Dora's insecurities now, since Faye's boyfriend is living with a girl who had a crush on him and all. It kinda made me think of this http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1637.
St.Clair:
Dr. ROFLPWN:
While I appreciate the information, and sympathize with the author's position, it is my opinion that much of the supposed "comedy" of this work derives from the flaws of the characters, and how those flaws interact. Naturally, some people - perhaps as a result of dealing with such flaws in themselves or other people they know in real life - are going to take them much more seriously.
tl;dr - it's funny 'cause they're fucked up, but some people don't find some flavors of fucked up funny.
DNR:
--- Quote from: St.Clair on 06 Oct 2012, 01:01 ---Dr. ROFLPWN:
While I appreciate the information, and sympathize with the author's position, it is my opinion that much of the supposed "comedy" of this work derives from the flaws of the characters, and how those flaws interact. Naturally, some people - perhaps as a result of dealing with such flaws in themselves or other people they know in real life - are going to take them much more seriously.
tl;dr - it's funny 'cause they're fucked up, but some people don't find some flavors of fucked up funny.
--- End quote ---
Perhaps. That's a better argument than most. The comic is based on idiosyncrasies; character faults, be it an inability to maintain relationships, trauma from witnessing a tragedy, being occasionally crippled by germaphobia, experiencing deep social anxiety, etc; and the ways in which the characters all able to deal with their issues--and be relatively close to others; still, with these problems. Therewith, Faye's violence may be considered part of the dark social comedy of Faye's insecurities. That's a tenable argument.
I still find it weird, however, that no-characters seem to vocally consider her actions as unfair, damaging, or hurtful--particularly against the guys, whom hitting is okay. Perhaps the characters know they won't get anywhere with her? Perhaps I'm missing the wood for the trees? Dunno.
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