Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT: 2796-2800 (22-26 September 2014) Weekly Comic Discussion Thread
de_la_Nae:
--- Quote from: HeavyP on 26 Sep 2014, 06:10 ---I really feel like everyone (both in the forums and in the comic) is blowing the ethical dilemma WAY out of proportion. There is definitely a standard of conduct between coworkers in the workplace, and this might be an issue between two people in a large corporation, if it were a supervisor/subordinate relationship that existed fairly high up the food chain.
They're working at a university library.
Due to his lack of anything remotely resembling a Library Sciences degree, Marten is at best some sort of generic library assistant. I'd posit there's a pretty good chance that his job duties involve little more than what he showed the interns in the montage - basic library and facility upkeep duties. I seriously doubt he has ANY administrative duties at all, those would fall to Tai, especially anything involving hiring/firing or scheduling (if the interns are paid, I can guarantee that is controlled by someone above her, probably the HR unit of whatever department the library falls under). If I had to guess, the interns are doing the exact same thing that Marten is, and he's only marginally "above" them because he's a permanent employee and has been there longer. His actual degree of control over them is likely limited to having them run minor errands or something, and I really can't see how dating one of them could present any kind of conflict of interest.
--- End quote ---
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
reicreature:
--- Quote from: CaptainFish on 26 Sep 2014, 17:54 ---So, yeah, applying questionable hangups to Marten based on nothing does kinda bum me out even if it did lead to some really important discussion, cause I think the text tells a much different story.
--- End quote ---
This is how I feel about it too. Marten is a pretty sensitive guy. He can be awkward, but he's pretty socially adept in the way he treats people with respect and all. I would think that if he did have any personal hang ups he'd be more careful with the perception of his actions even if he was a little tipsy.
Anyway... I'm super jealous and want back scratches now...
neurocase:
Just flipping in my pair o' pennies on the Claire/Emily/Gabby thing, I don't see any problem with their introduction, or how it's gone since. I mean, yes, this is a story, and stories are generally driven with a particular sort of context, in the sense that if someone is introduced quite noticeably into the fold, it means you'll be seeing more of them.
But in this case, and it's been this way for most of QC, too, it's more realistic. In real life, people come and go. Sometimes you'll meet a group of friends or co-workers, and only one will gel, if any. Not everyone enters our lives to be there permanently. So removing skin color/race from the equation (not as a form of erasure, but just to look at this picture in a more general perspective) I get what Jeph did with Gabby, even unintentionally. She might not have ingratiated herself into the complex web that is our long-beloved main characters, but that's absolutely more than likely because she's living her own life with friends, family, etc. off-panel.
As for Emily and her quote-unquote "weirdness", I think it's just a case of Flanderization more than anything else. But this happened with other characters briefly too; one could argue Faye's first punching of Marten, then leading to her being almost notoriously violent for a time, was a form of Flanderization, but that's since been long gone. Point being, if Jeph expands on Emily's character, he expands on her. If she doesn't, I don't think we should take it as a form of racism or tokenization or anything negative like that; we should just enjoy her for what she is, that being a weird, lovable gal who doesn't have a lot of hangups about how people see her, and just goes on her instinct, asking and doing things other people perhaps won't.
Smashwidget:
--- Quote from: ElsaStegosaurus on 26 Sep 2014, 17:40 ---
--- Quote from: bhtooefr on 26 Sep 2014, 15:35 ---Can I just say that I'm incredibly jealous of both Marten and Claire, and what they're sharing, right now?
--- End quote ---
Srsly. This comic is giving me some serious flashbacks (and some pangs) to a time when things were new and nervous and exciting.
--- End quote ---
I keep getting this weird visceral feeling whenever I look at Claire's expression, like I've felt something like it before, but I've never been in a remotely similar situation.
Estron:
--- Quote from: Alphawolf55 on 26 Sep 2014, 11:11 ---Marten hasn't shown anything either way. He's playing around with her like she's a cat or a little sister. The point is that people are setting themselves for a possible heart break.
--- End quote ---
Thank you, Alphawolf! Those EXACT two images -- she's acting like a cat! he's acting like a big brother! --occurred to me, and I've been reading the comments trying to see if someone will bring it up.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version