Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT: 2878-2882 (19-23 January 2015)
aphanisis81:
--- Quote from: ReindeerFlotilla on 23 Jan 2015, 04:44 ---
--- Quote from: aphanisis81 on 23 Jan 2015, 04:15 ---
--- Quote from: ReindeerFlotilla on 23 Jan 2015, 00:26 ---I'm not trying to challenge anyone's right to detest fictional characters, but I gotta ask: If you hate [insert appropriate girl's name here] so much, why do you read the comic?
I am honestly unable to guess why, and I really would like to know.
--- End quote ---
I think it's less about truly hating them as though they're individuals and more about deciding which character(s), for you as a reader, fill the role of antagonist. Every story needs conflict and most conflict is caused by people, right? Hating Faye (or Dora, or whomever) seems to me no different from saying "I hate Iago, look what he's doing to poor Othello!" That doesn't mean you don't think he's a well-constructed character in a compelling story.
It's a strong, thoughtful author who can inspire this kind of diversity of reaction in his readers, to the point that people are taking sides about who the antagonist even really is. Instead of one mustache-twirler, we get deeply human, sometimes ambiguous or contradictory, behaviors that we interpret differently. And we can all point to different strips to support different readings.
To me, asking "Why read the comic if you hate the characters?" misses the subtleties of what "hate" entails when used in this context. We do it for the same reason we watched seasons 1 & 2 of The Office even as Michael Scott's social ineptitude made us almost physically uncomfortable. Anything that can inspire a visceral reaction, even if it's a negative one, makes for enjoyable narrative art.
--- End quote ---
I'm not unaware of that kind of, I guess, adversarial, response to a villainous character. But the Dora/Faye hate in this thread seems to be different. I can't relate to your feelings about the Office. I don't find that kind of comedy funny. I'm bad at schadenfreude, I guess.
I'm guessing this involves some kind of thrill of watching a train wreck, or something. I'm not big on villains I don't love to hate. Greg House for example. I don't want to be him. I don't condone his methods. But I enjoy watching him being bad. I can't relate to watching a bad guy and actually despising the character.
I'm not sure if you're talking about something different from my experience or not. It sounds like those who have expressed vitriol towards Dora and Faye are not enjoying the villainy they see. The best example I can relate is a slasher film. I don't enjoy the villainy. I don't watch them. If that makes any sense.
--- End quote ---
If people see Faye or Dora as comparably one-dimensional as, say, Jason Voorhees, then I agree, that's a weird, adversarial place from which to be reading a comic about occasional kissing.
NilsO:
--- Quote from: Lubricus on 23 Jan 2015, 04:37 ---Yeah, it would have made sense for Dora to alert Marten to the situation. Then again, she might not have had the chance yet. She's at work, after all, minus one employee.
--- End quote ---
I imagine Dora was there just to open shop with Faye, and handle the daily coffee roast. Now, she has to cover Faye's shift. She could call Dale, who is always happy for more work, but he may of course be busy with one of his other jobs. Anyhow, after the morning rush there should be plenty of time to make a few phone calls.
Come to think of it, CoD usually appears empty of customers (I know, they are just outside the cartoon frames, and it is a heck of a job to draw them all), but as presented, the business would soon be bankrupt. Of course, economic laws are somewhat different in QC.
Somnus Eternus:
I don't know about all this; I mean, Dora wasn't wrong on any of her points. Faye hasn't exactly been the most professional, and for someone whose boss is supposedly also her friend she does have a tendency to be really disrespectful. There have been times even prior to this when I wondered why Dora didn't push her to find another job. I don't know if the same Dora who just disowned Sven not that long ago really will blame herself for anything or question whether she made the right choice...I almost feel like this is also something that's been building for a while. They've been blurring the lines of employee/employer and friends for a while, usually to the detriment of the employee/employer side of things. This is Dora's business and her livelihood. If she's smart, she won't regret her decision...but hopefully, she'll also leave the door open for Faye to return later should she get herself together.
That being said, I'm really hoping this isn't going to mean that Dora is going to just abandon Faye as her friend, too. It's not going to be easy, but a friendship can be salvaged even though the work relationship had to be terminated. Hopefully when Faye sobers up, she'll be able to stop being defensive enough (which, let's be real here, is typical of her character) to recognize that she really screwed up all on her own this time.
There's a nagging part of me that worries that all of this is gradually leading to Faye going back to Georgia, and I'm not really sure why that is. I don't see her running after Angus at this point, but going home...that seems plausible, though I'm really hoping that won't be the case. I like Faye's character.
Lubricus:
Well, she might go to Georgia for a visit - that has been good for her before. It won't likely cure her of alcoholism, though.
ASB84:
--- Quote from: aphanisis81 on 23 Jan 2015, 04:46 ---
--- Quote from: ReindeerFlotilla on 23 Jan 2015, 04:44 ---
--- Quote from: aphanisis81 on 23 Jan 2015, 04:15 ---
--- Quote from: ReindeerFlotilla on 23 Jan 2015, 00:26 ---I'm not trying to challenge anyone's right to detest fictional characters, but I gotta ask: If you hate [insert appropriate girl's name here] so much, why do you read the comic?
I am honestly unable to guess why, and I really would like to know.
--- End quote ---
I think it's less about truly hating them as though they're individuals and more about deciding which character(s), for you as a reader, fill the role of antagonist. Every story needs conflict and most conflict is caused by people, right? Hating Faye (or Dora, or whomever) seems to me no different from saying "I hate Iago, look what he's doing to poor Othello!" That doesn't mean you don't think he's a well-constructed character in a compelling story.
It's a strong, thoughtful author who can inspire this kind of diversity of reaction in his readers, to the point that people are taking sides about who the antagonist even really is. Instead of one mustache-twirler, we get deeply human, sometimes ambiguous or contradictory, behaviors that we interpret differently. And we can all point to different strips to support different readings.
To me, asking "Why read the comic if you hate the characters?" misses the subtleties of what "hate" entails when used in this context. We do it for the same reason we watched seasons 1 & 2 of The Office even as Michael Scott's social ineptitude made us almost physically uncomfortable. Anything that can inspire a visceral reaction, even if it's a negative one, makes for enjoyable narrative art.
--- End quote ---
I'm not unaware of that kind of, I guess, adversarial, response to a villainous character. But the Dora/Faye hate in this thread seems to be different. I can't relate to your feelings about the Office. I don't find that kind of comedy funny. I'm bad at schadenfreude, I guess.
I'm guessing this involves some kind of thrill of watching a train wreck, or something. I'm not big on villains I don't love to hate. Greg House for example. I don't want to be him. I don't condone his methods. But I enjoy watching him being bad. I can't relate to watching a bad guy and actually despising the character.
I'm not sure if you're talking about something different from my experience or not. It sounds like those who have expressed vitriol towards Dora and Faye are not enjoying the villainy they see. The best example I can relate is a slasher film. I don't enjoy the villainy. I don't watch them. If that makes any sense.
--- End quote ---
If people see Faye or Dora as comparably one-dimensional as, say, Jason Voorhees, then I agree, that's a weird, adversarial place from which to be reading a comic about occasional kissing.
--- End quote ---
I'll also add that for some readers, it could be a case of "Love to Hate". Some people kind of enjoy having a character they find dislikeable, one that represents values or a personality that rubs them the wrong way in real life, which they can dislike and cheer against in a cathartic sort of way. Indeed, storylines in professional wrestling and soap operas pretty much run on that trope.
For other people, they may genuinely dislike and not enjoy the characters, or perhaps they've just grown sick of them, but it's just not enough to turn them off the strip completely.
Additionally, since neither Dora nor Faye appear in every single strip, or are heavily involved in every single story arc - they're main characters, so they're in a lot of them, but not all of them and not in a way that necessarily pushes someone's buttons as a reader - someone who dislikes either or both of them can probably gloss over that to some extent, and just focus on the characters and arcs that they do like.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version