The fact that i havent blogged in a long time has been just as good for you as it has for me. For one, I'm not waxing eloquent on my life and the meaning i try to derive from it occcasionally. Instead I thought about something which really gives me a kick and so, as i crack me rusty knuckles and rub me cold hands, this is what i have to say. I was watching Elmer Fudd shooting at native Indians and Bugs Bunny turning the tables on him and guns going off unsuspectedly in people's faces and generally very happy with things. However it occured to me that the way a culture deals with the representation of violence says a lot about the culture and its evolution. I'm guessing that no culture has been innocent of violence through its traceable history. The violence that was perpetrated on the native Indians was undoubtedly one of the biggest red marks in US history. But here's Bugs Bunny making me go into convulsions, not saying 'lookee here, me killing Indians' but 'Suffering suckatash, Elmer fudd thinks he's a hero'. And the parody is as subtle as it can get.
And then there's Indian (as in the one in South Asia) popular culture. The way it shows violence - limbs being severed, blood splattering like ketchup - its no less fun than Bugs Bunny mind you, but the kitch element just becomes a parody of itself. So when the graphic novelists of today borrow from this popular culture, i guess its a kind of sophisticated self-parody and yet i'm just marvelling at how sophisticated it is and not feeling sorry for the victim of violence. I'm guessing that perhaps thats actually good and ultimately violence should just be seen as meaningless which makes my observations quite meaningless too. Hmmm.
Although, if i havent made much sense, then i've got as much right to post this blog as other people have to throw violence, which is equally senseless, in my face. There, i've finally made my point.
