Cognisant
cackling in the trenches
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- Yesterday 7:58 PM
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2009
- Messages
- 11,155
Where would Scherlock be without Watson?
Where would Frankenstein be without Igor? (okay bad example)
More like Samurai and their Daimyo, on his own any samurai was merely a man, a rather shameful thing to be in the Edo period when people took great pride in being a part of various social structures, the more powerful the better. To be totally independent was to be nobody of relevance, and to be clear I'm not advocating a return to what was practically a caste system, I'm focused on the implicit meaning and purpose of being a part of something greater than merely oneself.
I guess you could say I'm thinking of a revised version of Frankenstein and Igor, instead of master & servant I envision a duality of madman & minion, the important distinction being in the definitions of both madman & minion.
The madman could be considered the more authoritive of the two in the sense that he (or she) would be dictating the path of their shared enterprise, but authority isn't the point of it, the madman is called a "madman" (or madwoman if applicable) because by the meaningless nature of the universe having a purpose of any kind beyond simply living is absurd, it is madness, it is to deny the irrelevance of our existence, and so it is also to carry a great burden. To be a madman one can't simply say "my purpose is thus", the madman must live it, embody it, be so utterly consumed by it that the role of a minion is justified, because without the assistance of a minion (or minions) the madman would surely be (metaphorically) crushed of the immense task he has set for himself.
Steve Irwin, the wikileaks guy, Micheal Moore, etc.
You know these people, not personally, indeed you may no know next to nothing about them, but you know what they do, they're madmen, not perfect madmen of course, that's an issue for a different thread.
The minion serves the purpose of the madman, not the madman himself, this is an important distinction to make because it means the minion is in as much a state of servitude as exploitation, indeed if a madman strays from their role it is the minion who will try to bring them back. Y'see the minion is the sane one, the relatively happy one, while the madman is consumed by their madness the minion basks in the glory of having a meaningful purpose, anyone who has done volunteer work will understand this, heck just being helpful brings a certain satisfaction.
There's also the pride of being a part of something, sports fans a clearly take pride in being a supporter of their chosen team, personally I can't help but mock this, there's no nobility in buying a t-shirt or chanting moronically, they're not a "part" of anything, they're just consumers.
Where would Frankenstein be without Igor? (okay bad example)
More like Samurai and their Daimyo, on his own any samurai was merely a man, a rather shameful thing to be in the Edo period when people took great pride in being a part of various social structures, the more powerful the better. To be totally independent was to be nobody of relevance, and to be clear I'm not advocating a return to what was practically a caste system, I'm focused on the implicit meaning and purpose of being a part of something greater than merely oneself.
I guess you could say I'm thinking of a revised version of Frankenstein and Igor, instead of master & servant I envision a duality of madman & minion, the important distinction being in the definitions of both madman & minion.
The madman could be considered the more authoritive of the two in the sense that he (or she) would be dictating the path of their shared enterprise, but authority isn't the point of it, the madman is called a "madman" (or madwoman if applicable) because by the meaningless nature of the universe having a purpose of any kind beyond simply living is absurd, it is madness, it is to deny the irrelevance of our existence, and so it is also to carry a great burden. To be a madman one can't simply say "my purpose is thus", the madman must live it, embody it, be so utterly consumed by it that the role of a minion is justified, because without the assistance of a minion (or minions) the madman would surely be (metaphorically) crushed of the immense task he has set for himself.
Steve Irwin, the wikileaks guy, Micheal Moore, etc.
You know these people, not personally, indeed you may no know next to nothing about them, but you know what they do, they're madmen, not perfect madmen of course, that's an issue for a different thread.
The minion serves the purpose of the madman, not the madman himself, this is an important distinction to make because it means the minion is in as much a state of servitude as exploitation, indeed if a madman strays from their role it is the minion who will try to bring them back. Y'see the minion is the sane one, the relatively happy one, while the madman is consumed by their madness the minion basks in the glory of having a meaningful purpose, anyone who has done volunteer work will understand this, heck just being helpful brings a certain satisfaction.
There's also the pride of being a part of something, sports fans a clearly take pride in being a supporter of their chosen team, personally I can't help but mock this, there's no nobility in buying a t-shirt or chanting moronically, they're not a "part" of anything, they're just consumers.
