i dont get it
this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2024
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It refers to an ursula k leguin short story called the ones who leave omelas i think.
Omelas is a utopia but it relies on the fact that one child is chosen to be tied up and tortured in a basement in exchange for the utopia being able to exist. Some people are disgusted by this sacrifice and leave omelas. Something like that i think.
There's a star trek strange new worlds episode with an omelas planet and their utopia uses a living child as a kind of battery to run and that's how I imagine the omelas in the story now.
Must be based on the leguin story
100% I'm almost positive they specifically mentioned leguin as inspiration for the episode
It refers to a famous joke from the comic Watchmen
A man goes to a doctor and says he's depressed. The doctor says the great clown Pagliacci is in town and will cheer him up. The man says "But doctor…I am Pagliacci."
the joke predates watchmen. only reason i know this is that if appears in benjamin's arcades project (which im currently reading) in the chapter on boredom
Boredom began to be experienced in epidemic proportions during the 1840s. Lamartine is said to be the first to have given expression to this malady. It plays a role in a little story about the famous mime Deburau. A distinguished Paris neurologist was consulted one day by a patient whom he had not seen before. The patient complained of the typical illness of the times – weariness with life, deep depression, boredom. 'There's nothing wrong with you,' said the doctor after a thorough examination. 'Just try to relax – find something to entertain you. Go to see Deburau some evening, and life will look different to you.' 'Ah, dear sir,' answered the patient, 'I am Deburau.'"
Oh so the end of the joke is “but doctor - i am already in omelas” because the child is the person the citizens of omelas are forcing to suffer so they can have their utopia.
Kind of funny, but i didn’t know the watchmen thing. I hate fucking comics and superhero garbage. Ugh
I don't like superheroes but the original Watchmen graphic novel was a critique of super hero stories written by an anarchist. The medium of comics has plenty of slop but Watchmen effectively utilizes the art form to tell a story that really works as a comic.
Oh cool. I just only vaguely have heard of it from some cringe movie they made or some shit.
It’s good
To synthesize: the Pagliacci joke and Those Who Leave Omelas, combined.
got a very sad laugh out of me
Lmao
I get this because of vtuber Shaun and genocide
- SUFFERING. Many such cases!