the conundrum lies in the knowledge of what one SHOULD do conflicting with what one most strongly WANTS to. because the fact that one knows what one should do only makes doing what you want to that much harder. but when was the practical course of action any fun? pragmatic, yes, but fun?



but anyway i digress. a few things i'd like to discuss today. The Punisher (worth a damn sight more than the single star it got) and immortality in the form of wisdom after the passing of one's self.




first of all, The Punisher. Note: spoilers abound, so don't read on if that bothers you. skip to after the line.

now that we've got that out of the way: Did anyone notice the stunning parallels between The Punisher's plot and Othello? think of it this way: Frank Castle = Iago (which is slightly strange, because Castle's the GOOD guy in this film - even though the Malaysian authorities think otherwise. but more on that later). Howard Saint = Othello. a Caucasian one, but still. Quentin = Cassio. a homosexual Cassio, but a Cassio nonetheless. Livia (Howard's wife in case i got the name wrong) = Desdemona. and finally Desdemona's handkerchief has been updated to diamond earrings, because really, in this day and age who would ever give a fuck about a hanky?

now to the parallels: Castle(Iago) being pissed off with Saint(Othello) because his family's been killed (necessary, because no one goes and becomes "The Punisher" over being spurned for promotion) sets out to destroy his life and toy with his mind by ruining his marriage. He therefore sets up circumstances so that Saint (Othello) begins to think Quentin (Cassio) is engaging in intercourse (how formal!!) with Livia (Desdemona). Just as in the play, once Saint (Othello) begins to seriously suspect the two of adultery, Castle(Iago), with consumate timing, solidifies his fears by leaving the earrings (stolen from Livia much as Desdemona's handkerchief was) in Quentin's house. Saint (Othello) being enraged, killes both Quentin (Cassio) and Livia (Desdemona). Admittedly this is slightly different to the play, where Othello merely sanctions the killing of Cassio, but what the hell eh? The final thing is Saint finding out the truth at much the same time as he dies, just as Othello does before committing suicide. the last twisting of the knife, so to speak.

Now it is believable that Marvel comics drew inspiration from Othello. Many of the comic storylines are drawn from mythology... The Flash, for example, is Mercury, messenger of the Gods. Aqua Man is obviously Neptune... and so on. so yeah, maybe they did!

I just thought the similarity was rather interesting.

One other thing: the plot also reminded me of Tigana (by Guy Gavriel Kay - read "Sailing to Sarantium"!!) where Brandin takes vengeance for the killing of his son. Intersting point: Brandin of Ygrath was the villain in that book (although Kay very masterfully changes that impression in the course of the story) whereas The Punisher's quite obviously a hero. Homicidal, but a hero nonetheless.




Oh yeah... that bit abt Malaysian authorites? i watched the Punisher in Malaysia, and get this: at the beginning of the film was a short bit, white text on black background, which declared "This is a fictitious film. any resemblance to characters living or dead is entirely coincidental" you know the drill. then at the END, just after he says I will hunt down criminals and all that jazz, there's a frame which says "Frank Castle was caught by the authorities, trialed for his crimes and sent to jail. He is serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole" and then it cut back to that clip of Frank Castle looking dark, brooding and dangerous-to-evildoers before fading to the credits. Two questions: When have ANY of the Marvel comics started with that disclaimer at the beginning of the film being based on fictitious characters? (not Spiderman, not The Hulk, not Daredevil, not X-Men or X-Men 2, not even Superman or Batman!! - though they're DC not Marvel)?? and the second question: Why on earth would the film end with Castle declaring his intent to hunt down baddies, only to have the film declare he was caught and imprisoned, and THEN cut back to him looking like death-to-criminals? Here's my analysis: Malaysia, being the paranoid society it is, spliced those frames into the movie to make sure people didnt become vigilantes. Three reasons: 1) As said above, the disclaimer's NEVER appeared before, 2) that last bit saying he got caught was in between one shot of him and the final one - and we all know Malaysia's film censorship sucks, and 3) like i said, it just makes no SENSE for him to be caught at the end of the film!! plus, he doesnt in the comics. and the movies tend to stick to the larger details (yes, i know they screw the smaller details up).
so do me a favour: watch the movie in Singapore, and tell me if those two frames appear in the movie here ok? if Malaysia really has done what i think they've done, its absolutely ridiculous. AND unfair to the viewers of the movie.


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and the second bit: be honest. how many of us have ever aspired to leave a mark or statement in one form or another that lives on after we die? Immortality in the form of being remembered - one very common theme in so many books. i was thinking one day about Confucious and the many Western people we quote (the Americans have their Poe, the English have their Oscar Wildes and their Shakespeares and their KEATS!!! and their Yeats and Wordsworths and their Chaucers and their Wodehouses...... the Australians have their rugby players.... the list goes on :D) and i was thinking "Well it would be nice to say something wise or write something revolutionary that people will remember after my death" but for the life of me i couldnt think of anything!! i think what happens is, as we grow older we gather knowledge (well at least that's the idea) and it percolates and percolates and percolates inside us, and if we're lucky, by the time we're old we have some wise things to pass on. the irony lies in the fact that our immediate younger relatives will ignore completely whatever we say, whereas others, once we die, may appreciate in greater measure our thoughts and ideas.


Immortality - but then what of those from Pompeii? they're dead and there's precious little we know of them. Atlantis? (yes i believe it existed) absolutely nothing. so immortality really is an impossible dream - in the very long run.

but still, its nice to try.




lastly: I caught the Lithuanian performance of Othello on Saturday night... and it really was quite good. although i came out of it STILL not sympathising with Iago - which was the whole point wasn't it?

which reminds me: we ended up with one extra ticket at the play, so i approached the ticket table and enquired abt refunds. The answer was No, but i mean fair enough. after all it DOES say so just about everywhere Sistec has space to say it :) get this though: I then offered to leave the ticket at the counter for anyone who came to buy tickets at the last minute to have for free (after all what good's it to me?) and they wouldnt take it!! why the FUCK not?! so it was just wasted.



i conclude with the wise words of Joseph Heller:
"From now on I'm thinking only of me."

Major Danby replied indulgently with a superior smile. "But Yossarian, suppose everyone felt that way."

"Then," said Yossarian, "I'd certainly be a damned fool to feel any othe way, wouldn't I?"


(Its from Catch-22 (come on you MUST have known that) and if you don't like it, you can kiss my sharries - in the words of Anthony Burgess, another brilliant writer.)


so long!