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 Forum index » Chaotic Fiction » Marble Hornets
Addressing the Operator...
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Serum
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 		Addressing the Operator...
It's like he's not even there...
Hi, everybody! I'm new to the forum. I've been watching Marble Hornets for awhile, now and I really like it! But there's something I've noticed that bothers me...

Aside from a few, vague instances-- no one in the series ever acknowledges the Operator in direct communication. The only two instances I can think of where they even note he exists in Entry # 7, where Jay wrote "Someone was following Alex." And much, much later in Entry # 59, when Tim says "It's all Alex's fault. Him, and…whatever it is that follows him around." Other than that, they show the Operator a lot, and he's often in the background, but they almost never directly address this strange creature. Does anyone know why this is?

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:23 pm
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fireaero
Boot

Joined: 31 Mar 2012
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 		Re: Addressing the Operator...
It's like he's not even there...
Serum wrote:
Hi, everybody! I'm new to the forum. I've been watching Marble Hornets for awhile, now and I really like it! But there's something I've noticed that bothers me...

Aside from a few, vague instances-- no one in the series ever acknowledges the Operator in direct communication. The only two instances I can think of where they even note he exists in Entry # 7, where Jay wrote "Someone was following Alex." And much, much later in Entry # 59, when Tim says "It's all Alex's fault. Him, and…whatever it is that follows him around." Other than that, they show the Operator a lot, and he's often in the background, but they almost never directly address this strange creature. Does anyone know why this is?


I think this is because Jay doesn't talk much about the entries. He just gets them out there so everyone can see. Another reason (less likely) is that they are too afraid to talk about the Operator.

Just my thoughts. Very Happy

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:30 pm
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pravado
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Joined: 22 Apr 2011
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 		what? everyone in that series knows about him and make it fairly obvious that they do.

jay (entry 42) - "i saw that thing in there"
tim (entry 59) - "i'm this way because of alex and whatever that is that follows him around"
alex - (entry 42) - "that thing was in there?"
amy (entry 26) - "oh my god! what is that!?"


i swear it's like the new ppl don't even read the faq... don't make new topics for a single question that can be answered in any other topic just by asking. more topics just ensures that discussion ends up in the wrong place knowing users on here, board clutter and all

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:39 pm
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saksxalmo
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Joined: 22 May 2012
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 		Re: Addressing the Operator...
It's like he's not even there...
Don't forget entry #15, when Jay asks Tim if he'd seen a man in a suit. Also entry #42:

Quote:
Alex: "What was that all about? What are you running from?"
Alex stops walking close to Jay.
Jay: "That thing."
Alex: "That thing is in there?"
Jay: "A couple of miles in, but yeah."


And that's it. Then the conversation moves on to why Jay didn't wait for Alex. No one ever really says anything about TO...

It's really weird... Even though Jay doesn't talk much, you would at least expect him to say more in the caption things. :/

And they never talk about what it's like to be exposed to TO, all they say is that they're "cold" or feel "sick". I mean, holy vagueness, Batman.

EDIT: Ninja'd. But I disagree, Pravado. No one ever says anything more than "it" or "that thing" or (at most, in entry #15) "a guy in a suit". There's no description. They're afraid of him but never say why. They don't call it a monster, and the characters never really try to find out more about him. Jay's investigation has always been about the other main characters, like finding out why Alex left, what happened to Jessica, or discovering more about Tim's past. Why don't they ever do experiments with TO? Why doesn't anyone care about where he came from or what he does? No one talks about the teleporting or the slendersickness even though they've been exposed to it...

Note: I don't think this is the result of bad storytelling, though. I think it may just be an effect TO has on people, and I think it's worth noting (maybe even enough to create a new thread.)

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:40 pm
Last edited by saksxalmo on Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Serum
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 		Re: Addressing the Operator...
It's like he's not even there...
Okay, so I missed a few instances, but still, they're very vague about and they really seem to want to tip-toe around the subject of the twelve foot man in a business suit without a face who follows them everywhere...

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:43 pm
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saksxalmo
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Joined: 22 May 2012
Posts: 313
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 		Re: Addressing the Operator...
It's like he's not even there...
Serum wrote:
Okay, so I missed a few instances, but still, they're very vague about and they really seem to want to tip-toe around the subject of the twelve foot man in a business suit without a face who follows them everywhere...


Oh, I agree with you. I was just giving more examples to support your hypothesis.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:46 pm
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 		It's almost like the Operator is Bloody Mary, Betelgeuse or even Mr. Mxyzptlk. Like, just mentioning him might make him appear.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:49 pm
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Starkley
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Joined: 12 Jul 2012
Posts: 326

 		Part of it is because Jay's usually alone. Otherwise, they definitely know he's around. We can assume that Alex sent Jay the tape containing Entry #26, which featured The Operator, because of his words in Entry #36 ("get a package delivered to your doorstep" or something).

We call it "The Operator" because we have that name from Troseph and Totheark. Technically Jay would have that name too but then again he's not joining in group discussions where a name would be established. Alex seems to have the name as well, but then again, he was purposefully being evasive and deceptive concerning The Operator; it'd give the deception away if he was all "Oh, by the way, I know the name of the mysterious inexplicable thing following us around."

So, since no one really has anything to call it, they have to refer to it as "it" or "that thing" or "a guy in a business suit." Other than that, there's not much to say about it. They don't know where it comes from, but, aside from doing things like going wherever there's clues (the abandoned building, the red tower, the maintenance tunnel), there's not much they can do about it either. So I guess they don't talk about it. Instead they focus their investigations on finding missing people, like Jessica or Amy.

That, and it tends to mess with your memory of encountering it in the first place.

Really the only two people to whom Jay could say anything about it are Alex and Tim. And it's clear why those conversations don't ever happen.

So that's why it's barely acknowledged, I think.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:58 pm
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 		Still, he/it is a white elephant... But I've always had the suspicion that "Operator," might mean something else, not necessarily associated with our tall friend. However, as you said, the assumed proper name for this creature is "The Operator." Yet I feel like they're tip-toeing around the guy, who obviously does not have the best intentions whenever he makes his presence known...

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:04 pm
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Geneaux486
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Joined: 17 Mar 2011
Posts: 2423
pravado wrote:
what? everyone in that series knows about him and make it fairly obvious that they do.

jay (entry 42) - "i saw that thing in there"
tim (entry 59) - "i'm this way because of alex and whatever that is that follows him around"
alex - (entry 42) - "that thing was in there?"
amy (entry 26) - "oh my god! what is that!?"


i swear it's like the new ppl don't even read the faq... don't make new topics for a single question that can be answered in any other topic just by asking. more topics just ensures that discussion ends up in the wrong place knowing users on here, board clutter and all


Based on the replies, this topic is clearly resulting in a discussion. Like I've said before, what's the point of having an entire subforum dedicated specifically to Marble Hornets if we're just going to condense everything into a handful of topics? Furthermore, why are you taking it for granted that the OP shouldn't have made the topic? And why not simply report the thread to a mod on the off-chance that you might be wrong?

Anyways, while Jay does occasionally refer to the thing directly, I think the reason he doesn't do it often is mostly because he just doesn't want to think about it. Alex, the masked dudes, buildings, documents, these are tangible things that can be understood and dealt with conventionally, but what can you do about a supernatural being that teleports and can mess up your brain just by being there? I've always gotten the impression that Jay just prefers to focus on what he can comprehend.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:40 pm
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pravado
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Joined: 22 Apr 2011
Posts: 1833

 		There hasn't really been any instances where the characters had a chance to react,, and if they did, they were alone (usually Jay), so he wouldn't react out loud

Other than that they have interacted in the only ways they could about the operator. Jay could have accused Tim of a little more, I would have at least said "so you're breaking into my house with a mask on and you don't remember it and you don't want to help me figure out why? You'd rather just let it keep happening? good one tim"

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:55 pm
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pravado wrote:

Other than that they have interacted in the only ways they could about the operator. Jay could have accused Tim of a little more, I would have at least said "so you're breaking into my house with a mask on and you don't remember it and you don't want to help me figure out why? You'd rather just let it keep happening? good one tim"


That's actually a really good point, I think Tim might know more than he's letting on... which is probably why his folder is called "LIAR."

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:57 pm
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saksxalmo
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Joined: 22 May 2012
Posts: 313
Location: behind you

 		I disagree with the argument that they just don't have any opportunities to talk about TO. Jay could always write something in the videos... He's directly mentioned Masky and Hoody, but he says nothing about TO, who is probably the most significant player in the series...

Also, what about when Jay and Alex teamed up? Jay had seen the video, so he knew TO was involved in Amy's disappearance. They talk about finding Amy all the time... yet they never directly talk about the thing responsible for her disappearance? Doesn't anyone find that unusual? I don't think it's that TO just never came up in conversation, I think it either has to do with fear (like a He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named kind of thing) or a kind of, well, perception filter? Like we saw in entry #17.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 9:05 pm
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saksxalmo wrote:
Also, what about when Jay and Alex teamed up? Jay had seen the video, so he knew TO was involved in Amy's disappearance. They talk about finding Amy all the time... yet they never directly talk about the thing responsible for her disappearance? Doesn't anyone find that unusual? I don't think it's that TO just never came up in conversation, I think it either has to do with fear (like a He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named kind of thing) or a kind of, well, perception filter? Like we saw in entry #17.


I really don't think Alex and Jay teaming up would work, it didn't work in the seven month period Jay doesn't remember and after seeing Alex pull a gun on him I wouldn't want to trust him. I personally try not to believe in the idea of "The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend," the enemy in this case being our tall friend.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 9:10 pm
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Starkley
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Joined: 12 Jul 2012
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saksxalmo wrote:
I disagree with the argument that they just don't have any opportunities to talk about TO. Jay could always write something in the videos... He's directly mentioned Masky and Hoody, but he says nothing about TO, who is probably the most significant player in the series...

Also, what about when Jay and Alex teamed up? Jay had seen the video, so he knew TO was involved in Amy's disappearance. They talk about finding Amy all the time... yet they never directly talk about the thing responsible for her disappearance? Doesn't anyone find that unusual? I don't think it's that TO just never came up in conversation, I think it either has to do with fear (like a He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named kind of thing) or a kind of, well, perception filter? Like we saw in entry #17.


It's implied that they have talked about it, given how Alex knows immediately what Jay is talking about when he talks about "that thing" in #42, and the way Jay points out The Operator at the window for #46. There isn't a real instance where The Operator has been RIGHT there and no one has noticed. #17 is kind of an anomaly, either the cameraman had it on a tripod and wasn't looking through it (the camera was stable throughout IIRC), or they just couldn't see him through the foliage.

Why would they be investigating Rosswood and the abandoned building anyway, if not because of the suspicion that those are TO-related areas?

Anyway, Jay has acknowledged TO in the videos, just not as "The Operator." "Someone was following Alex," as well as his comparisons of later TO sightings to "the thing in Entry #1" count.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 9:15 pm
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