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 Forum index » Chaotic Fiction » Marble Hornets
Why no mention of TO?
Moderators: Giskard, JKatkina, Zarggg
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DJay32
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Joined: 10 Dec 2010
Posts: 87
Location: The garden party
abcetc wrote:
I'm not rolling my eyes, actually, as I've had similar ideas in the past. But I just want to be fully clear on what you're suggesting: are you saying that the Operator does not exist within the MH universe and is just a figment of the characters' imaginations? Cause otherwise it wouldn't be caught on film. Or are you saying that it does exist in the MH universe but serves a thematic purpose for us, the audience? I think the latter idea isn't very controversial: certainly the Operator invokes or represents the feeling that many of us have had of being haunted by an event or experience that was terrifying or bizarre, regardless of whether the filmmakers--or Vic, for that matter--consciously intended this or not. If the answer to the first question is yes, however, then logically, I feel Jay ought to be acknowledging the Operator more--because as far as we know, he doesn't have a strange history of mental illness or hurting people.


Yeah, I'm not too good at coherent rambling; I meant it doubles as a metaphor and something in-story. I think I was trying to say that, ultimately, it wouldn't take that many changes to the story to suggest the Operator didn't exist at all, and that was actually what made me first think maybe the creators had some sort of metaphor going on. But yes, the Operator most likely exists in the context of the actual narrative.

..I wouldn't say "it was caught on film" is proof of that, though. Things being caught on film is more the medium of the story. It strikes me as somewhat like saying speech bubbles literally float over characters' heads in comics. Things can be metaphors and shown to the audience.

But don't get me wrong, I don't think they're doing that; I do think the Operator exists in the story. Again, I'm just talking on and on now.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 12:36 am
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Grumplestiltskin
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Joined: 05 Apr 2013
Posts: 362
Location: East of Eden, South of Hell
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
The first rule of The Eldritch Abomination is: You do not talk about The Eldritch Abomination


I agree with Toadbert that naming it might be something they avoid doing for fear of attracting its attention.

But further and farther than that, I guess my feeling is: what could they really say about TO? If TO's the sort of entity that can wipe seven months out of your head by standing next to you, then it's truly not surprising that J might not have words adequate to the task of discussing the enormity of the damage he's suffered. We talk about "unspeakable horror" -- well, this would literally be that.

And if we believe that Tim has been visited by TO since early childhood, then how much worse for him -- J only lost seven months; Tim's lost most of his life. We see in #66 how extraordinarily painful it is to discuss the possibility that he may have known this creature for years. Sometimes trying to explain a hurtful experience, even to someone who's gone through something similar, can be so bloody exhausting and frustrating, enough that it might outweigh the benefits of confiding.


OOG
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Memory loss is a lovely romantic device to use in drama, but in real life, the sense that you can't remember a significant chunk of time that you know you should is actually devastatingly scary (anyone who's had a relative go through Alzheimer's knows this). All sorts of questions about sanity and identity get raised, ones that are difficult enough to ponder, let alone try to explain to someone else. This level of damage may be what the BroTrin are attempting to convey in their refusal to have the characters speak about TO.


PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:16 am
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Hazman
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Joined: 04 Jan 2013
Posts: 878
Location: New Zealand

 		Just out of curiosity and the fact I don't know/can't remember, where is it mentioned by Jay/Alex/Tim that the operator is called the operator? Like what entry?

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:20 am
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Enzd
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Joined: 13 Oct 2010
Posts: 94

 		First, I honestly can't think of a name they could refer to it as that wouldn't come off as silly and kill the mood. I think in the times TO has been mentioned, it's as "that thing".

Second, I also think nobody likes to talk about it because it's a freaking eldritch abomination. Acknowledging its' existence openly could make one go mad. Denying it an identity of any sort might just be what's keeping Jay and Co. from going completely insane.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:42 am
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Serum
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Enzd wrote:
Acknowledging its' existence openly could make one go mad.


Now you don't know that for sure... it might not.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:58 am
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Enzd
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Joined: 13 Oct 2010
Posts: 94
Serum wrote:
Enzd wrote:
Acknowledging its' existence openly could make one go mad.


Now you don't know that for sure... it might not.


Er, right. I meant to phrase it that way but think I failed a bit :/ Obviously I can't know for sure, that whole second part was just meant as a theory.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:02 am
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Lithp
I Have No Life


Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Posts: 2058
Quote:
but in real life, the sense that you can't remember a significant chunk of time that you know you should is actually devastatingly scary


Please, this is like half of my life. My memory is shit.

On a more serious note, if you tell an amnesiac that they're an amnesiac, their first response is generally "lolwut?" It makes a bit of a difference if a damn monster is chasing you, of course.

Quote:
Things being caught on film is more the medium of the story. It strikes me as somewhat like saying speech bubbles literally float over characters' heads in comics.


The characters in comic books literally have superpowers. Some things are understood not to be part of the story, while others are understood to be departures from reality.* The Operator, as I believe you are saying, is understood to be a departure from reality. This probably isn't like a movie where we're going to find out that everyone who sees it is hallucinating.

*=Although that distinction gets incredibly blurred if you read Order of the Stick.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:09 am
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Grumplestiltskin
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Joined: 05 Apr 2013
Posts: 362
Location: East of Eden, South of Hell
Lithp wrote:
Quote:
but in real life, the sense that you can't remember a significant chunk of time that you know you should is actually devastatingly scary


Please, this is like half of my life. My memory is shit.


And you seem to be at relative peace with it, which is fortunate. I do not necessarily believe that everyone has greeted their mental decline with such grace and equanimity.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:56 am
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Malckeor
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Joined: 28 Feb 2012
Posts: 246
Location: Turkeyland, Land of Gobblers

 		Fear, misunderstanding, denial, incomprehension, brain-fuckery, you name it.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 3:34 am
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TheOperator
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Joined: 20 Nov 2012
Posts: 711
Location: You don't wanna know

 		More impact if mentions of it are rare. The characters are usually hesitant to mention it on the rare occasion they do and you can hear the fear in their voices at such times. As it's something otherworldly and impossible to explain, they prefer to just not refer to it if they can.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 6:39 am
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Sha Noran
Entrenched


Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 919
Lithp wrote:
Sounds plausible. And they've even done a decent job of handwaving into the narrative why they don't talk about it. Decent, not great. Like I said, it's not that damn hard to Google "faceless man in a suit."


Hey there, I just joined the forum partially to offer a rebuttal to the idea of them searching for Slendy info online. I'm quite certain that part of the premise of the beginning of the series (why Jay began posting the Entries IG) was because he came accross Slenderman mythos on SomethingAwful and was reminded of the tapes. I'd have to say it's fairly obvious that the characters are entirely aware of TO but perhaps either don't know what to say about him that isn't visually apparent in the footage they have of him, or they would just prefer to not discuss (or even think about) such a terrifying entity actually being a part of their lives.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:00 am
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Lithp
I Have No Life


Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Posts: 2058

 		That doesn't really rebut what I said....

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:01 am
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ZargggModerator
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Joined: 23 Dec 2010
Posts: 1660

 		You know, I'm all for the Operator being a metaphor, but the first rule of metaphor club is you don't say that the object is a metaphor in the work itself.

Lithp: If you're suggesting that the characters in the story can google "faceless man in a suit" and get information about the Slender Man, then you need to be reminded that the series is not taking place in the "real" universe where the character was created on a message board with Photoshop.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:10 am
Last edited by ZargggModerator on Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:17 am; edited 2 times in total
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Sha Noran
Entrenched


Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 919

 		Then perhaps I'm misunderstanding what good, if any, it would do the crew to Google "faceless man in suit" or whatever. How could anything on the internet about Slendy help them? The internet considers it a myth, so I don't think there's a cool way to beat him on wikipedia or something.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:15 am
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abcetc
Boot

Joined: 28 Apr 2013
Posts: 61
Sha Noran wrote:

Hey there, I just joined the forum partially to offer a rebuttal to the idea of them searching for Slendy info online. I'm quite certain that part of the premise of the beginning of the series (why Jay began posting the Entries IG) was because he came accross Slenderman mythos on SomethingAwful and was reminded of the tapes. I'd have to say it's fairly obvious that the characters are entirely aware of TO but perhaps either don't know what to say about him that isn't visually apparent in the footage they have of him, or they would just prefer to not discuss (or even think about) such a terrifying entity actually being a part of their lives.


I really don't see any evidence for that. All we get in the first few entries is Jay calling Slendy a "figure" and mentioning that Alex was "being followed." Based on that, I don't even think he's made the connection that TO is a monster and not a human.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:18 am
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