Is this your pen?

It seems unfair for me to argue that pens are mightier than swords.  In quoting a slightly ridiculous phrase that's sullying click-bait articles across the internet at the moment, I think I need to 'check my privilege'.  Sure, I could argue that swords destroy life but it takes a pen to write a peace treaty.  I could refer to the limited damage which one sword can inflict compared to the thousands of minds which carefully chosen words can affect.  But honestly, who uses swords anymore? 

I know almost nothing about swords.  In my mind they are equated with pointy things that fall from the ceiling, a story about a boy who succeeded in life by hanging around with an old man and tugging on any stiff protrusions he happened upon, and the thing that Buffy used to kill Angel in an episode of Buffy which I'm told wasn't as sad as the one in which her mum died (I still contend that the first is more tragic because she had to kill her lover and stare into his eyes as he woke up from his murdery face wondering why she'd hurt him).

Presumably, if I were in a combat situation, and assuming I had the first clue about swordsmanship, I would be somewhat disheartened to find a Bic in my sheath.  Obviously Joe Pesci is the exception to this scenario.  Mafia psychopaths aside, swords were quite useful on the 16th century battlefield. They are somewhat overshadowed by the emergence of drones, but then my clean pants are somewhat overshadowed by drones.  Drones are the stuff of nightmares.

Without entering into the debate on whether pens are still necessary in the age of the iPad, the statement 'the keyboard is mightier than the drone' is a more fitting modern equivalent.  Both have an element of detachment and both are capable of remote harm which can dispense with the ickiness of facing those whom we insult/murder.  Words entered on a keyboard might have the illusion of power but do they have a real effect? 

Words fly across the internet and reveal the damage which the drones inflict.  We might enter horrified comments below an article.  Meanwhile, the drones continue on their cowardly missions, controlled, no doubt, by keyboard commands.  This leads me to surmise that it's not about pens or keyboards and it's not about swords or drones.  It's about inclination and humanity.  It's about that pernicious little comparative: mightier. 

Might is equivalent to power.  Power suggests imbalance.  It means winning more, having more, knowing more than the other side.  Power is wealth.  It's land, cars, trophies - in some places this includes women.  Power, as we know, corrupts. Power always diminishes the 'other'. 

Like I said, I don't really know about swords but I do know how to use a pen.  My pen is an extension of my thoughts, and capable of creating a window into my mind.  I want to use it to show you the discoveries I make, not mean observations and judgements.  Occasionally I'll slip up because I'm human.  Fortunately, as I'm not Joe Pesci, this almost certainly won't result in a fatality.

On a completely unrelated topic, the image at the top is the original Cheetara from Thundercats.  I caught an episode of the new series this week.  The image below is the new Cheetara.  Isn't it a relief that she's finally had the breast implants?  I used to worry about her ability to fight Mumm-Ra with those average-sized boobs but now she can distract him easily in combat.  Thanks for the sensitive alteration animators!

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Joss Whedon

 By Ashley Lister 

 “You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other until it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood -- blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.”

Spike, BTVS, Season 3

For those of you unfamiliar with Joss Whedon as a writer, take the time to check out some of his work. He wrote the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BTVS). He wrote the TV series Angel. He wrote the TV series Firefly (and the related movie Serenity). He wrote the online mini-series Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog. He has screenplay credits for films as diverse as Toy Story, Alien Resurrection, Avengers Assemble, The Cabin in the Woods and the forthcoming screen adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing starring Nathan Fillion, Ashley Johnson and Amy Acker.

Whedon is a master of dialogue. He’s a master of strong characterisation. He’s a master of the complex plot. And he refuses to be bound by genre. I could wax lyrical for hours on what I like and love about Whedon and his writing. However, my favourite thing about his work is that he refuses to remain confined by a single form. He writes TV series, comics, films and musicals. And, with masterful skill, he blends genres and tests the limits of every form with which he works.

There was an episode of Buffy done with almost no dialogue. There was an episode of Buffy performed as a musical. Firefly (and later the film Serenity) blended western and science fiction, almost steampunk in construction and conception, but with a level of realism that made the fantasy enormously powerful. Dr Horrible combined a comic book style superhero and an unforgettable antihero with strongly written musical songs and erudite comedy. Dr Horrible was presented exclusively through the internet as a very successful mini-series.

Whedon was the man who wrote with profound simplicity: “The hardest thing to do in this world is live in it.”

Perhaps Whedon’s work is not commonly perceived as highbrow or intellectual writing. But it’s writing that’s moved me to the most delicious extremes of laughter and it’s writing that has oftentimes left me sobbing in empathy for the fate of his affable and relatable characters. And if a writer can manage that much then, in my opinion, they’ve succeeded at their craft.  

These final words comes from the episode I quoted at the start of this blog post. This is Spike’s realisation of his own way to achieve true love. And it’s typical of Whedon’s quirky, honest and whimsical writing style.

“I've been all wrongheaded about this - weeping, crawling, blaming everybody else. I want Dru back, I've just got to be the man I was. The man she loved. I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place. I'll find her, wherever she is, tie her up, torture her until she likes me again. Love's a funny thing.” 

Spike, BTVS, Season 3

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