Michael Moorcock hates J.R.R. Tolkien and I’m, like, trying to be meta-textual
This might not be news to anybody else but it is certainly news to me. It is, however, news that makes sense.
I like Moorcock’s work. From The Cornelius Quartet to The Elric Saga his anti-heros are fantastic, great reads. Both Elric of Melniboné and Jerry Cornelius are dispeptic, angst-ridden men trying to change the dominant paradigm of their worlds and seek out the meta-narratives that tie their lives together. Grant Morrison also achieves this very well. Have you read Seaguy or The Invisibles or maybe The Filth ? They will make your brain ooze out of your ears… probably fitting, since Mr. Morrison is a practicing Chaos Magician and wrote a book called “The New Adventures of Hitler.” I mean, come on! You gotta love it! I think these guys are trying to help save you, awaken something, twist something in your head until it pops so you can see what comes out.
Think of the viral advertising campaigns like McDonald’s recent I’d Hit It ads or that pesky “Da da da” VW bug commercial… why do sites like IFilm exist but to serve this need for the metatextual, the memetic in our lives driven by some base consumerism? Our own metatextual narratives are being co-opted by corporations trying to make a buck. They know about them and, until you do, you’ll be suckered. You’ll hum that jingle, you’ll blog about that commercial, you’ll tell your friends about that hilarious thing you saw on TV last night… and maybe that’s not such a bad thing as long as you realize what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. I’m not saying it’s all meaningful… it could all be total bullshit... but why not open up a bit, eh?
So, needless to say, go read Epic Pooh and meditate on the meaning of this image:
