2016-10-25Tu

Lecture 13 Terror Assaulter

An homage to trash cinema/TV

Trash cinema/TV cheesy, bad acting/story/dialogue
How do you make an homage to something?
o Reproducing it?
When youre remaking something, especially when youre remaking
something thats kinda bad, you cant connect with what they were trying to
do and you cant recreate the sincerity of the original work
The recreation of the original, and the references to the original; have a
certain kind of power that comes from the sincerity in making the original
films
The original has a certain amount of authority as they are the true version
If you want to reference that original you cant access their truth or their
sincerity

Terror Assaulter
A love letter to 1980s trash movies (made in 2015)
Is it too self-aware? no

Background
Book references trash cinema & 9/11
Context
o TA couldnt have happened without 9/11
Changed the cover of the comic four books that was then made into one
book with one cover
o Why did he change the cover?
The original used the American flag; and the other cover didnt
have it, which made it more broad and less specific to the US
The guy whos being killed on the other cover is bigger, and has
two weapons being overpowered by stealth
Wholly based on 9/11 politics and married to trash cinema
o In paying homage, how does Marra link it back to that aesthetic

Postmodernism
Defined by
o Its incredible irony and cynicism
o Its mistrust of big Western ideas and theories (the grand narrative)
o Its pastiche aesthetic which borrows from other pieces of art and
popular culture
Is TA ironic? Is it self-reflexive? Is it cynical or is it just making fun of things?
After 9/11, it was said that irony was dead it was too dangerous, we have
to be precise in what we say
 If irony is dead, maybe hes thinking of other elements of postmodernism
so maybe then his work isnt really postmodern
Morrison seems to want to throw off the past of superhero narratives; and
you have to fill in a lot of the blanks
Marra seems to want to move beyond that

Metamodernism
Metamodernism is characterized by the oscillation between a typically
modern commitment and a markedly postmodern detachment
Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker, Notes on Metamodernism
Sincerity v. ironic
Commitment v. detachment
o Where Morrison is hard to pin down on which side of these he is,
Marra is right in between both scales

How is TA ironic?
o It might not be ironic, it might just be stupid or over the top
If the book were to be ironic, it would wink at the reader, and break the
fourth wall were all in this together and its all a big joke, I know what Im
doing does Marra ever break the fourth wall?
o No ?
I think I missed something here???
The register constantly shifts, and its hard to locate ourselves in the irony
Clear of irony, seems to be about a real story there are moments that seem
ironic, and other moments that seem sincere/serious (p. 53 is an example of
irony)
P. 47 serious homage to 1980s fight scenes kills the passengers because
in these movies these background people dont matter, the audience just
wants to watch people get fucked up
Marras careful association with Western ideas hes talking about post-
9/11 America, somewhat satirizing America by critiquing the actions of
Homeland Security
The grand overarching narrative that is Western democracy
Marra is very sincere about the politics about the critique of Homeland
Security
P. 84 fight where there are pointed comments look at the world around
you, you broke my back but the rest of the world has gone up in flames
o Political comment that you cant always be in charge there will
always be another power working against you
Moves form ironic to something thats more sincere
*The above is pages 84-85 which isnt in the copy I read

Code of domination and control white male (p. 40 & 54)

o Smoking isnt allowed/Im allowed
He hails the hero of yesterday; four color aesthetic
o Hes also a man of very few words; rather monosyllabic
o Paranoia dont touch me
Shows a country that was alwys paranoid cant concede control to
emotional weakness to seek control of emotions suggests that he would
have to surrender to identities of race, sexuality, and gender
P. 46 Master your emotions. in the next page, you see a guy admire his
technique
Characters in the book announce what theyre doing why? shonen
manga, (main?) character that stands to the side and states what the moves
are, how amazing the moves are and explains whats going on
 Conspiracy theory hes brought before Leadership
o P. 62 is this leadership connected to any one nation? It appeared to
be America, but they talk about the planet and say your nation
o They have the Illuminati triangle on the head, wrinkled hands and
weird heads theyre lizard people
Its a conspiracy theory by David Icke there are reptile
bloodlines; the leaders of the world are lizard people
o Political commentary on the state of conspiracy theories
If hes not being ironic, is he being sincere? If hes not being sincere, is he
being ironic?
o Its because of this that the work treads the line between something
that should either be protected by its irony or criticized for its content
Book 3
Chapter 3 p. 90-97 (the trans woman; the verdict & the lingerie store)
Trans depiction in TA
o Argument 1 - Marra should be faulted for using, even without malice,
terminology that has been used consistently to discredit trans
peoples existence
Oversimplification of complex issues
The context for making a trans joke is very different because
theyre not on the main stage in the same way that other
groups are so the irony doesnt really apply
Being insensitive?
o Argument 2 - Marra accurately reflects an 80s sociocultural aesthetic
where trans people and transitioning was not generally understood
(sex-changed)
Hes satirizing conspiracy theories and how understand how
narratives of other peoples lives have been bombarded by
misinformation
Positions Marra where he knows exactly what hes doing
This one is the more likely scenario
Damning insensitivity?
Book Four
Day after 9/11 Bush says go shopping after the verdict, they go shopping
(p. 94)
He then goes to work on Wall Street (p. 101) satirizes Wall Street
On the last page (112) he takes off his glasses and sees King Arthur
o He turns away from all the craziness, and hes losing control; hes
looking into the past to Arthur, to a great, mythological fighter self-
mythologization, getting back to where he was before
o Lays himself metaphorically bare before King Arthur by taking off his
glasses
o The sun is setting on the white male
Marras critique of TA itself
o He encounters this inevitability; that he be confronted with himself
 The ending doesnt wrap up the narrative
o It doesnt suggest irresolution; further resolution or other adventures
seems more like a final
o The ending from the Filth similar in some ways to the end here
o The line between sincerity & irony
OMWOT sees King Arthur in the sk y because hes having a vision of his
ancestry and link to the Merovingian bloodline, which is, as legend has it, a
continuation of Jesus Christs bloodline, shared through European royalty.
Its intended, yet wilfully opaque. (check BB)
o Quote from Benjamin Marra on the ending of TA