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RT: FROM HELL: I made it up.

  
 
SMS
20:37 / 14.10.01
In the beginning of From Hell, Robert Lees and Inspector Abberline walk along the beach together enjoying a conversation. Lees was a psychic who claimed to have solved the whitechapel murders. Lees makes a confession.

Lees: I made it up
Abberline: What?
Lees: WHat I said; I made it up.
Abberline: The vision of Mr. MacDonald?
Lees: All of them. All the visions. I made them all up. You have to remember I was very young and frail… The attention, that was the thing.
I was severn, the first time The family cat had been missing for days, and I said I'd had the STRANGEST dream: On May 25th our cat should be RETURNED to us. A complete lie of course.
But after the fuss they made of me… How? How could I admit I'd invented everything? I chose to keep up the pretense and the longer I did, the harder it became to extricate myself.
………
On May 25th, we found the cat under a hedge poisoned by weed-preparation. It was small; stiff; nothing interesting about it whatsoever.
I made it all up and it all came true anyway. That's the funny part.


This is one of the quotes from FROM HELL that always fascinates me. It's George Washington cutting down the cherry tree, and saying "I cannot tell a lie," but this time, it doesn't mean, I'm too moral to tell a lie. It just means that I can't, even if I think I'm lying at the time. I've always felt that this has some implications on the magic of this book that I haven't noticed yet.
So, while this thread's in the comic book section, discuss this.
When we get to the magic forum, I ask, has anyone experienced this kind of magic? Is it even possible or is it mentioned here for literary purposes only?


Important: The “RT” in the thread title indicates that this is a nomadic thread. To find out more about them, click here to view and contribute to the Nomadic Threads topic in the Policy Forum. This thread will migrate between the Comic Books and Magick, as it deals with issues that are relevant to both. It will spend a week in each forum, unless three days pass without a post (in which case it will migrate prematurely). It’s a bit of an experiment in forging links between forums, and it may crash and burn. Bear with it and see if you think it’s a good idea. Please do NOT use this as a place to discuss nomadic threads in general: click here to participate in the discussion in the Policy

[ 16-10-2001: Message edited by: All-Loving SMatthewStolte ]
 
 
Seth
07:56 / 18.10.01
I would imagine that Alan Moore’s understanding of fiction shares some overlap with Grant Morrison’s, in that reality can be manipulated through fiction. I don’t want to go into that too much here: I’ll come back to it when the thread resurfaces in the Magick.

One thing I will mention is that the conversation reprinted above eerily effects the whole work. In The Dance of the Gull Catchers Moore openly states that he made it up as fiction (albeit meticulously researched), and explores the concept of the Ripper murders as a meta-event, in which the actual happening are unknown but surrounded by a perimeter of contradictory theories, facts, etc. Now, I was reading From Hell as it was originally released, and it coincided with Diana’s death. The amount of material within the text that potentially “related” to Diana’s death was staggering.

Now I’m not for an instant saying that Moore intended to or accidentally created a hypersigil. I guess I’m saying that fiction seems to be a powerful form for touching on an unconscious flow of events within reality. Is it because the reality we live within is a work of fiction in and of itself, and by relating to it via fiction we are using its own language? There's a hell of a lot to this discussion, and it will be very rewarding to see it play out alongside the fictionsuit thread.

Nice one, Smat. On reflection, I my “don’t post anything magical until the thread winds up in the Magick” self-censorship just didn’t work at all. Incidentally, I can’t access my e-mail at the moment (freeserve site seems to be playing up). If you’ve sent me one, would you mind sending a copy to philmaton@hotmail.com? Sorry ‘bout that.
 
 
grant
13:50 / 19.10.01
I think the move is also one of those writerly things, too - Moore's way of saying "Just because I'm making this all up doesn't mean it isn't all true."
Especially significant given that his main concern seems to be the Ripper murders as the occult birth pains of the 20th century, the way in which the patriarchy and the sleeping/suppressed mother-goddess would be reinventing their struggle for the next 100 or so years. Which may be equally made up and true.
 
 
Rex City-zen
20:20 / 19.10.01
The funny part about Washington and the tree:
IT WAS ALL A LIE!! IT NEVER HAPPENED!!!
 
 
Lionheart
09:43 / 23.10.01
Actually it did. The cherry tree fell on top of George Washington and Adam Weisehaupt took his place. They were identical twins separated at birth, don't forget.!

Ok, so i made it all up.
 
  
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