In the eighteenth part of\u00c2\u00a0Jingo<\/i>, Vetenari plots while Vimes meets the real 71-Hour Ahmed. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Jingo<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
I realized a while ago that there was always going to be a problem in doing what I do for this series. There are few things unfunnier than describing or explaining jokes. Like, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m one of those people who will listen to you politely if you describe or repeat a comedy bit to me, but just so you know, I have mentally checked out\u00c2\u00a0completely<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0and secretly hate you for trying to repeat it. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly value in analyzing a joke\u00c2\u00a0critically<\/i>, to explain its flaws or demonstrate why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s harmful, and I think there is even something neat in getting to the heart of joke and why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s subversive or something like that.<\/p>\n
But in doing Mark Reads for a series that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largely comedic, sometimes I struggle with how to do critical analysis for scenes that are one long set-up for a punchline. If we accept that Vetinari\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plan was to distract the Klatchians with Colon and Nobby, all so he could get hold of the flying carpet, then what is there to say about what happens in between?<\/p>\n
Well, I suppose the whole \u00e2\u20ac\u0153men in dresses\u00e2\u20ac\u009d trope is not used quite so strangely here, and I was hoping that Nobby would perhaps rethink his opinions and perceptions of women after he was treated as one. Part of me suspects all the women in this section know Nobby is in a terrible disguise and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just stringing him along. But I also saw a cool chance to maybe explore the idea that Nobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bad luck with women was because he was actually into\u00c2\u00a0men<\/i>, and this interaction would have helped him realize it. However, \u00c2\u00a0this ends up being more about the dichotomy of gender in both these societies instead. Which is fine! Nobby feeling free enough to cry was neat, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that Pratchett takes things any further than this.<\/p>\n
The same goes for Colon and Vetinari. The bit with the donkey at the top of the minaret feels like a reference I did not get, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a set-up for Vetinari and the flying carpet. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand if Pratchett was intending something else here, but I fully admit that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get this. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay to admit! But in doing so, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel comfortable analyzing it beyond that because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 look, I know my whole thing is being Wrong All The Time, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to plunge forth into a disaster by making something out of ignorance. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00c2\u00a0was<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0there another meaning to that scene? Maybe something the Annotated bit will explain?<\/p>\n
I am, however, VERY EXCITED about what this section reveals about 71-Hour Ahmed. His name comes from his murder of a man in violation of the Three Day rule of hospitality. (Apparently??? We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know if this is true.) As Jabbar explained:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own tent! When he had been his guest for nearly tree dace! If he had but waited an hour\u00e2\u20ac\u201c\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, I\u00c2\u00a0see<\/i>. Definitely bad manners. Had the man done anything to deserve it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nothing! Although\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The man had killed El-Ysa.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So, Ahmed killed a man who had murdered AN ENTIRE VILLAGE by poisoning the well. (An interesting choice of term, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you think? Given the subject of this book.) He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem so frightening in that context; he got revenge against someone who had done something horrific. However, the reveal that Ahmed had been\u00c2\u00a0faking<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0his accent blows me away, and I was back to being intimidated by him. WHO IS HE?<\/p>\n
And it\u00c2\u00a0was<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Ahmed\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice. But it lacked that hint of camel spit and gravel that it had possessed in Ankh-Morpork. Now it was the drawl of a gentlemen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
HOW? Where is from??? WHAT IS HIS ENDGAME???<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8FcgUfhuSqg<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the eighteenth part of\u00c2\u00a0Jingo, Vetenari plots while Vimes meets the real 71-Hour Ahmed. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Jingo.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[521,463,248],"class_list":["post-4020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-jingo","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4020\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}