Jamie Madrox (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
x_multipleman) wrote2004-01-26 06:42 pm
x_multipleman) wrote2004-01-26 06:42 pm
I'm going to change the world. And all I need are 999,987 volunteers.
The second sentence is a joke. The first one isn't.
Here's the thing. I'm not going to be one of those people who sign up for extra self-defense classes in case more people invade. There's always going to be somebody better, no matter how good I am--and, y'know, I'm not that good. I'd say "I'm a lover, not a fighter," except a. that's a gigantic cliche, and 2. I've been living with you people long enough to know you'd immediately jump to very strange mental places involving Kitty and my dupes.
We have the X-Men for fighting. I'm never going to be an X-Man either. That's not--it's not a criticism, what it is is, imagine the X-Men are bandaids. We need bandaids. Bandaids are cool, and very helpful, and they do what they're supposed to do really well. But we need a lot more than bandaids. I'm going to be the more than bandaids, or one of them.
If we're ever not going to have to worry about people trying to kill us, we need to change the way people think. As many people as we can. We need society to change, and we aren't going to get that by fighting.
One of the best ways we can get it, I think, is to get mass media on our side. And not just documentaries like Miss Tilby did--we need to be sneakier and more ubiquitous than that. We need sitcoms, we need dramas--we need everyone who says "D'oh!" and knows what it means to be the master of their domain, everybody who thinks the White House really is all rapid-fire witticisms or thinks they know what a CBC and a Chem 7 are--we need all those people to see mutants as a normal part of their cultural landscape. I would even take a mutant American Idol, because when we get on stupid reality shows we'll know people think we're normal.
So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to write for TV shows--make my own, eventually--and movies, and probably novels--heck, comic books, why not? I can have more projects going at the same time than anybody else in the world. It's going to take a long time, and it might not work, because maybe the world isn't ready for mutants on TV yet. But like Kitty told me the other day, a lot of people didn't think the world was ready for Ellen DeGeneres to come out, either, and now we have Queer Eye. And if nobody ever tries, the world never will be ready.
That's in the future, though. What I need to do right now is find good colleges for communications and media studies, and anything else our guidance counselors (and ex-media-icons-slash-ex-guidance-counselors, huh? :)) think would be helpful for me to study. I'm halfway through my junior year of high school, here, or I would be if I'd been attending regular school all this time, I need to start thinking about this stuff.
And I want to be active before then, too. I'm not talking about a Million Mutant March, or anything--not that that wouldn't be nice--but we can do stuff on a smaller scale, sit-ins and picketing and things like that, and just talking to people. I think one of the biggest things we can do right here is to not be the weird isolationist people in the spooky mansion in the boonies. We can get to know the neighbors, which would be a great place to start to get people for activisty stuff that aren't us.
And speaking of, just as a start--hey, Kitty, are your bridges completely burned as far as socializing with your dance class outside of doing strange and painful-looking things on your toes with them, or are there a couple there who if you get them alone and promise your scary boyfriend doesn't eat people will be sane people? Because I'm pretty sure you're one of the only ones who has regular outside-the-mansion life stuff with people our age, and that would be a good place to start if we can. Otherwise all I've got right now is hanging around video arcades hoping either they have Tekken or somebody in there watches CNN.
So anybody who wants to help with any of this, let me know, and we'll get together and make cunning plans.
Here's the thing. I'm not going to be one of those people who sign up for extra self-defense classes in case more people invade. There's always going to be somebody better, no matter how good I am--and, y'know, I'm not that good. I'd say "I'm a lover, not a fighter," except a. that's a gigantic cliche, and 2. I've been living with you people long enough to know you'd immediately jump to very strange mental places involving Kitty and my dupes.
We have the X-Men for fighting. I'm never going to be an X-Man either. That's not--it's not a criticism, what it is is, imagine the X-Men are bandaids. We need bandaids. Bandaids are cool, and very helpful, and they do what they're supposed to do really well. But we need a lot more than bandaids. I'm going to be the more than bandaids, or one of them.
If we're ever not going to have to worry about people trying to kill us, we need to change the way people think. As many people as we can. We need society to change, and we aren't going to get that by fighting.
One of the best ways we can get it, I think, is to get mass media on our side. And not just documentaries like Miss Tilby did--we need to be sneakier and more ubiquitous than that. We need sitcoms, we need dramas--we need everyone who says "D'oh!" and knows what it means to be the master of their domain, everybody who thinks the White House really is all rapid-fire witticisms or thinks they know what a CBC and a Chem 7 are--we need all those people to see mutants as a normal part of their cultural landscape. I would even take a mutant American Idol, because when we get on stupid reality shows we'll know people think we're normal.
So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to write for TV shows--make my own, eventually--and movies, and probably novels--heck, comic books, why not? I can have more projects going at the same time than anybody else in the world. It's going to take a long time, and it might not work, because maybe the world isn't ready for mutants on TV yet. But like Kitty told me the other day, a lot of people didn't think the world was ready for Ellen DeGeneres to come out, either, and now we have Queer Eye. And if nobody ever tries, the world never will be ready.
That's in the future, though. What I need to do right now is find good colleges for communications and media studies, and anything else our guidance counselors (and ex-media-icons-slash-ex-guidance-counselors, huh? :)) think would be helpful for me to study. I'm halfway through my junior year of high school, here, or I would be if I'd been attending regular school all this time, I need to start thinking about this stuff.
And I want to be active before then, too. I'm not talking about a Million Mutant March, or anything--not that that wouldn't be nice--but we can do stuff on a smaller scale, sit-ins and picketing and things like that, and just talking to people. I think one of the biggest things we can do right here is to not be the weird isolationist people in the spooky mansion in the boonies. We can get to know the neighbors, which would be a great place to start to get people for activisty stuff that aren't us.
And speaking of, just as a start--hey, Kitty, are your bridges completely burned as far as socializing with your dance class outside of doing strange and painful-looking things on your toes with them, or are there a couple there who if you get them alone and promise your scary boyfriend doesn't eat people will be sane people? Because I'm pretty sure you're one of the only ones who has regular outside-the-mansion life stuff with people our age, and that would be a good place to start if we can. Otherwise all I've got right now is hanging around video arcades hoping either they have Tekken or somebody in there watches CNN.
So anybody who wants to help with any of this, let me know, and we'll get together and make cunning plans.
no subject
January 26 2004, 20:44:30
Several people at this school have names known to the media and world at large - Alison, Elisabeth, Warren, Emma, myself. I, for one, have no problem lending my name and voice to anything you want it for, Jamie. Just say the word. Especially since it might hurt father's contracts with the Government, if they don't know he's a mutant yet.
x_crowdofone
January 27 2004, 00:31:11
Nifty. Will keep that in mind, although I was more thinking of advertising myself as Jamie Madrox As Seen On TV. I think it'll probably be a while before pulling out the really big names wouldn't be overkill, but if we ever do get up a Million (or even More Than Ten) Mutant March, you'd be a big help.
Also, I think I'm going to need to know some stuff about business for talking to producers, and stuff, eventually. Got any advice?
x_shinobi
January 27 2004, 00:49:15
I haven't really dealt with any producers before.. the main reason people tend to know who I am is father's company, and the fact that his son has a pretty, exotic face (I'm quoting someone else here, don't hurt me or think me overly egotistical). Emma might be able to help you, though, since she's probably the most cunning linguist experience speaker on campus who might have experience in those kinds of talks.
I'd suggest Braddock if I wasn't worried she was mad.
...
x_tarot
January 27 2004, 00:55:39
If we tell you that they were right, and you do, do we get a prize?
Re: ...
x_shinobi
January 27 2004, 01:12:30
I suppose that depends on whether or not you consider getting me to blush a little is considered a prize. Though, I'm getting better about that - I'll have to think of a backup prize.
Re: ...
x_tarot
January 27 2004, 01:35:48
When you figure out how not to blush, can you tell me? I'm no good at hiding it either.
Re: ...
x_shinobi
January 27 2004, 01:45:36
I can try. I think, in my case, it's just a matter of being corrupted to the point where things just don't get a rise out of me anymore. It's a long road with lots of blushing along the way, but it does seem to be working.
Re: ...
x_tarot
January 27 2004, 02:00:31
That could prove problematic in my case.
Re: ...
x_wytchbrat
February 1 2004, 22:47:16
*grins* You ever need help with that, just let me know. Challenges are good, corruption more so...
no subject
January 27 2004, 01:00:02
Yeah, she probably could. Or Alison, what with record deals and things. Will have to track down Ms. Frost's office hours, thanks.
x_shinobi
January 27 2004, 01:13:36
How did I forget about Ali? Maybe I'm more tired than I thought.
Just let me know if I can offer anything else - funding, or whatever, whenever things should get that far along.
x_crowdofone
January 28 2004, 17:14:57
Will do. Mostly what I need right now are ideas of small-scale stuff to do, and help doing them--like, I was thinking about volunteering at a soup kitchen, or something, since I dunno if there's any immediately pending mutant legislation we could protest.
Darnit, this is gonna mean I'm going to have to start watching the news, isn't it. Oh, well. Sacrifices for the cause. :)
x_shinobi
January 28 2004, 20:41:20
Track
If the real news gets too depressing, you could always nurse yourself back to health with the Daily Show?