Advanced Criminal Justice, Class #4, Period 1, 01.19.06

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Internet at work is good! Yays! Thanks on many levels to psycho_barbie for this class idea. Class Info Post.]

The lights were dimmed in The Tick's classroom today. A television was on. Popcorn had been made by a wee dragon and was readily available at the front of the class. The Tick and Lockheed were currently sitting at the back of the room, ready for a movie.

"Hello, class! Today is our last scheduled day discussing Bugs Bunny and the role of his cog in Justice. This class will be a bit different than the other discussions on Mr. Bunny, though."

"As it turns out, we may have been mistaken about Mr. Bunny's position in the Dartboard of Right. He isn't the Single 1. Nor is he Just off the Board. Nay, chums. He's not even the Bullseye! He is the Triple 20."

"And now, I have a short film for you to watch. It's only seven minutes long, so all will make sense shortly. Rory? If you could start the film?"

Rory hit play and a cartoon started. After the Merrie Melodies card, the title "Duck Amuck" came up on screen. For the next seven minutes, the class was treated to Daffy Duck being tormented by a mysterious animator. Finally, Mr. Bunny is revealed.

Rory stopped the DVD and Tick turned the lights back on as he returned to the front of the room. "Now you see. Daffy Duck - Mr. Bunny's only true rival, the greedy narcissist who has frequently tried to thwart Mr. Bunny for selfish means - is at the Mercy of Justice in the form of a paintbrush and eraser. Controlling these Drawing Tools of Justice? Mr. Bunny himself."

"I was thinking about what Callisto has said this past week about Mr. Bunny being a tool of the gods, going forth and leaving Justice in his wake. This film suggest that Mr. Bunny has great power to wield for Justice indeed."

"Now, I'm not claiming that Mr. Bunny is a Justice God or anything. That's a philosophy issue. This is a Justice class. I try not to mix and match subjects like that. I find it confusing. But his power must be noted. Perhaps he's actually a superhero! Perhaps he's a benevolent cosmic entity, curious about our culture and willing to stand up for our concept of Right while still having some chaotic fun! Or perhaps he's just a psychotic little bunny who has fun tormenting people!"

"So I present to you a question: Taking this film and our previous discussions of him into account, what do you feel Mr. Bunny's role in Justice is? Is he a Servant of Justice? Does he control Justice with a paintbrush? Is he a mere trickster, disrupting Justice except for when it suits him? On the Flipped Coins of Justice, does he come up Heads, Tails, or Standing Up On the Edge? Discuss, class!"

Comments

Talk [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

...

Turn Stuff In [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

If you didn't on Tuesday (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomhigh/519300.html).

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"Maybe he's just a helpless pawn of the powers that be," Angel said. "Maybe he'd be thrilled to live his own life and be neither good nor evil except nobody's giving him a chance."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

"So you're going back to the theory that Mr. Bunny is some sort of destined Champion again? Very interesting. And aren't you glad Chuck Jones wasn't your PTB?"

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"Well I still think the whole idea of a destined - whaddyacallit - champion is kinda far-fetched. But sometimes we aren't given a choice about whether or not we're one of the good guys or one of the bad guys. Considering all the cross dressing would it have somehow made me less gay?"

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

"But in this film, Mr. Bunny clearly chooses what it is he is going to do. He is, in fact, the only one with any control in the film at all. Which - if any - side do you think he chooses here? Slightly less gay. Barely."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"Isn't that hard to say without first asking what side Mr. Duck is on?" Angel asked. "Sure, all that isn't something I'd like to go through, but consider how often Mr. Duck tried to manipulate the law to have Mr. Bunny killed."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

"Okay then. Considering that, which side do you think Mr. Duck is on? And considering that Mr. Bunny and Mr. Duck have worked together before, does having Mr. Duck on one side necessarily mean that Mr. Bunny is on the other? Or could they, in fact, be on the same side but at odds? Like you and a certain Billy Idol-wannabe in Season 5."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

"But we've seen the rabbit before doing things that are illegal. Perhaps the rabbit had a criminal past and is now trying to redeem himself by punishing criminals."

"On a separate note... I seem to remember some footage regarding Mr. Duck saying that he was a superhero... a "thuperduck" as it were. Could it be that he turned to a life of crime?"

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"I think there's a lot of shades of grey," Angel said. "I think they're both trying to do what they think is right. The torture and death threats are clearly flirting mutual. Without knowing what started it all we may never figure out if one of them is in the wrong. I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. Especially with regards to any implications of flirting."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

"Very well. Excellent discussion, Angel!"

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[can_be_more]

Aeryn is in a bad enough mood to just get confused by the metaphors, so she just asks, "I'm not adverse to getting the bunny to tell us what his role is." Her methods do involve torture. And maybe a Rubik's Cube.

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"While he sometimes takes a proactive role in seeking justice, Mr Bunny's just deeds seem just as often to be the accidental by-product of some self-serving act. While it's possible he fufills the role similar to a trickster god, it's just as likely he's a pawn of the same."

Re: Turn Stuff In [Class #4]

[fates_jaye]

Justice is like toothpaste. It may not be the nicest thing to look at and it might not even taste good, but it does its job, ridding the mouth of society of all plaque particles and staving away gingivitis!

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[fates_jaye]

"Maybe Mr. Bunny's just consistently in the wrong place at the wrong time," Jaye suggests. "He's got a bad sense of direction. He never turns the right way at Alberqueque."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"I'm not sure he's acting on behalf of the Gods at all," Sam argued. "Chaos Theory posits that it may actually be a sensitivity to the initial conditions of a situation that causes a seemingly random effect to occur. In which case, it could be something very simple (but currently unknowable) that has caused Mr. Bunny, usually viewed as a hero or Agent of Good, to instead be viewed as a trickster in this particular instance."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[actingltcrumpet.livejournal.com]

"Philosophy makes my head hurt, so I'll not get into the notion of Mister Bunny as a Justice god," says Archie. "But as a, er, Flipped Coin of Justice, I would say that he tends to stand on the edge until a blow sufficient to shake him comes along, and then it is purely a matter of chance. More often than not he is a disruptor of Justice, but I suppose there's some kind of cosmic balance to the Universe that allows everyone the chance to serve as an instrument of Justice at least once. Maybe it was his turn then, and his, er, coin just happened to tip the other way for once?"

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[actingltcrumpet.livejournal.com]

"Why is it that I didn't understand half of that, but it made more sense than I did?" Archie asked, glaring playfully.

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[fates_jaye]

Jaye's not looking. Nope. And not bouncing a little internally, either. She'd never do a thing like that.

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

"He has also thwarted many crimes as well. And many of his illegal acts were done while thwarting evildoers. I suppose we'll have to have a discussion about Vigilante Justice soon to make sure we're all on the same page about it."

"I don't think Mr. Duck has necessarily become a criminal. I do think it's clear, however, that his abilities as a hero are somewhat compromised by his greed and ego. He may not be evil, but he has certainly fallen from his position as a Thuperduck."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

"The question now is, could you? With his Brush of Meta Justice, Mr. Bunny could potentially thwart your efforts."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[bugofjustice.livejournal.com]

"Do you think the fact that the act is self-serviving make it any less Just? Perhaps the Rush of Justice is truly part of what he gets out of the act!"

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[can_be_more]

"I would like to see him try, brush of whatever or not."

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[can_be_more]

Blink. Thuperduck, right. Aeryn's going back to bed after this.

Re: Talk [Class #4]

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

Cameron actually spent most of the movie laughing. It's hard not to as it's a great cartoon. He quickly tries to look serious when Tick is back at word and contemplates the question.

"I don't think that because he for once does the right thing, that it suddenly makes up for his past actions. It seems that Bugs doing good is more of an exception to the rule than anything else. I think that he just really likes fooling people and that he isn't so much a servant of Justice as that he is a by coincidence freelancer for Justice because fate or maybe just plain luck brought him there."