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Alan Grant, you are wrong!

Started by Thread Zero, 01 November, 2001, 03:16:17 AM

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Thread Zero

Below is a section of Roger Simian's interview with Alan Grant.
Hope you don't mind Roger!


Grant scratches his head and frowns. "For me, there is no 'Dredd the man'. He's a Judge. 15 years of brainwashing and conditioning have made him a thug - a genuine fascist. He makes the laws, which he then enforces. He wears a helmet all the time because his face is meaningless - the hidden face of brutality in every age. A hero for the Thatcher Era."

Is this radically different to how another writer - say John Wagner - sees him?

"John would agree with me but his vision is perhaps broader than mine.

I think Alan is wrong in his opinion of Dredd.
He is not a THUG. And he rarely makes the laws. He merely enforces a system of law that by all acceptable stadards is fascist and inhumane.

But Dredd is not a thug. He has a code of behaviour which he upholds.
That is why there is the SJS. To ensure Judges do not cross over the line and abuse their power.

John Wagner does not show Dredd as a thug. Dredd is a clever, resourceful law enforcer who has his moments of compassion and tolerance as well. Rare they may be, but to say he is a thug is wrong.

I just wanted to get that clear.

scojo

JJP

Couldn't agree more.  I really can't see the logic of writing Dredd so that his character is completely unlikable- I hate the stories in which he's presented as a thug ie Heavy Metal Dredd.


Roger Simian

I disagree.  Mega-City One is a Fascist Megalopolis, and a lot of the time Dredd is nothing more than the State's bootboy.  He's upholding the laws of a completely unreasonable world.  Of course he has heroic, human sides to his personality, too, which makes him likeable.  And it's funny the way he takes everything so seriously.  It's the too-and-fro between those two sides of his personality that have made him last so long.  I'd say Psi Judge Anderson is the real human face of MC-1 and she wouldn't work so well if Dredd wasn't such a bastiche most of the time.    

Thread Zero

That reminds me of that old joke:

Anderson arrests some perps. They surrender.

Anderson - "This is a bust!"

Perp - "Your're telling me!"

Copyright Wagner and Grant

scojo


Thread Zero

Well I screwed that one up didn't I!

I meant:

"You're"

scojo still learning to type

Roger Simian

LOL.  If you read the early Dread / Anderson stories you can see that she's being really flirtatious and teasing him and he doesn't even notice.  That's when Dredd's at his funniest, I think - when he doesn't even realise how straight-laced he is.

O Lucky Stevie!

yes! this is exactly what i was referring to when i typed "...that erotic tension that's always existed between dredd & anderson..." further down on this board.

cheers,

steven l'enfant terrible
"We'll send all these nasty words to Aunt Jane. Don't you think that would be fun?"

Roger Simian

"yes! this is exactly what i was referring to when i typed "...that erotic tension that's always existed between dredd & anderson..." further down on this board"

Exactly!  And, after the Debbie Harry look went out of fashion, she even went through a Pamela Anderson phase to try and get him to pay her some attention.  He STILL didn't notice.  

O Lucky Stevie!

"We'll send all these nasty words to Aunt Jane. Don't you think that would be fun?"

Roger Simian

LOL.  Thinking lewd thoughts about a Psi-Judge: it's off to the Titan Penal Colony with you, creep!

Thread Zero

Anywhere is better than Aspen.

See Dredd movie for more!

scojo