The irony of the ebay backlash...

POSTED BY: WildHeavenFarm
UPDATED: Friday, June 10, 2005 20:38
VIEWED: 8628
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WILDHEAVENFARM

Friday, June 10, 2005 4:01 AM

Here's how it is, in my opinion. There's lots of folk getting knicker-twisty over other folk selling ticket on ebay. But stop and think on it a minute - this movie is about scavengers, thiefs, smugglers, mercenaries, killers, and lawbreakers who take profit where ever and whenever they can, even robbing the dead - and those are the heroes! How can we get all high and moral-like about a dozen scalped tickets to see them?

Isn't it ironic, don't you think? Go se, now that lame ass song's stuck in my head.

Mary
Always a beast, never a burden.

PURPLEBELLY

Friday, June 10, 2005 4:26 AM

It would be ironic if people actually saw the show as it is written, but reading the fan 'boards, I don't think they do.

GUNRUNNER

Friday, June 10, 2005 4:28 AM

The thing is that these people aren’t “robbing from the rich and selling to the poor” they are robbing from the poor and selling it back to them at an inflated price by grabbing all the tickets before we have a chance.

We Browncoats have a long history of giving- sell T-Shirts at cost, paying for advertising and server space out of our own pocket, creating free game mods in our spare time (Yo!) etc. Scalping tickets isn’t in the Browncoat spirit.

EV Nova Firefly mod Message Board:
http://s4.invisionfree.com/GunRunner/index.php?act=idx

BEATLE

Friday, June 10, 2005 4:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by WildHeavenFarm:
this movie is about scavengers, thiefs, smugglers, mercenaries, killers, and lawbreakers who take profit where ever and whenever they can, even robbing the dead - and those are the heroes

It's a movie, not real life.

RKLENSETH

Friday, June 10, 2005 6:08 AM

In Firefly, those people were trying to survive.

The scalpers are just trying to profit off of other people just because they can in most cases.

Oh, and play Cantr II at www.cantr.net.

JARED

Friday, June 10, 2005 7:08 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by PurpleBelly:
It would be ironic if people actually saw the show as it is written, but reading the fan 'boards, I don't think they do.

Just because they obviously don't get Train Job and that whole thing about morale being more important than profit, no matter how much you need the money and how much trouble you will be getting into?

Because they mix it up with stealing from the poor, selling to the rich? Maybe they just saw a different show? ,-)

http://festini.device-zero.de

3HEADEDMONKEY

Friday, June 10, 2005 7:16 AM

there's a difference between fiction and real life. people enjoy playing GTA but dont actually go out and jack cars and run old ladies over and beat up prostitutes, despite that's whats done in the games.
its stupid to try and justify the scalping by saying Mal and the crew did crime jobs and stole stuff. they live in the tv world.

PHAEDRA

Friday, June 10, 2005 11:07 AM

Well I for one will jump on the irony band wagon. Unlike the infamous song that shall not be named, there is a certain level of actual irony to the ebay backlash. Though I'm not a fan of scalpers, this opinion does not detract WWCSD (What Would the Crew of Serenity Do) feeling I get when I look around e-bay and snicker.

Now before everyone starts pounding away about the internal morality of the show, the answer to your challenges is yes! Yes, our BDH returned the medicine. Of course based on TJ, it does seem like they have a running policy of not asking what they are stealing or shipping. Yes, our BDH would never deal in truly reprehensible cargo like slaves. Of course based on Shindig, Mals response to slavery is simply to steal the slaver's wallet as opposed to disabling his ship or taking more proactive steps to liberate the human cargo. And, yes, without question, our BDH would never do any thing as evil as rape a puppy or kick a kitten. But would they eat them. . . hmm. . . what are protien bars made out of anyway.

My point being is that it was always the moral ambiguity of the show that appealed to me. There is a similar ambiguity about ebay ticket sellers. We don't know who these people are? We don't know what their live are like? But this whole robinhood complex thing being the height of moral superiorty has got to stop. When I was a poor kid in college working 3 jobs just to stay in and eat ramen (and ramen sux), I would have done the same. I suspect that's who most of the ebay seller are poor college kids looking to turn a fast buck. Somehow I don't think the evil scalpers guild would be bothered with an event like this. Yes I know some are just assholes, who don't need the money, looking to make a fast buck. Even though that is true, I don't think they deserve harrassing hate mail. Again, they're not selling WMD's to rogue nations, that's the governments job. They are making a profit on other peoples dreams and obsessions, that Hollywood's job, and each and every one of us buys into that same trap everytime we lay out $10 to see a bad movie. (Quick aside, I've seen the BDM through legitimate webstocking and not ebay, and it is a GREAT movie!)

My point being (and it always comes so late) is that maybe Firefly doesn't give us the answer to the dilemma of the ebay scalpers. WWCSD? Depends on the member. Book would confine them to the special hell. Jayne unquestionably would scalp. How would Kaylee (everybodys favorite) get her ticket (thit Out of Gas)? River could kill scalpers with her mind. Simon would be morally appalled (such things aren't done in the Core), but he'd do it to help River. Wash would nag, whine, and beg Zoe for a ticket until she'd either have to shoot him or someone else to fix the situaton. Inara would role her eyes a the entire affair. And Mal, our tight panted anti-hero, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if he scalped.

Given this ambiguity we must turn to another source for our wisdom. Looking outside the Whedonverse (how did we live before he came into our lives), I propose that maybe Wes Craven has the answer. In the original Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Kruger is defeated when Nancy turns her back on him and takes away all the anger, fear, and energy she has given to him. I suggest we do the same. Scalpers will only stop when people stop buying from them. Ignoring them, not giving them free publicty on these boards, is a step in the right direction.

At least that's gonna be my approach. And yes, WildHeavenFarm, all of this is terribly ironic.

Phaedra (a bad luck name)

LITWOLF689

Friday, June 10, 2005 11:10 AM

Ironic yea, but they took tickets from us and are charging them at very high prices. So Im still mad.

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FREAKIN' SHOW! I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damnit." ~Joss

PSYCHICRIVER

Friday, June 10, 2005 11:22 AM

It's like RAIaiaiaianaina on your wedding day!

PsychicRiver

"Two by two, hands of blue."
"We'll take care of each other. I'll knit!"

Summer Glau to me - "You are so photogenic."

Me -

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