Slog - Comments on Re: A Theory http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory Killing time, killing space: Turns out Cho Seung-Hui was a playwright. Here is a page from his short play Mr. Brownstone. Here is a page from his short play Richard McBeef. Where is the Seattle company that will produce these works immediately? They're both crude, but Mr. Brownstone, I'm guessing, was written later. It feels more mature and has more surprising language. Mr. Brownstone, the villainous math teacher is described as "such a wicked old flapper." The kids sing—and parse—the Guns 'n' Roses song. One character sighs: "After a long, ravishing day at school, we just want to be left... Copyright 2008 Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:22:05 -0800 Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:08:40 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Fnarf Jesus, I read the whole of "Richard McBeef" at Smoking Gun. I think there might have been something wrong with that boy. Crazy from top to bottom. And completely illiterate as well; he was a college SENIOR? English major? Yikes.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694750 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694750 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:43:57 -0800 Comment by shane we'll produce it when someone makes a play about him making these plays.

]]> shane http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694762 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694762 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:54:48 -0800 Comment by joykiller Does anyone else think "Richard McBeef" would make a great band name?

]]> joykiller http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694765 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694765 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:02:52 -0800 Comment by infrequent it's outsider art.

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694766 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694766 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:04:17 -0800 Comment by Max Solomon there WAS something wrong with mr. cho - he was alienated. this is not unique. he did not have a 'screw loose'. he wasn't schizophrenic.

he had a psychotic break & was determined to make the world feel the pain that he felt.

]]> Max Solomon http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694781 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694781 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:13:53 -0800 Comment by Erik Yeah, but did he fill anybody's ipod with music?

]]> Erik http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694785 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694785 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:18:16 -0800 Comment by Joe Nothing about video games or goth lifestyle or rock music. Yet all the other school shooters had read literature too. So now the common thread becomes clear. This massacre is the worst because the shooter is a playwright and an English major: literature is the infection and he's at the epicenter. If he'd been playing video games instead of reading, none of this would have happened.

Clearly we need to ban plays and English literature. Every English major is a potential murderer.

]]> Joe http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694786 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694786 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:19:11 -0800 Comment by Sam It seems to me a case of differing cultures. Some of the stuff this South Korean native writes appears forcefully Americanized.

Reading it I get the feeling like he was far more immersed in television and the Internet than any healthy social setting.

It appears, to me anyway, that he's writing as though that's what he thinks reality is. From what I've heard he was a loner and had few, if any, friends. It makes sense then that his inner workings are based not not on personal societal mores but those he picked up from pop cultural icons.

I'm sure there are some fancy psychological terms for this stuff, but I don't know them (nor do I think they're necessary).

]]> Sam http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694790 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694790 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:21:33 -0800 Comment by Sam Ack, now look what you've done, Joe - my commenting sitting right under yours.

I was trying to avoid the same things you're saying (or, rather, being facetious about) because I completely disagree with music or TV making people do things, which is what has been said in the past.

What I'm trying to say is that in his writing the only things he knew were based on things outside of reality. I just want to be clear.

]]> Sam http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694792 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694792 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:24:04 -0800 Comment by infrequent i think people should be careful. do we really want to judge whether or not we think a person will span based on their writings? anybody seen grindhouse? some of the best writers (note: not grindhouse) have written pieces that might cause us to question them. that is not the environment i would like to encourage.

we really don't know much about this person. but it does seem as though he was intentionally anti-social in an extreme manner.

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694793 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694793 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:26:04 -0800 Comment by infrequent "span" should be "snap"

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694794 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694794 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:27:52 -0800 Comment by elswinger I would like to know what anti-depressants he was prescribed and if he was on or off his meds.

]]> elswinger http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694820 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694820 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:00:48 -0800 Comment by ellarosa apropos of 10, would you know hitler was capable of organized genocide by looking at his paintings? no.

]]> ellarosa http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694832 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/04/re_a_theory#c694832 Arts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:08:40 -0800