I like to imagine genies aren't trying to monkeys paw your wish. They are just really bad at their jobs, so the end result of your wish is just barely above average.
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You ask for a million dollars but its only in currency that the genie lasts remember being used, so its either worth more or less depending on how long ago the genie was imprisoned
You can’t convince me that genies aren’t just retail/customer service workers that actually have the power to occasionally mess with people and offer their own malicious compliance hehe.
I believe that they want to be able to leave their bottles with as much energy as they can, so they will want to grant wishes with the least effort needed. As long as they can fulfill the contractual agreement obligations quick.
Isn't the concept of the genie being able to outright warp reality (such as poofing stuff into existence) a largely Western invention though? I.e. They can't magically poof gold into existence if you wish to become rich, they instead steal it from someone else to give it to you, etc.
Someone somewhere had a post pointing out it's not the genie's job, but rather a courtesy extended in gratitude for its freedom--which would be unwise to call in question.
god now I cant help but imagine a socially awkward person getting monkey pawed, but they have too much social anxiety to say anything about it and accept the bad wishes.
That's similar to the interpretation of how DingoDoodles plays her genie character, Rooster (on the Fools Gold Sands campaing on her channel). Really doing his best to fullfill your wish, but shit just goes south with it.
i mean, it is funny to think they are so far removed from the world, that they legitamitely dont understand the request, so they fulfill it in the most direct way possible.
but it also makes sense, that if you were eternally bound to do this work, you'd nitpick details too
I view genie as monkey's paw as a fable that is fundamentally about the conflict between abstraction and precision
Computers and institutions both provide valuable modern examples of where this aesop is useful. Lots of autism-spectrum-centering communities seem to try to construct norms around this
"Look, I'm not human. This isn't my native language. I literally don't know what it's like to be a mortal being, and I don't understand your regional idioms. I'm not the one being a problem; you're the one trying to fix your life by making up a complicated run-on sentence."
I suppose slang trips them up too, as I figured many work within different languages. So getting asked to hit the griddy might make them summon grain grits.
Saw a version someone wrote where the genie has no special powers, time just stops when the wish is made and the genie has to grant it by their own efforts. That was an interesting one.
You just wake them up from a century-long slumber, it's like the worst monday morning ever. Gotta make sure you give your genie some coffee and time to wake up before talking business! Cut the poor lads some slack...
I like to think that because they are ancient beings, language has changed and evolved over millenia and no current language is their native language, so wishes are just getting lost in translation.
Anytime someone mentions Aladdin's genie to them they give you the most soul-crushed minimum-wage worker sigh b/c they know you're gonna be a Karen about your wish expectations.
ah yes the Genie. the eternal arch enemy of the IRS and similar organizations. for 3 wishes you are exempt from the laws of taxation on whatever it is you wish to have or own.
In Islamic tradition, the jinn (from which genies) are powerful only rarely physically, more usually psychic/energetic (on electromagnetic spectrum), yet have the mental development of a child.
Not generally cruel, but rather playful and enjoy teasing forgetful humans.
I equate genie’s jobs to prison labor. They got sealed and have to do this new job they aren’t even trained for and may not even happen often enough. 😩
If you haven’t stood in the shower practicing the exact legal language of each wish such that it has no possible loopholes, idk what you’re doing in there
It's gotta be a strat so they can be free longer. They massively fuck it up the first time so you take longer to think about it. Longer time planning = more freedom from the lamp
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Lol
... Just saying.
Genie: "Easy Peasy" - crashes world economy
but it also makes sense, that if you were eternally bound to do this work, you'd nitpick details too
Computers and institutions both provide valuable modern examples of where this aesop is useful. Lots of autism-spectrum-centering communities seem to try to construct norms around this
Or generation Z GF might summon a canadian lady.
So they might have a generation gap
Service job, Unlimited Cosmic Power.
It's those same guys doing the interpretation forever!
Imagine the linguistic drift.
Itty bitty living space.
Not generally cruel, but rather playful and enjoy teasing forgetful humans.
They just don't know what their best IS.
And then one genie goes indie, but is underskilled and makes average wishes
If allowed, wishing for more wishes would be solid, but that's often forbidden.
Perhaps wishing for another, non-sentient genie-like wish granter that is absolutely loyal to you.