O HAY THAR. Wank ahoy!
Why, yes, I wander around in Wank_Report to see what the buzz in fandom (and other places) is all about these days. Some of it is hilarious, some of it is sad, and some of it is rage-inducing.
This one is more WTF-inducing than anything else, and I wouldn't be linking to it if it weren't for this post, in which the poster asserts that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an anti-feminist show.
Why, yes, that was my head you heard exploding. A show that had women as the most powerful beings on the planet...was anti-feminist.
Her reasoning?
Buffy - whenever she becomes sexually involved, is the victim of abuse
Faith - depicted as sexually open, is "evil"
Jenny - gets involved with Giles, is killed for shock value
Anya - depicted as sexually open, is jilted at the altar and also goes "evil"
Tara - in a committed lesbian relationship, killed for shock value
Willow - in a committed lesbian relationship, "magic" formerly equated with this relationship now equated to crack, goes evil
Waitaminute. Buffy was the "victim of abuse"? WHEN? Was that before or after she beat the everliving snot out of Spike and left him to die in an alley? Was that before or after she said "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you"? When did she ever let Angelus abuse her? She's the friggin' Slayer, dude; she gave as good as she got. When did Riley abuse her? HOW THE HELL could Riley abuse her in the first place? Did I miss that episode? Parker? She kicked his ass.
Faith? Was evil for about a season. After that? Big Damn Hero. Ditto Anya.
You could debate the "killing for shock value" bit until the cows come home. I personally disagree with that assessment; there were plotful reasons that Jenny and Tara died, and while some folks might not like those particular plots, they weren't pointless. Angelus had damn good reasons for wanting Jenny dead; Tara's death was the catalyst for Willow's meltdown and subsequent redemption.
As for Willow and the "crack magic" aspect, the poster seems to be assuming a cause-and-effect with the Tara relationship that I just don't see, since Will started with the magic before she met Tara. Also? Willow = Big Damn Hero in "Chosen" and through the rest of S7 as well.
Dude, Joss tortures all his characters. You could even argue that Jenny had it a lot easier than Giles did; after all, she's just dead. Giles had to find her in his bed and then live with that image seared on his brain for the rest of his life. Angel goes evil with a moment of pure happiness...think he doesn't consider that every time he gets laid? Xander leaves Anya at the altar and loses an eye. Riley cheats on Buffy with a vamp ho and loses Buffy completely.
In the meantime, Harmony has sex with the liaison to the Senior Partners and gets a letter of recommendation from Angel before he goes off to fight evil. The liaison? Dies. Lindsey falls in love with another liaison--and is killed by a "flunky." Eve's fate, meantime, is unknown, although I always assumed she died when the building came down. She might have lived, though.
Point being, no one in the BuffyVerse was allowed happy couplehood, at least not for long. Hell, Fred and Wes got ONE episode, and as far as we know didn't even sleep together before Fred became Illyria and Wes's world came crashing down on his poor head. Oh, and look. He died too.
It's amazing what you can read into a show when you're looking at it through a certain pair of glasses or smoking the bad crack.
Okay, I'm sure I had a towel over here somewhere...ah, there it is. *cleans up*
This one is more WTF-inducing than anything else, and I wouldn't be linking to it if it weren't for this post, in which the poster asserts that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an anti-feminist show.
Why, yes, that was my head you heard exploding. A show that had women as the most powerful beings on the planet...was anti-feminist.
Her reasoning?
Buffy - whenever she becomes sexually involved, is the victim of abuse
Faith - depicted as sexually open, is "evil"
Jenny - gets involved with Giles, is killed for shock value
Anya - depicted as sexually open, is jilted at the altar and also goes "evil"
Tara - in a committed lesbian relationship, killed for shock value
Willow - in a committed lesbian relationship, "magic" formerly equated with this relationship now equated to crack, goes evil
Waitaminute. Buffy was the "victim of abuse"? WHEN? Was that before or after she beat the everliving snot out of Spike and left him to die in an alley? Was that before or after she said "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you"? When did she ever let Angelus abuse her? She's the friggin' Slayer, dude; she gave as good as she got. When did Riley abuse her? HOW THE HELL could Riley abuse her in the first place? Did I miss that episode? Parker? She kicked his ass.
Faith? Was evil for about a season. After that? Big Damn Hero. Ditto Anya.
You could debate the "killing for shock value" bit until the cows come home. I personally disagree with that assessment; there were plotful reasons that Jenny and Tara died, and while some folks might not like those particular plots, they weren't pointless. Angelus had damn good reasons for wanting Jenny dead; Tara's death was the catalyst for Willow's meltdown and subsequent redemption.
As for Willow and the "crack magic" aspect, the poster seems to be assuming a cause-and-effect with the Tara relationship that I just don't see, since Will started with the magic before she met Tara. Also? Willow = Big Damn Hero in "Chosen" and through the rest of S7 as well.
Dude, Joss tortures all his characters. You could even argue that Jenny had it a lot easier than Giles did; after all, she's just dead. Giles had to find her in his bed and then live with that image seared on his brain for the rest of his life. Angel goes evil with a moment of pure happiness...think he doesn't consider that every time he gets laid? Xander leaves Anya at the altar and loses an eye. Riley cheats on Buffy with a vamp ho and loses Buffy completely.
In the meantime, Harmony has sex with the liaison to the Senior Partners and gets a letter of recommendation from Angel before he goes off to fight evil. The liaison? Dies. Lindsey falls in love with another liaison--and is killed by a "flunky." Eve's fate, meantime, is unknown, although I always assumed she died when the building came down. She might have lived, though.
Point being, no one in the BuffyVerse was allowed happy couplehood, at least not for long. Hell, Fred and Wes got ONE episode, and as far as we know didn't even sleep together before Fred became Illyria and Wes's world came crashing down on his poor head. Oh, and look. He died too.
It's amazing what you can read into a show when you're looking at it through a certain pair of glasses or smoking the bad crack.
Okay, I'm sure I had a towel over here somewhere...ah, there it is. *cleans up*