Noticing the Fridge Effect
I've been accumulating irritation over women being "fridged." (Not Fringe-ed, that would require amber BAH-DUM-DUM).
Wikilore definition:
The term women in refrigerators was coined by Gail Simone in 1999 to describe a plot device that she noticed as being particularly common in superhero comics. This plot device uses the victimization of a female character in order to advance the dramatic arc of a male character. The female character may be raped, killed, de-powered or otherwise injured; the male character then takes over the story and uses her tragedy as motivation, usually for broody manpain, violent revenge, or simply to become the best hero he can be.
Here's a shortlist: (NOTE: I'm not saying these shows don't have OTHER great women, and female characterization... just that these examples came to mind and that they are on my radar as having an ongoing tendency to irritate me in this regard. Opinions expressed herein are the author's own and not yours, unless you agree with me.)
Director Vance (NCIS): dead wife means he's got a storyline! (He thought he knew everything about her, but he didn't! Oh noes!)
Gibbs (NCIS): dead wife and child are his driving motivation.
Hotch (Crim Minds): dead wife means another storyline and more manpain!
Reid (Crim Minds): Reid falls in love, girl gonna die.
H5-O Team (H5-O): ramped up angst from Jenna's death.
Chin (H5-O): give Chin a storyline by killing his One True Love.
Dexter (Dexter): don't get me started. His mom, his wife. If he didn't kill 'em, somebody did.
Reese (Person of Interest): dead love interest makes him sad.
Sherlock (Elementary): dead love interest makes him interesting (if she's really dead!)
Supernatural, in general: if you're a chick, good luck to you. Are you also related to the bros? Uh oh. (But if they ever kill Felicia Day I will hunt them.)
Rick (The Walking Dead): hard to fault this show for killing anyone, but come on. The dudes are getting a lot of mileage after the loss of a wife or daughter. (Albeit Andrea got mileage too, after her sister bit it. LOL, pun!) The women don't mourn/angst so much. They scream a lot, and then get hard and badass. *shrug*
Evan (Primeval: New World): losing his wife apparently means he's an angsty-ass dino hunter and shit.
Okay, I'm tapped out! Your turn.
Wikilore definition:
The term women in refrigerators was coined by Gail Simone in 1999 to describe a plot device that she noticed as being particularly common in superhero comics. This plot device uses the victimization of a female character in order to advance the dramatic arc of a male character. The female character may be raped, killed, de-powered or otherwise injured; the male character then takes over the story and uses her tragedy as motivation, usually for broody manpain, violent revenge, or simply to become the best hero he can be.
Here's a shortlist: (NOTE: I'm not saying these shows don't have OTHER great women, and female characterization... just that these examples came to mind and that they are on my radar as having an ongoing tendency to irritate me in this regard. Opinions expressed herein are the author's own and not yours, unless you agree with me.)
Director Vance (NCIS): dead wife means he's got a storyline! (He thought he knew everything about her, but he didn't! Oh noes!)
Gibbs (NCIS): dead wife and child are his driving motivation.
Hotch (Crim Minds): dead wife means another storyline and more manpain!
Reid (Crim Minds): Reid falls in love, girl gonna die.
H5-O Team (H5-O): ramped up angst from Jenna's death.
Chin (H5-O): give Chin a storyline by killing his One True Love.
Dexter (Dexter): don't get me started. His mom, his wife. If he didn't kill 'em, somebody did.
Reese (Person of Interest): dead love interest makes him sad.
Sherlock (Elementary): dead love interest makes him interesting (if she's really dead!)
Supernatural, in general: if you're a chick, good luck to you. Are you also related to the bros? Uh oh. (But if they ever kill Felicia Day I will hunt them.)
Rick (The Walking Dead): hard to fault this show for killing anyone, but come on. The dudes are getting a lot of mileage after the loss of a wife or daughter. (Albeit Andrea got mileage too, after her sister bit it. LOL, pun!) The women don't mourn/angst so much. They scream a lot, and then get hard and badass. *shrug*
Evan (Primeval: New World): losing his wife apparently means he's an angsty-ass dino hunter and shit.
Okay, I'm tapped out! Your turn.