Never Underestimate the Linguistic Power of the Zeppo

[angearia]

My roomie started rewatching Buffy Season 2 and got me into doing it too.  I'm currently on "Some Assembly Required" and one line made me pause and come here to post so I can relate my rewatch to writing somehow.  Because my brain is all about writing and characterization lately.  Anyways - the line:

Comments

[gabrielleabelle]

I think Xander's quite a bit smarter than he lets on (or that the show lets on sometimes). Maybe not "school-smart", but he is very witty and clever with his phrasing. I always enjoy writing him cause of that.

Although...one of my favorite moments (from one of the worst episodes):

"To read is makes our speaking English good."

Indeed it does, Xander. Indeed it does.

[angearia]

Indeed it does, Xander. Indeed it does.

Hee! Oh wow, that episode is so bad.

Yeah, he's very witty and clever with his phrasing. Less book-smart/school-smart, but still very intelligent and observant.

I think Xander sadly gets short shrift in the fandom a lot of the time. Either he's painted as violently jealous or not-too-keen intellect wise. I dunno, it just struck me oddly as I'm watching Season 2 to say as a writer "Xander can't or wouldn't say these words". Maybe they're not the best words for Xander to say, but I don't think he can't or wouldn't say them. It all depends on the context used. The example above where Xander uses the word "cogent" is followed by him going "bl-bl-bl-bl" in order to mime that Spike's insane. He's kinda like Buffy, hiding his intelligence behind humor without even realizing it. Because he feels he's better at being funny than he is at being smart. (imho)

[gabrielleabelle]

Total agreement.

All the characters use fancy words sometimes. Even Buffy and Xander. With those two, I think they have the idea that they're not really that smart (and, really, next to Willow and Giles, most people would feel a little dumb). So they take on a different role that happens to sometimes fuzzy up that intelligence.

[angearia]

Total agreement.

Score!

[ms_scarletibis]

I have nothing to add here.

Excellent points, and good show ;)

[ms_scarletibis]

Well wait, I do.

I think part of the problem is that Xander often gets pigeonholed into certain roles, and then that's all that's left of who his character is in the fandom. Except that's fanon, and not canon.

For instance--

Xander is often made to be a grade A bastard in fics, when really, that's not the case. Xander's not stupid by any means. He's often had clever ideas, and as you said, had many insightful moments. Xander probably just didn't test well, and covered it up with silly jokes. But not a dummy--not at all.

[angearia]

Yes, Xander is sadly warped by fanon. The fics that make Xander a grade A bastard never worked for me. Sure, he's withheld crucial info sometimes and even been a jerk, but he always has a reason and often he's provoked by the circumstances going on around him. There's context for him being a jerk in the show where as in fic he's just an asshole for no reason but that he's an asshole.

*pets Xander*

[ms_scarletibis]

Agreed again :D

<--gets and loves Xander.

He's in my top four :D

[snickfic]

Yep.

(Oh, wait, you wanted more? *g*)

I think it's really easy as a writer to get stuck on one defining feature of a character's voice, with the result that the character sounds like a parody of him/herself. At least, I seem prone to doing it. There are certain characters, especially Buffy and Xander, that I'll tend to 'dumb down' because I forget they have moments in canon like you describe above. As you say, context is huge.

[angearia]

I think it's really easy as a writer to get stuck on one defining feature of a character's voice, with the result that the character sounds like a parody of him/herself.

It's what I fear myself. You're trying to portray a complex individual. I think the best you can do is remember that they're human. They're sometimes funny, they're sometimes serious, sad, happy, stupid, smart. That there's an accepted range of behavior that they fall into rather than a strict line where they always act a certain way.

I think the best way to capture a character's voice is keeping the show close to heart. Rewatches are of the good. Thinking about the characters as a whole person is also good.

[snickfic]

I think the best way to capture a character's voice is keeping the show close to heart.

Totally agreed. And as you say, rewatches are crucial.

[rebcake]

IMO, the Buffy is Seraph is quite mentally supple. You'll get not complaints on that score from me.

[angearia]

Sorry to have missed your comment. :(

I'm happy to be the one offering the counterpoint. I think regarding 'smart vs. clever' - that clever is often shown based on what one does, rather than what one knows unilaterally. Xander having unexpected moments of insight makes him clever. Willow having vast amounts of knowledge that she can absorb quickly makes her smart.

[stormwreath]

To offer a slightly contrary view, I think the problem is that Xander's dialogue was written by extremely intelligent university-educated thirty-something Mutant Enemy screenwriters. Occasionally they slipped up and had him saying something that *they* would say rather than something *he* would say.

I would agree, though, that Xander isn't stupid. He's not academically smart or intellectual - but part of that might be because he wasn't interested in schoolwork, rather than because he was incapable of doing well at it. Plus the fact that he's close friends with Willow and enjoys talking to her means he can't be *that* dumb, or neither of them would get much out of the friendship... ;-)

[angearia]

To offer a slightly contrary view, I think the problem is that Xander's dialogue was written by extremely intelligent university-educated thirty-something Mutant Enemy screenwriters. Occasionally they slipped up and had him saying something that *they* would say rather than something *he* would say.I've thought about that too. But from my perspective, every thing Xander does is a part of his character. And while there's certainly fewer instances of him using more intellectual words than Giles and Willow, there are still some. And personally, "confide" doesn't strike me as all that advanced of a word - it's not like I'd have Xander said "antithetical" whilst giving a highly advanced explanation of quantum mechanics. "Confide" is a word often used in cliches and is a part of common speech

[stormwreath]

the phenomenon that occurs between close friends when they start to talk like each other.

"Buffy is a story told by a staff, a group of writers... with members of the group coming and going over the years... The only thing that gives us coherence is that we're all writing segments of the same story and that we're all doing our darndest to do a Joss Whedon impersonation. This is what gives Buffy its consistent sound.

"Much of the way the Buffy characters speak is a result of the way he speaks... And it doesn't end with the fictional characters; the Buffy writers inevitably end up not only writing like Joss, but talking like him as well."

- Jane Espenson, 2003

[angearia]

Hee! Great quote. :)