on male and female characters, rambling about how they’re written and received, YMMV
So, by now everyone’s prob aware that in the upcoming remake of Sherlock, the role of John Watson has been changed to Joan Watson with the casting of Lucy Liu. I KNOW, OLD NEWS, SHH I have…mixed feelings. I’m not happy with it, but I also don’t agree with the reasons most people are using in their arguments.
[let me try out this new spoiler cut-click here for rambling!] There’s been a whole ton of outrage at how homophobic this is and it’s a step backwards for equality and whatnot, which is interesting to me, because it’s not like Sherlock and Watson are canonically in romantic relationships in any of the recent adaptations that I know of, or even in the older incarnations. There is subtext, sure, but as much as fandom loves their slash, it hasn’t actually been consummated onscreen- if these two men were gay and TPTB were like ‘lolno, make one a woman so their relationship is ~acceptable’, THAT would be a problem. As it is, I don’t understand how people are seriously arguing that casting an Asian woman instead of yet another straight white guy isn’t progressive. O.o Don’t be ridiculous, people, look at how many shows there are that revolve around white dudes and how many there are focused on females, let alone WOC, then don’t try and begrudge this ONE show that’s mixing it up. Kudos to them for pushing the boundaries on that point.
HOWEVER. I am really really apprehensive about the fact that the character this ~ground-breaking remake turned into a woman is…the sidekick. Um. They were daring enough to mess with the formula, but all they did was basically replicate the dynamic on a ton of other male-female partnerships out there? They could’ve done something fabulous here with making Sherlock female, that would’ve been edgy and amazing to me, but instead they have the brilliant genius maverick male that we get on tons of shows and then there’s the female sidekick presumably trailing in his wake, playing the enabler and smoothing over the conflict he causes because human emotions are beneath him and acting as the audience substitute to ask questions so he can show off his mad deduction skillz.
Okay, I’m being pessimistic here- and please, PROVE ME WRONG, SHOW- but the fact that they chickened out of making Sherlock or both main characters female makes me worry. It’s not really shaking the boat when they make the sidekick a woman and then proceed to strip her of credentials that are well-established for the character; not that I’m well-versed with the various Sherlock incarnations, but Watson being a doctor is a common element, right? So having Joan be kicked out in disgrace, what with losing her licence and all, just sends the wrong message. As if that wasn’t enough, I understand they’ve also removed her military background. Not only isn’t she Sherlock’s equal, but she’s not even John Watson’s equal.
It just seems kinda icky that they’re already taking her down a few notches, so that she’s starting off with additional disadvantages in a show that’s all about elevating the male to a higher status above the rest of us mere mortals. It doesn’t bode well for her character. We know Sherlock is going to be this amazingly intelligent and observant detective, he was always going to be superior to Watson (hence my initial qualms about having a female Watson) but then they go and take away Watson’s experience and accomplishments so that she doesn’t even get to be as competent as the previous incarnations? *headdeskwallfloor*
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I just wish there were more abrasive, brilliant, coldly logical female protagonists on tv. But it’s like writers are fine with showcasing a range of male archetypes, including men being jerks-with-a-heart-of-gold (or hell, just jerkasses all round only redeemed by the fact they're helping people, even though they treat everyone around them like crap), but the women all have to be paragons of virtue, warm and giving and saintly, waiting in the wings to assist when needed. (And the ones that aren’t get punished for it) It’s this thing where men aren’t representative of all of mankind, so you can have variations on male characters, with good, bad and in between, but on most shows there is just the One Woman who is representative of ALL WOMEN and so she must be virtuous in every way possible and we wind up with a very shallow exploration of those characters. Furthermore, it doesn't help when women are usually either props in the men's storylines and/or motivation for them, as opposed to having their own motivations and journeys. (which is why Revenge and Once Upon A Time get big ticks from me for defying that trend)
It all comes back to needing more female characters and more attention to female characters (as opposed to shoving them in the background because they don't validate the male story arc) so that we can explore a range of personalities and behaviours exhibited by ladies onscreen. Where is my Patricia Jane? My Callie Lightman? My…Gretchen House? Note that the actual males in these cases all have their own supportive ladies backing them up, with the writing frequently screwing them over in expecting them to give give give and put up with all kinds of douchey behaviour because the MEN ARE GODS and they have a plan and it is not for the ladies to ask why but to follow their lead! okay, I’m bitter and possibly exaggerating a bit, but not much (The Mentalist particularly infuriates me in the way it undermines Lisbon over and over til she has pretty much zero authority or credibility and it HURTS because she’s my fave but the show must service Jane above all!)
…and now I’m kind of meh about the state of television. This was meant to be a short post addressing one or two points, and then it turned into this pile of tl;dr. *headdesk*
I NEED MORE AWESOME FEMALE CHARACTERS IN MY LIFE. Pretty please, people, rec me your faves: tell me who you love, link me to fics and vids and whatnot. I'm in a fandom slump atm, I could do with more to entertain me...
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Vidspam: given the theme of this post, have a series of scenes in which a dude is doing his own thing and leaving his female partner in the dark…okay, really, I love Mulder and Scully’s partnership, and the writing did her justice for the most part, but…goddamn it, Mulder, a bit of consideration would be nice instead of haring off all the time without any explanation! I cannot believe the nerve of him ditching her so often!
I actually feel a bit bad linking XF to a post like this, because they did so many things well, but it’s the only vid I found that related to the issue of male/female imbalance in partnerships, so there you go. I STILL LOVE YOU, X-FILES. even if your second movie was pretty appalling
[let me try out this new spoiler cut-click here for rambling!] There’s been a whole ton of outrage at how homophobic this is and it’s a step backwards for equality and whatnot, which is interesting to me, because it’s not like Sherlock and Watson are canonically in romantic relationships in any of the recent adaptations that I know of, or even in the older incarnations. There is subtext, sure, but as much as fandom loves their slash, it hasn’t actually been consummated onscreen- if these two men were gay and TPTB were like ‘lolno, make one a woman so their relationship is ~acceptable’, THAT would be a problem. As it is, I don’t understand how people are seriously arguing that casting an Asian woman instead of yet another straight white guy isn’t progressive. O.o Don’t be ridiculous, people, look at how many shows there are that revolve around white dudes and how many there are focused on females, let alone WOC, then don’t try and begrudge this ONE show that’s mixing it up. Kudos to them for pushing the boundaries on that point.
HOWEVER. I am really really apprehensive about the fact that the character this ~ground-breaking remake turned into a woman is…the sidekick. Um. They were daring enough to mess with the formula, but all they did was basically replicate the dynamic on a ton of other male-female partnerships out there? They could’ve done something fabulous here with making Sherlock female, that would’ve been edgy and amazing to me, but instead they have the brilliant genius maverick male that we get on tons of shows and then there’s the female sidekick presumably trailing in his wake, playing the enabler and smoothing over the conflict he causes because human emotions are beneath him and acting as the audience substitute to ask questions so he can show off his mad deduction skillz.
Okay, I’m being pessimistic here- and please, PROVE ME WRONG, SHOW- but the fact that they chickened out of making Sherlock or both main characters female makes me worry. It’s not really shaking the boat when they make the sidekick a woman and then proceed to strip her of credentials that are well-established for the character; not that I’m well-versed with the various Sherlock incarnations, but Watson being a doctor is a common element, right? So having Joan be kicked out in disgrace, what with losing her licence and all, just sends the wrong message. As if that wasn’t enough, I understand they’ve also removed her military background. Not only isn’t she Sherlock’s equal, but she’s not even John Watson’s equal.
It just seems kinda icky that they’re already taking her down a few notches, so that she’s starting off with additional disadvantages in a show that’s all about elevating the male to a higher status above the rest of us mere mortals. It doesn’t bode well for her character. We know Sherlock is going to be this amazingly intelligent and observant detective, he was always going to be superior to Watson (hence my initial qualms about having a female Watson) but then they go and take away Watson’s experience and accomplishments so that she doesn’t even get to be as competent as the previous incarnations? *headdeskwallfloor*
--
I just wish there were more abrasive, brilliant, coldly logical female protagonists on tv. But it’s like writers are fine with showcasing a range of male archetypes, including men being jerks-with-a-heart-of-gold (or hell, just jerkasses all round only redeemed by the fact they're helping people, even though they treat everyone around them like crap), but the women all have to be paragons of virtue, warm and giving and saintly, waiting in the wings to assist when needed. (And the ones that aren’t get punished for it) It’s this thing where men aren’t representative of all of mankind, so you can have variations on male characters, with good, bad and in between, but on most shows there is just the One Woman who is representative of ALL WOMEN and so she must be virtuous in every way possible and we wind up with a very shallow exploration of those characters. Furthermore, it doesn't help when women are usually either props in the men's storylines and/or motivation for them, as opposed to having their own motivations and journeys. (which is why Revenge and Once Upon A Time get big ticks from me for defying that trend)
It all comes back to needing more female characters and more attention to female characters (as opposed to shoving them in the background because they don't validate the male story arc) so that we can explore a range of personalities and behaviours exhibited by ladies onscreen. Where is my Patricia Jane? My Callie Lightman? My…Gretchen House? Note that the actual males in these cases all have their own supportive ladies backing them up, with the writing frequently screwing them over in expecting them to give give give and put up with all kinds of douchey behaviour because the MEN ARE GODS and they have a plan and it is not for the ladies to ask why but to follow their lead! okay, I’m bitter and possibly exaggerating a bit, but not much (The Mentalist particularly infuriates me in the way it undermines Lisbon over and over til she has pretty much zero authority or credibility and it HURTS because she’s my fave but the show must service Jane above all!)
…and now I’m kind of meh about the state of television. This was meant to be a short post addressing one or two points, and then it turned into this pile of tl;dr. *headdesk*
I NEED MORE AWESOME FEMALE CHARACTERS IN MY LIFE. Pretty please, people, rec me your faves: tell me who you love, link me to fics and vids and whatnot. I'm in a fandom slump atm, I could do with more to entertain me...
----
Vidspam: given the theme of this post, have a series of scenes in which a dude is doing his own thing and leaving his female partner in the dark…okay, really, I love Mulder and Scully’s partnership, and the writing did her justice for the most part, but…goddamn it, Mulder, a bit of consideration would be nice instead of haring off all the time without any explanation! I cannot believe the nerve of him ditching her so often!
I actually feel a bit bad linking XF to a post like this, because they did so many things well, but it’s the only vid I found that related to the issue of male/female imbalance in partnerships, so there you go. I STILL LOVE YOU, X-FILES. even if your second movie was pretty appalling
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