Fred Clark's analysis of Left Behind is masterful, and in general I find his blog riveting. Far from being anti-religious, Clark comes from an evangelical background and is still, as I understand it, a devout Christian. To someone removed from that culture by both religious background and geographical location, he provides a fascinating insight into the aspects of evangelical culture and thinking that tend to get drowned out by the fanatics.
On the VM front, while I certainly agree that the portrayal of the feminists lacked nuance, I think you're ignoring last week's revelation about their true motivation for targeting the Pi Sig's. The Lilith House girls weren't trying to shut down the frat because they perceived it as a greater evil than the rapist. They piggy-backed on the rapes as a way of getting revenge for the brutalization of their friend, and while this hardly makes them good people (or, for that matter, good feminists), it is in keeping with the noir mindset. It also mitigates against their stereotypical depiction by replacing a political motivation with a personal, and slightly humanizing, one.
I hadn't read the blog before, though I had seen the name around; thanks for the background on Fred Clark. One of the things I've found so compelling about his treatment of the book is his outrage at what he feels they make out of Christianity, and the way he comes at that outrage from a very knowledgeable viewpoint.
The Lilith House girls weren't trying to shut down the frat because they perceived it as a greater evil than the rapist. They piggy-backed on the rapes as a way of getting revenge for the brutalization of their friend, and while this hardly makes them good people (or, for that matter, good feminists), it is in keeping with the noir mindset. It also mitigates against their stereotypical depiction by replacing a political motivation with a personal, and slightly humanizing, one.
I would find this more persuasive if the Lilith House girls were also trying to do something to shut down the sororities, because last week's episode made clear that Patrice's own sorority was the location of the secret room, and her sorority sisters invited the Pi Sigs there, and put Patrice on display for them, and drew the circles on her body that didn't fade for weeks. I don't see how the sorority was any less culpable than the fraternity in what happened to Patrice; if anything, it seems like the entire Greek system with its catty exclusivity and casual cruelty to outsiders was to blame. But we never get any indication that it even occurs to the angry feminists; they go straight for the man-hating. So while the Patrice development may have made their motivation more personal, I don't see how, given the circumstances, it is any less stereotypical. I would have found the whole thing a lot easier to swallow if instead of being the Lilith House, a group of regular female friends had carried out the anti-frat plot and had enlisted the unknowing help of women's rights activists; at least then it wouldn't have been coming from people who ostensibly cared about stopping real sexual violence.
I would find this more persuasive if the Lilith House girls were also trying to do something to shut down the sororities
Wasn't this Nish's objective in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? I think the girls did blame the entire greek system for Patrice's breakdown, and although Pi Sig bore the brunt of their wrath, from day one they were calling for the abolishment of all the fraternities and sororities.
I would have found the whole thing a lot easier to swallow if instead of being the Lilith House, a group of regular female friends had carried out the anti-frat plot and had enlisted the unknowing help of women's rights activists
Yeah, I think I would have liked this a bit more myself, but I think we're at the point where our political affiliations are bumping up against Rob Thomas's noir credo. Everyone has to be guilty of something - a group of innocent, earnest feminists doesn't work within that framework (although Parker does become an individual earnest feminist).
Wasn't this Nish's objective in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"?
Actually, yeah, I hadn't quite put Nish's crusade against Theta Beta (I think it was) together with the fake rapes, though I don't think the overall crusade was against sororities in general; rather it seems like they saw an opportunity to take the one sorority out because they knew about the pot garden, but they used fake rapes to take out the entire fraternity system.
Yeah, I think I would have liked this a bit more myself, but I think we're at the point where our political affiliations are bumping up against Rob Thomas's noir credo.
I certainly won't deny that the portrayal of the feminists got my back up for political reasons, but I also appreciate credible motivation, and even with the Patrice angle, I felt that the Lilith House women's motivations were just very shakily written. It's possible that if we and Veronica had seen Patrice's story instead of hearing about it firsthand, it would give their motivation the urgency it needed to counterbalance what we did see, which didn't make a lot of sense to me. And that's just a storytelling issue, independent of the noir aspect of the show.
On the VM front, while I certainly agree that the portrayal of the feminists lacked nuance, I think you're ignoring last week's revelation about their true motivation for targeting the Pi Sig's. The Lilith House girls weren't trying to shut down the frat because they perceived it as a greater evil than the rapist. They piggy-backed on the rapes as a way of getting revenge for the brutalization of their friend, and while this hardly makes them good people (or, for that matter, good feminists), it is in keeping with the noir mindset. It also mitigates against their stereotypical depiction by replacing a political motivation with a personal, and slightly humanizing, one.
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The Lilith House girls weren't trying to shut down the frat because they perceived it as a greater evil than the rapist. They piggy-backed on the rapes as a way of getting revenge for the brutalization of their friend, and while this hardly makes them good people (or, for that matter, good feminists), it is in keeping with the noir mindset. It also mitigates against their stereotypical depiction by replacing a political motivation with a personal, and slightly humanizing, one.
I would find this more persuasive if the Lilith House girls were also trying to do something to shut down the sororities, because last week's episode made clear that Patrice's own sorority was the location of the secret room, and her sorority sisters invited the Pi Sigs there, and put Patrice on display for them, and drew the circles on her body that didn't fade for weeks. I don't see how the sorority was any less culpable than the fraternity in what happened to Patrice; if anything, it seems like the entire Greek system with its catty exclusivity and casual cruelty to outsiders was to blame. But we never get any indication that it even occurs to the angry feminists; they go straight for the man-hating. So while the Patrice development may have made their motivation more personal, I don't see how, given the circumstances, it is any less stereotypical. I would have found the whole thing a lot easier to swallow if instead of being the Lilith House, a group of regular female friends had carried out the anti-frat plot and had enlisted the unknowing help of women's rights activists; at least then it wouldn't have been coming from people who ostensibly cared about stopping real sexual violence.
Reply
Wasn't this Nish's objective in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? I think the girls did blame the entire greek system for Patrice's breakdown, and although Pi Sig bore the brunt of their wrath, from day one they were calling for the abolishment of all the fraternities and sororities.
I would have found the whole thing a lot easier to swallow if instead of being the Lilith House, a group of regular female friends had carried out the anti-frat plot and had enlisted the unknowing help of women's rights activists
Yeah, I think I would have liked this a bit more myself, but I think we're at the point where our political affiliations are bumping up against Rob Thomas's noir credo. Everyone has to be guilty of something - a group of innocent, earnest feminists doesn't work within that framework (although Parker does become an individual earnest feminist).
Reply
Actually, yeah, I hadn't quite put Nish's crusade against Theta Beta (I think it was) together with the fake rapes, though I don't think the overall crusade was against sororities in general; rather it seems like they saw an opportunity to take the one sorority out because they knew about the pot garden, but they used fake rapes to take out the entire fraternity system.
Yeah, I think I would have liked this a bit more myself, but I think we're at the point where our political affiliations are bumping up against Rob Thomas's noir credo.
I certainly won't deny that the portrayal of the feminists got my back up for political reasons, but I also appreciate credible motivation, and even with the Patrice angle, I felt that the Lilith House women's motivations were just very shakily written. It's possible that if we and Veronica had seen Patrice's story instead of hearing about it firsthand, it would give their motivation the urgency it needed to counterbalance what we did see, which didn't make a lot of sense to me. And that's just a storytelling issue, independent of the noir aspect of the show.
Reply
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