One fan's perspective... (no spoilers)

[elisi]

So, what with the Amy wank/kerfuffle/thing and the apparent split through fandom into RTD and Moff factions (where all the Old!Who fans are sitting back and going 'Been there, done that, got the T-shirt 30 years ago!'), I've been thinking, and have almost written out the following in the response to a dozen different posts. Instead I thought I'd

Comments

[caz963]

Amy-meta is good :-) I really WANT to like her, but I really can't, and she's not growing on me either, which makes me sad. I've tried to put my problems with her into words, and really it boils down to what I said in my other comment. I get that she's got "issues" arising (probably) from the fact that she "hasn't got" any paremts and the Doctor's five minutes being twelve years, but for me anyway, that's still no excuse for what I see as her selfishness and self-centredness.

I freely admit though, that my view could well be coloured by my job - I'm a tescher (not sure if you're in the UK or not?) at a secondary school, so I deal with kids aged 11-16+ all week, and sadly, I see similar traits in many of them - a lack of concern for anything that doesn't directly affect them advantageously (Amy's head on the table in Cold Earth really rubbed me up the wrong way!), an overblown sense of self-importance and entitlement, and other things I won't bore you with. I've yet to see any sense of a real connection between her and the Doctor - IMO, she's treating him like a Taxi service as well!

I do think that some of the problem is down to the writing - there appears to be a mistaken belief that 'curt' and 'unsympathetic' equals "snappy (funny) one-liner" - the obvious example being last weeks' "clingy" remark, but there have been others.

Anyway, sorry for monopolising your LJ and I'll shut up. Thanks for letting me join in - even if we don't agree on everything, I like to find people I can argue with in a civilised manner, because sometimes, fandom is batshit and some of us need to maintain the voices of sanity!

[elisi]

Amy-meta is good :-)
I'll get there. Life is just... busy. And part of me wants to wait until the end of S5, so I've have as much information available as possible. :)

I freely admit though, that my view could well be coloured by my job - I'm a tescher (not sure if you're in the UK or not?) at a secondary school
Ah. Yes I'm in the UK, and my husband works in a secondary school, so I can definitely see your problem. And it's not one that would occur to the writers at all, I don't think...

Personally I see Amy as damaged/scarred by her childhood - parents died(?), an aunt who is clearly neglectful and then the Doctor lets her down massively, so she's built herself a protective shell that she's only slowly coming out of. Because life taught her that if you trust someone, they let you down. So the Doctor is (in my eyes) a father figure, helping her to grow up and deal with all her issues. She is more child-like than any of the other companions I think, but also more argumentative and 'stroppy' because of her deep distrust.

And hey, you got a bit of Amy-meta after all!

ETA: This post, although mostly dealing with the Doctor, also delves into Amy a bit - truly excellent meta. I think the problem with Amy is that (unlike Rose, Martha and Donna), she's not 'normal'. So far in NuWho we've had companions who've looked after, and helped, the Doctor. Here, the roles are - of not reversed entirely - then much more equal, with the Doctor doing his best to help Amy (of course, he is responsible for some of her problems, so that's only fair, really). But it's late and I'm half asleep. Hope I've not waffled too badly.

Thanks for letting me join in - even if we don't agree on everything, I like to find people I can argue with in a civilised manner, because sometimes, fandom is batshit and some of us need to maintain the voices of sanity!
Well you are *most* welcome, and although the voices of reason will probably never drown out the crazies, hopefully we'll last longer. :)

(Also, icon snap! *g*)