Not a Lady
Lately I've been watching TV on Hulu because I need something mindless for study breaks during this finals week (one down; three to go!). And...well...TV is mindless.
Necessary backstory: I hardly to never watch TV, so I'm not at all up on what's popular or anything.
Anyway, my viewing on Hulu is predictably methodical as I try different shows and subscribe to the ones that grab me. As I do so, though, I'm struck by my old frustration with TV and movies, and I'm reminded why I don't watch them much.
I've explained before that I get bored watching guys all the time. Not that guys aren't swell. They are. I just feel like I've seen it all before. The archetypes. The relationship dynamics. It's same old same old and it bores me. And then I feel the distinct lack of women filling in these archetypes.
For example, the whole "hero with a dark past seeking redemption" trope bores the hell out of me (Yeah, Angel was doomed from the get-go with me). But Xena, one of my favorite series, made it work simply by using a woman with that archetype. It makes it interesting again.
And so I'm watching all these old hat character tropes given to the men and I'm wondering why a women can't do these roles? Why can't a woman be the quirky, yet genius, police consultant who ends up solving most of the cases (like Monk or Castle)? Why can't a woman be the creepy serial killer who's uber-powerful (like Sylar from Heroes)? Why can't a woman be the mysterious rebel-type stranger that the heroes can't figure out what side she belongs on (Pick a show. He's there)?
Now I actually enjoy the shows I listed. With Monk and Castle, I've always had a thing for detective shows. And I like Nathan Fillion, so Castle's right up my alley. And even though it's been done to death, I still enjoy the stoic female detective archetype, especially when paired with the gregarious, unprofessional male partner (This trope is old old old. Remington Steele, anyone?).
But much as I enjoy that, I still would love something new and interesting.
Heroes...I wasn't expecting to get into. I don't know the backstory at all. I just jumped in on S4, which is all Hulu has. But I got caught up in the story between Claire and Gretchen, so I initially watched for them. After a few episodes, though, I found I'd gotten sucked into the rest of it, even though I'm frequently lost due to my not having watched the first three seasons.
But, again, despite my enjoyment, it's not exactly groundbreaking in the female roles department.
Why does this frustrate me so much? Because I love to see women in a variety of roles. I love to see men in a variety of roles. As it is now, though, men have a much greater variety of roles available than women do. And men have some truly awesome roles open to them. I want to see women have those roles, too. I want to see women playing the rugged hero or the crazy older mentor.
Because, dammit, we're more than housewives and daughters! We're more than sympathetic romantic-tension-enabling partners. We are so much more. We're funny, we're strong, we're determined, we're proud, we're driven. Some of us are horrible people. Some of us are true heroes. Some of us are opportunistic turncoats. And I want to see all that on TV and in movies. I want to see women being all that they are. All that men already are shown to be.
Ironically enough, comedies do much better in this regard than dramas. I have no real quarrels with the comedies I've watched and enjoyed. Women have a great deal more freedom in comedic roles than in dramatic ones.
But we're still coming up short in a great deal of shows. We're not being shown our full potential. And that makes me mopey. And bored. And frustrated.
Thus, why I don't watch much TV. And why I love and adore Buffy. And Xena. And Farscape. And Alien. And Babylon 5. And various anime.
Necessary backstory: I hardly to never watch TV, so I'm not at all up on what's popular or anything.
Anyway, my viewing on Hulu is predictably methodical as I try different shows and subscribe to the ones that grab me. As I do so, though, I'm struck by my old frustration with TV and movies, and I'm reminded why I don't watch them much.
I've explained before that I get bored watching guys all the time. Not that guys aren't swell. They are. I just feel like I've seen it all before. The archetypes. The relationship dynamics. It's same old same old and it bores me. And then I feel the distinct lack of women filling in these archetypes.
For example, the whole "hero with a dark past seeking redemption" trope bores the hell out of me (Yeah, Angel was doomed from the get-go with me). But Xena, one of my favorite series, made it work simply by using a woman with that archetype. It makes it interesting again.
And so I'm watching all these old hat character tropes given to the men and I'm wondering why a women can't do these roles? Why can't a woman be the quirky, yet genius, police consultant who ends up solving most of the cases (like Monk or Castle)? Why can't a woman be the creepy serial killer who's uber-powerful (like Sylar from Heroes)? Why can't a woman be the mysterious rebel-type stranger that the heroes can't figure out what side she belongs on (Pick a show. He's there)?
Now I actually enjoy the shows I listed. With Monk and Castle, I've always had a thing for detective shows. And I like Nathan Fillion, so Castle's right up my alley. And even though it's been done to death, I still enjoy the stoic female detective archetype, especially when paired with the gregarious, unprofessional male partner (This trope is old old old. Remington Steele, anyone?).
But much as I enjoy that, I still would love something new and interesting.
Heroes...I wasn't expecting to get into. I don't know the backstory at all. I just jumped in on S4, which is all Hulu has. But I got caught up in the story between Claire and Gretchen, so I initially watched for them. After a few episodes, though, I found I'd gotten sucked into the rest of it, even though I'm frequently lost due to my not having watched the first three seasons.
But, again, despite my enjoyment, it's not exactly groundbreaking in the female roles department.
Why does this frustrate me so much? Because I love to see women in a variety of roles. I love to see men in a variety of roles. As it is now, though, men have a much greater variety of roles available than women do. And men have some truly awesome roles open to them. I want to see women have those roles, too. I want to see women playing the rugged hero or the crazy older mentor.
Because, dammit, we're more than housewives and daughters! We're more than sympathetic romantic-tension-enabling partners. We are so much more. We're funny, we're strong, we're determined, we're proud, we're driven. Some of us are horrible people. Some of us are true heroes. Some of us are opportunistic turncoats. And I want to see all that on TV and in movies. I want to see women being all that they are. All that men already are shown to be.
Ironically enough, comedies do much better in this regard than dramas. I have no real quarrels with the comedies I've watched and enjoyed. Women have a great deal more freedom in comedic roles than in dramatic ones.
But we're still coming up short in a great deal of shows. We're not being shown our full potential. And that makes me mopey. And bored. And frustrated.
Thus, why I don't watch much TV. And why I love and adore Buffy. And Xena. And Farscape. And Alien. And Babylon 5. And various anime.