What is it about that idea, that makes it so menacing?
It's a good question -- I mean I think films like the Omen or Village of the Damned etc. demonstrate that the idea of children as inherently evil is creepy in the way anything trustworthy that becomes threatening is creepy. I mean in 3.05 they didn't just play on the innocence of childhood but also of age (the kindly grandmother).
I think the better question may simply be why it's so often girls in SPN. There have been a few boys, (Peter in Dead in the Water spring to mind). And my simple answer to that would be something I've noted before. It seems easier to find good female actors who are young than good male ones. Maybe it has to do with earlier maturity and the ability to focus, I don't know. The other possibility is that it's a form of "othering." Sam and Dean befriend boys, I've noticed -- Lucas, Ben, Michael, etc. Has there been a little girl? I had assumed that in Playthings they never focus on the daughter because she holds the key to the mystery, so she's deliberately underexplored. But perhaps that's part of a larger lack of connection.
I don't have a problem with the epic storyline, as I like a mix of standalones and continuity driven episodes. The big problem with epic storylines is that the payoff has to match the buildup and that's where they most often fall short. So it kind of raises the stakes.
Thanks for the pimp and the rec to the other essay, which I hadn't seen yet.
I think the better question may simply be why it's so often girls in SPN. Yes! That's a very good point. I did think of the kids in The Kids are Alright, but they're a different flavor of creepy, to my mind, from the "solitary and silent long-haired little girl in a dress."
I completely forgot about Playthings, but that's a good question you raise, about the reason for her distance. Hmm. I wonder how that will play out, with any future children they might encounter.
I get the feeling that most of fandom enjoys the big continuity episodes more than I do. (I have simple needs! I like them best when they're running from monsters and longing for pie!) ;D But yeah, when the payoff fizzles... ack, that's a big risk the show's taking.
I wonder how that will play out, with any future children they might encounter.
My guess is that there will be few if any little girls as the story focus. Another reason occured to me since our last exchange. One thing that had struck me as decidedly odd was what happened after Sam pulled her from the water. We never got to see this with Lucas who was (improbably) still breathing when Dean came out of the water with him. However no one (not even her mother) checked her airway or began to perform mouth-to-mouth. It occured to me then that the show didn't want there to be anything seemingly improper between Dean and Sam and a young girl, regardless of how sensible it would have been in this situation. Instead they all stand there looking at her until she coughs and begins breathing on her own.
So I'm guessing that this is part of it -- although why a man's behavior with a young girl should automatically be any more suspicious than with a young boy is kind of a sad statement on its own.
why a man's behavior with a young girl should automatically be any more suspicious than with a young boy is kind of a sad statement on its own
True.
But that's interesting! And something I never thought of. Huh. Now I'm thinking about Whatsitcalled, the S1 ep with the shtriga, and wondering how things would've been different -- the staking out of the kid's bedroom and all -- if he'd been a sister rather than a brother...
Yes. The first victim shown in that episode is a girl but Sam & Dean have no interaction with her. Of course in that episode I can see they wanted a strong parallel between Michael and Dean. However I think it could have worked just as well with two sisters or with a sister and a brother.
Probably the worst example of "creepy little girl" is Missy in the Benders. The apparent implications of that girl on her own there with three grown men of dubious morality was apparently of less concern since neither Sam nor Dean had any positive interaction with her.
It's a good question -- I mean I think films like the Omen or Village of the Damned etc. demonstrate that the idea of children as inherently evil is creepy in the way anything trustworthy that becomes threatening is creepy. I mean in 3.05 they didn't just play on the innocence of childhood but also of age (the kindly grandmother).
I think the better question may simply be why it's so often girls in SPN. There have been a few boys, (Peter in Dead in the Water spring to mind). And my simple answer to that would be something I've noted before. It seems easier to find good female actors who are young than good male ones. Maybe it has to do with earlier maturity and the ability to focus, I don't know. The other possibility is that it's a form of "othering." Sam and Dean befriend boys, I've noticed -- Lucas, Ben, Michael, etc. Has there been a little girl? I had assumed that in Playthings they never focus on the daughter because she holds the key to the mystery, so she's deliberately underexplored. But perhaps that's part of a larger lack of connection.
I don't have a problem with the epic storyline, as I like a mix of standalones and continuity driven episodes. The big problem with epic storylines is that the payoff has to match the buildup and that's where they most often fall short. So it kind of raises the stakes.
Thanks for the pimp and the rec to the other essay, which I hadn't seen yet.
Reply
I completely forgot about Playthings, but that's a good question you raise, about the reason for her distance. Hmm. I wonder how that will play out, with any future children they might encounter.
I get the feeling that most of fandom enjoys the big continuity episodes more than I do. (I have simple needs! I like them best when they're running from monsters and longing for pie!) ;D But yeah, when the payoff fizzles... ack, that's a big risk the show's taking.
Reply
My guess is that there will be few if any little girls as the story focus. Another reason occured to me since our last exchange. One thing that had struck me as decidedly odd was what happened after Sam pulled her from the water. We never got to see this with Lucas who was (improbably) still breathing when Dean came out of the water with him. However no one (not even her mother) checked her airway or began to perform mouth-to-mouth. It occured to me then that the show didn't want there to be anything seemingly improper between Dean and Sam and a young girl, regardless of how sensible it would have been in this situation. Instead they all stand there looking at her until she coughs and begins breathing on her own.
So I'm guessing that this is part of it -- although why a man's behavior with a young girl should automatically be any more suspicious than with a young boy is kind of a sad statement on its own.
Reply
True.
But that's interesting! And something I never thought of. Huh. Now I'm thinking about Whatsitcalled, the S1 ep with the shtriga, and wondering how things would've been different -- the staking out of the kid's bedroom and all -- if he'd been a sister rather than a brother...
Reply
Probably the worst example of "creepy little girl" is Missy in the Benders. The apparent implications of that girl on her own there with three grown men of dubious morality was apparently of less concern since neither Sam nor Dean had any positive interaction with her.
Reply
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