feminist community in BtVS

[heresluck]

Every now and then I have thoughts about things. Sometimes I post them. This is one of those times.

While I'm on the subject of thoughts: azdak has written an interesting post about morality in the Buffyverse. faith_delivers, check it out! (And join mutant_allies! *g*)

Credits and disclaimers: This post is a version of the Buffy paper I gave recently. It is thus considerably

Comments

[aycheb]

Thank-you! Now I can see what I was reaching for in response to the post by azdak that you mentioned above. But the global version.

[heresluck]

You're welcome! I had fun working all this stuff out.

[azdak]

Heh, I was just thinking, as I read the essay, "This is what aycheb was getting at!"

It's a brilliant argument. I particularly like the use of Buffy's Slayer dreams as a way of indicating the connection she ought to have to all those girls out there and hence an indication of how the feminist Slayer community could look.

And it's lovely to read such a positive take on S7. I've never much liked Chosen, not least because it was so bedevilled with dei ex machinae, but you've made me feel it was a lot more earned as an ending than I'd previously believed. Thank you!

[heresluck]

Yeah, from a plot point of view "Chosen" has significant issues. I think the season's single biggest problem may have been that plot and theme, which are so brilliantly braided together in most of the seasons (especially the latter 2/3 of S2, but really all of 2-6), are much less clearly tied together in S7.

I wonder, now, whether the coherence of (and difficulty of implementing) the theme is *part* of why the plot had so many bobbles: the writers knew where they needed to end up, and they were trusting the themes to hold everything together while they got there. Which, actually, really worked for me when I watched the eps all in a row with the knowledge of where the season was going. But while it aired, I think most of us needed clearer episode structures and more signposts in general.

[azdak]

I think it's true for most of the episodes in every season that the plot works as long as you don't look too closely. There's a lot of finessing and sleight of hand that goes on to distract the viewer from the fact that the plot doesn't always make sense. But S7 left so many plot points dangling, and had so many devices emerge from thin air, that it was impossible to overlook the sleight of hand - a bit like the difference between being cheated by a good card shrap and being cheated by a bad one; the cheating goes on in both instances, but in the latter case you can see it happening. I also think that repetition got overused as a device for addressing themes, so that there were some really dull episodes that pretty much trod water, going over the same old ideas (Buffy's relationship to the Potentials) without changing anything, and that got very wearisome. On the other hand, as you say, the themes are present right from the start and continue to be addressed throughout the season, so that when you adopt a broader view it all ties

[aycheb]

It’s so true, the lack of signposts was a big problem watching the season first time around. And it wasn’t just the main theme that didn’t really ‘click’ until the end. When Caleb appeared, I remember thinking ‘duh’, they’ve been showing us different forms of patriarchy ever since Dumbledore!Giles. When everything fell apart after Xander got eye-gouged, ‘duh’ he’s been the one person keeping the house from falling down. When Buffy found the Scythe, ‘duh’ they’ve been talking about weapons all this time but Buffy’s never had one work for her.

I sometimes think the main thing that kept me interested during the first run was the sheer weight of online criticism. Being naturally counter-suggestible.