bone_dry1013 and I have been talking a lot lately about social issues in the media and is it possible to handle political and social topics in such a way that it doesn't feel forced - a "very special episode" type of thing where everything comes screeching to a halt so that someone can be the writers' mouthpiece, blah blah. And I do believe it IS possible to do it right. we know that in fact. Look at Buffy S5 - it incorporates problems with the healthcare system, disparities in care re: socioeconomic class, overcrowding, the lack of resources and attention to mental health, the fact that women are overwhelmingly the caregivers for sick family members, etc. It's all there to unpack if you want to pay attention but they never stop telling the story. (the body being an exception, and that episode is the best tv I've ever seen about the realities of death and loss for the survivors. And Joyce's death is absolutely crucial to Buffy's story - it splits her world in two.)
It takes care and attention, as you said, commitment to the issues and not just using it as a plot point or for shock value, actually educating oneself in the issues and not using the words "I'm not racist/sexist/I'm a feminist!" etc as carte blanche to get away with anything.
so I thought I was pregnant but Andrew just turned me into a robot
Which is just disgusting - and I hate the way women's bodies are used, violated and manipulated over and over again. Abortion and unexpected pregnancy is a life-changing issue, particularly as it is still illegal in a lot of states. (Hell, a lot of places in the US forbid schools to teach about birth control. Women have died having illegal abortions. And Buffy losing her arm? Again, the loss of a body part, or the loss of control of one's body - through illness, accident, rape etc - is a horrible, traumatic event. TREAT IT SERIOUSLY OR DON"T GO THERE. End of story.)
The really-real Buffy lets Joss Whedon Giles know EXACTLY what she thinks about this shit.
It takes care and attention, as you said, commitment to the issues and not just using it as a plot point or for shock value, actually educating oneself in the issues and not using the words "I'm not racist/sexist/I'm a feminist!" etc as carte blanche to get away with anything.
so I thought I was pregnant but Andrew just turned me into a robot
Which is just disgusting - and I hate the way women's bodies are used, violated and manipulated over and over again. Abortion and unexpected pregnancy is a life-changing issue, particularly as it is still illegal in a lot of states. (Hell, a lot of places in the US forbid schools to teach about birth control. Women have died having illegal abortions. And Buffy losing her arm? Again, the loss of a body part, or the loss of control of one's body - through illness, accident, rape etc - is a horrible, traumatic event. TREAT IT SERIOUSLY OR DON"T GO THERE. End of story.)
The really-real Buffy lets Joss Whedon Giles know EXACTLY what she thinks about this shit.
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