Joss Whedon Speaks in Honeyed Tongues
Just heard Joss Whedon talking on IPR about Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible and the challenges of avoiding feminist polemics while developing essentially feminist narratives. I'll admit, I've been really nervous about Dollhouse (and not just because I'm 99% certain it will die a small, whimpering death at the hands of Fox). Joss handles many things amazingly well, but Dollhouse ties into an extremely delicate and potentially disastrous set of themes. Disempowered women programmed to be sexual companions? The entire concept of the programmed woman reeks of male power fantasy, and has had me on pins and needles ever since the show was announced. But somehow, listening to Joss coolly and calmly address my deepest, darkest fears makes everything okay. He talks about the show dealing with Echo's gradual reclamation of power and self-determination, her growing ability to remember her life. It definitely sounds like River Tam redux (this is supported by an article over on io9), but after a few minutes of Joss's language, I think this might be a continuation of River's story as opposed to a retelling. Another aspect that increases my interest tenfold is the conceit that each of the Dollhouse operatives willingly entered into a five-year contract of memory wipes and personality transplants. This introduces an idea of agency at the root of things, and steers the show out of some conceptually problematic waters.
Tomorrow's the night. Joss has pretty much sold me on his concept. I hope the product lives up to his gigantic brain.
Tomorrow's the night. Joss has pretty much sold me on his concept. I hope the product lives up to his gigantic brain.