I am so tired of girls not being allowed to be girls.
yeah, this is definitely one of the main reasons I'm having a difficult time with this alteration--like there's nothing wrong with girls being inclined towards things that are generally considered masculine (I ADORE Arya and Brienne to no end for numerous reasons) or scoffing at things that may be traditionally feminine (a la Talisa) if they're inclination lay elsewhere, BUT the problem is (like you said) it seems as if far too often the only way a female character can be "kick-ass" or valid is by denouncing anything traditionally feminine and just NO. As someone who played with barbies until grade 7 (lol I kid you not), loves make-up and clothing and hair, enjoys fictional romances to no end, abhors even the slightest discomfort, has no inclination what-so-ever towards sports and what have you, I'd like to see a female representation here and there that DOESN'T tell me how frivolous I am, you know??
And of course the fact that everything about it SCREAMS "CLICHE!" and I just honestly would have preferred the way it was done in the books--in terms of the nature of the relationship itself, Jeyne's characterization, and timing/context :/
EXACTLY. Shifting the paradigm on what girls should be doesn't do anything to break it, it just changes who fits inside it and who doesn't. I hate the constant reinforcement of the idea that you can only be worthwhile as a girl if you're as little like a "girl" as possible. Worst. So I love the characters who have "girl" qualities, who are reasonable, logical products of their environments, who cry sometimes and fall in love and can't beat up men twice their size. So it's bad enough to take that sort of character and make her a modern bullshit trope that doesn't even fit into the world they've created, and then to undermine Robb and Cat's story in the process...BLECH. I am displeased. And so help me, if Jon/Ygritte gets at all shafted next season so we can have more Robb/Talisa bullshit, I will BURN HBO TO THE GROUND.
Also, another side effect that I think the Robb/Talisa storyline has had is to diminish Jon's arc with Ygritte. In the books, they were basically opposites. Ygritte is what they've tried to make Talisa in some way, but she made sense, she was who she should have been given her environment, and it made sense for Jon to go through the changes he did from being around her. And same with Robb and Jeyne on the other end of the spectrum. It was the contrast of their actions that worked so well, that Robb slept with Jeyne and married her out of misdirected honor, while Jon slept with Ygritte in a way to keep his honor by following Qhorin's instructions and becoming a wildling to help the Night's Watch. That's just a fascinating contrast between them in the books, and between the way they looked at honor, with Robb doing what he thinks is honorable only to have it backfire and get him killed, just like Ned, while Jon's honor comes from something more genuine and honest, and it ends up saving him. But having their arcs parallel in the show makes both seem cheap, and makes it seem redundant.
I am so tired of girls not being allowed to be girls.
yeah, this is definitely one of the main reasons I'm having a difficult time with this alteration--like there's nothing wrong with girls being inclined towards things that are generally considered masculine (I ADORE Arya and Brienne to no end for numerous reasons) or scoffing at things that may be traditionally feminine (a la Talisa) if they're inclination lay elsewhere, BUT the problem is (like you said) it seems as if far too often the only way a female character can be "kick-ass" or valid is by denouncing anything traditionally feminine and just NO. As someone who played with barbies until grade 7 (lol I kid you not), loves make-up and clothing and hair, enjoys fictional romances to no end, abhors even the slightest discomfort, has no inclination what-so-ever towards sports and what have you, I'd like to see a female representation here and there that DOESN'T tell me how frivolous I am, you know??
And of course the fact that everything about it SCREAMS "CLICHE!" and I just honestly would have preferred the way it was done in the books--in terms of the nature of the relationship itself, Jeyne's characterization, and timing/context :/
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Also, another side effect that I think the Robb/Talisa storyline has had is to diminish Jon's arc with Ygritte. In the books, they were basically opposites. Ygritte is what they've tried to make Talisa in some way, but she made sense, she was who she should have been given her environment, and it made sense for Jon to go through the changes he did from being around her. And same with Robb and Jeyne on the other end of the spectrum. It was the contrast of their actions that worked so well, that Robb slept with Jeyne and married her out of misdirected honor, while Jon slept with Ygritte in a way to keep his honor by following Qhorin's instructions and becoming a wildling to help the Night's Watch. That's just a fascinating contrast between them in the books, and between the way they looked at honor, with Robb doing what he thinks is honorable only to have it backfire and get him killed, just like Ned, while Jon's honor comes from something more genuine and honest, and it ends up saving him. But having their arcs parallel in the show makes both seem cheap, and makes it seem redundant.
I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS, OKAY.
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