Pretty Little Liars...

[monimala]

Sure, there's the fact that fic for it doesn't really exist in GENERAL, as it's a show all about girls being awesome and trusting each other, with nary a significantly slashable white cock to be found (though I suppose you could "go there" with Ezra and Noel now...Jesus, why did I put that into the universe?)...but I was watching the show tonight

Comments

[themusesbitch]

One of the things I find really intersting about Pretty Little Liars is the way the world is filtered through a teen-girl-fantasy lens where relationships with boys are concerned.

I'm thinking particularly with Aria and Ezra, where through a more... mature lens, a relationship with that age and power differential would almost always read as creepy. But it's not depicted that way at all. If anything, Aria is depicted as being in control other than Ezra's attempts to 'free' her, she clearly calls the shots in terms of physicality (which remains pretty PG)... even the potential consequences seem to be pretty glossed over.

Then there's Spencer. Obviously the more we know about Ian, the less fantasy-worth he seems, but certainly the idea that every man her hot older sister brings home ends up falling for Spencer reads quite neatly as younger-sister-fantasy.

I don't really have any conclusions to draw from this observatoin, but I did note it from the start and for some reason, rather than finding it worrisome in a Twilight/Edward-is-creepy way, I mostly find it an interesting element of the show.

[monimala]

But what I think is more interesting is that, Aria aside, those fantasies are almost an...annoyance for the girls. There's almost an air of "Oh, boys. Ugh. Fine. I'll deal with this." They have full lives *outside* of those fantasy fulfillment moments. And Aria...I think we're seeing that it ISN'T a mature lens. Especially now that her friends know and are content to snark about her seeing their teacher. And the consequences, this week, certainly presented themselves.

And it definitely stands apart from Twilight/Edward, because the girls have one another, they have their parents, and they have a goal -- finding A. Bella had Edward and Jacob. And that's it. Nothing else mattered to her except the world *they* presented her.

[themusesbitch]

Just watching last night's episode now. First observation, carrying over from the previous episode: Geez, Lucas went from nice guy to Nice Guy™ awfully quick, eh?