As usual, you make good points that make me realize my logic had some flaws!
I was thinking of things in terms of the main characters' arcs - in the sense that the choice of supernatural superpower (so to speak) as a way to develop a (subtly) gender specific choice of character direction. While the characters you mention were very important in those shows, they didn't get quite the depth of exploration as the main characerts. It's true that my sample size is not very representative. But I still ponder the trend.
I do remember Oz's not-exactly-a-girlfriend female werewolf from Buffy, but she wasn't a main or recurring character. In my mind, her character was mostly a catalyst for Oz's development when she tried to get to him to embrace his inner werewolf.
Darla was a fascinating character, actually one of my favorite character arcs on ATS. Not one to shrink from the violence and mayhem, for sure! Plus, I always got the feeling that she wore the pants in the Darla/Angelus relationship (though not necessarily the Darla/Angel one, which was kind of the point).
Certainly, BTVS did a good job subverting or reversing a lot of gender tropes. I try not to think too hard about the development of Willow's relationship with magic (another case of a metaphor becoming way too thinly veiled, I feel). But what if Willow had been the physically powerful werewolf and, say, Xander had fallen into the same path as Giles and dabbled in magic?
Oz is interesting for reasons both inside and outside the fictional continuity. I mean, as a human being he is startlingly unpowerful, and in fact I bet Cordelia, not to mention Harmony, could beat him up. But he had to be written out, not necessarily because there was nothing that could be done in the story, but because Seth Green quit. And that meant Veruca had to make her brief, catalytic appearance. (And, by the way, I think Willow was a GIANT hypocrite--her own relationship with Xander should have taught her that one can have a powerful affinity for someone other than one's official partner.)
Also, Oz was notoriously uninterested in verbal expression, and, for that matter, despite being intelligent, couldn't be bothered to study high school subjects. And, having watched Freaks and Geeks I have seen some TRULY dumb high school student characters, compared to whom Xander is Noel Coward. But I still can't see either Oz or Xander as a profound student of anything that involves spells that you dig out of a bunch of old books.
I was thinking of things in terms of the main characters' arcs - in the sense that the choice of supernatural superpower (so to speak) as a way to develop a (subtly) gender specific choice of character direction. While the characters you mention were very important in those shows, they didn't get quite the depth of exploration as the main characerts. It's true that my sample size is not very representative. But I still ponder the trend.
I do remember Oz's not-exactly-a-girlfriend female werewolf from Buffy, but she wasn't a main or recurring character. In my mind, her character was mostly a catalyst for Oz's development when she tried to get to him to embrace his inner werewolf.
Darla was a fascinating character, actually one of my favorite character arcs on ATS. Not one to shrink from the violence and mayhem, for sure! Plus, I always got the feeling that she wore the pants in the Darla/Angelus relationship (though not necessarily the Darla/Angel one, which was kind of the point).
Certainly, BTVS did a good job subverting or reversing a lot of gender tropes. I try not to think too hard about the development of Willow's relationship with magic (another case of a metaphor becoming way too thinly veiled, I feel). But what if Willow had been the physically powerful werewolf and, say, Xander had fallen into the same path as Giles and dabbled in magic?
Reply
Also, Oz was notoriously uninterested in verbal expression, and, for that matter, despite being intelligent, couldn't be bothered to study high school subjects. And, having watched Freaks and Geeks I have seen some TRULY dumb high school student characters, compared to whom Xander is Noel Coward. But I still can't see either Oz or Xander as a profound student of anything that involves spells that you dig out of a bunch of old books.
Reply
Leave a comment