the MANLIEST PAIN OF ALL
So, we are all up to speed on thingswithwings’ phenomenal Man Pain vid and post? Well worth a watch/read but be warned of spoilers for pretty much everything ever.
It’s one of those wonderfully thought-provoking dark humor/righteous anger pieces, and it crystallized a whole set of my reactions to Man Pain itself, and other peoples’ reactions to ( Read more... )
It’s one of those wonderfully thought-provoking dark humor/righteous anger pieces, and it crystallized a whole set of my reactions to Man Pain itself, and other peoples’ reactions to ( Read more... )
OF COURSE IT'S YES!
Yeah. The Manliest Pain of Draper is really harshest in a lot of ways in that WE are the fridgees. Like, at least the other two are not-real people in SF worlds/not-real versions of our world. It is so hard on Don Draper to be fucking with OUR HEADS right now.
It's not about some sort of masturbatory celebration of HOW IMPORTANT I AM because I either FAILED to save someone or did something so HORRIBLE that other people suffered. Because you're right--that's just enjoying the power in a different way. But Wes and Logan really are just good old-fashioned scarred--angry and bitter, with a little bit of well-deserved self pity thrown in. Because they're owning their OWN pain, I don't mind it all. In fact, I like it.
Yeah. Man Pain discussions, I feel like, end up in over- or at least unhelpful-use of the term (a tough line to draw with something that is EVERYWHERE in EVERYTHING we love, alas) where it means "dude I don't like." (The way "feminism" has of late become "shit I do like") And I don't think I've hit on any one particular definition (though I do like the categorizations in the linked comment thread), though I do think Manliest Pain is going to be a useful one for me because it's a little more clear.
But Wes and Logan really are just good old-fashioned scarred--angry and bitter, with a little bit of well-deserved self pity thrown in. Because they're owning their OWN pain, I don't mind it all. In fact, I like it.
so much this. And okay, I am irrationally defensive about my boy. But I do kind of get annoyed when Man Pain is substituted as reason for not liking Wesley. Because, you know, you can just not like him? (apparently? SOME PEOPLE JUGGLE GEESE!, I guess.)
But really, what "Man Pain" means in that context (for Logan and my love Lee as well) is "he is a mentally ill survivor of child abuse and I don't wanna hear it." Which, you know, is legit, not to enjoy that part of the character, to think it takes over too much of his story or the show at large. (Even if, victim-shaming in the name of feminist critical analysis? c'mon, son.)
In fairness, he does have this Man Pain:
I either FAILED to save someone or did something so HORRIBLE that other people suffered.
but...it's legitimate regret, coinciding with aforementioned damage. Whether or not the story handled it well - I think it did - whether or not that leads a given viewer to like the story and the character within it, his selfless intent counts for something for me. He lacks the victimizer element of Manliest Pain.
it's because of something that was done to her, an expectation thrust upon her, not something she did.
Yeah, there's a victim/victimizer distinction here. (Then within victims, there's indirect/direct victims). But the Manliest Pain of man victimizers is what makes me hate.
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Great point.
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Thiiiiiis.
Yeah... The real difference to me between, say, Wesley and Angel, is that the former is portrayed as believing that his pain makes him inferior to others, whereas Angel acts as though his pain makes him superior to others. (And I mean, I say this as someone who loves Angel-the-character.)
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