Your Brain Is Full Of Spiders.
Point #1: comments on my LJ posts are working, but I still cannot comment to other journal entries. This is irritating, but somehow, life goes on. Insert your usual 'godDAMMIT, Livejournal' rant here.
Point #2: I have caught up on American Horror Story and have thoughts on it. Here are those thoughts.
so I have been reading the AHS recaps over on Entertainment Weekly's website because I love Jeff Jensen's thoughts. He points out interesting things I had missed, explains pop culture references that not everyone might get, and connects things to bits of literature that flesh out the story a little bit more. His recaps are truly amazing, and if you watch AHS, I would recommend reading them because they're just really smart, funny, and full of fascinating tidbits that make you think.
But that's not the point of this point. The point of this point is that I have been reading the comments, and the thing I have noticed the most on the EW posts is that there are a lot of people were heartbroken by the revelation that Tate is a) a psychotic mass murderer, and b) the rapist and father of Vivien's baby. The consensus seems to be that he was so caring and careful with Violet, that he genuinely loved her, and surely that meant he could be redeemed.
And I kind of feel like a horrible cynic for thinking this, but, uh, no. No matter how sweet and loving Tate is, no matter how much he takes care of Violet and protects her, nothing he does can erase what he's done. I never felt that there was redemption for Tate because the minute I found out that he had shot up his school and killed so many students, that was the end of any tender feelings I might have had for him.
And everything I have found out about him since then just makes me root for him even less. He goes on a mass murder spree, he kills Chad and Pat and rapes Pat with a poker after (an unnecessary, vicious act), he rapes Vivien and gets her pregnant, he had set Larry on fire in a flashback, and attacks Ben when Ben threatens to take Violet away from the house. He did the worst stuff after he was dead, and what he did when he was alive was bad enough. Nothing about these actions makes me think that Tate could be rehabilitated, that he deserved forgiveness, and thus, I was, and am, astonished that people were actually rooting for Tate.
This is not to say that I don't have sympathy for the guy, either. He went through hell being Constance's kid, and I understand where his fury and hate came from, and I genuinely feel sad for the life he suffered through when he was alive. I don't hate Tate, but I can't excuse the awful, horrific shit he has done, whether it was for himself or at others' requests. Violet pointed out that he never paid for what he had done, that he had never been brought to justice for the lives he took and the pain he caused, and I agree with her completely. I also think that being taken away from Violet is not punishment enough for what he did, but I would have never been able to write a show with all these layers, so ignore me.
I hope season two proves me wrong, though. I would love to see Tate finally admit to every terrible thing he ever did and feel genuine remorse for it, not just admitting some things and squirming away from the rest when Violet calls him on it. I would like to not dislike him so much for a change.
this is the most important point to me, but: has anyone noticed that this entire show is about female anger?
Let me backtrack: a few weeks ago, nilchance posted a link that talked about women's anger and how it's never really acknowledged or taken seriously, how women never allow themselves to feel anger because society has conditioned them to not let themselves get angry. And I thought about this article while I was watching AHS because this show is all about the ways women get angry, the way these women show their anger, the ways that their anger has the power to shape reality in that house.
Hayden is anger personified. When she's alive, she is furious that she's shunted aside so easily after Ben had taken everything he needed from her, angry that her baby isn't as important as Vivien's; when she's dead, her rage just overtakes her and governs her every action and reaction. She is a woman scorned and she makes the world around her pay for every slight, every time she was pushed away, every time she was judged for having an affair with a married man and trying to matter to him.
And the thing I love about this show is that it takes Hayden's anger seriously. Her anger is completely and totally reasonable with how shabbily she has been treated, and she is allowed to express it as loudly and as often as she wants. It goes to scary places once she's dead, but she gets to have her anger, she gets to feel it and show it, and the show never chastises her for being angry.
I say this as someone who cannot stand Hayden, by the way. I disliked her whiny petulance at Ben when she's alive, but I understand her rage with him, with Vivien, with every man who uses her and leaves her. She has become a magnificent force to be reckoned with and she is breathtaking to watch in action. The only one I enjoy watching more is Constance, who is a magnificent bitch and my favorite of all time. Jessica Lange deserves every single award she's going to get.
Same thing with Vivien, who makes the house thunder with her fury; her fury at her useless, cheating husband, the house that has become a trap for her, her life at not being what she wanted it to be. As the show progresses, her anger inhabits her, much like it does for Hayden, and she gives into it whenever Ben pushes her. And the show makes it clear that she has the right to her anger, that she is not some hysterical, bitchy woman just screaming for the hell of it; it acknowledges that she has real reasons to be angry, that she has the right to express that anger, and there's nothing wrong with her for doing that.
Constance, Moira, Nora, Vivien, Hayden, Violet, even Hayden's sister. There is a pulse of female anger threaded throughout every story in that house, with the exception of Chad and Pat, who have their own anger and betrayal to deal with. Every story has a rightfully angry woman and it always starts because of a man who betrayed her. Ben and Vivien are only the latest incarnation of that. It's an interesting dynamic and I wonder if it's going to continue in the second season.
oh, Violet. That's really all I have to say because goddamn, that kid is heartbreaking. The scene where she finds out she's dead just made me want to cry because she looked so devastated. She's the heart of that house, she really is. For all my complaints about her in the beginning, she ended up being so sad and wonderful and tragic. I keep hearing Tate say, "You died crying," and I have to go away and do something else so I don't weep.
God, that was long.
So, I love this show. I don't know if that came across, but I really do. It's a lot smarter than I ever thought it would be, and it's doing such interesting things with all the horror clichés that I'm delighted. Plus, CONSTANCE. Jesus, she is the best thing on TV for me right now.
I really hope that season two is as amazing and ballsy as season one.
In conclusion, I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie in the theater last week and HOLMES ON A PONY. WITH THAT SONG PLAYING. it was so good to me. I'm a fan.
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth. Please comment anywhere you feel has the best icons to use to dazzle me. I'm really easy.
Point #2: I have caught up on American Horror Story and have thoughts on it. Here are those thoughts.
But that's not the point of this point. The point of this point is that I have been reading the comments, and the thing I have noticed the most on the EW posts is that there are a lot of people were heartbroken by the revelation that Tate is a) a psychotic mass murderer, and b) the rapist and father of Vivien's baby. The consensus seems to be that he was so caring and careful with Violet, that he genuinely loved her, and surely that meant he could be redeemed.
And I kind of feel like a horrible cynic for thinking this, but, uh, no. No matter how sweet and loving Tate is, no matter how much he takes care of Violet and protects her, nothing he does can erase what he's done. I never felt that there was redemption for Tate because the minute I found out that he had shot up his school and killed so many students, that was the end of any tender feelings I might have had for him.
And everything I have found out about him since then just makes me root for him even less. He goes on a mass murder spree, he kills Chad and Pat and rapes Pat with a poker after (an unnecessary, vicious act), he rapes Vivien and gets her pregnant, he had set Larry on fire in a flashback, and attacks Ben when Ben threatens to take Violet away from the house. He did the worst stuff after he was dead, and what he did when he was alive was bad enough. Nothing about these actions makes me think that Tate could be rehabilitated, that he deserved forgiveness, and thus, I was, and am, astonished that people were actually rooting for Tate.
This is not to say that I don't have sympathy for the guy, either. He went through hell being Constance's kid, and I understand where his fury and hate came from, and I genuinely feel sad for the life he suffered through when he was alive. I don't hate Tate, but I can't excuse the awful, horrific shit he has done, whether it was for himself or at others' requests. Violet pointed out that he never paid for what he had done, that he had never been brought to justice for the lives he took and the pain he caused, and I agree with her completely. I also think that being taken away from Violet is not punishment enough for what he did, but I would have never been able to write a show with all these layers, so ignore me.
I hope season two proves me wrong, though. I would love to see Tate finally admit to every terrible thing he ever did and feel genuine remorse for it, not just admitting some things and squirming away from the rest when Violet calls him on it. I would like to not dislike him so much for a change.
Let me backtrack: a few weeks ago, nilchance posted a link that talked about women's anger and how it's never really acknowledged or taken seriously, how women never allow themselves to feel anger because society has conditioned them to not let themselves get angry. And I thought about this article while I was watching AHS because this show is all about the ways women get angry, the way these women show their anger, the ways that their anger has the power to shape reality in that house.
Hayden is anger personified. When she's alive, she is furious that she's shunted aside so easily after Ben had taken everything he needed from her, angry that her baby isn't as important as Vivien's; when she's dead, her rage just overtakes her and governs her every action and reaction. She is a woman scorned and she makes the world around her pay for every slight, every time she was pushed away, every time she was judged for having an affair with a married man and trying to matter to him.
And the thing I love about this show is that it takes Hayden's anger seriously. Her anger is completely and totally reasonable with how shabbily she has been treated, and she is allowed to express it as loudly and as often as she wants. It goes to scary places once she's dead, but she gets to have her anger, she gets to feel it and show it, and the show never chastises her for being angry.
I say this as someone who cannot stand Hayden, by the way. I disliked her whiny petulance at Ben when she's alive, but I understand her rage with him, with Vivien, with every man who uses her and leaves her. She has become a magnificent force to be reckoned with and she is breathtaking to watch in action. The only one I enjoy watching more is Constance, who is a magnificent bitch and my favorite of all time. Jessica Lange deserves every single award she's going to get.
Same thing with Vivien, who makes the house thunder with her fury; her fury at her useless, cheating husband, the house that has become a trap for her, her life at not being what she wanted it to be. As the show progresses, her anger inhabits her, much like it does for Hayden, and she gives into it whenever Ben pushes her. And the show makes it clear that she has the right to her anger, that she is not some hysterical, bitchy woman just screaming for the hell of it; it acknowledges that she has real reasons to be angry, that she has the right to express that anger, and there's nothing wrong with her for doing that.
Constance, Moira, Nora, Vivien, Hayden, Violet, even Hayden's sister. There is a pulse of female anger threaded throughout every story in that house, with the exception of Chad and Pat, who have their own anger and betrayal to deal with. Every story has a rightfully angry woman and it always starts because of a man who betrayed her. Ben and Vivien are only the latest incarnation of that. It's an interesting dynamic and I wonder if it's going to continue in the second season.
God, that was long.
So, I love this show. I don't know if that came across, but I really do. It's a lot smarter than I ever thought it would be, and it's doing such interesting things with all the horror clichés that I'm delighted. Plus, CONSTANCE. Jesus, she is the best thing on TV for me right now.
I really hope that season two is as amazing and ballsy as season one.
In conclusion, I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie in the theater last week and HOLMES ON A PONY. WITH THAT SONG PLAYING. it was so good to me. I'm a fan.
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth. Please comment anywhere you feel has the best icons to use to dazzle me. I'm really easy.