olivia
Final season of Fringe. Episode 2.
I'm sure I'll have lots to say once I'm done with the show but there was something I had to put out there before I forget. Not that I ever could. You know one of the most enduring and refreshing things about Olivia as the heroine of the show is her empathy. It is Olivia's empathy that gives her strength, not only emotionally and mentally but also physically and tactically. I absolutely love the way that her character as a human being, her ability to see the good in others even when it seems impossible and her way to understand everyone with complete openness, is held up as her greatest quality as a hero. So often our heroes are smart. They're strong. They're funny. Or they're brave. But in today's society we have created this discourse in which women's feelings are what make them weak.
Or when we say that their feelings and their ability to relate are a positive, it's almost backhanded or devalued in comparison to traditionally masculine traits. But when you watch Fringe it becomes clear how Olivia is constructed goes against all of that. She can make others understand her through her own understanding of them, whether they are enemies or friends. It's not understanding for the sake of manipulation though. Olivia approaches every interrogation in a way that feels like someone who genuinely wants to understand. She wants to know why you do these things, where you're coming from, what piece of your life history led you to this point. That is what endears her to them and that is what gives her her power.
Sure she's smart. She's strong. She's great with a gun. But what makes her so special and what the show is always emphasizing and pointing out is that you can't be human or an effective participant in this world or a savior of any kind if you can't look at the situation and those involved in it and truly understand them and their motivations. It's kind of an amazing message if you think about it. Yes, you fight because you need to stand up for yourself and your loved ones. At the same time you need to consider why you fight, how you fight, and when you should fight. It's that the fighting is only a temporary fix but to truly solve anything or learn anything you need to sit back and understand, empathize, know. You can't lumber through conflicts being convinced you are right, even when what you're doing is as wrong as everyone else. You need to take the high ground always.
I love Xena. I love Buffy. But there's this part of them that reflects male archetypes of heroism where in order to be heroes they need to numb that part of themselves that make them human. They need to be hardened and ruthless and feelingless. It's the opposite with Olivia. She connects with people. That is why she continues to endure and that is why she is successful.
It really just crushes me thinking about how this show and these characters go unnoticed by so many people. We need more women like Olivia on television. We need more men like Chuck. We need more variation in our heroes.
I'm sure I'll have lots to say once I'm done with the show but there was something I had to put out there before I forget. Not that I ever could. You know one of the most enduring and refreshing things about Olivia as the heroine of the show is her empathy. It is Olivia's empathy that gives her strength, not only emotionally and mentally but also physically and tactically. I absolutely love the way that her character as a human being, her ability to see the good in others even when it seems impossible and her way to understand everyone with complete openness, is held up as her greatest quality as a hero. So often our heroes are smart. They're strong. They're funny. Or they're brave. But in today's society we have created this discourse in which women's feelings are what make them weak.
Or when we say that their feelings and their ability to relate are a positive, it's almost backhanded or devalued in comparison to traditionally masculine traits. But when you watch Fringe it becomes clear how Olivia is constructed goes against all of that. She can make others understand her through her own understanding of them, whether they are enemies or friends. It's not understanding for the sake of manipulation though. Olivia approaches every interrogation in a way that feels like someone who genuinely wants to understand. She wants to know why you do these things, where you're coming from, what piece of your life history led you to this point. That is what endears her to them and that is what gives her her power.
Sure she's smart. She's strong. She's great with a gun. But what makes her so special and what the show is always emphasizing and pointing out is that you can't be human or an effective participant in this world or a savior of any kind if you can't look at the situation and those involved in it and truly understand them and their motivations. It's kind of an amazing message if you think about it. Yes, you fight because you need to stand up for yourself and your loved ones. At the same time you need to consider why you fight, how you fight, and when you should fight. It's that the fighting is only a temporary fix but to truly solve anything or learn anything you need to sit back and understand, empathize, know. You can't lumber through conflicts being convinced you are right, even when what you're doing is as wrong as everyone else. You need to take the high ground always.
I love Xena. I love Buffy. But there's this part of them that reflects male archetypes of heroism where in order to be heroes they need to numb that part of themselves that make them human. They need to be hardened and ruthless and feelingless. It's the opposite with Olivia. She connects with people. That is why she continues to endure and that is why she is successful.
It really just crushes me thinking about how this show and these characters go unnoticed by so many people. We need more women like Olivia on television. We need more men like Chuck. We need more variation in our heroes.