Comments | akeyoftime: I can be whatever I want to be.

akeyoftime

I can be whatever I want to be.

Dec 05, 2009 21:16

Oh Dollhouse, did you really have to go there?

Ramblings pertaining to the portrayal of disability below the cut. Spoilers for episodes 2x05 and 2x06. Some acting props and a tip of the hat to gender portrayal at the end.

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feminism, fandom, disability

Comments 10

missmimsical December 6 2009, 02:41:31 UTC

Not to make light of the fact she obviously is bitter about her arm, but I got the impression it was more the getting left behind that made her bitter. The arm is just the reminder that Caroline was a gigantic bitch and left her there to die while she scampered off to be cute or whatever. My two cents on that part.

As for Echo's overcoming of her disability, it was actually all in her head. Her nerves weren't physically severed like crazy-lady's were, she just thought they were. For this, I'm playing devil's advocate which is never smart, but I am doing it anyway. It really does look bad and I don't blame you for being more than a bit annoyed.

But Enver. ENVER! Oh my FRICKIN GOD!! That was GLORIOUS!!!! XD

akeyoftime December 6 2009, 13:00:05 UTC

Discussion is good! I get to refine my argument on you :P ( ... )

missmimsical December 6 2009, 13:48:28 UTC

Why have the camera linger on Bennett's arm if it wasn't meant to be important?Ratings? I'd say because it caused more viewer curiosity ("how'd that happen?") than a spazzed out "DON'T LEAVE ME" girl, which would have looked seriously pathetic in comparison. Especially because Bennett wanted the other lady to leave in the first place so she could do evil things to Echo. It would've been VERY hard to do convincingly. Which yes, is an easy way out, and I'm not excusing it. I'm just explaining one of the reasons it could've been done that way. Besides, we saw the "DON'T LEAVE ME" part in flashback at least 3 times, I think, so even that part was shown often. I bet someone with PTSD would be ticked off at the way that was portrayed too, like that Echo didn't get it at all because "it's not real, it doesn't exist, they're faking or lazy or...." or something ( ... )

akeyoftime December 6 2009, 14:33:25 UTC

Ratings?
Awesome. So we can interpret it as an acceptable way of gawking at the disabled? (Since she's fictional all, it won't hurt her.)

I understand the reasons behind it. That doesn't make it okay. I think that it's lazy storytelling and a hurtful stereotype; not all people with disabilities are pining after normal. It also implies that the loss of use to her arm is a terrible, terrible tragedy and that's not okay either.

Overcoming emotional trauma is equally problematic. It's not a well-thought out premise. I'm not sure that there is a better solution here, given that the show would be tossing it in the face of one group or another. Man, I love self-determination, but it's so close to bootstraps sometimes, and that's a terrible mind-set to adopt.

Her getting out of the predicament with only one arm would have been awesome! Maybe that would have been the best way to deal with the situation, though it doesn't erase the problems with Bennett herself and also stands the potential of falling into the super crip category if handled

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akeyoftime December 6 2009, 13:10:55 UTC

It would be awesome to see Summer play some more diverse roles. She's gotten awfully stereotyped :(

Quick note, I wasn't trying to erase the circumstances around the injury; I should have clarrified that. But like I said to missmimsical, why not make Echo feel all of those overwhelming emotions (if the betrayal and fear and hurt were really the core issue) instead of giving her a physical disability? Overcoming the emotional betrayal could have been an equally compelling storyline - imagine the double panic and fear she might have experienced when the senator's assassin status was activated. It also says something that the most lingering part of the imprinted memory was the injury to Bennett's arm. That was a choice.

Instead, we get disability as a an easy out for the writers.

jezebeau December 6 2009, 08:05:46 UTC

Wait, wait, wait... you do realize you're asking *Joss Whedon* to write a character that isn't bitter/cynical, right? :P

akeyoftime December 6 2009, 13:12:12 UTC

No no. I'm just asking him not to write a character that isn't bitter/cynical in clichéd ways about disability ;)

Don't be takin' my cynical Mal away from me, noes!

jezebeau December 6 2009, 23:07:26 UTC

I think you're overgeneralizing it. It didn't seem to be her sole motivation, just the overwhelming impetus behind her actions toward Echo, specifically. Even that, emotionally, appears to be more for the betrayal and abandonment than for the injury itself. To me, her narcissism and social ineptitude defined her more than the disability because she had adapted to the use of one arm (notice the one-handed keyboard? those things are cool ( ... )

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akeyoftime December 6 2009, 13:14:24 UTC

I loved the way both she and Topher were overwhelmed by the genius of one another. Totally adorable plot point.

Dichen is generally excellent as well, and Miracle Laurie too, even if we don't get to see it as much these days. Even most of the single-personality cast are strong.

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akeyoftime December 6 2009, 14:35:52 UTC

HOW COULD I FORGET AMY ACKER?

Shameshameshameshame :(