TV and my feminist sensibilities

[claudia_writes]

Lately I’ve been feeling that we’ve taken a step back on the issue of TV’s female characters. There were two instances particular which made me think that.

Comments

[divalucia]

Hear hear. I've haven't seen a single episode of Bones, and I've stopped watching CSI a long time ago, so I don't know about these two ladies, but I do know the pattern. As you might know, there's been some fandom-debate (as witnessed in metafandom) about the lack of good/strong/complex female characters in entertainment industry, but I tend to agree with this random commentator (whose name I've forgot) that this is mostly bollocks. There are good/strong/complex femmes in books and on the screen - the real problem is just that production teams don't know what to do with them! Sure, they're all kinds of awesome, but they never really get to do anything, or they get chastised and pulled down as soon they start meddling with the basic (masculine) dynamics of the story. I've been told this happened to Sara when she finally hooked up with Grissom; being-in-a-relationship became her only mode of existence and so gone was the Real Woman. It is pretty sad IMO, and if Grissom was real, I bet he'd agree with me. I don't think that was the Sara he fell in

[claudia_writes]

Sra did pretty much loose all of her own storylines, after the get together. Or actually even before, because if you look at the episodes from the perspective that the relatisnhip was going on, there were hints and looks about it. And that was her storylne pretty much the entire season.

There are strong female characters, or more specifically female character that have a possibility for strenght and boldness, but it never comes through. The film industry has gotten better, the readon being that I think actresses there are far more powerfull and far more pushy. For instance Jane in Mr. and Mrs. Smith was just my epitome of feminism that works in a relationship. And Versper Lynd in Casino Royale, because that showed that women do not need to physically strong to be emotionally/mentally strong.

But TV is still lagging behind. One TV series that I do have congratulate is Gray's Anatomy because it's about relationships between women (i.e. friendships) that are stronger than any romantic affiliation. Also they carried a relationship (a

[kat_lair]

*applauds

[claudia_writes]

Oh, yes! The American/Western is the right way-issue I also detested, especially when it involved Booth proclaiming how he was "protecting his country", by killing the citizens of another country thousands of miles away.

"Oh, you heterosexual-alpha-male aren't you so brave and good". It made me literaly sick, because at the same time I was thinking of my granparents who fought tooth and nail in the second world war to keep my country's independecen, and to have something like that compared to American soldier who go to other people's countries to kill their citizense just digusts me.

I don't think that Bones has yet had a gay-issue-episode (which is pretty standard these days), and I would be interested to see that. How the heteronomative world view that Booth is reprisenting reacts to that, especially if it were gay men, which is still of a sore point to American TV

Comment 1

[arubyslipper]

I would have to disagree with you about Bones, although I must confess I've only seen like the first 3 eps of S2

Comment 2

[arubyslipper]

I sort of like the dialogue between Brennan and Booth; between the controversial and the traditional, between the pedant and the 'down-to-earth', between the career-oriented and the motherly, the hard and the soft, the scientist and the psychologist. Booth said it himself; he's the one who's good with people. He is the female in their partnership, for all his military background he is really just a big softie. Yes, in a sense the show is a growth story of Brennan, showing how her realtionship to Booth (her opposite in many ways) and the issues they confront with the cases change her as a person, how she becomes softer, learns new skills, sees the other person's point of view, opens up to Booth's friendship

Re: Comment 2

[claudia_writes]

I'm also going to have to Squee! about the awsomeness i perceive in Angela and Hodgins and their relationship. Okay this I have to agree with, only due to one thing though. The season finaly of series 2 (sorry for spoiling, but I must for empirical reasons, ha!) Angela and Hodgist get married, sort of. Angela refuses Hodginsis proposals over and over agan. He asks Booth for help in how to propose and Booht being the traditionalist says "fancy, dinner, get on one knee and ask the question". Angela says "no", but reaffirms that the relationship is still stong and they are still together. Her refusal did not damage his ego, as it did with Booht

Re: Comment 2

[arubyslipper]

Yes, Booth can be more than slightly annoying, and definitely stupid and boring and shallow and stereotypical in many ways. He certainly holds no romantic interest to me as a viewer. It's weird how he's so pullamössö when all the other characters are so delightfully strange and edgy, like he's supposed to be the representative of the viewer in a land of geeky scientist and freaky phenomena. He's 'normal', has a family, traditional values and is just so... static and colorless and without the depth a realistic/interesting character needs.

I do have an awkward premonition that the writers are slowly beginning to blunt Brennan's edge... I just wanted to remain blind to all that in hope of betterment! *weeps* But Bones is still among my favourites and I shall definitely keep watching for now.

p.s. Does anything interestin ghappen to the young geeky boy they always boss around? I'm sensing a shift to the background...

Re: Comment 2

[claudia_writes]

p.s. Does anything interestin ghappen to the young geeky boy they always boss around?

Yes! He cuts his hair and goes to Iraq! And finishes his dissertation (I think.)