vid: Bitch
song and artist: Bitch by Meredith Brooks
vidder: mresundance
fandom: Dark Angel (Max and Logan)
genre: character study, relationship
rating: PG-13
disclaimer: Footage belongs Fox. Music belongs Meredith. Not for profit.
summary: A celebration of Max, a totally awesome bitch-goddess, and the man who loves her. They wouldn't want it any other way.
Please do not upload this video, or use clips from it for your own vids. Thanks.
Comments and constructive criticism? Made of win.
Much love to my bat-eared beta, ladymajavader, whose detailed, thoughtful concrit helped make this vid better by leaps and bounds. :D
Streaming: Vimeo stream (Password: goddessbast) | Bam Video | Youtube
Downloads (zipped files):
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Permanent link (right-click save as): 35 MB xvid
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You can watch this video on www.livejournal.com
(Password: goddessbast)
Notes
This is where I put some of the philosophy that underpins the vid for me.
When I started watching Dark Angel for the first time and Max gave her "Bast" speech, I got chills. It was the precursor for her character and what was to come in the series, even if the series ended up being cut short.
As a hero, Max is powerful as she is weak, capable as she is defenseless. To me, Max - like Bast - is the epiphany of the idea of a great goddess. She is a woman who, in all her complexities and contradictions, is complete in herself. Creator, destroyer, maiden in her hope, mother in her empathy for others, crone in how she struggles with her "freakshow" body. I am particularly drawn to the avenging and protecting Max in "Rising". For some reason the image of her and her blood rimmed eyes screams "Hekate" at me - dark goddess of the crossroads who had any army of demons at her command.
And then there is Logan, completely held in thrall by her, warts and all. (Ok, so she is
Jessica Alba.) Logan loves Max unconditionally, as she is. He does try to encourage positive change in her (aka, recruit her to Logan Cale's Brigade for the Defense of Widows, Small Children and Lost Animals). But he doesn't ask her to do things that would betray who she is. He challenges Max to bring out the best in herself. He sees the good in her - the perfection of her disjointed-ness - even when she does not. Additionally, he is strong enough to let her go, let her go, and let her go.
Their pairing very much invokes myths of the goddess and her consort to me, like Inanna and her shepherd husband Tammuz/Dammuz. There is sacred balance that exists in their union. They are equals. While Max has extraordinary physical abilities, she is emotionally under-developed in some ways; while Logan ends up having his physical abilities limited, he is very emotionally developed. Max can joke while Logan is prophesying doom and vice versa.
With Logan’s love, Max is able to come into her goddess power. She doesn’t need him - she can take care of herself and then some - but she certainly wants him. And he certainly gives her life - mirth, mutual respect, comfort - just as she gives him life on so many levels.
Awards and Honors
Best Character, Round One of the Broken Road Video Awards.
Runner Up: Best Character, Round 10 of the Art of Vidding Awards.