If I Was A Slayer...
You know, I realized today the root of the reason why that whole initial lack of action in the bathroom scene of SR really pisses me off.
Let's step in limbo for a minute, and picture me standing next to Buffy. And hell, Spike for that matter.
Me: 5'11" and 170 lbs.
Buffy: (roughly) 5'3" and 95 lbs.
Spike: (roughly) 5'9.5" and 150 lbs.
So...I have ( Read more... )
Let's step in limbo for a minute, and picture me standing next to Buffy. And hell, Spike for that matter.
Me: 5'11" and 170 lbs.
Buffy: (roughly) 5'3" and 95 lbs.
Spike: (roughly) 5'9.5" and 150 lbs.
So...I have ( Read more... )
Comments 8
I sparred and wrestled with my ex who was 5'10" and 115 vs. me at 5'2 and 88 at the time, and yeah, me as a real woman had to be crafty to get the upper hand, and if he'd wanted to overpower me it would've happened. Luckily he was insanely ticklish. ;)
Even though Spike had vampire strength, that didn't change his size, and he wasn't a big guy....Slayer strength can send him flying *through* that bathroom wall. She would've had to be roofied into the strength of a normal girl her size for him to win. If her arms are free at any moment, all she has to do is box his ears, and he's in a world of hurt long enough for her to get free - no fancy moves required.
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Well that's...sad.
Even though Spike had vampire strength, that didn't change his size, and he wasn't a big guy....Slayer strength can send him flying *through* that bathroom wall.
A most excellent observation.
And hey--considering all the hits Buffy's taken to the face over the years...she had like pretty much a non-existent refractory period. If I (or any average woman, I'd imagine) got punched in the face by some dude? I doubt that would be the case. I would just be burned up, pretty much.
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Yup, real people, most of them, react when they're punched in the face/head. Buffy moved because of physics, but rarely was she dazed or knocked out. There are plenty of humans that are hard to knock out, but they're still in worse shape than she was.
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I've always had a potential annoyance in the 5'2" 95lbs when wet, size 0 Buffy having such incredibly improbable strength. It's already so disproportionate to her size that it simply falls into 'superpowers' and has little to do with what's reasonable for her body-type. But, okay, it's what makes Buffy unique
... until it doesn't.
My potential annoyance grew into actual annoyance when it became an obvious Whedon-fetish as it keeps popping up time and again. (Was there ever a slayer -- other than the original Nikki... who was replaced even though the original actress wanted the part -- who wasn't a slender-tiny-type?) It really started to irritate on Firefly with River (after all the Slayers that had gone before her). Then their turning Fred into the same trope with Illyria. It's one thing for Lucy Lawless's as Xena to be a strong fighter. She looks the role. She doesn't look improbably small-boned and not at all muscular but is still supposed to be super-atheltic/strong. ( ... )
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But, okay, it's what makes Buffy unique
... until it doesn't.
Word.
Whedon...you know initially, he wanted Tara to be this delicate, bird like person, apparently. Granted Benson is super short, she looked curvaceous next to pretty much all of the other women on the show (excluding Charisma).
And...I recently heard about their being a "thing" with him and Hannigan at one point, which contributed to the rift between her and Gellar (who was jealous). I have nothing to back this up with--only crap I hear around ;)
But, yeah, the Spike/Buffy strength differential was on full display in Season 5 when Spike couldn't pick up the troll-hammer, but Buffy lifted it easily. That was a pretty visible distinction in strength capability, with Buffy shown as not-a-little but considerably stronger... until it became inconvenient for them storywise.
Word again.
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I know stunt logistics-wise, the smaller the person, the easier it is to work with them in rigging, but the principle actresses weren't the ones to fly, anyway. And Summer Glau was partly chosen because choreography is easy to her as a trained dancer...but yeah, as a dancer, she's petite. Buffy's stunt double was so much bigger than Sarah it's so obvious every time she's on screen. It's only in that variety shot when all the Potentials became Slayers that you see multiple types of girl (a little bit).
We don't know who cast Winona in the Alien movie....since Joss was only involved in the script, he had little say in who the casting director and Director decided to go with. But otherwise, yeah....whether short or tall, he perpetuates the "only tiny women work in Hollywood" thing.
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