Are you up to date with Mad Men? I don't want to spoil accidentally.
What I particularly dislike about what frequently happens with Wife of the Anti-Hero is fannish loathing of her, like the exquisite hatred Rita faced from many Dexter fans. Because OMG she's just in the way and doesn't understand and is so booooring.
I've seen the fan sentiments you speak of. Rita is boring, but I see no sense in taking it out on Rita. Julie Benz is a capable actress who's doing her best to bring life to a character handed to her by lazy writers. It is interesting how television fans tend to take out their anger over limited gender roles on the characters themselves rather than the men who create them, isn't it?
I like this post a lot; though I haven't seen most of these shows, I'm pretty familiar with the phenomenon. I actually think there's a lot of overlap between Wife of the Anti-Hero and Hot But Boring; it's almost like the former is what happens when the latter is taken out of a romantic comedy and plunked into a more serious work.
I do think Betty Draper is a subversion-coloured by the fact that she's one of my favourite characters on the show. Her inner life is as well-developed as Don; she's abused, lied to, and victimized, but I think, as a character, she's much more like Kay Corleone-trapped and desperate, pacing the walls of her prison and looking for a way out. Her story is given as much narrative weight as Don's by the last season, which is difficult to see because very little happens on the surface and she's much less likable than he is. But I think she's written with the dynamic you're talking about in mind as an attempt to pick it apart.
I'm on a Burn Notice kick right now because corwin77 gave me the first two seasons on DVD. It's
( ... )
Agreed on the Hot But Boring connection. Maybe we could call her the Hot But Boring MILF?
Betty is definitely likeable and I'm rooting for her, but at the same time, what do you think her prospects of happiness and self-actualization within the world of Mad Men really are? Outside of Don, she has no real education or job skills that would transfer into a career or financial independence. Her best shot would be finding a husband who respects her and knows better than to treat her like a child. If that would be enough to keep her happy, power to her. She deserves a little happiness. But it still leaves me feeling a little flat.
Oh, I don't think she has any. But that's the point-to illustrate just how bad things were for even a privileged woman. I don't know how far you are in the series, but she does try to break free, and it does not go very well.
I think the writer of the article about the Magic Pixie Dream Girl nailed it when she said that men seek some kind of redemption or change through their interaction with these characters
( ... )
I like antiherosmssaskiaAugust 31 2010, 16:37:18 UTC
I wish more of them were female, but nooooo.
I see this as just one more thing where men are main characters and are interesting and the women in their 'lives' are just there to react to them. Meh.
Comments 18
What I particularly dislike about what frequently happens with Wife of the Anti-Hero is fannish loathing of her, like the exquisite hatred Rita faced from many Dexter fans. Because OMG she's just in the way and doesn't understand and is so booooring.
Reply
Reply
...I'm not quite caught up with Mad Men yet, but I have more hope for Betty than I do for Skylar White.
Reply
I do think Betty Draper is a subversion-coloured by the fact that she's one of my favourite characters on the show. Her inner life is as well-developed as Don; she's abused, lied to, and victimized, but I think, as a character, she's much more like Kay Corleone-trapped and desperate, pacing the walls of her prison and looking for a way out. Her story is given as much narrative weight as Don's by the last season, which is difficult to see because very little happens on the surface and she's much less likable than he is. But I think she's written with the dynamic you're talking about in mind as an attempt to pick it apart.
I'm on a Burn Notice kick right now because corwin77 gave me the first two seasons on DVD. It's ( ... )
Reply
Betty is definitely likeable and I'm rooting for her, but at the same time, what do you think her prospects of happiness and self-actualization within the world of Mad Men really are? Outside of Don, she has no real education or job skills that would transfer into a career or financial independence. Her best shot would be finding a husband who respects her and knows better than to treat her like a child. If that would be enough to keep her happy, power to her. She deserves a little happiness. But it still leaves me feeling a little flat.
Reply
Reply
Except, I hate (HAAATE) Weeds. My inner feminist wants to punch that show in the mouth as hard as it can.
I mean, LOOK AT HER. That whole show is about how bonable she is. If she wasn't fucking hot, there'd be no show.
And I'm constantly ranting about how I'm being made to feel that being fucking hot is MY JOB as a woman.
And I agree with Sabotabby about Betty Draper. I think she's a great character.
But Rita's character drives me up the wall.
Reply
Reply
I see this as just one more thing where men are main characters and are interesting and the women in their 'lives' are just there to react to them. Meh.
Reply
Leave a comment