Meta on "Origin Stories" (vid) and Buffyverse's (mis)handling of CoC
Re my last post: I'm watching and re-watching Origin Stories. Practically breathless at the pairing of clips and lyrics. Astonished by the stories being told, the points of view we're given. untrue_accounts's vision shines through with giandujakiss's execution.
I don't know enough about vids to talk coherently about giandujakiss's artistic choices. All I can say is, wow. Melymbrosia chose the rap song, I believe, but giandujakiss made it work. Made it work with the clips, support the themes. The transitions between Kendra, the First Slayer, Nikki, and the Chinese Slayer are fantastic. In her commentary, she talks about using narrative to make a political argument. And she absolutely succeeds. She does such a beautiful, seamless job of telling Robin's story, and Nikki's story, and the story of the Slayers, of the Potentials.
Two details in particular that stood out:
1) The way she positioned Buffy as siding with Spike against Robin, Nikki, and the other Slayers/Potentials.
2) The way Spike (and Angel and Wesley) embody white male power over the Slayers they kill/subdue, particularly Dana in the last act.
Groundbreaking stuff.
Melymbrosia says this in her commentary: I had the line "It's Nikki Wood's fucking coat" long before I had a song or a vidder or a title.
I remember that line. I remember the debates and arguments and hot tempers that flared up after "Lies My Parents Told Me" gave us Robin's failed revenge for his mother's death. I remember feeling very strongly, not for the first, nor for last time, that the Buffyverse had failed grievously to give Characters of Colour their voice.
My interpretation was not the only interpretation, of course. It is perhaps complicated by the question of who best speaks for Nikki Wood: Robin or Buffy? The answer is: both. Robin speaks for Nikki the mother, Nikki the woman who had a life beyond slaying, who was more than just a vehicle for death, more than just an opponent for Spike to defeat. Buffy speaks for Nikki the Slayer, who believed in the mission, who put duty first because that's what was necessary, Nikki the hero.
(Of course, one could argue that nobody can speak for Nikki except Nikki. Though last week's debacle has proved that to be pretty tricky too.)
However. Though Buffy is often a beacon of female power in the face of patriarchy, I feel one can argue that she is (the text positions her as) a white woman who misunderstands, dismisses, and betrays women of colour. It happened with Kendra, it happened with the First Slayer, and it happens again with Nikki vis-à-vis Robin.
It's frustrating, because I love Buffy for being feminist. I love that we have so many stories about women. I love Buffy, period. But being progressive in one area doesn't mean being progressive in all areas. (Heck, somebody in fandom said Reality TV is better at showing diversity than genre TV, and I believe it.)
In the end, my frustration lies not in fandom's conflicting interpretations (though good Lord, I get headaches) but in the text's portrayal of Characters of Colour.
The text privileges Buffy's POV that Robin's desire for justice/vengeance is out of line and unreasonable. This POV says his personal needs must, for now, and in the end, for always, give way to the larger good (as determined by Buffy). She ignores the very real concern of Spike's unreliability and the danger he poses to the Potentials. She ignores the child of the black Slayer who was robbed by a white male. No, we can't pretend that Nikki was "just" a Slayer, and Spike was "just" a vampire, and that being colour-blind means we're making progress.
(Joss might not have intended to perpetuate the dead/evil lesbian cliché, but Tara is still dead and Willow still went evil. We can't ignore the pattern.)
The text portrays the black male as angry, aggressive, dangerous, and out of line. And, through Buffy's smackdown of Giles for his part in Robin's plot, the black male is aligned with white patriarchy (the Watchers) instead of with feminism (Nikki and the other Slayers). An interesting reading, perhaps, but one I can't agree with. While it's true Robin was raised by a Watcher, I absolutely believe that he is, above all else, his mother's son. If you'll allow: he is more black and more "child of the Slayer" than he is male and "product of the Watchers".
Finally, the text gives us a white male who takes from a black woman, who takes again from that woman's child, and who takes AGAIN from Dana, even as she explicitly embodies Nikki, Xin Rong, and all the Slayers before her.
Yes, I'm talking about Nikki Wood's fucking coat.
Yes, I'm talking about appropriation.
Yes, I'm talking about the fact that Spike continues to wear Nikki's coat, even after he finally feels the impact of the sins of his past.
Yes, I'm talking about the fact that the text makes Spike keep Nikki's coat -- for merchandising reasons, for the cool factor -- rather than return it to Nikki's family.
Yes, I'm talking about the fact that this coat is not just a coat. Hello, this is the Buffyverse. Wake up and smell the metaphor.
Waking us up: that's what this vid does. With breathtaking power.
*goes to watch again*
ETA: Dude, it's been that long?
I don't know enough about vids to talk coherently about giandujakiss's artistic choices. All I can say is, wow. Melymbrosia chose the rap song, I believe, but giandujakiss made it work. Made it work with the clips, support the themes. The transitions between Kendra, the First Slayer, Nikki, and the Chinese Slayer are fantastic. In her commentary, she talks about using narrative to make a political argument. And she absolutely succeeds. She does such a beautiful, seamless job of telling Robin's story, and Nikki's story, and the story of the Slayers, of the Potentials.
Two details in particular that stood out:
1) The way she positioned Buffy as siding with Spike against Robin, Nikki, and the other Slayers/Potentials.
2) The way Spike (and Angel and Wesley) embody white male power over the Slayers they kill/subdue, particularly Dana in the last act.
Groundbreaking stuff.
Melymbrosia says this in her commentary: I had the line "It's Nikki Wood's fucking coat" long before I had a song or a vidder or a title.
I remember that line. I remember the debates and arguments and hot tempers that flared up after "Lies My Parents Told Me" gave us Robin's failed revenge for his mother's death. I remember feeling very strongly, not for the first, nor for last time, that the Buffyverse had failed grievously to give Characters of Colour their voice.
My interpretation was not the only interpretation, of course. It is perhaps complicated by the question of who best speaks for Nikki Wood: Robin or Buffy? The answer is: both. Robin speaks for Nikki the mother, Nikki the woman who had a life beyond slaying, who was more than just a vehicle for death, more than just an opponent for Spike to defeat. Buffy speaks for Nikki the Slayer, who believed in the mission, who put duty first because that's what was necessary, Nikki the hero.
(Of course, one could argue that nobody can speak for Nikki except Nikki. Though last week's debacle has proved that to be pretty tricky too.)
However. Though Buffy is often a beacon of female power in the face of patriarchy, I feel one can argue that she is (the text positions her as) a white woman who misunderstands, dismisses, and betrays women of colour. It happened with Kendra, it happened with the First Slayer, and it happens again with Nikki vis-à-vis Robin.
It's frustrating, because I love Buffy for being feminist. I love that we have so many stories about women. I love Buffy, period. But being progressive in one area doesn't mean being progressive in all areas. (Heck, somebody in fandom said Reality TV is better at showing diversity than genre TV, and I believe it.)
In the end, my frustration lies not in fandom's conflicting interpretations (though good Lord, I get headaches) but in the text's portrayal of Characters of Colour.
The text privileges Buffy's POV that Robin's desire for justice/vengeance is out of line and unreasonable. This POV says his personal needs must, for now, and in the end, for always, give way to the larger good (as determined by Buffy). She ignores the very real concern of Spike's unreliability and the danger he poses to the Potentials. She ignores the child of the black Slayer who was robbed by a white male. No, we can't pretend that Nikki was "just" a Slayer, and Spike was "just" a vampire, and that being colour-blind means we're making progress.
(Joss might not have intended to perpetuate the dead/evil lesbian cliché, but Tara is still dead and Willow still went evil. We can't ignore the pattern.)
The text portrays the black male as angry, aggressive, dangerous, and out of line. And, through Buffy's smackdown of Giles for his part in Robin's plot, the black male is aligned with white patriarchy (the Watchers) instead of with feminism (Nikki and the other Slayers). An interesting reading, perhaps, but one I can't agree with. While it's true Robin was raised by a Watcher, I absolutely believe that he is, above all else, his mother's son. If you'll allow: he is more black and more "child of the Slayer" than he is male and "product of the Watchers".
Finally, the text gives us a white male who takes from a black woman, who takes again from that woman's child, and who takes AGAIN from Dana, even as she explicitly embodies Nikki, Xin Rong, and all the Slayers before her.
Yes, I'm talking about Nikki Wood's fucking coat.
Yes, I'm talking about appropriation.
Yes, I'm talking about the fact that Spike continues to wear Nikki's coat, even after he finally feels the impact of the sins of his past.
Yes, I'm talking about the fact that the text makes Spike keep Nikki's coat -- for merchandising reasons, for the cool factor -- rather than return it to Nikki's family.
Yes, I'm talking about the fact that this coat is not just a coat. Hello, this is the Buffyverse. Wake up and smell the metaphor.
Waking us up: that's what this vid does. With breathtaking power.
*goes to watch again*
ETA: Dude, it's been that long?