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What show are YOU watching?
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gabrielleabelle just posted a really lovely post on fandom eyeware and the way we're all watching different shows. It's awesome, and you should all read it.In said post,
elisi linked to this really awesome article about how we're not all watching the same show. You should all read this one, too, because the rest of this post will not make sense without it.A lot of her names for the shows are hilariously awesome, and it inspired me. To share with you some of the shows that I've watched.
For instance, I'm always watching this show called the Buffy Summers Is the Coolest Person In the History of the Universe—Especially in the Later Seasons—Show and I'm also always watching the Spike Owns My Soul, So What Does He Need One of His Own For? Show. In earlier seasons, I watched the Oz Is Existentially Awesome Show and/or the Cordelia Chase Thinks It and Says It Show or the Giles is British-er Than You Show. I was also really fond of the Spike and Dawn Are Outcasts of the Universe Together Show, but that one got canceled. Thankfully, the Girls Kick Ass--Sometimes with Rocket Launchers!--Show stuck around. S7 is not only the Buffy and Spike’s Private, Beautiful Love Show but also the Andrew Wells Makes Me Laugh So Hard My Sides Ache Show and the Dawn Summers Is Cooler Than You Show.
And, of course, whenever I watch any Joss show, I'm also always watching both the the Witty Banter and Punny Quip Show and the 1000 Ways to Fail at Racial Sensitivity Show.
There was this other show I watched that was called the Veronica Mars is Smarter Than You Show (obviously), but also went by a lot of other names:
- the Logan Echolls: Snarking His Way into Television History Show (thanks, Joss!)
- the The Papa Mars Is a Badass and Should Say ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ Every Episode Show
- the Wallace Fennel Proves He Is the Greatest BFF Ever—Again! Show
- the Kendall and Cassidy Take Over the World Show (I think I may be the only one watching this one)
- the Every Line Is Quotable Show
So. Ask me about other shows-within-shows that I watched! Tell me which shows you were watching! Let's turn this into a thing! Don't leave me hanging! I'm excited!
no subject
This isn't an issue that's really made itself noticeable to me. Any chance you could just cite an example or two for my brain to ponder?
Some of my shows:
VM: Why Doesn't Weevil Get More Screentime? Show, The Keith Mars is the Best Dad Ever Show, The Duncan Is Not Worth It Show
Firefly: The Most Beautiful People Ever Show, The Why Can't We See More Zoe/Wash Private Time Show, The Zoe Says, Man Up! Show
Dollhouse: The Topher Makes Me Cry Show, The November is So Very Pretty Show, The Agent Ballard, I Love You But Get Over Your Crush Show
Supernatural: The Dean Makes Fun of Everyone Show , The Dean Wants Pie Show, The Sam Needs To Stop Being Crazy and Evil and Lame Show, The Can We Occasionally Have A Kickass Woman That Doesn't Die Show
no subject
There's the white-washed casting: Buffy is so white it's ridiculous. And the characters of color are nearly always in service of a white character's story--that's certainly the case with Kendra and the Primitive, both the Slayers Spike killed, Xander's mummy-girl girlfriend, most of the Potentials, I-can't-even-remember-his-name from "Pangs"--and/or only present in one episode (seriously, was Sunnydale High entirely white?). Then there's evil: Mr. Trick or the Shadow Men. Who're you left with? Robin Wood. And Forrest. Rona's the least likable Potential. And all the other non-white Potentials die.
Angel is set in L.A. of all places, but it's still largely white-washed, and are there any Latino characters besides Numero Cinco? It does a tad bit better on a more diverse cast: oh, look! An actual person-who-isn't-white in the main cast! But he's the least developed of all the main characters and often gets shunted to the side (which is a shame, because every once in a while J. August Richards would get to actually do something and prove that he was more than capable: he gave me shivers in the White Room in "A Hole in the World"). You've also got Gavin Park, who is awesome, but hardly a well-developed role (plus: evil).
Firefly might be worst, because even though Joss does seem to be doing better in casting the main characters, it's very disturbing the way he uses Chinese culture and makes a huuuuge deal about how it's combined with American culture to create the future and he uses geishas from the Japenese tradition and (really horribly basterdized, apparently) Chinese language, but there is one character in the show who's Asian with a speaking line...and she's a prostitute. That's cultural appropriation in its purest form.
In Dollhouse, I really don't think he thinks about the fact that it's really troubling to see another Asian girl as the sexual victim (multiple times in the show)--Asian women are always presented in a sexual context in American media. I don't think he does these things out of malice; I just really, really, really think he doesn't stop to think about racial issues at all. Clearly, he's started listening that he needs to have more diverse casts, but he doesn't really think about what that means: these wouldn't normally be enough to bring up on their own, but added to all the other ways he fails, plus the fact that it's happened twice: he has two older black men cast in the Magical Negro protect-and/or-advise-the-white-protagonists roles (plus, one of them turns out to be evil!).
Again, any of these things on their own wouldn't be worth complaining about (well, maybe the Firefly thing), but add them all up (just like on AtS, you add up all the sexist things), and you get racial insensitivity.
I was also watching the Duncan Is Not Worth It Show. And I loooove Keith Mars!
The Most Beautiful People Ever Show, The Why Can't We See More Zoe/Wash Private Time Show, The Zoe Says, Man Up! Show
Yay! We're watching the same shows!
I'm right there with you on Dollhouse, too (and can I say that I hope Miracle Laurie gets tons and tons of work so that we can see her be beautiful and show off her kick-ass acting skills all over? YES!).
OH YES! We were definitely watching the same SPNs! But I have parted ways with it....
no subject
I will say that there is one thing that I think Joss does admirably on when it comes to race issues, and that's interracial romantic relationships. While mainstream media appears to be getting better on making non-white people the center of their shows/movies/commercials, they still all SUCK at portraying positive interracial relationships. I think that America still seems to have a problem with this issue. I'm kind of convinced that if Michelle Obama was a white woman, that Barack would never have won the presidency. So I do think that this is one way in which Joss kind of excels. To break it down:
Buffy: Giles/Olivia, Buffy/Robin, Faith/Robin, Xander/One of the Slayers from the comics who's name I can't remember...
Angel: Gunn/Fred
Firefly: Zoe/Wash (One of my most favorite couples ever, PS)
Dollhouse: Sierra/Victor, Boyd/Whiskey (From what I saw during Epitaph One)
no subject
Yeah, it's not something I noticed either, to be honest. I had to have a lot of this stuff pointed out to me, which I guess just proves my own privilege.
I totally agree about the interracial romances. They aren't even commented on in his work: they're just there. I think that's fabulous, and he deserves props for that.
I think that America still seems to have a problem with this issue. I'm kind of convinced that if Michelle Obama was a white woman, that Barack would never have won the presidency. Huh. I'd never thought of that, but now that you mention it...I think you're right. Sad, sad, sad.
no subject
this is wonderful!