Two of my favorite things: feminism and Whedon shows

[lirazel]

Via a recent link on whedonesque, I stumbled across a series at meloukhia.net about feminism and Joss Whedon's shows. The one linked to on whedonesque is on Dollhouse, and is a bit disappointing--it opens arguments without really exploring them, to be honest. But some of the older articles are worth checking out.

Like this one on sex and punishment on Joss's shows--not anything that hasn't been said before, but still, nice to see someone examining it again.

But I really, really like this two part exploration of how Angel is really pretty antifeminist. It especially delves into Cordelia's character and hints at how it was destroyed (I still want to yell "WTF, JOSS?" about that one), and it had one especially insightful quote I wanted to share.

We see a recurring theme with Cordelia: she is not allowed control of her body, because her body “needs” to be used by others. Yes. I had never, ever noticed this before (probably mostly because I got into Angel before I really learned how to read texts from a feminist perspective), but it is so, so true. From demon pregnancies to visions forced on her against her will to having her body stolen from her to be the vessel of Jasmine, poor Cordy is never allowed to be Cordy for very long before her body is stolen from her again. Since she's far and away my favorite character on that show (with Gunn in a close second), and since I love her so hardcore on Buffy, where she's always HBIC, this still makes me bitter.

And then Fred goes through the same thing! It's troubling, and not something I'd thought about on a conscious level, even if I would have told you that Angel isn't exactly a feminist show.

On the other hand, the second part includes some truly great moments for women on Angel and also has some love for Lilah, who I think is just an incredibly fabulous character in every way.

I don't agree with all her points in all the articles (obviously), but still, there's some interesting stuff going on all of them. I really appreciate that she's examining all this from the point of view of a fan who still sees problematic aspects of shows she loves (just like me!).

ALSO: Go vote for Buffy here! Because River is beating her, and we can't have that! As much as I love River, Buffy is my hero.

[ETA] While we're on the topic of Joss-criticism, I thought I'd throw out this link, too, since it's someone who is far more knowledgeable than I am calling him out about something else that's really bothered me about his shows.

Comments

[that-september.livejournal.com]

Ahh, the last link. :\

I started watching Firefly with my Chinese-American/ABC friend whose family is fluent in Mandarin, and that was always one of her main comments: THEY'RE NOT SPEAKING CHINESE! Apparently, the only one close enough to having the right accent was Inara.

I also noticed the distinct lack of Asians in the cast, though for some reason, I think I always assumed the Tams were half Asian. The author of that article was making several really good points, but it always bothers me when I don't necessarily notice stuff like that for myself outright. I love Firefly so much that I wonder if sometimes I just let myself overlook details like that?

ETA: About the 'not-speaking Chinese' thing...it occurs to me that while it may have SOUNDED like gibberish, they did attempt to learn how, and speaking as a Westerner who has tried to learn Chinese, it really is exceedingly difficult. The accent has to be absolutely precise, and when they're trying to throw phrases into everyday conversation like that, I'd imagine it'd be pretty hard to get it perfect. It's not at all an excuse for the lack of East Asians in the cast, but it's something.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It's been a hard experience for me getting to the point where I can admit the shows that I love so much (and that, honestly, form part of my identity) can be deeply flawed.

That's really fascinating that you've been watching it with your friend and hearing her thoughts. And I'm not one to complain overly much about them messing up the accent if they were genuinely trying.

But I do find the lack of East Asians disturbing, though, like you, I didn't really notice it when I was watching on my own. Someone had to point it out for me. But once they did, it becomes overwhelming. It's even more hurtful because of the tons of Asian actors out there who would have loved to have been cast in such a role. Plus, there's the fact that Joss seems obsessed with the east in an Orientalizing sort of way--exoticizing it without understanding it--and that he seems to deeply associate it with women and sex (Inara and Companions, Sierra and being constantly sexually victimized, etc.).

I think you should check out this vid. It's the first thing that really raised my awareness of this issue. Plus, it's one of the few vids that really prompted a reaction in me other than "Oooh! Pretty! Great music!"

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

I was a bit disappointed by not seeing more Asian characters on the show... but I thought that several of the main cast, at least, looked like they could be of mixed heritage (the Tams, as you said... but also Inara and Zoe), which it seems like would be more common than finding people strictly of one race or another, that far into a future where mankind has been transplanted to another system.

I always thought it was rather brave, or perhaps foolhardy, of Joss to pick Chinese as one of the two major languages... considering exactly how hard it is to get right!

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

I agree with you that that does seem like it would be more common, but I guess I'm more concerned about the real world implications of the casting than anything else. Think of all those talented Asian actors out there who will never be cast! And here was the perfect opportunity to do so--and Joss totally dropped the ball.

And if Simon and River were supposed to be mixed, then why couldn't he actually cast mixed-race actors instead of very, very European ones? Or at least in side roles?


I always thought it was rather brave, or perhaps foolhardy, of Joss to pick Chinese as one of the two major languages... considering exactly how hard it is to get right! Ha! True!