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BtVS Season 9: Does it have to mean something?
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Hmm... infamous Buffy phrase as title?
Anyway, a stab at rationalizing that the Buffy comics might have something buried deep down that's more than disposable fluff. Call it fanwanking (because it is!) but what's a girl to do?
So tilt your head a little and squint really, really hard and maybe (with a little tugging and pulling)...
The theme is Buffy has to find herself, so the plot made it a literal search.
She has to find herself in a paternalistic society which currently is passing all sorts of nonsense with rationales that young women don't understand their own choices so we'll legislate things in her body to help 'show her.' It's all to help, y'know. Without their help she might not understand what she's doing (see the paternalism in the legislation?) That's why they can vote that it's far more important for an employer to have the right to choose what's included in a woman's prescription coverage than it is for the woman to have that choice (paternalism again.) After all it's at the behest of the church bishops (so...literal paternalism, then since priests are 'fathers' and all.) And why Wisconsin can repeal 'equal pay for equal work' legislation. (That's ...well that's not actually paternalistic. That just stupid and discriminatory.) And I realise this stuff all passed recently but the bills and the culture that has led to the mindset, attitude, and the concepts that produce such things has been percolating for a very long time.) So Joss does what Joss does, he finds a metaphor (or a reductive cartoon. Your choice on how to view it).
Buffy is struggling to make her way in the world and to figure out what she wants for herself (inartfully perhaps, but it's still her life after all. She can make her own choices.), and some guy decides to 'protect' her. Y'know, for her own good. (Where have I seen that before? Oh! Hi, Twangel! ) In the process she's metaphorically roofied and date raped (but it was for her own good! [/snark]). Loses control of her own body (but it was just to protect her!). Loses control of a decision that she thought was hers to make (but, see, it actually wasn't. She only thought that it was.)In exchange for all of this, the guy has given her the illusion of the ideal traditional dream.
See, he gave her a beautiful house and pearls! Infinite free time! A gorgeous kitchen! Yeah, it's rather fake as she wasn't actually given a choice in the matter, but it is the paternalistic traditional concept of 'ideal' (and Buffy isn't immune to its allure...having been raised to see this as at least one kind of desirable ideal. She sees what's attractive in it. The problem isn't the lifestyle or its version of 'ideal' however. The real problem here is that she wasn't given any choice in the matter. Heck, neither was OtherBuffy. Other Buffy isn't living this life because she chose it. It was chosen for her... them. You know what I mean. Heck, not just chosen but given (or rather forced since there was no consent) By a man. For her own good. Of course.
It isn't really a shock that it's been bestowed on her by a 'benevolent' man trying to take care of her and not really understanding how literally taking the choice out of her hands is hurtful, paternalistic, and wrong. Maybe she wants that ideal... or maybe she doesn't. That's not the point. The point is that it's her choice to make and she wasn't allowed the opportunity to make it.
However, the guy thought he was being the 'good guy'. That he was playing hero and was 'protecting her.' And look what he gave her! The picture perfect life (paging Betty Draper and her feminine mystique ennui!) What's the problem? (A lot actually, since she had no agency in how this came about).
Now this could've been intentional or they could have hit on this by happenstance. And I'm not saying it has been well executed (come on. Look at the comics as a whole. Nothing new in that). Or that any of the logistics make sense (well.. that's just Whedon). It's all been played very fast and loose. I'm just saying that if you squint and tilt your head you can see a trenchant metaphor here (successfully planned and executed or not.) That and it's somewhat disheartening that 12 year old Arya Stark has a better grasp of this than 20-something Buffy.
:
Now back to standard Buffy comic mock-mode. :D
Hmm... infamous Buffy phrase as title?
Anyway, a stab at rationalizing that the Buffy comics might have something buried deep down that's more than disposable fluff. Call it fanwanking (because it is!) but what's a girl to do?
So tilt your head a little and squint really, really hard and maybe (with a little tugging and pulling)...
The theme is Buffy has to find herself, so the plot made it a literal search.
She has to find herself in a paternalistic society which currently is passing all sorts of nonsense with rationales that young women don't understand their own choices so we'll legislate things in her body to help 'show her.' It's all to help, y'know. Without their help she might not understand what she's doing (see the paternalism in the legislation?) That's why they can vote that it's far more important for an employer to have the right to choose what's included in a woman's prescription coverage than it is for the woman to have that choice (paternalism again.) After all it's at the behest of the church bishops (so...literal paternalism, then since priests are 'fathers' and all.) And why Wisconsin can repeal 'equal pay for equal work' legislation. (That's ...well that's not actually paternalistic. That just stupid and discriminatory.) And I realise this stuff all passed recently but the bills and the culture that has led to the mindset, attitude, and the concepts that produce such things has been percolating for a very long time.) So Joss does what Joss does, he finds a metaphor (or a reductive cartoon. Your choice on how to view it).
Buffy is struggling to make her way in the world and to figure out what she wants for herself (inartfully perhaps, but it's still her life after all. She can make her own choices.), and some guy decides to 'protect' her. Y'know, for her own good. (Where have I seen that before? Oh! Hi, Twangel! ) In the process she's metaphorically roofied and date raped (but it was for her own good! [/snark]). Loses control of her own body (but it was just to protect her!). Loses control of a decision that she thought was hers to make (but, see, it actually wasn't. She only thought that it was.)In exchange for all of this, the guy has given her the illusion of the ideal traditional dream.
See, he gave her a beautiful house and pearls! Infinite free time! A gorgeous kitchen! Yeah, it's rather fake as she wasn't actually given a choice in the matter, but it is the paternalistic traditional concept of 'ideal' (and Buffy isn't immune to its allure...having been raised to see this as at least one kind of desirable ideal. She sees what's attractive in it. The problem isn't the lifestyle or its version of 'ideal' however. The real problem here is that she wasn't given any choice in the matter. Heck, neither was OtherBuffy. Other Buffy isn't living this life because she chose it. It was chosen for her... them. You know what I mean. Heck, not just chosen but given (or rather forced since there was no consent) By a man. For her own good. Of course.
It isn't really a shock that it's been bestowed on her by a 'benevolent' man trying to take care of her and not really understanding how literally taking the choice out of her hands is hurtful, paternalistic, and wrong. Maybe she wants that ideal... or maybe she doesn't. That's not the point. The point is that it's her choice to make and she wasn't allowed the opportunity to make it.
However, the guy thought he was being the 'good guy'. That he was playing hero and was 'protecting her.' And look what he gave her! The picture perfect life (paging Betty Draper and her feminine mystique ennui!) What's the problem? (A lot actually, since she had no agency in how this came about).
Now this could've been intentional or they could have hit on this by happenstance. And I'm not saying it has been well executed (come on. Look at the comics as a whole. Nothing new in that). Or that any of the logistics make sense (well.. that's just Whedon). It's all been played very fast and loose. I'm just saying that if you squint and tilt your head you can see a trenchant metaphor here (successfully planned and executed or not.) That and it's somewhat disheartening that 12 year old Arya Stark has a better grasp of this than 20-something Buffy.
:
Now back to standard Buffy comic mock-mode. :D
no subject
Now back to standard Buffy comic mock-mode. :D
Perhaps the saddest lot of it all is what you just said? Is probably what they're going for. Thing is they completely stab themselves in the foot by making it all the way of the world, but the justified way of the world. It's all basically saying that it sucks...but it's also true as they've written the characters. The subversion actually turns into confirmation by doing this. Andrew? And Kenny and Twangel, really? We're supposed to say "You rascally boys!" and then forget about it and just oh, by-the-by, you had it coming anyway.
Smacks of an article in a magazine the other week where a columnist described why men have an entitlement problem when it comes to women and how on all the shows/movies/books/games, eventually the geek/unattractive guy gets the girl or gets over the girl and smacks her down. All well and good to point this out. The guy then goes on to say how that's not really his fault he behaves that way. That's basically what the comics do. What they (might) have set up as some kind of subversion just turns into propaganda.
no subject
Seriously, that's Joss all over. He likes to lob the criticism, but he's so wrapped up in being paternal in his feminism that of course the only paternalism he can grasp is the really obvious kind not the insidiousness of those reassuring 'good intentions'. Andrew and Angel are forgiven because well... they meant well. (I wish there was an eyerolling emoticon).
no subject
Andrew and Angel are forgiven because well... they meant well.
Exactly. In the midst of it all they still play on Angel jokes, which itself would suggest how seriously they think that storyline was, and Buffy tacitly praising Andrew's ability to set up a so-called ideal life.
It comes off to me as, as you said elsewhere, blatant paralleling with Twangel and not in a good way. More like saying 'Come on, wasn't really *that* bad, was it?'
And she'll forgive him just as she'll forgive Angel. Book it.