tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15742539.post5055206977805350723..comments2024-03-28T03:10:19.013-07:00Comments on Fraggmented: Has Whedon Changed, Or Have We Done Changed?John Seaveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07530526320973807452noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15742539.post-4640816626271224712017-09-11T21:14:43.402-07:002017-09-11T21:14:43.402-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.harada57https://www.blogger.com/profile/06015023155124017905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15742539.post-8449348124695889902016-09-29T09:39:35.570-07:002016-09-29T09:39:35.570-07:00Interesting points John. But I'd like to point...Interesting points John. But I'd like to point out a coupe of things. First, Whedon didn't create the tough women of the 1990s zeitgeist. If anything, it can be attributed to Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert.<br /><br />Xena was first seen as a character in early 1995 in Hercules. Her spin-off made its debut in September of 1995, about a year before Buffy started filming.<br /><br />In January of 1997, the USA Network show La Femme Nikita made its debut. That's about two months before Buffy was broadcast on the old WB. Obviously, both shows went into production about the same time, so I won't make the claim that Nikita inspired the WB to make Buffy. Star Trek Voyager (a show I dislike for a variety of reasons, not the least for its treatment of American Indian culture) debuted with a female captain in January of 1995.<br /><br />But I believe my larger point stands. Heroic women kicking ass on TV in the 1990s didn't start with Buffy, but Buffy was part of a slightly larger trend.<br /><br />And all the things you cite about Buffy as problematic now were cited as problematic then. I will go even so far as to say making Willow gay was meant to please fans, but was problematic. I say this because the character was originally written as hetro. In fact a plot line was built around her attraction to Xander being so strong that both cheated on their respective hetro partners.<br /><br />If you're going to have a gay teen in your show, have a gay teen. Actually show the difficulty of being gay. The fear of being outed, the fear of losing the love of friends and family. The feeling that you're a freak (though to be fair, all teens feel like freaks in one way or another). And you might get points for showing that even well-meaning people can react badly or not live up to their own words.<br /><br />And, oh by the way, don't break your arm patting yourself on the back for being a feminist and talking about being a feminist, etc. Just write well-written characters. Don't write Giles being a nerd and having Ms. Calander being the one who puts the moves on the nerd. (That's the ultimate nerd fantasy and happens like never. Also Anthony Head is way too sexy to be a nerd).<br /><br />Also, the issue of teen mass shootings and teen suicides aren't solved by Buffy yelling at Jonathan and telling him to suck it up. Treatment of mental illness and depression was beyond "gut it out" even back in the 1990s.<br /><br />As to office politics, Joss was never very good at that. David Greenwalt left Angel after season three. The reason I heard was that he asked for too much money. That may be true, but doesn't pass the smell test to me. Did he have a better paying job lined up? No. Was he in demand? Just look at the two shows he ran before Grimm. Not great hits or what you would call high prestige. Again, I don't know, but the official story sounds fishy.<br /><br />Don't get me started on how he portrayed the military. It's like all he knew about the military is what he learned from watching Dr. Stranglove.<br /><br />My point is that when you put yourself up on a high pedestal, the fall will be brutal.<br /><br />Better off just doing your best and let the work speak for itself.Jim Snoreply@blogger.com