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Icon meme.
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red_satin_doll gave me the following icons to talk about...1)
longlongtime by sdwolfpup
One of my very, very first icons. The text 'they felt like they'd lived a long, long time' is adapted from the book Wesley reads to Fred in AHiTW, the scene cutting to Spike and Angel:
She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face. It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven. The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to. She felt as if she had lived a long, long time.
So it's an icon I use when I want to focus on the age and history of Spike & Angel - or when I need a beautiful icon of a tree. I love how small they are in relation to it, and how you need to know the show in order to understand what the image is about.
2)
It's a good fandom by killmebecomemememe
Pretty much what it says on the tin. One of those 'I like my show' statements, which beautifully illustrates that just because it deals with a lot of problematic issues doesn't mean that it doesn't know right from wrong. Buffy might not be perfect, but neither is real life...
3)
Smile Fan by buttersideup
Now this one is one I picked up specifically because back in the day there were a lot of people who were angry about the very end of the show. Why did the Scoobies banter when so many had died? Why did Buffy smile when she'd just lost Spike? However, I always loved the smile, loved the fact that Buffy was free, that Spike's final gift to her was herself and her future, unfettered by destiny. She could live, again. (Also see Forget-me-not by
the_royal_anna)4)
Everything is connected by me
This one's... complicated. It's the cover of a Doctor Who tie-in novel. But not in the conventional sense - it's a book that appears in the show (written by one of the characters), but it is now a real book that you can buy and read (I'm currently reading it as a bedtime story to my two younger daughters, as it's a children's book). The book itself deals with a lot of the imagery and symbolism in the show (Moffat Who is all mirrors, dear god), but even more than that, the new paperback version has a new introduction, which ties in directly with one of the current (major) plot-lines. So - everything is connected. Kate Webster is a fictional character (in a book), created by another fictional character (on a TV show), and her adventures are referenced on the TV show... Stories within stories within stories. It's a maze and I love it.
5)
Don't Mess with River Song by meathiel
My 'corresponding' icon on DreamWidth is this one, which I sort of like better, but they both do the same thing of neatly pointing out River's total and utter bad-assery. The icon is from S5, so at the time I didn't even know *why* she was so amazing - she just was. Mostly people should heed the warning on the icon, as no one lasts long if they come up against River. (River > known universe + all the rest)
6)
Time(Lords) can be rewritten by kathyh
This one is one I asked Kathy to make for me. It draws on the line 'Time can be rewritten' (Doctor Who is a show about time travel, and they explore all the possibilities in great detail), but applies it to the Doctor himself, as a lot of people had trouble adjusting to the differences between Ten and Eleven. So it's an icon I use when I need to highlight the differences between them, and how things have changed. And how that's OK. (The image comes from an official poster. I especially like Ten's seriousness, and Eleven's smile.)
7)
S7 love by cleapet (not sharable)
As one of the people to set up
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lateseasonlove (a shelter for those who liked the later seasons of Buffy and wanted a safe place), it's no surprise that I am fond of S7. Not that I am not enamoured of the dysfunctional nature of S6, but S6 is only half the story - it needs the relative calm of S7 to balance it. S6 breaks everything, and S7 puts in back together. Where Spike and Buffy burned and blazed in S6, in S7 they talk, they connect, they acknowledge that their bonds run far deeper than Buffy has been willing to admit until then - and she finally gives rather than takes. No love (not until the end) but something more important at that time: Trust, respect, belief. So yes, S7 has my heart, and I asked to be able to use this icon (which was made specifically for someone else), and was granted permission.
no subject
I am always very very happy to pimp that one.
I think, oddly enough, there's more (male) gay couples than lesbians. Dunno why.
I don't know why either except - I suspect it's still a numbers thing: statistically there are more men in charge at the studios, more men who greenlight projects, whose projects are chosen, more men in the writers rooms and the director/producers chairs. Some of them are of course going to be gay.
And for all the claims of LGBT "community" - my personal experience esp in North Carolina in the '90's was that many of the same sorts of difficulties and misunderstandings existed between gay men and lesbian women as between straight men and women. We're supposed to be "one big happy" but - we all have our prejudices. Gay men are not necessarily any more comfortable with women than straight men; many gay organizations and publications are dominated by men. there are still hierarchies based on gender within the gay community, just as their are of class and race.
no subject
I can see why!
I don't know why either except - I suspect it's still a numbers thing: statistically there are more men in charge at the studios, more men who greenlight projects, whose projects are chosen, more men in the writers rooms and the director/producers chairs. Some of them are of course going to be gay.
Uh-huh. Which ties in with what you talk about below - just because a man is gay, doesn't mean that he likes women, or gay women. People of one minority as perfectly capable of turning on another. (Also see 'Derailing for Dummies.)
But let's hope things change!
no subject
That and my "Ted" meta are the two things I've written that I'm proudest of so far (at least on my LJ); Ted is better written and a true "essay" of course; the other is more about feelings (and it's meant to be an intro to the series I have yet to begin posting....bad fangirl, no biscuit!) So they serve somewhat different purposes but both are grounded by a political subtext and are both "me" in an essential way. Put the two together and - that's basically a lot of who I am as a person.
People of one minority as perfectly capable of turning on another. (Also see 'Derailing for Dummies.)
Yes, exactly! And one sees that all the time; that's how "the paradigm" works (the actual political or religious system is unimportant). I read an Esquire article in the '80's about David Duke, the former KKK member who successsfully won a seat in the US House of Representatives representing Louisiana; in the article he was talking to very poor white farmers about how all their problems could be traced to black people. We're all encouraged to turn against those who are "below" us, taught that we're in competition for a limited amount of goodies (wealth etc) with one another; rather than looking at the way power and goods are unevenly distributed and questioning the people who hold real power.
When the gay marriage amendment was rescinded by popular vote in California a few years back, there was a LOT of noise from the gay community - those who had media access btw, i.e. primarily white, middle-class, college educated - about the fact that 70% of black voters voted to rescind the amendment and that became a focus - rather than the fact that the black vote was in fact a minority of voters and that a LOT of funding came from the Catholic and Mormon churches, which encourged overturning the amendment.
there's been a definite lack of reaching out, education and making inroads (which you can't force) and expecting any minority group to do the "reaching out".
And in the '80's and '90's I saw tv show after show (Law & Order f.ex.) where a one-off black character was portrayed as more racist than the white regulars; the reasons for the anger of black characters wasn't taken into consideration, beyond "they were unreasonable and needed to open their minds" WTF?
But let's hope things change!
I do oh I do. and I know they are. But, slowly. Maybe I'm becoming more aware of it all over again (I was quite the activist in my twenties when I was first coming out, the usual burst of anger and enthusiasm we go through finding ourselves and "announcing" ourselves to the world) because my sweetie and I are aging, and the laws and prohibitions that were a bit abstract 20 years ago are less so now.
I'm often amazed by what states in the US pass gay marriage laws (a term I hate, btw - it's legal marriage equality, not some special, secondary form of "marriage") New Jersey has it, the state I live in has it (most of New England has it - but not Rhode Island which has a sizeable gay presence and population esp in Providence.) Spain has it - SPAIN? Really? Mostly Catholic Spain?
no subject
I always forget I've been around for a long time! I still so vividly remember being The New Kid... Anyway, you're welcome.
We're all encouraged to turn against those who are "below" us, taught that we're in competition for a limited amount of goodies (wealth etc) with one another; rather than looking at the way power and goods are unevenly distributed and questioning the people who hold real power.
Uh-huh. It's not nice. Hopefully people will soon realise that gay marriage (to take the most obvious example) will not magically cause straight marriages to collapse [more than they already are! *g*].
rather than the fact that the black vote was in fact a minority of voters and that a LOT of funding came from the Catholic and Mormon churches, which encourged overturning the amendment.
Ooooh, I remember that. (I've been reading Andrew Sullivan since 2008. He covers *everything* re. gay marriage!)
there's been a definite lack of reaching out, education and making inroads (which you can't force) and expecting any minority group to do the "reaching out".
I think it's the ordinary people that'll make the biggest difference. Because people will realise that they all know someone who's gay, and hopefully at some point they'll connect the fact of 'their friend/family member who is gay' to the wider community, and understand that the big scary hordes are all like the people they know - normal, and just wanting a normal life.
the reasons for the anger of black characters wasn't taken into consideration, beyond "they were unreasonable and needed to open their minds" WTF?
Have you read Obama's book? (Dreams from my father) He talks about how he always took great care not to seem threatening, how people would get nervous around 'the young black man' even if he did absolutely nothing...
because my sweetie and I are aging, and the laws and prohibitions that were a bit abstract 20 years ago are less so now.
I can understand that. But - from where I am, which is far away, admittedly - things seem to be changing at a faster rate?
Spain has it - SPAIN? Really? Mostly Catholic Spain?
The pope is from a country where gay marriage is legal. Things they are a-changing...