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Fannish thoughts.
Reading 'Mark Watches Buffy' has made me think. Actually, it was this comment by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
beer_good_foamy to my previous post which really kick-started things:
Because Mark just flails and CAPSLOCKS and keels over every time the show does something unexpected. He's only just finished 'School Hard' (money quote: HOW IS ALL OF THIS HAPPENING IN THE THIRD EPISODE?) and knowing all the twists and turns that are coming does make the reviews sort of impossible to resist - it'll be ridiculously entertaining watching him have all his expectations demolished.
But here's the thing: He's not exactly a novice when it comes to TV. The second he saw Spike & Angel interact he knew that there must be a gazillion slash fics out there. He's just not used to how BtVS operates... Which made me wonder about how I see the world (as in - TV shows), and how much I've been shaped by BtVS. I've always said that it taught me everything, which is true, but now I'm wondering what it's like for people whose formative fannish experience wasn't Buffy? Who aren't always waiting for the other shoe to drop (people are happy = HORRIBLE THINGS are about to happen); who aren't used to EVERYTHING being subverted; who aren't familiar with the fact that ANYONE could die (and on the flipside - ANYONE could come back, if necessary)...
I'm not entirely sure if this means that I'm suffering from Post-Traumatic Joss Syndrome or whether I've somehow become immune to Righteous ['You Can't DO That!'] Anger/Surprise. (I can get angry with writers, but only if the writing is bad. If they want to end the show with 'Rock Fall, Everyone Dies', then - as long as that's an ending that makes sense - I'll not complain.)
Does any of this make sense? I feel like I've got the hang of something, but I'm terrible at formulating it. I think... it's the idea that a show has to keep to a formula? And then people get upset if it doesn't. It's the constant subversion and the radical changes of Buffy that makes it so different, I guess. Nothing is static, and nothing set in stone. And that is my attitude to anything I watch. For someone to be so SURPRISED at this really just throws me...
beer_good_foamy to my previous post which really kick-started things:I'm completely hooked on Mark Watches Buffy. It's so, well, cute how he thinks he has a rough idea of where the show is going from here - and he hasn't even seen Spike and Dru, he has no idea who Giles is, he has no clue about where Willow is going, he thinks Angelus is something that happened in the past... I'm not sure if it's fannishness or sadism that's making me read these reviews, poor kid's in for a world of hurt. :D
Because Mark just flails and CAPSLOCKS and keels over every time the show does something unexpected. He's only just finished 'School Hard' (money quote: HOW IS ALL OF THIS HAPPENING IN THE THIRD EPISODE?) and knowing all the twists and turns that are coming does make the reviews sort of impossible to resist - it'll be ridiculously entertaining watching him have all his expectations demolished.
But here's the thing: He's not exactly a novice when it comes to TV. The second he saw Spike & Angel interact he knew that there must be a gazillion slash fics out there. He's just not used to how BtVS operates... Which made me wonder about how I see the world (as in - TV shows), and how much I've been shaped by BtVS. I've always said that it taught me everything, which is true, but now I'm wondering what it's like for people whose formative fannish experience wasn't Buffy? Who aren't always waiting for the other shoe to drop (people are happy = HORRIBLE THINGS are about to happen); who aren't used to EVERYTHING being subverted; who aren't familiar with the fact that ANYONE could die (and on the flipside - ANYONE could come back, if necessary)...
I'm not entirely sure if this means that I'm suffering from Post-Traumatic Joss Syndrome or whether I've somehow become immune to Righteous ['You Can't DO That!'] Anger/Surprise. (I can get angry with writers, but only if the writing is bad. If they want to end the show with 'Rock Fall, Everyone Dies', then - as long as that's an ending that makes sense - I'll not complain.)
Does any of this make sense? I feel like I've got the hang of something, but I'm terrible at formulating it. I think... it's the idea that a show has to keep to a formula? And then people get upset if it doesn't. It's the constant subversion and the radical changes of Buffy that makes it so different, I guess. Nothing is static, and nothing set in stone. And that is my attitude to anything I watch. For someone to be so SURPRISED at this really just throws me...
no subject
Oh no - the more the merrier! I love new friends! <3
But then from what you say Buffy sounds all metaphorical and symbolic and damn I love that. *Is confused*
Buffy is AWESOME! Everything I know about meta I learned from Buffy. Layers, symbolism, character arcs, foreshadowing, metaphors, continuity... I got it all from Buffy. It was the show that taught me to watch TV, if that makes sense. Yes, it pulls the rug out under stuff, yes it completely and utterly breaks people's hearts, but it feels earned. And - and this is the important bit - there are always consequences. No one stays the same. Every character grows and changes and learns and gets hurt and gets better and screws up and has to pick themselves up again and learn to live with having screwed up massively. *flaily hands* (I am not capable of being objective about this show, since it's such a part of me.) If you can cope with being stabbed in the back now and again for the sake of REALLY GOOD STORYTELLING, then give Buffy a chance.
no subject
And if the heart breaking is earned... I am so THERE. I know I did watch and enjoy it years back but I can't remember anything other than impressions as I was so young. I can deal with bad things happening and no happily ever after's as long as the story earns that :)
no subject
One of the characters actually SAYS 'There are always consequences'. It's like the watch word of the whole thing.
And if the heart breaking is earned... I am so THERE. I know I did watch and enjoy it years back but I can't remember anything other than impressions as I was so young. I can deal with bad things happening and no happily ever after's as long as the story earns that :)
\o/ S1 is... a little uneven, shall we say, but if you've coped with the wobblier episodes of Doctor Who, they shouldn't be that much of a problem. Also - Buffy is The Strong Female Character all other measure themselves against. <3