Possibly the funniest thing Mark has written so far...

[elisi]

I REALLY LIKE WESLEY A LOT, EVEN WHEN HE’S FIRM WITH BUFFY LATER. LIKE, THE GUY IS JUST DOING HIS JOB, AND I DON’T BLAME HIM FOR DOING SO. UGH, COULD HE NOT DIE? I WANT TO EXPLORE HIS CHARACTER SO MUCH MORE. PLEASE GIVE ME ONE GOOD THING, JOSS WHEDON.

I'm going to quote this back at him at some point during S3 of AtS... probably just after Angel has tried to smother him. *perky smile*

(That is, presuming he manages to tone stuff down a little - I'm not sure how much more I can take. I don't mind the hyperbole or the flailing, but the capslocks are just exhausting to read...)

Comments

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

He's just... uncurious? (Don't know if that's a word, but it fits.) And I just can't cope with that. ETA: Actually, this ties in with the uneducated bit, I think? Because he just doesn't KNOW so much of classic literature (certainly not the English stuff). LotR is a constant SURPRISE to him (Ents were a new and shocking thing that he'd never expected) - I don't think he's ever read Narnia either. Where the vocabulary/understanding of fantasy should be there's just a void.

Agree. I get that as well. And incredibly self-involved, granted everyone is to one degree or another - hard not to be - and blogging can emphasize that - but it feels as if he can't see past himself. And doesn't really want to. And it doesn't appear that he interacts with the commentators that much. I could be wrong - I admittedly don't read much of the comments.

The uncurious bit...there's no hint of intellectual curiousity, no questioning of his own perspective. And like you, I just can't cope with that. I know he went to college...but, he writes as if he didn't.

He takes things at face value - I really think that's the key

True. Although to be fair most people that I've met offline take television shows at face value. Heck, most of the Entertainment Magazines do. EW's certainly did. They really don't look at them critically or deeply. Mark is pretty much your average viewer and popular television critic/blogger.

Never know, he might love Double Meat Palace - anything is possible at this junction. Although I predict that FFL will make a HUGE impression and put him firmly in Spike's corner for a long while.

I agree. I actually think he'll love Doublemeat Palace. That's right up his alley. I know a lot of people who loved that episode.

And yes, Fool For Love will make him like Spike. He'll fall for Poet William.

And he still seems to be so... shocked by everything? It's just odd. Or carefully tailored.

It feels carefully tailored to me. And I may be wrong, but I'm guessing Mark has a marketing degree. He used to work for Buzznet - which is marketing. And he clearly has an awareness of how to market things...that is evident if you know anything about internet marketing. (My brother has his own internet marketing business.) He's great at marketing his site, he knows how to do it. I have another online friend who is a freelance writer and has done websites, with a theater/film criticism Masters Degree and a BA, who is struggling with the marketing bit. He's a much better writer, brighter, etc, but he doesn't know how to market it. Same with another friend, a Supreme Court lawyer, who is highly educated, he too has a site discussing Buffy - but no knowledge regarding marketing.

Americans with marketing degrees generally speaking aren't...how to put this? They aren't necessarily intellectuals or intellectually curious. (There are exceptions.) It's a business degree, you can go through school and skip a lot of English Lit courses and history courses. My brother talks about how little he had of certain disciplines such as history, philosophy, literature...and has had to teach himself. And many of the people I've met with degrees in Communications or Marketing - really aren't that well-rounded. It's a big problem. Because it is a popular field that a lot of people go into - a fast and easy degree. It also explains why a lot of the people chatting on twitter, facebook and the social media sites come across as...somewhat uneducated. They went to college, they got a degree - but it was in marketing. You don't have to read Shakespeare to get a marketing degree.

[elisi]

Agree. I get that as well. And incredibly self-involved, granted everyone is to one degree or another - hard not to be - and blogging can emphasize that - but it feels as if he can't see past himself. And doesn't really want to.
Glad that it's not just me who feels this way. RTD at one point talks about Donna 'pivoting everything around herself', and it's such a marvellous phrase that it got stuck in my head - and is very apt here, I think. Not that there's anything *wrong* with that (we all do it), but I don't think he realises it?

And it doesn't appear that he interacts with the commentators that much. I could be wrong - I admittedly don't read much of the comments.
I skim them now and again, but I've never seen him.

The uncurious bit...there's no hint of intellectual curiousity, no questioning of his own perspective. And like you, I just can't cope with that. I know he went to college...but, he writes as if he didn't.
Certainly his literary back-ground is not so much. Which is a shame. (Of course his upbringing is probably to blame for this.) But it makes him difficult to read.

True. Although to be fair most people that I've met offline take television shows at face value. Heck, most of the Entertainment Magazines do. EW's certainly did. They really don't look at them critically or deeply. Mark is pretty much your average viewer and popular television critic/blogger.
Oh absolutely. But he could do it in a more erudite fashion. Most people don't speak in capslocks half the time.

I agree. I actually think he'll love Doublemeat Palace. That's right up his alley. I know a lot of people who loved that episode.
I think anyone who's worked at that sort of place tends to LOVE it, because it's so accurate.

And yes, Fool For Love will make him like Spike. He'll fall for Poet William.
As well he should. That episode is flawless.

They went to college, they got a degree - but it was in marketing. You don't have to read Shakespeare to get a marketing degree.
Mmmmmm. Lots of nodding along to your marketing thoughts. (Am too tired to go into more detail... But thank you for sharing - I always like your perspective.)