Buffy's staked - now its history is being written

[sam7777]

For me, Buffy's best legacy would be for it to be forgotten. There haven't been many articles written about either Xena or the X-files the last 2 years and their fans were as fanatic as Buffy fans. I hope that Buffy is not remembered as a gay landmark. It's use of the dead lesbian cliche and exploitative lesbian stereotypes in season severed should be remembered in any discussion of its gay portrayals.

_____________________

I see dead lesbian cliches

Edited by: sam7777  at: 5/23/03 11:33:05 am

[helpful information perha]

slate weighs in on buffy's legacy

[JJtheCool]

Quote:

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HIP mentioned: Anyone who hasn't read this article should really check it out. It's thoughtful and well-written and details very nicely why the ridiculous focus on Spike has hurt the show so badly.

Quote:

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Why Spike ruined "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Like Fonzie before him, this too-cool thug in a leather jacket has diverted a good show from its original mission: To celebrate the uncool outcasts of the world.

By Jaime J. Weinman



is posted by xita on the "A running list of media pieces on Buffy/the cliche thread" - page

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So does that mean the whole article is in that thread? 'Cause I tried to go to the source itself, and Salon apparently wants my money before I can read the article; so, I'd rather see it posted on the board somewhere.

JJtheCool

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*Sigh*

[xita]

Yeah I posted the whole thing here:



pub106.ezboard.com/ftheki...&stop=2438

[Ben Varkentine]

Entertainment Weekly online is running a lengthy "TV Winners & Losers 2003" article. Herewith, some relevant excerpts...



FOX

NO. 4 IN TOTAL VIEWERS; NO. 2 IN 18-TO-49



WHAT THEY SAID We've got a McG bling-bling actioner, a David E. Kelley chick-lawyer drama, and a new Joss Whedon sci-fi show. There -- that oughta save our tail!



WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED ''Fastlane,'' ''girls club,'' and ''Firefly'' fell flat.



WB

No. 139 ''Angel'' sank a few notches. ''I think the show was too dark and underground and serialized,'' reasons Levin, who ultimately renewed the series.



UPN

NO. 6 IN TOTAL VIEWERS; NO. 6 IN 18-TO-49



WHAT THEY SAID We've found new companions for ''Buffy'' and ''Enterprise''! And, hey, we're not in last place anymore!



WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''Haunted'' didn't stick around -- nor did 18 percent of last season's viewers. Would someone please show UPN the basement door again?

Ben



"Any frontal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always

ready to defend their most precious possession."

[Sheridan]

Quote:

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WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''Haunted'' didn't stick around -- nor did 18 percent of last season's viewers. Would someone please show UPN the basement door again?

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I suspect they will hold the winter Olympics in Hell before UPN touch another ME show.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[helpful information perha]

UPN is in the basement for sure - which could explain why joss is crawling back to WB/levin

[frumpycat]

On the buzz website. I'll just put in an excerpt (mainly what they thought was wrong with NW):





"Willow is the biggest disappointment of all, at many different levels. Whereas Giles and Xander have been all but ignored, Willow has received a few shows of her own, though not much has been done with her since “The Killer In Me”. Unfortunately, what has been done with Willow has served to undermine her more than build her up. Let me deal first with the question of Willow and her power. The theme of S7 is “power,” and I had hoped that Willow recognizing and coming to terms with her power would be an important part of the season. That has not happened. While Willow may still pull a surprise out of her bag of tricks in the series finale, at this point such an expression of power would be out of step with what has been established so far. As late as “End of Days,” Willow is still refusing to use her power. Her fear and lack of self-confidence are paralyzing her. On the one hand, this portrayal of Willow is believable – with one very big caveat, which I will get to in a moment. On the other hand, Willow’s refusal to use magic underlines something that Amy said about Willow in “The Killer in Me.” She said “Willow is weak” – and, it turns out, she was absolutely right. I am saying this without derision or contempt for Willow. Indeed, Willow’s cowardice adds another complex dimension to her character, and it is certainly understandable. However, it is also hard to admire someone who is so weak. All around her, people are dying, her friends are being maimed, and Buffy is nearly collapsing under the burden of leadership. Willow has the power to make a significant difference in all this – but she is too afraid to do anything. Indeed, we have not even seen any evidence that Willow is really trying to conquer her fear. She came back from England with some basic instruction from the coven, but we have seen little evidence that she has kept up her studies, or has even tried to practice exercises that might give her a greater degree of control over her magic. As Willow will probably be the focus of any spin-off (indeed, I suspect that she might become a Guardian) dealing with these issues may be a major concern of the future series. It’s just a shame that she has proven so useless right now. (Particularly since she is the one weapon Buffy has that can make a difference against thousands of Ubervamps – remember Willow’s idea of creating artificial sunlight in “Triangle”? That might work well against an army of super-vampires).



The caveat that I mentioned above is that the Willow who appeared just a few weeks ago in “Angel” is the polar opposite of the Willow we have seen all season in “Buffy”. When Willow restored Angel’s soul, she was confident and powerful. She called up enough power to rock the Hyperion to its foundations; she fought an elder god to a standstill. Where is that Willow, and why was she left behind in Los Angeles? Is Willow afraid of using her power in Sunnydale because of her geographical proximity to the Hellmouth? If so, can’t we just be told that? Even so, this kind of excuse would make little sense. If Willow can control powerful magic in Los Angeles, why can’t she do so in Sunnydale? This inconsistency in the portrayal of Willow is maddening.



The other area in which the portrayal of Willow has fallen down is in her relationship with JFK. In my earlier discussion of Willow/JFK, I argued that this relationship could be believable, but only if it was recognized as a rebound relationship, based upon Willow’s extreme dependence and her need for outside emotional validation. What I was most concerned about was that the writers would make it seem as though Willow was “over” Tara, especially after “The Killer In Me,” without paying proper respect for the Willow/Tara relationship or the natural process of grieving. Unfortunately, I think the writers have done exactly this. In the process, they have deeply damaged the integrity of the Willow/Tara relationship. Willow has (apparently) her first all-round sexual experience with JFK (“Touched”). Her reluctance concerning this encounter revolves entirely around her fear of losing control of her magic. In no way is it indicated that some kind of residual guilt over the speed with which she has gotten over Tara could be affecting her. In short, Tara is completely forgotten by Willow. Tara simply doesn’t register in the consciousness of the woman who was willing to destroy the world out of her grief over losing her lover. And Willow’s encounter with JFK is happening around the time of the first anniversary of Tara’s murder. In portraying the aftermath of Willow’s relationship with Tara in this way, Willow comes off looking as a person who is self-absorbed to a frightening degree. It becomes possible to argue that Willow’s grief over Tara’s death was entirely self-centered, and that all she needed was another person to allay her insecurities and flatter her in order to get over her grief. At the end of this season, in my opinion, Willow comes out looking like an emotionally-crippled coward. This is a very unfortunate – even if academically interesting – way in which to develop the character."



But the whole article is here:

www.the-buzz.com/b_7_21a.html

Pretty good reading....

Edited by: frumpycat at: 5/29/03 10:19:40 am

[tommo]

Quote:

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When Willow restored Angel’s soul, she was confident and powerful. She called up enough power to rock the Hyperion to its foundations; she fought an elder god to a standstill. Where is that Willow, and why was she left behind in Los Angeles? Is Willow afraid of using her power in Sunnydale because of her geographical proximity to the Hellmouth? If so, can’t we just be told that? Even so, this kind of excuse would make little sense. If Willow can control powerful magic in Los Angeles, why can’t she do so in Sunnydale? This inconsistency in the portrayal of Willow is maddening.

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Yes, I entirely agree with this analysis. I know I'm not the only person who liked the Willow I saw in Angel much more than the Willow who appeared throughout Season 7. It seemed horribly incongruous that in LA, a mere few hours away from Sunnydale (theoretically), Willow seemed more at ease with her magical prowess than she has through Season 7, even at the very end during the final battle. I'm not sure what went wrong with the writing here; and I'm not sure what went wrong in terms of characterisation. It certainly appeared as though Aly's interpretation of the character came so much more easily to her when appearing in a guest spot than it has done in the seventh year of her regular job.



As for the comments about JFK; I couldn't agree more. The scene in Touched, whilst it was presented in the context of the episode as one final "fling" before the big finale, it came across as contradictory in terms of what Willow had experienced before.



I remember Willow, lying sated and flushed on the bed with Tara at the beginning of Seeing Red. I'm not sure a single night of lust with JFK could eradicate the relationship she had with Tara there. Again, I'm asking myself what went wrong with the writing, or the interpretation of character. I just have no answers, and I keep coming up blank on why it seemed forced, and why the sex scene with JFK wasn't what I wanted for Willow right then.



Moving on from her relationship with Tara needn't necessarily have taken the form of throwing herself into bed with the next lesbian who came along. I didn't want Willow to be grieving for the rest of her life, but you know, I would have liked for her to acknowledge the biggest influence in her emotional development thus far, and this, of course, was Tara.



Not only did the show succeed in making Willow appear somewhat callous (along with the rest of the Scoobies), but also fickle in this respect. 22 episodes of Willow crying isn't what I particularly wanted, but then, several episodes of her jumping into a relationship with JFK wasn't what I really wanted either. It didn't seem real; it didn't seem possible and above all, it didn't seem like the Willow I'd grown to love over six and half years.



I'm also a little concerned about the message this is sending. Willow's girlfriend dies; mere months after, Willow is mackin' on the first woman who flutters her eyes. In a world where gay relationships are devalued already, there's an odd feeling I'm getting of how little gravity has been placed on Tara's death. Does this mean then, that the relationship really wasn't all that serious, if Willow can get over it so quickly? And if that's true, then are all gay relationships like that?



I know that they aren't. You know that they aren't. But I'm wondering how many other people who observed Willow's quick-change might think that they are. We're allowed to see the strands and remnants of the way Spike and Buffy feel about one another bleed into almost every episode of Season 7; we're allowed to see the tattered remains of Anya and Xander's relationship bump against one another during Season 7, but Tara, it appears, is forgotten. And the legacy of the relationship is waved away in favour of what, a pierced tongue? In my opinion, it makes a mockery of every word that the writers put into Willow and Tara's mouths that established a true and deep love between them. And that in itself is a great shame.



Oddly enough, Two To Go is showing right now on BBC2, and the scene where Dawn confronts DMW in Rack's place pretty much serves to remind me that Willow tried to destroy the world because she lost Tara. Is this really the same person who was allowing JFK free reign over her body?



Nah. It isn't.

"No cheese? Well, I brought you some. It's extra stinky." ~ New Cheese Rising

Edited by: tommo at: 5/29/03 11:14:47 am

[darkmagicwillow]

Thanks for the article, frumpycat, and excellent analysis, Ruth. You're right, it just isn't the same Willow in s7. They portrayed the grieving process better with Jenny Calendar--Giles wasn't dating anyone for over a year after her death--which makes you wonder why they did things differently with Tara.

--

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[xita]

i mean the article is right, but didn't we know this already. It didn't take watching it to know that. It is the reason why we've been calling her NOTWillow all season long.

[frumpycat]

Hey Xita,



It's just great to see mainstream press recognizing it in addition to TKTWTBW .... we'all knew but its great to see it validated by yet another source rather than all the constant fan wanking of "how great season 7 is" and "how it never lost a step.." ...why aren't articles like this coming out of the gay press?

[xita]

frumpy yeah I get that, the media getting that finally months after all wise kittens had it down as a mantra I don't get the gay press. I think they just don't care as long as someone is still there being "gay." It's very sad that there is no analysis going on. It's very simplistic in gay land.

Edited by: xita  at: 5/29/03 11:20:56 pm

[kpmuse]

Thanks for the article!

I don't get it either. What the heck is with the gay press?



Now that summer is here and we'll probably be seeing alot more of our friends, maybe we should start chatting it up.

The Gay Media has really become irrelevant, haven't they? They are not really representing us in Hollywood? Why should we continue to support (donations) them if they are unwilling to be critical in anyway. Gay Pride all the way



Maybe we can make a little difference by spreading the word about what happened on Buffy in our social circles at the beaches, gyms, concerts, everywhere this summer to write our favorite gay media outlets about this and stop sending the money until we see a change out of GLAAD, Advocate, AfterEllen, Out Magazine, etc.



Let's let Scott Seomin know that Tara wasn't just "any character" and this ought to be part of the legacy too!

[tommo]

I'm afraid that, for the gay press, or at least, what I've seen of it, Tara in fact does seem to be "just another gay tv character". Perhaps they don't "get it" after all their bluster about wanting to see more gay characters on television.

"No cheese? Well, I brought you some. It's extra stinky." ~ New Cheese Rising

[Sheridan]

As afar as I can see the Gay press has an attitude of 'never mind the quality look at the quantity.' I wonder if the NAACP would be happy if there were a thousand black faces on TV but they were all hookers, pimps, or drug dealers?



Edited to add:

I wonder if they are aware of the Jasmine thing. I mean Cordy and Connor produce her as the big bad? Is Joss just trying to annoy every minority except Spike fans?

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 5/30/03 11:16:54 am

[Ben Varkentine]

I've written a review for Ink 19 of that JW biography, "The Genius Behind Buffy." If anyone's interested, a little later I'll post my "uncut" version of the review, but for now, here's where you can find the published version:



ink19.com/



Hope you like it--please feel free to spread it around to other Buffy sites (and let me know if you do).



ETA: Yes, I've already told Slayage--and thanks, Bob.

Ben



"Any frontal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always

ready to defend their most precious possession."

Edited by: Ben Varkentine at: 5/30/03 1:25:58 pm

[BBOvenGuy]

Works for me, Ben. Great job!

"The first task of anyone, lest you get canceled, is to entertain people, because they ain't there for message." - Dick Wolf

[WebWarlock]

Ben,



You mean there is a harsher version?



You should post this to Amazon's review page for this book.

www.amazon.com/exec/obido...932100008/



Excellent really.



Warlock

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Web Warlock

The Other Side,
home of Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

"There has to be an invisible sun. It gives its heat to everyone.

There has to be an invisible sun. That gives us hope when the whole day's done." - The Police Invisible Sun

[tommo]

Great review, Ben. I've seen this book advertised and haven't even contemplated it because it appeared, like so many of its kind, to be mainly ass-kissing and not much else. Now, when a real biography of Joss is released, then maybe I'll read that. But not this.



Thanks for posting that, Ben. Much appreciated

"No cheese? Well, I brought you some. It's extra stinky." ~ New Cheese Rising

[Ben Varkentine]

Warlock,



I dunno if it's any harsher, but there's a longer version. I cut it down at the suggestion of one of the other Ink 19 editors, who thought it was overlong and that the point was more than made clear.



ETA: I visited the Amazon page and posted a yet-shorter version of the review.



Thanks,

Ben



"Any frontal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always

ready to defend their most precious possession."

Edited by: Ben Varkentine at: 5/30/03 5:57:08 pm

[kajo 2000]

Ben Varkentine: just to let you know, that a link to your review is now up at Slayage.com.





Edited to add: just checking around the various boards, I see that the review is being discussed at Whedonesque, Spoiler Crypt, Converse Buffyverse and the Bloody Awful Poet Society.

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"I want to be Byron... because I want to date young boys." Amber Benson

Edited by: kajo 2000 at: 5/31/03 8:23:38 am