Reactionary
Actually, just a quickie until the brain juices start flowing again.
Seattle's Viaduct Conundrum.
Good read, though the last paragraph is something I've been saying for a few years now. He's writing for a polblog, so it'll get more respect, natch.
TV's Most Hated Characters
Nothing to add, really, but I have to get specific about #3. The problem with Dawn as a character was precisely because she was treated as a McGuffin through the rest of the series, the writing staff didn't come up with anything more for her to do than "go somewhere without permission, get in trouble, wait for Buffy to bail her out"; this is best exemplified in the musical episode.
If you think my Buffy fixation is bad, for a show that's been off the air for four years, let's not talk about Lost...
posted by the beige one @ 5:37 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
(Imagine this is in italics. Isn't it just control + i?)The problem with Dawn as a character was precisely because she was treated as a McGuffin through the rest of the series.
In Defense of Dawn:
Here I go—jumping into the fray a la Beige. First, let me say that Dawn is definitely not first favorite, second favorite, or even third favorite character on Buffy. I thought/think she was an annoying little pain in the ass. However, I do not agree that she was a McGuffin (I’ll admit—I had to look that one up. On the off chance that anyone else reading is as ill-informed as I, here’s what I found. “A device or plot element that catches the viewer’s attention or drives the plot. It is generally something that every character is concerned with. The McGuffin is essentially something that the entire story is built around and yet has no real relevance. That is, it’s what the movie says it’s about, even though it really isn’t. ...”)
After season 5, Dawn supported the whole, “Slayer with friends and family” theme. This thread runs throughout the entire series, and what type of character could tie Buffy to the world better than a kid sister? Particularly in season 6 when the Buffy didn’t see the “Scoobies” (kind of hate that) in this light. Sure Dawn was annoying, but that’s kind of the point of a kid sister. Furthermore, as in almost ALL fiction, particularly, when a young woman is the hero, the mom can’t stick around. She has to die or disappear—like the dad in the hero cycle. Buffy couldn’t fully come into her own with Joyce still in the picture, but she (Buffy) still needed family. Thus—Dawn. Only a 14 year old girl could give Buff a run for her money in self absorption and woe-is-me-ism, and still be someone the slayer could love. Because of this, I see Dawn as a great foil for Buffy. After all, she was made from Buffy, and I think, in some ways, represents what Buffy would have been if she hadn’t become the slayer.
I also love the interactions between Dawn and Spike—and think that his care of/for “The niblett” (LOVE that) was super instrumental in his metamorphosis. In fact, Dawn’s scenes with Spike were some of the funnest scenes in the later episodes.
(italics here, too) the writing staff didn't come up with anything more for her to do than "go somewhere without permission, get in trouble, wait for Buffy to bail her out"; this is best exemplified in the musical episode.
Again, I think there is more going on there. At that point in the series, I think Dawn was about the only thing that Buffy could really care about—take action for.
I do think that more could have been done (how do ya like THAT passive voice) to round out Dawn’s character. The shoplifting thing was kind of stale, and the whining did get excessive. I would have liked to see her pick up the stake earlier on, but I think that in protecting and keeping Dawn from the slayage, Buffy was kind of protecting the non-slayer parts of herself.
Know who I think were McGuffins? (Can that be plural?) All those damn Slayeretts in season 7. Don’t know why, but I kind of hate those bitches.
Special to Miss Uz J: to get the italics in the comment area, you need to use the html tag for it, which'd look like [i] to start it, and use [/i] to end it, though replace the brackets with the corresponding less-than/greater-than signs. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.
Exellently done, my dear! I love how your response was actually longer than the post itself, you recent buffyhead you.
I generally agree, my disappointment in the character is that they never found anything more interesting to do with her than what you describe, especially after season 5, where her ineffectuality made a certain kind of sense.
After that, though, it was essentially a retread of the same point, over and over.
re: S7, I'd agree with the Slayerettes = McGuffin equation, though they were kinda needed for Whedon's overall statement at the end of the show...Mind you, even the First Evil barely operated above the level of McGuffin that season...
Nerds. Nerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrds!
Nerds. Nerds. Nerds. Nerds! Nerds! Nerds! NERDS! NERDS! NERDS!
Now, excuse me, I'm going back to my Ultimate X-Men. Ohhh, Scarlet Witch, you kinky vixen you.
Hey JJ,
Tell us a story about Douglas Rushkoff...
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