it's about power. who has it, and who doesn't

[orangerful]

This was my Sunday reading today. We drove up to Baltimore for Syl's violin recital so I needed something to do while we waited for that to start.

I managed to read two essays "It's about power and it's about women": Gender and the Political Economy of Superheroes in Wonder Woman and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Confliced Hybridity: Negotiating the Warrior Princess Archetype in Willow. Both of them were really well written. The first examined the roller coaster ride that has been Wonder Woman in the comics. Starting out as a feminist character, then getting reworked to be less powerful, then picked up again to be the feminist character...then smacked down *again*. Then the reboot with the New 52 where they made her super violent in a way that didn't really jive with the original vision of Wonder Woman, worrying that be making her more reactive (i.e. stabbing people with broken bottles) she loses something of the original mission of the character. Parallel to that was the story of Buffy and how she managed to stay this strong character through-out though part of that might have been her "normalness" otherwise. She's petite, white, heterosexual, blonde, pretty -- the author wasn't saying these are bad things, but pointing out how having her be this way allowed her to sort of quietly slay her way into the hearts of people that might not think they are ready for a strong female character (and then the author talks about how after being subtle for 4 years, the writers realized they could be more open about the feminist side of the show, and then how it all continues into the comics). It was a short quick read, but really good!

The second essay really helped me understand some of the things in Willow that just never sit quite right with me. And now I get it - mostly Ron Howard missed the point of Sorsha's character. It's not 100% his fault, but it's clear from interviews that his focus was on Willow and MadMartigan's journey, which is sad because I think Sorsha's story is far more interesting (and so did the author of this essay). She points out just a couple of scenes that could have been included in the story that would have made Sorsha a stronger character without having her suddenly disappear after she kisses MadMartigan.

15 minutes until Game of Thrones!!! We had a late lunch at Red Robin and I feel like I'm still not really hungry but I'm thinking maybe some popcorn would hit the spot...

Comments

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

Those sound like great essays, I love that kind of book!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Me too, they are my crack. I actually collect Whedon-related academia books so my Mom got this for me because of the Buffy article. :)

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

Cool! I loved loved loved Our Vampires, Ourselves. I don't remember if there was a Buffy essay in it.

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

oooh, I want to read that first one. Sounds super interesting.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

It really was. Made me think about Wonder Woman a whole different way, if only to see that she keeps falling into the wrong hands!!!

[twissie.livejournal.com]

Oh neat, this sounds like an interesting essay collection. I'll check it out if I have the chance :)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

So far, so good. There are also articles on Mad Men, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Star Trek: Voyager, and Lost Girl, to name just a few. It was just published this year so new stuff yay!

I should write up a list of my favorite essay books like this. I do love reading academic takes on pop culture.

[rhoda-rants.livejournal.com]

Don't even get me STARTED on the fucking New 52. Ugh, ugh, ugh. That mess is probably what started me down the "Maybe I should quit DC altogether and just declare myself a Marvel Girl" path I'm on currently.

ETA: Oh, and clearly I need to check out this book! It sounds amazing.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it sounds like the writers completely missed the point of Wonder Woman and equality. Equality does not mean everyone is the same. We want to be *treated* the same way, but women are not men and men are not women...I don't feel like I'm saying this right. Part of me wants to read the comics just to properly complain about them haha.

And, yes, check out this book, I'm enjoying it so far. Nerd 'nip for sure!

[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

That looks interesting. Is that book a pat of a series? My brother brought me a Buffy essay book that looks like it's got a very similar cover design. He picked it up at an academic conference.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I don't think so? Probably just that books published by academic presses don't have the money to spend on getting the rights to photos for the covers LOL. This was published by Rowman & Littlefield, so if yours has the same publisher, then maybe!

...which book do you have??

[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

Different publisher, I have this one: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/F/bo16817027.html

:)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

OH! That one is a series but my book is not part of it. I have that one too though. :) I got it for Christmas and still need to read it but I really love the cover design. It's actually the background on my phone now LOL.