Speeches, spies, and memes, continued
Oct. 9th, 2006 06:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakOn the road again, after the book fair ended with several great speeches by Wolf Lepenies (a scientist and journalist who received the Friedenspreis, the “peace award” of the German book fair) and Andrei Plesu who did the laudatory acclamation. Today, reading the papers, I was somewhat irritated by what the F.A.Z. (biggest conservative non-yellow press newspaper) did – it was the usual journalistic game of picking quotes while ignoring others, but in some cases this didn’t just lead to a limited pov but to direct falsification, as when they claimed Lepenies had taken position against Turkey joining the E.U. What he actually said was:
“There are good reasons which could be named against Turkey joining the European Union – the ignoring of human rights, the lack of protection for minorities, the danger of various European institutions being unable to function afterwards due to blocking themselves. But in no way can one argue that Turkey shouldn’t join the E.U. because “Christian Europe would loose its soul this way”. Europe – and this has always been its strength – never had a “pure” soul. (…) If we argue that a secular state like Turkey cannot be a member of the European Union because supposedly a Muslim country would be a stranger on our continent, do we wish to know how very much our Christian middle ages were co-formed by Islam? How can we claim the enlightenment as a “Western” achievement if we are ignoring its Judean-Arabic roots?”
Out of all this, guess what the F.A.Z. picked? “There are good reasons against Turkey joining the E.U.” That’s why I usually read the Süddeutsche. (Which btw thought the speech wasn’t that fascinating, as opposed to yours truly, but printed it completely so readers could make up their own minds.)
During recent weeks, I was able to watch the third season of Spooks (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kathyh, this does not mean I don’t want it as a Christmas present – what I watched was only temporarily mine) and last night, I finished it. It, err, shares more than one quality with the third season of Farscape. (This is a compliment, no-Scapers.) To recapitulate, my fannish history with Spooks so far: loved season 1, thought season 2 was a shaky affair with some great individual episodes but overall too much of Tom Quinn’s love life and a WTF cliffhanger which had several characters behaving bizarrely, plus I missed Tessa. Season 3, I loved again.
Though I still think Danny and Zoe turned their back on Tom too quickly, but his exit was written more believably than the second season’s WTF scenario. Little did I know he’d just be the first... Anyway, Tom leaving heightened the credibility of the show, all in all – it stops one feeling that folks at MI5 can basically get away with almost everything as long as Harry likes them. Very inappropriate thought: whenever Tom and Adam whom even unspoiled me could clearly see was going to be Tom’s replacement were in the same scenes, I had visions of the two Voyager eps when Kes and Seven of Nine were. Which made Adam Spooks’ Seven. *g*
As I like Adam, I’ll get my two complaints out of the way right at the beginning, which has nothing to do with Mr. Quinn at all, but is this: the interagency rivalry between MI5 and MI6 has been an ongoing plot point for two seasons and continues to be one in season 3. And yet, Harry doesn’t just draft Adam from MI6 but never doubts his loyalty, nor does anyone else, and Adam is perfectly fine with changing agencies as well. Isn’t this rather like a student from Cambridge transfering to Oxford?
The other complaint about Adam is more about how he’s written in one specific episode, Celebrity, which pretty much clashes with how he’s written in A Prayer for my daughter. To wit, in the later, he’s delighted with his wife Fiona’s ruthless femme fatale act to bring down the villain of the hour, one dangerous extremist who already ordered the death of at least one woman Adam knew and cared about. In the later, in a far less dangerous situation, you get the same man who was part of the cool spies double act suddenly going “get my wife out of there, she has to take cocaine with a former model!” Allow me to be a tad confused.
Now, back to the applause. I might have seen Tom’s exit coming, but Zoe’s and Danny’s were shockers. Zoe’s also made mincemeat of my other complaint of the season, because one episode earlier I thought it was a pity that Danny got the existential angst about having to carry out an assassination (as opposed to killing in a life and death situation) for the first time while Zoe got the traditional romantic angst for women. (Though to be fair, last season Tom got all the romantic angst, so...) Because I thought it would have been more interesting the other way around. However, no sooner had I made a mental note to this effect that I watched Persephone, and of course Zoe doesn’t just arrange an assasination in that one (going one step further than Danny who had to follow orders by making that decision herself) but leaves the show. Aha, I thought. Then of course Danny had to get the earlier thing because you need the character to be there to explore. And you could see the effect on Danny for the rest of the season, and then I got shocked again out of my assumptions when he got killed. Season of death indeed. And while we’re making Farscape comparisons, clearly Danny is Crais here. Meaning his life sucks beyond the telling of it and the angst is unrelenting, with fate not giving him a break until he dies a violent death.
(Well, one break: Harry didn’t find out Danny had slept with Catherine.*g*)
Harry being in a non-communication state with his daughter was no big surprise (join the club, Harry, though I still think Andraste is right and if you met Jack Bristow you’d irritate the hell out of each other instead of commiserate on the matter), but that storyline was well played. Generally speaking, “how far will you go?” seems to have been pretty much the theme of the season, starting with Tom shooting what’s his name who set him up in the season opener, moving on to Adam talking what’s his name’s wife into committing suicide, to Danny being ordered to assassinate a man to Zoe deciding her target had to die to Adam torturing, excuse me, interrogating a man to the finale. And I think the way the show handles all if this is why I like it so much and why I stopped watching 24 after its second season. Aslikedeuce remarked last night, 24 claims to moral ambiguity but doesn’t really deliver, because it constantly justifies its hero Jack Bauer’s use of torture. He always gets the right results, he’s rewarded by the narrative, and there aren’t ever negative consequences for people we care about. (Well, not when I watched.) Whereas on Spooks, Tom is unable to continue as a secret agent, Zoe loses her old life and her friends, Adam is held up an ugly mirror and you never have anyone, up and including Harry, going for that self-satisfied “yeah, I’m the one willing to get his hands dirty, you liberal losers” justification. The question “what have we become?”is as ongoing as “how far will we go?”
(Another difference to the American show: the PM is never seen – so it’s not a fictional one, as on 24, but presumably Blair – but the distaste for the constant spin from Downing Street as well as for new definition of what a secret service is for – not to ferret out the truth but to deliver justifications for what the goverment wants to do regardless – is palpable.)
Ruth somewhere crossed the line between “like” and “love her!” for me, and I think it was right in the season opener when she wasn’t just the only one to find a way of getting the news about what was going on to Harry but did so by declaring she was having a secret affair with him and was carrying his love child. *g* (Methinks Harry never heard about that one, did he? MISSING SCENE!)
Adam was obviously designed to be the anti-Tom after the heavy emphasis on Tom and his love life last season: as opposed to several failed romances, he has a happy marriage, his wife is introduced very casually and we don’t see her on a regular basis till the end of the season, and of course he has far less scruples. More than once, especially when watching him with Fiona, I thought he might be quite a lot like what Jack Bristow would have been like if instead of betraying him Irina had switched sides back then and remained with him. Though there are differences, and I like those as well. In the season finale, Adam was willing to bend and cooperate in order to save his wife – to a point. When it came down to it, he did put the lives he’s sworn to protect (including the PM’s, not, as mentioned before, a sympathetic presence in this show) above Fiona’s. Spooks does put a high value on friendship and love, but a higher one on the good of the many, to borrow a Star Trek quote. Which in an age where most heroes when put in the cruel position of having to decide go for the good of their nearest and dearest instead is strangely refreshing.
Now, I owe some people some more love reasons. Which as today's hotel has only dial-up connection I had time to do. Let’s see.
What Kosh (I) loves most about Lyta Alexander
...that she gives herself completely. She’s been trained to, of course, raised to by the Corps, but her dedication to the Vorlons and himself is her own choice. He’s used to obedience and awe from the lesser races, but not passion, and Lyta’s dedication is passionate. Moreover, she allows him to experience what he hasn’t in such a long time that he has forgotten: physicality. Filling her with his consciousness, seeing through her eyes for hours, hearing through ears, smelling: those sensations are amazing in their intensity.
Strangely, the one sensory ability that Lyta owes to him, indirectly at least, as the Vorlons created telepaths through genetic manipulation of the lesser races, that one ability of hers is the one he likes least, and tries to drown out whenever he’s with her. He tells himself this is because he wants to experience life as a human as most of them do, or because he wants to be curious again, after knowing most of what there is to know about others in his Vorlon form anyway. But sometimes, he is afraid it might be for another reason altogether.
Telepaths are like mirrors in so many ways, and telepathy is a reflection. And who among those who are faced with eternity can ever love his own reflection?
What Charles Xavier loves most about Hank McCoy
...Hank’s cheerfulness; this wouldn’t sound superficial to you if you were a telepath living with a lot of constantly troubled and angsting teenagers and adults determined to surpass them in moodswings. Hank has issues himself, not to mention reason for angst, and he does have depressions, too, but by and large, his basic optimism and cheer keep reasserting themselves. Being with Hank is the telepathic equivalent of a relaxing bath after a long and stressful day.
...The fact Hank can beat him at chess and could even if Charles were to give in to temptation and read Hank’s thoughts. This doesn’t just make the game interesting but ensures he remains in shape for encounters with Erik.
...The fact Hank likes people. Genuinely likes them, despite being presented with a lot of prejudice as soon as someone looks at him and takes in the fur, and despite being able to quote every acerbic and cynic estimation of humanity ever written, complete with footnotes, if one asked him. Unasked, Hank will quote Chesterton to you instead. Which is another reason to love him.
What Arvin Sloane loves most about Jack Bristow
...Jack’s intelligent ruthlessness, emphasis on intelligent; thugs are everywhere, you know, and sadists almost everywhere, but people who combine mind and force the way Jack can aren’t
....Jack’s poker face and generally incredibly contained body language; reading Jack Bristow and his miniscule signs is an art form and one Arvin has been happy to develop; it keeps him from sloppiness, among other things
...the fact that Jack is almost as clueless in certain areas as he is brilliant in others; because though their relationship was a mixture of competition and having each other’s backs from day 1, Arvin has been careful of keeping some things hidden, including the extent to which he cares. It might be an issue of control and who has it – meaning himself – or it might be sheer practicality; their relationship works better that way.
...The fact that Jack hesitates before following an entirely sensible request like removing Arvin’s finger to save everyone from getting blown up. Despite the fact Jack has been spying on Arvin for years at that point, and has a very legitimate grudge regarding Sydney’s recruitment. That moment of hesitation and the fact he then comes through and does it sums it up, really; what Arvin Sloane loves best about Jack Bristow.
“There are good reasons which could be named against Turkey joining the European Union – the ignoring of human rights, the lack of protection for minorities, the danger of various European institutions being unable to function afterwards due to blocking themselves. But in no way can one argue that Turkey shouldn’t join the E.U. because “Christian Europe would loose its soul this way”. Europe – and this has always been its strength – never had a “pure” soul. (…) If we argue that a secular state like Turkey cannot be a member of the European Union because supposedly a Muslim country would be a stranger on our continent, do we wish to know how very much our Christian middle ages were co-formed by Islam? How can we claim the enlightenment as a “Western” achievement if we are ignoring its Judean-Arabic roots?”
Out of all this, guess what the F.A.Z. picked? “There are good reasons against Turkey joining the E.U.” That’s why I usually read the Süddeutsche. (Which btw thought the speech wasn’t that fascinating, as opposed to yours truly, but printed it completely so readers could make up their own minds.)
During recent weeks, I was able to watch the third season of Spooks (
kathyh, this does not mean I don’t want it as a Christmas present – what I watched was only temporarily mine) and last night, I finished it. It, err, shares more than one quality with the third season of Farscape. (This is a compliment, no-Scapers.) To recapitulate, my fannish history with Spooks so far: loved season 1, thought season 2 was a shaky affair with some great individual episodes but overall too much of Tom Quinn’s love life and a WTF cliffhanger which had several characters behaving bizarrely, plus I missed Tessa. Season 3, I loved again. Though I still think Danny and Zoe turned their back on Tom too quickly, but his exit was written more believably than the second season’s WTF scenario. Little did I know he’d just be the first... Anyway, Tom leaving heightened the credibility of the show, all in all – it stops one feeling that folks at MI5 can basically get away with almost everything as long as Harry likes them. Very inappropriate thought: whenever Tom and Adam whom even unspoiled me could clearly see was going to be Tom’s replacement were in the same scenes, I had visions of the two Voyager eps when Kes and Seven of Nine were. Which made Adam Spooks’ Seven. *g*
As I like Adam, I’ll get my two complaints out of the way right at the beginning, which has nothing to do with Mr. Quinn at all, but is this: the interagency rivalry between MI5 and MI6 has been an ongoing plot point for two seasons and continues to be one in season 3. And yet, Harry doesn’t just draft Adam from MI6 but never doubts his loyalty, nor does anyone else, and Adam is perfectly fine with changing agencies as well. Isn’t this rather like a student from Cambridge transfering to Oxford?
The other complaint about Adam is more about how he’s written in one specific episode, Celebrity, which pretty much clashes with how he’s written in A Prayer for my daughter. To wit, in the later, he’s delighted with his wife Fiona’s ruthless femme fatale act to bring down the villain of the hour, one dangerous extremist who already ordered the death of at least one woman Adam knew and cared about. In the later, in a far less dangerous situation, you get the same man who was part of the cool spies double act suddenly going “get my wife out of there, she has to take cocaine with a former model!” Allow me to be a tad confused.
Now, back to the applause. I might have seen Tom’s exit coming, but Zoe’s and Danny’s were shockers. Zoe’s also made mincemeat of my other complaint of the season, because one episode earlier I thought it was a pity that Danny got the existential angst about having to carry out an assassination (as opposed to killing in a life and death situation) for the first time while Zoe got the traditional romantic angst for women. (Though to be fair, last season Tom got all the romantic angst, so...) Because I thought it would have been more interesting the other way around. However, no sooner had I made a mental note to this effect that I watched Persephone, and of course Zoe doesn’t just arrange an assasination in that one (going one step further than Danny who had to follow orders by making that decision herself) but leaves the show. Aha, I thought. Then of course Danny had to get the earlier thing because you need the character to be there to explore. And you could see the effect on Danny for the rest of the season, and then I got shocked again out of my assumptions when he got killed. Season of death indeed. And while we’re making Farscape comparisons, clearly Danny is Crais here. Meaning his life sucks beyond the telling of it and the angst is unrelenting, with fate not giving him a break until he dies a violent death.
(Well, one break: Harry didn’t find out Danny had slept with Catherine.*g*)
Harry being in a non-communication state with his daughter was no big surprise (join the club, Harry, though I still think Andraste is right and if you met Jack Bristow you’d irritate the hell out of each other instead of commiserate on the matter), but that storyline was well played. Generally speaking, “how far will you go?” seems to have been pretty much the theme of the season, starting with Tom shooting what’s his name who set him up in the season opener, moving on to Adam talking what’s his name’s wife into committing suicide, to Danny being ordered to assassinate a man to Zoe deciding her target had to die to Adam torturing, excuse me, interrogating a man to the finale. And I think the way the show handles all if this is why I like it so much and why I stopped watching 24 after its second season. As
likedeuce remarked last night, 24 claims to moral ambiguity but doesn’t really deliver, because it constantly justifies its hero Jack Bauer’s use of torture. He always gets the right results, he’s rewarded by the narrative, and there aren’t ever negative consequences for people we care about. (Well, not when I watched.) Whereas on Spooks, Tom is unable to continue as a secret agent, Zoe loses her old life and her friends, Adam is held up an ugly mirror and you never have anyone, up and including Harry, going for that self-satisfied “yeah, I’m the one willing to get his hands dirty, you liberal losers” justification. The question “what have we become?”is as ongoing as “how far will we go?” (Another difference to the American show: the PM is never seen – so it’s not a fictional one, as on 24, but presumably Blair – but the distaste for the constant spin from Downing Street as well as for new definition of what a secret service is for – not to ferret out the truth but to deliver justifications for what the goverment wants to do regardless – is palpable.)
Ruth somewhere crossed the line between “like” and “love her!” for me, and I think it was right in the season opener when she wasn’t just the only one to find a way of getting the news about what was going on to Harry but did so by declaring she was having a secret affair with him and was carrying his love child. *g* (Methinks Harry never heard about that one, did he? MISSING SCENE!)
Adam was obviously designed to be the anti-Tom after the heavy emphasis on Tom and his love life last season: as opposed to several failed romances, he has a happy marriage, his wife is introduced very casually and we don’t see her on a regular basis till the end of the season, and of course he has far less scruples. More than once, especially when watching him with Fiona, I thought he might be quite a lot like what Jack Bristow would have been like if instead of betraying him Irina had switched sides back then and remained with him. Though there are differences, and I like those as well. In the season finale, Adam was willing to bend and cooperate in order to save his wife – to a point. When it came down to it, he did put the lives he’s sworn to protect (including the PM’s, not, as mentioned before, a sympathetic presence in this show) above Fiona’s. Spooks does put a high value on friendship and love, but a higher one on the good of the many, to borrow a Star Trek quote. Which in an age where most heroes when put in the cruel position of having to decide go for the good of their nearest and dearest instead is strangely refreshing.
Now, I owe some people some more love reasons. Which as today's hotel has only dial-up connection I had time to do. Let’s see.
What Kosh (I) loves most about Lyta Alexander
...that she gives herself completely. She’s been trained to, of course, raised to by the Corps, but her dedication to the Vorlons and himself is her own choice. He’s used to obedience and awe from the lesser races, but not passion, and Lyta’s dedication is passionate. Moreover, she allows him to experience what he hasn’t in such a long time that he has forgotten: physicality. Filling her with his consciousness, seeing through her eyes for hours, hearing through ears, smelling: those sensations are amazing in their intensity.
Strangely, the one sensory ability that Lyta owes to him, indirectly at least, as the Vorlons created telepaths through genetic manipulation of the lesser races, that one ability of hers is the one he likes least, and tries to drown out whenever he’s with her. He tells himself this is because he wants to experience life as a human as most of them do, or because he wants to be curious again, after knowing most of what there is to know about others in his Vorlon form anyway. But sometimes, he is afraid it might be for another reason altogether.
Telepaths are like mirrors in so many ways, and telepathy is a reflection. And who among those who are faced with eternity can ever love his own reflection?
What Charles Xavier loves most about Hank McCoy
...Hank’s cheerfulness; this wouldn’t sound superficial to you if you were a telepath living with a lot of constantly troubled and angsting teenagers and adults determined to surpass them in moodswings. Hank has issues himself, not to mention reason for angst, and he does have depressions, too, but by and large, his basic optimism and cheer keep reasserting themselves. Being with Hank is the telepathic equivalent of a relaxing bath after a long and stressful day.
...The fact Hank can beat him at chess and could even if Charles were to give in to temptation and read Hank’s thoughts. This doesn’t just make the game interesting but ensures he remains in shape for encounters with Erik.
...The fact Hank likes people. Genuinely likes them, despite being presented with a lot of prejudice as soon as someone looks at him and takes in the fur, and despite being able to quote every acerbic and cynic estimation of humanity ever written, complete with footnotes, if one asked him. Unasked, Hank will quote Chesterton to you instead. Which is another reason to love him.
What Arvin Sloane loves most about Jack Bristow
...Jack’s intelligent ruthlessness, emphasis on intelligent; thugs are everywhere, you know, and sadists almost everywhere, but people who combine mind and force the way Jack can aren’t
....Jack’s poker face and generally incredibly contained body language; reading Jack Bristow and his miniscule signs is an art form and one Arvin has been happy to develop; it keeps him from sloppiness, among other things
...the fact that Jack is almost as clueless in certain areas as he is brilliant in others; because though their relationship was a mixture of competition and having each other’s backs from day 1, Arvin has been careful of keeping some things hidden, including the extent to which he cares. It might be an issue of control and who has it – meaning himself – or it might be sheer practicality; their relationship works better that way.
...The fact that Jack hesitates before following an entirely sensible request like removing Arvin’s finger to save everyone from getting blown up. Despite the fact Jack has been spying on Arvin for years at that point, and has a very legitimate grudge regarding Sydney’s recruitment. That moment of hesitation and the fact he then comes through and does it sums it up, really; what Arvin Sloane loves best about Jack Bristow.
