I don't know what it is about Peter O'Toole and those damn awards. I rooted for him so hard when I was 12 for My Favorite Year, and he hasn't won one before or since. Argh.
RE: Abuse-fic as redemption... Dude. I hate that trend. I've seen it in soap operas for decades, and I loathe it when it's exploited in fanfic. Feeling sorry for the character does not make them sorry, necessarily. Victimizing them is not atonement for past sins. Why do people insist on confusing these two things? Why do they think this kind of extreme punishment is the only way to make people sorry for doing wrong? Why can't anyone be a little more creative, a little more insightful in rehabilitating a character, if rehabilitate they must? Oy. There is something wrong with our upbringing, I'm telling you.
That always bugged me about Duncan too, that blatant cheating, with only one or two exceptions. I was *glad* they had him going a little nuts after Culloden, resulting in him murdering a British officer who was actually humane and just, then having to reap the consequences of that centuries later. Because most of the time, he just fell on the 'right' side by the power of Sheer Heroism. Gah. And yes, I dislike John Smith and Joan Redfern in DW, but not to the point where I want them changed-- they're products of their time, after all. They can't be forced to all be heroes.
I think you're right, *that* is what bugs me about Mad Men more than anything else-- I have no viewpoint character there. No one who I can like *all* the time, even if their life sucks, or they mess up. Peggy is supposed to be, I guess, except she's so young, has such bad taste in men, and has to be so polite and careful in order to survive at the ad office, that it's difficult to watch her a lot of the time. Midge was having an affair with married Don, Rachel was having an emotional affair with married Don (I can't remember if they had sex or not)... Not. Admirable. Joan is fun as hell, but again, taste in men, ech, and the way she objectifies herself, even if it's for her own gain, is very off-putting. I know this show is not about the admirable people who made the world better, and maybe it's successful because of that; we've all seen those miniseries, we've seen those movies, read those books. They show how a world ended and changed, and then they're *over*. Mad Men is meant to be an ongoing series, so it has to be both more low-key and realistic. But I don't root for anyone. Or like anyone.
Don ... yeah, I was *very* glad when Rachel told him off, when he nearly chickened out and fled his life at the end of S1. How the heck can I root for someone who only did the right thing because he was backed into it, without any options? The desertion wasn't admirable, but it was understandable, but his constant fleeing of the consequences makes it difficult for me to believe he'll change in S2. Somebody in New York had to be a good likable person! They just weren't in advertising, I guess. Or married to them. Or dating them.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-08-12 05:29 pm (UTC)RE: Abuse-fic as redemption... Dude. I hate that trend. I've seen it in soap operas for decades, and I loathe it when it's exploited in fanfic. Feeling sorry for the character does not make them sorry, necessarily. Victimizing them is not atonement for past sins. Why do people insist on confusing these two things? Why do they think this kind of extreme punishment is the only way to make people sorry for doing wrong? Why can't anyone be a little more creative, a little more insightful in rehabilitating a character, if rehabilitate they must? Oy. There is something wrong with our upbringing, I'm telling you.
That always bugged me about Duncan too, that blatant cheating, with only one or two exceptions. I was *glad* they had him going a little nuts after Culloden, resulting in him murdering a British officer who was actually humane and just, then having to reap the consequences of that centuries later. Because most of the time, he just fell on the 'right' side by the power of Sheer Heroism. Gah. And yes, I dislike John Smith and Joan Redfern in DW, but not to the point where I want them changed-- they're products of their time, after all. They can't be forced to all be heroes.
I think you're right, *that* is what bugs me about Mad Men more than anything else-- I have no viewpoint character there. No one who I can like *all* the time, even if their life sucks, or they mess up. Peggy is supposed to be, I guess, except she's so young, has such bad taste in men, and has to be so polite and careful in order to survive at the ad office, that it's difficult to watch her a lot of the time. Midge was having an affair with married Don, Rachel was having an emotional affair with married Don (I can't remember if they had sex or not)... Not. Admirable. Joan is fun as hell, but again, taste in men, ech, and the way she objectifies herself, even if it's for her own gain, is very off-putting. I know this show is not about the admirable people who made the world better, and maybe it's successful because of that; we've all seen those miniseries, we've seen those movies, read those books. They show how a world ended and changed, and then they're *over*. Mad Men is meant to be an ongoing series, so it has to be both more low-key and realistic. But I don't root for anyone. Or like anyone.
Don ... yeah, I was *very* glad when Rachel told him off, when he nearly chickened out and fled his life at the end of S1. How the heck can I root for someone who only did the right thing because he was backed into it, without any options? The desertion wasn't admirable, but it was understandable, but his constant fleeing of the consequences makes it difficult for me to believe he'll change in S2. Somebody in New York had to be a good likable person! They just weren't in advertising, I guess. Or married to them. Or dating them.