tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post2174137055368661391..comments2024-01-15T02:19:13.716-08:00Comments on Fragments Of My Imagination: New Moon RisingMark Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-4266690571335854002012-07-23T07:19:15.947-07:002012-07-23T07:19:15.947-07:00I like that: "dopey misreading". Good de...I like that: "dopey misreading". Good description. <br /><br />Excellent point about making the demons suffer, one I should have made.Mark Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-11366747302351673632012-07-22T22:31:15.069-07:002012-07-22T22:31:15.069-07:00You are much kinder to the Buffy as Racist reading...You are much kinder to the Buffy as Racist reading than I am inclined to be… I am reminded of something one of my favorite professors said during my undergrad years: even in the world of the free play of interpretations, there is such a thing as dopey misreading… <br /><br />I could go on a rant about how such a reading goes against canon on countless levels, but I’ll just point to Phases and move on. <br /><br />(And note, too, the excellent point Catherine made above about learning to live with one’s demons.)<br /><br />The one point that I would like to make—one I also wanted to make after your post on The Initiative, but, as has been the case, through much of S4, found I myself unable:<br /><br />Aside from all the problems that you outline in the Initiative’s practice—<br /><br />The Initiative errs not in killing demons, it seems to me, but in not simply killing them: it experiments upon them, tortures them.<br /><br />The Initiative inflicts immense pain—and I think that the show puts a certain emphasis upon this, visually or verbally, in TI, TIIT, and here—in its pursuit of a dreadful knowledge (beyond even the vain project of demon-reclamation and reform) that will at most simply make use of demon parts to produce better fighters (demons), at worst be an end in itself—a thing the Slayer would never do. Demons may be often bent upon destruction, but that does not justify, the show seems to be saying, cruel and unusual suffering.<br /><br />(Nor, even on the metaphorical level, would the Initiative’s practice bear recommending: slay one’s demons or learn to live with them, but do not torture them… That way is crazy-making for both self and demon… )StateOfSiege97noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-54013776025646230562012-06-29T19:39:54.466-07:002012-06-29T19:39:54.466-07:00I definitely agree that the other characters tell ...I definitely agree that the other characters tell us important things about Buffy. As you can tell from my previous posts, I've taken a generally Jungian approach to Buffy's shadow metaphors (Cordy and Faith), and integrating one's shadow is critical in that theory.<br /><br />I'm not so sure Joss didn't anticipate it. Not from the beginning, but as he went along I think he understood what he was doing. I mostly say that due to hints dropped along the way (e.g., in Restless), but also to the way he teased out the character development in consistent directions.Mark Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-6331269908155798662012-06-29T19:21:06.518-07:002012-06-29T19:21:06.518-07:00I tend to see all (or most) characters as mirrors ...I tend to see all (or most) characters as mirrors for Buffy. Each one is dealing with issues of identity right now, but your comparison of Riley to Oz intrigues me. I enjoy a bit of dramatic irony.<br /><br />One thing Angel and Spike help us see--and that Joss perhaps explores more fully with Oz--is that often our inner demons need to be accepted and, at times, assimilated, not vanquished. These characters provide another way to explore the shadow self, and they seem to add to the show's dynamic in ways Joss hadn't anticipated. (Of course, one could argue that he understood this on some level when making his casting decisions. Obviously, something resonated with him.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550060758900308947noreply@blogger.com