Is Joss Whedon a one trick pony?
POSTED BY: AngusThermopyle
UPDATED: Sunday, March 26, 2006 18:03
VIEWED: 16194
PAGE 7 of 8
Ok Seryn, I'm gonna concede. I really can't be bothered. I can't believe you've gone through everything I've written on this very long thread just to find some inconsistencies. Of course I'm inconsistent. I'm human. We all are. I'm not going to go through all your posts and argue each point and point out all your inconsistencies. Life's too short! I made a point, you disagree. That's fine.
I certainly can say nothing personal. I can't see you laughing. When I pictured you, you had a sad face. That post must've taken ages to do. It's just not worth it. I still believe in most of what I said. Some things people have said have given me pause for thought.
Thanks for participating. Hope you had fun at the park.
www.ChAoS-ImAgErY.com
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Quote:
Originally posted by cartoon:Quote:
Originally posted by AngusThermopyle:
Who's going to draw the line, J? You, me, some Immam in Iran? The US President? Blair? How can anyone have that kind of power and not be Hitler?
The only person who can decide what is "offensive" to me is -- uh -- me.And when I find something personally offensive, I avoid it.
While I personally believe that people should write what they like ("offensive" or not), I also believe that everyone has the right to disagree with and avoid what they find to be "offensive" -- without either expecting everyone else to agree with them that it's "offensive", or jump all over their face because they disagree with them.
Personally, (regarding this thread), I think a lot of your analysis about Joss makes sense. I'm not sure if I agree with all of it (particularly as I'm unacquainted with his other works -- and have no interest in acquainting myself with them), but you've hit upon some very interesting points.
I also think you are right on the mark about feminism trying to blur the distinctions between men and women. Men and women have many similarities, but they also have many ways in which they are quite different. I see no problem with recognizing the similarities. I do, however, get somewhat miffed when people deny the differences, and say that one gender is the same as the other, just in a different body.
Oh, and regarding the "English" language -- I totally agree with you (and I say that as an American). If someone is going to pilfer -- uh "borrow" someone else's tongue, they shouldn't go about changing it. However, for the sake of conformity with my fellow Americans (and for the fact that I was raised to spell in this aberant, Yankified manner), I generally do not adhere to my own belief that one doesn't corrupt a language that has not originated with one's own people.Quote:
Originally posted by AngusThermopyle:
mate, I don't think many sociopaths come online to discuss Joss Whedon...
You haven't been in here long, have you?
You got that right!
It's like the gorram reavers just landed...Thanks for your comments. I appreciate them.
www.ChAoS-ImAgErY.com
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Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
The template Joss uses is a bit over played. Young, gifted girl has been taken away and had bad things done to her by bad people, and then is freed or escapes.
The world is made of variations on a theme, this I believe.
When you strip away all details everything is the same. The story of Alexander the Great is the same as that of Searching for Bobby Fisher.
What makes us keep watching these teenage girls is that the shows are not about them (Buffy would never be so loved with the rest of the characters) and certainly not about kicking ass.
Also there is no possible way to confuse them, River is not Buffy and will never be at all like her, Faith is not like either of them, and of all of the potential slayers you actually got to know (as opposed to background characters) in the end of Buffy none were interchangeable.
It is a template yes, but no more overused than the "standard American of indistinguishable but certainly Caucasian descent speaking in an accent that can not be placed beyond 'America' of positively normal physical strength and intelligence" template so often used.
As long as he concentrates on the characters they could all be played by the same person and we would not tire of them (though we might get very, very confused) because they would be both different and real.
The only problem with a template is when it becomes the character, instead of a starting point from which to build the character.
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its raining gorramit! bah!
nah, took me about two minutes.
well, longer, I was looking for a new mobile on ebay and chatting to my uncle as well.
But I think what I was trying to say is contradicting yourself doesn't lend your argument any wieght.
But yeah, one think I do agree with, this is getting really boring now, so...
**********************************************************
Hodgins: Your robot reminds me of you. You tell it to turn it stops. You tell it to stop it turns. You ask it to take out the garbage it watches reruns of Firefly.
FozzieWash, You know what I always say: sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!
KermieMal, I never Know what the heck you're talking about.
FozzieWash, Hey, look! They're sending us free lumber!
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Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
AngusThermopyle
Great post, I must admit. I agree to your several points to varying degrees. Joss DOES seem to play the often mentally traumatized, ass-kicking teenage girl card a few too many times. There's Buffy. Though not overly traumatized any more than most hot teenage girls, she does bear the burden of being a slayer. Then there's Faith ( Buffy and Angel ) Then there's Dana, and Bethany(Season 2) from Angel. Throw in Fred for good measure too. And of course there's River. The template Joss uses is a bit over played. Young, gifted girl has been taken away and had bad things done to her by bad people, and then is freed or escapes. Often to cause havok. Heck even Cordy fits that M.O., if you take into account her little trip to Pylea.
But hey, Joss must be doing something right to have us so well versed in these shows in the first place. How normal is it that so many of us can cite characters names and even episode titles from more than one series? If Joss has a sin, then it's a minor one of repitition. He's found something and has stuck w/ it. And we've kept watching.
People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss
" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "
I couldn't agree more, AU. I certainly never said I didn't enjoy JW's stuff. On the other hand, I don't think I'd go and bye another JW series I hadn't already seen like I did with Firefly, which I think was a very worthwhile purchase.
Nice citing, by the way.
Well, things to do et cetera. Thanks for posting.
www.ChAoS-ImAgErY.com
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Quote:
Originally posted by charmuse:Quote:
Originally posted by AngusThermopyle:
[I'm English. That's what the language is called. Apologise is spelled like that in English English.?
Angus, my apology for being insensitive to language differences across the pond. It had not occured to me.
Not necessary, but accepted. Thank you.
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Quote:
Originally posted by seryn:
nah, took me about two minutes.
well, longer, I was looking for a new mobile on ebay and chatting to my uncle as well.
But I think what I was trying to say is contradicting yourself doesn't lend your argument any wieght.
But yeah, one think I do agree with, this is getting really boring now, so goodbye.
**********************************************************
Hodgins: Your robot reminds me of you. You tell it to turn it stops. You tell it to stop it turns. You ask it to take out the garbage it watches reruns of Firefly.
FozzieWash, You know what I always say: sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!
KermieMal, I never Know what the heck you're talking about.
FozzieWash, Hey, look! They're sending us free lumber!
If you go through every person's writings and musings on this thread you will find contradictions. We start off in one place, then we change as we see other POVs, or we just express ourselves poorly and don't say exactly what we felt or meant. No one is totally consistent, so therefore - by your reckoning - everyone's arguments lose weight. It's catch 22.
www.ChAoS-ImAgErY.com
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ANGUSTHERMOPYLE, So do you now understand that the silence in space is there in Serenity just as it is in Firefly.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Anonymous1:
ANGUSTHERMOPYLE, So do you now understand that the silence in space is there in Serenity just as it is in Firefly.
I mean externally. I know that as Serenity breaks atmo the sound of the engines dies away inside the ship; but that's not what I meant. I was talking about external shots of the ship or other ships have no sound apart from music - Space being a vacuum and therefore not be able to carry sound etc. Watch any FF episode where Serenity accelerates off. No sound, just music. Or when the ship glides past the camera, no engine sound. In Serenity, when the ship is breaking atmo near the beginning, you hear the thrusters in external shot. That wouldn't have happened in FF. It made for a dramatic SFX shot, but was inconsistent with the TV series.
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On Silence in space in Serenity and Firefly:
Quote:
Originally posted by AngusThermopyle:
I mean externally. ... I was talking about external shots of the ship or other ships have no sound apart from music
So was I. Internally and externally. Space is silent in Serenity and Firefly. Watch the external shots again.
Quote:
Originally posted by AngusThermopyle:
In Serenity, when the ship is breaking atmo near the beginning, you hear the thrusters in external shot. That wouldn't have happened in FF. It made for a dramatic SFX shot, but was inconsistent with the TV series.
Watch this scene again.
Serenity in space. No sound. Only music. Ain't she beautiful?
Thrusters start to turn down. No sound. Front and bottom of Serenity start to glow. ATMO BURN. ATMO FRICTION. THERE MUST BE AIR FOR THAT. THEN THERE MUST BE SOUND externally and internally if you ship is not insulated enough. Note that you cannot hear the lightening inside the Alliance cruiser, but you can hear it outside.
You hear the ATMO BURN before the thrusters even fire up.
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