next_to_normal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
next_to_normal) wrote2011-07-19 11:42 am
next_to_normal) wrote2011-07-19 11:42 am
Awesome Ladies, Day 21
Oh, this meme. LONGEST 30 DAYS OF MY LIFE, YO. Haha, seriously, I started it over 4 months ago. New goal: Finish before the end of the year.
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Cordelia Chase
I feel like this one really needs no explanation, but... haha, clearly yes it does because Cordy is a character about whom I am so conflicted I HAD TO MAKE TWO CONTRADICTORY PICSPAMS.
On the one hand, I love her. I adore her maturation from Mean Girl to Vision Girl. It's an impressive arc for a character who started out basically existing just to insult the Scoobies. I was so happy that they moved her over to AtS, because she really had a chance to blossom and gained an incredible amount of depth. She also brings a refreshing testosterone-free perspective to the boys' club that is Angel Investigations. When she is permitted to kick ass (which is tough when you're a girl around Angel), she does so with gusto. She's practical and sassy, and isn't afraid to call Angel on his bullshit, something which he desperately, desperately needs.
On the other hand...
GAAAAHHHH. Where do I even start??? The objectification? The martyrdom? The holier-than-thou attitude, which only gets proven to be justified when she literally becomes a godlike higher being? The bizarre Oedipal thing with Connor? The evil-by-possession, which doesn't get mentioned until it's too late and our perception of Cordy as a character has already been ruined? Being bodily violated by a demon THREE DIFFERENT TIMES? Or the part where she was in a coma for almost a year, and then they brought her back only so they could kill her off for good?
SO. MUCH. HATE.
Like, I do not think they could have destroyed her character more thoroughly if they'd tried.
Cordelia Chase
I feel like this one really needs no explanation, but... haha, clearly yes it does because Cordy is a character about whom I am so conflicted I HAD TO MAKE TWO CONTRADICTORY PICSPAMS.
On the one hand, I love her. I adore her maturation from Mean Girl to Vision Girl. It's an impressive arc for a character who started out basically existing just to insult the Scoobies. I was so happy that they moved her over to AtS, because she really had a chance to blossom and gained an incredible amount of depth. She also brings a refreshing testosterone-free perspective to the boys' club that is Angel Investigations. When she is permitted to kick ass (which is tough when you're a girl around Angel), she does so with gusto. She's practical and sassy, and isn't afraid to call Angel on his bullshit, something which he desperately, desperately needs.
On the other hand...
GAAAAHHHH. Where do I even start??? The objectification? The martyrdom? The holier-than-thou attitude, which only gets proven to be justified when she literally becomes a godlike higher being? The bizarre Oedipal thing with Connor? The evil-by-possession, which doesn't get mentioned until it's too late and our perception of Cordy as a character has already been ruined? Being bodily violated by a demon THREE DIFFERENT TIMES? Or the part where she was in a coma for almost a year, and then they brought her back only so they could kill her off for good?
SO. MUCH. HATE.
Like, I do not think they could have destroyed her character more thoroughly if they'd tried.
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Like, I do not think they could have destroyed her character more thoroughly if they'd tried.
Are we sure they weren't trying?
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Heh, it's entirely possible. I actually thought about referencing Charisma's comments in the post. :)
Though, IMO, the problems with Cordy's arc go far beyond just punishing Charisma for daring to get pregnant. S3 is where it really starts to go downhill for me.
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The sad thing is, Cordy could have been a feminist paragon if her arc had been more empowering - the foundation is all there - but it's the screwing over of her, the subordinating her to Angel's story and mommifying her and her acceptance of it, that makes it anti-feminist.
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Can anyone on AtS have a happy ending in canon, Joss? *rolls eyes*
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No, they can't. :-P It's against the rules.