The Spainish Inquisition
Nov. 26th, 2003 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatWell, color me impressed, the OC, a show I'd written off as another Melrose/Beverly Hills 90210 hybrid, actually delivered a mulitlayered, metaphor rich episode that comes awfully close to matching BTVS in quality. It's all ponygirl fault for convincing me to give the show a second chance. This, my friends, is proof positive that while I may be pig-headed about things, I can change my mind.
(You just have to do it gently. ;-) )
The episode starts with pairs of students being assigned a history project. In most shows this bit would be background fodder, meaningless, but it wasn't on Buffy (anyone remember that brilliant bit in the beginning of Crush on the Hunchback of Notre Dame?) and it's not here. The teacher pairs up former rivals and nemesises Ryan and Luke to do a project on the Spainish Inquisition. We never see them research or study the Inquisition - other distractions get in the way, but the distractions fit the metaphor. The whole episode is about the Spainish Inquisition.
Luke and Ryan have formed an uneasy truce out of necessity. Luke - all around jock, with perfect family, perfect house, perfect father, and former boyfriend of Marisa - tolerates Ryan - the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, who is living with his defense lawyer and the defense lawyer's family and now dating Luke's ex-girlfriend Marisa.
Luke up to this point, has made fun of Ryan's friend and brother by default (the lawyer's son) calling him queer and a geek. Seth Cohen is a sort of Xander type, complete with skate-board and geeky interests (hence the reason my kid brother has fallen in love with the show and I've resisted it's appeal). Seth has been two-timing two girls - one a Willow type, slightly geeky and brainy who wears funky clothes and cleans her teeth after lunch and one a Cordelia type, shallow, full of herself, lives to shop and wouldn't get a book if it hit her on the nose (Summer is her name). The girls found out about it and are giving Seth the cold shoulder. In fact the Willow type tells Summer, she's angry at Seth not because he'd go out with someone like Summer, but because of the way he treated Summer.
At any rate - Luke and Ryan meet to work on their project. Luke decides to take Ryan to his father's office - his Dad has graphics they can use for the project on his computer. While there, Ryan and Luke
play around with the cars. This is where things begin to get interesting and the metaphor takes off. Turns out Luke's Dad is gay. Not only is he gay, he's having an affair with his business partner - and Luke and Ryan catch them in a passionate embrace at the office. Ryan promises to tell no one. But does tell Marisa.
The next day at school - everyone ends up finding out.
Not only that, but secrets start to pop out all over the place. Seth's father, Sandy finds out from a client that the client recently shared a kiss with Sandy's wife. Meanwhile Sandy's wife (Kristin) and the client's ex- Julie, start to bond, b/c Julie has
been dating Kristin's father. Each secret when it blows - results in the principals undergoing a sort of Spainish Inquisition.
When Luke's secret breaks at school - the kids tease him abominably. He initially takes it out on Ryan.
But later it is Ryan who helps him make it through it.
And Ryan and Luke fight off a band of goons or inquisitors. The Spainish Inquisition was all about torturing someone who was different from you, who did not share your views, believe you your beliefs. In The Spainish Inquisition people were tortured as heretics because they did not follow the norm, they went against the tide. They were different. In high school - when we are different - we are put through a sort of "spainish inquistion". What was clever about the OC was not only are the high school kids put through the inquisition but so are the adults, proving that adults can be as nasty and juvenile as children, sometimes far worse. It's interesting that Luke and Ryan don't spread the information about the father, but his wife does and her friends really spread it - acting much like the inquisitors that Ryan and Luke are studying. Each person or inquisitor acts holier than thou, it's those who've already been through the flames of inquisition who can't bear it and move away or protect the new victim.
The episode also uses an old bugs bunny cartoon - the one where bugs is running from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr Jekyl is nice, Hyde is a demon - a metaphor for the people of the OC who are Dr. Jekyll when it suits them and Mr. Hyde when you don't fit within their societal standards. It also symbolizes the characters - specifically Luke - his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior towards Ryan. Seth's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior towards his two girlfriends. And Julie's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior towards Kristin (in fact we get a close-up of the cartoon right after another Julie/Kristin conversation - symbolizes their unstable friendship).
The show ends, with the former nasty jock, Luke, standing with his fellow misfits - all who have been through their own versions of the Spainish Inquisition. He stands steeling himself. Telling the others he doesn't want to go to school, to go through this. That maybe if he waits...but they tell him running away won't help him, and tomorrow he will still be Luke. They survived and became better people, so will he.
It's an interesting theme - one that may have gone over many viewers heads - that idea that in life we are Dr. Jekyll's and Mr. Hyde's - nice to the people who agree with our worldview and nasty to those who don't. And the whole concept of the societal version of a Spainish Inquisition, that no matter how old we get - continues...
I may have to tune into OC again. Shame it's opposite Angel.
ponygirl fault for convincing me to give the show a second chance. This, my friends, is proof positive that while I may be pig-headed about things, I can change my mind.(You just have to do it gently. ;-) )
The episode starts with pairs of students being assigned a history project. In most shows this bit would be background fodder, meaningless, but it wasn't on Buffy (anyone remember that brilliant bit in the beginning of Crush on the Hunchback of Notre Dame?) and it's not here. The teacher pairs up former rivals and nemesises Ryan and Luke to do a project on the Spainish Inquisition. We never see them research or study the Inquisition - other distractions get in the way, but the distractions fit the metaphor. The whole episode is about the Spainish Inquisition.
Luke and Ryan have formed an uneasy truce out of necessity. Luke - all around jock, with perfect family, perfect house, perfect father, and former boyfriend of Marisa - tolerates Ryan - the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, who is living with his defense lawyer and the defense lawyer's family and now dating Luke's ex-girlfriend Marisa.
Luke up to this point, has made fun of Ryan's friend and brother by default (the lawyer's son) calling him queer and a geek. Seth Cohen is a sort of Xander type, complete with skate-board and geeky interests (hence the reason my kid brother has fallen in love with the show and I've resisted it's appeal). Seth has been two-timing two girls - one a Willow type, slightly geeky and brainy who wears funky clothes and cleans her teeth after lunch and one a Cordelia type, shallow, full of herself, lives to shop and wouldn't get a book if it hit her on the nose (Summer is her name). The girls found out about it and are giving Seth the cold shoulder. In fact the Willow type tells Summer, she's angry at Seth not because he'd go out with someone like Summer, but because of the way he treated Summer.
At any rate - Luke and Ryan meet to work on their project. Luke decides to take Ryan to his father's office - his Dad has graphics they can use for the project on his computer. While there, Ryan and Luke
play around with the cars. This is where things begin to get interesting and the metaphor takes off. Turns out Luke's Dad is gay. Not only is he gay, he's having an affair with his business partner - and Luke and Ryan catch them in a passionate embrace at the office. Ryan promises to tell no one. But does tell Marisa.
The next day at school - everyone ends up finding out.
Not only that, but secrets start to pop out all over the place. Seth's father, Sandy finds out from a client that the client recently shared a kiss with Sandy's wife. Meanwhile Sandy's wife (Kristin) and the client's ex- Julie, start to bond, b/c Julie has
been dating Kristin's father. Each secret when it blows - results in the principals undergoing a sort of Spainish Inquisition.
When Luke's secret breaks at school - the kids tease him abominably. He initially takes it out on Ryan.
But later it is Ryan who helps him make it through it.
And Ryan and Luke fight off a band of goons or inquisitors. The Spainish Inquisition was all about torturing someone who was different from you, who did not share your views, believe you your beliefs. In The Spainish Inquisition people were tortured as heretics because they did not follow the norm, they went against the tide. They were different. In high school - when we are different - we are put through a sort of "spainish inquistion". What was clever about the OC was not only are the high school kids put through the inquisition but so are the adults, proving that adults can be as nasty and juvenile as children, sometimes far worse. It's interesting that Luke and Ryan don't spread the information about the father, but his wife does and her friends really spread it - acting much like the inquisitors that Ryan and Luke are studying. Each person or inquisitor acts holier than thou, it's those who've already been through the flames of inquisition who can't bear it and move away or protect the new victim.
The episode also uses an old bugs bunny cartoon - the one where bugs is running from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr Jekyl is nice, Hyde is a demon - a metaphor for the people of the OC who are Dr. Jekyll when it suits them and Mr. Hyde when you don't fit within their societal standards. It also symbolizes the characters - specifically Luke - his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior towards Ryan. Seth's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior towards his two girlfriends. And Julie's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior towards Kristin (in fact we get a close-up of the cartoon right after another Julie/Kristin conversation - symbolizes their unstable friendship).
The show ends, with the former nasty jock, Luke, standing with his fellow misfits - all who have been through their own versions of the Spainish Inquisition. He stands steeling himself. Telling the others he doesn't want to go to school, to go through this. That maybe if he waits...but they tell him running away won't help him, and tomorrow he will still be Luke. They survived and became better people, so will he.
It's an interesting theme - one that may have gone over many viewers heads - that idea that in life we are Dr. Jekyll's and Mr. Hyde's - nice to the people who agree with our worldview and nasty to those who don't. And the whole concept of the societal version of a Spainish Inquisition, that no matter how old we get - continues...
I may have to tune into OC again. Shame it's opposite Angel.
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Welcome to the dark side!
Date: 2003-11-27 07:20 am (UTC)(I feel compelled to note that your lj user link actually goes to a different Ponygirl - I'm Ponygirl2000 and it's all that girl's fault. Curse her!)