Entry tags:
Y2/D309
Well, I got laundry done today, after being thwarted on Monday. Feel rather accomplished actually. I managed to do the equivalent of seven loads between 6am - 8:30 am. I clocked into work at 7:55 am. (Working remotely today). I was able to finally wash my duvet, duvet cover, throw blanket, pillows, sheets, towels, and assorted clothing. It was actually kind of peaceful and easy doing it at 6 am on a Wednesday morning, no one was done there. This most likely would not have been the case on a Saturday or Sunday. Evenings are often good as well. The trick to doing laundry in an apartment complex is to pick a time no one else wants to do it.
Also went grocery shopping at the health food store after work, and scored gluten free ravoli via Cappelli's made with almond flour. I wanted the Beecher's World's Best gluten-free mac and cheese - but this was by far the healthier option. Apparently they can't have both in at the same time.
My entire immediate family, that isn't in Britain, ordered free At Home COVID Tests from the Federal Government. The one in Britain doesn't need them - the British are ahead of us on this one, and she's well stocked.
She apparently had her first in-person class last week. I wish I was studying Critical Race Theory and Global Economics in London. Well, okay, maybe not - I hated school. But I loved London. Theater in London is far better than theater in NY, granted they are different, but London theater is more affordable and accessible, also there's a greater emphasis on the classics. Helped by the fact that Britain has various State sponsored theaters - such as the National Theater, and the Royal Shakespeare Theater. And a greater wealth of talent. The best theater actors often pop up from Britain. I miss London Theater. Not that I'd be partaking, I'm not exactly partaking in NY. But I've gone a very long time without seeing live theater - the longest I've ever gone. Up until 2020, I was seeing at least one to two shows a year. I was even scheduled to see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with a friend when Broadway shut down.
I miss live theater. I truly love it more than any other brand of cultural entertainment.
COVID took my theater away from me. Let's hope it's temporary.
**
Anyhow, worked from home today and will work from home tomorrow, then back in the office. Work was somewhat productive. We'll see if it becomes more so tomorrow. I sometimes feel as if I'm pushing a piece of paper up a cliff at work. They keep adding layers of bureaucracy. It's ironic, but the bureaucracy was added by the private company consultants, not the folks in government.
Out of boredom more than anything else, okay, curiosity, I checked to see the responses to the Whedon article on Twitter - which was vocal but not quite as expected. Also FB on it - far more active, since they made it into the article.
Re-sharing this insightful interview with Claudia Black:
Claudia Black on the Nevers and Breaking Cycles of Trauma
There's also an interesting thread on Twitter...that pointed out things that had never occurred to me or not in that way, before...regarding Buffy:
It's by a young woman who imprinted on Buffy as a teen and is dissecting how she related to the series.
Constance Grady
![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
constancegrady
·
Jan 17
I often think of Buffy in relation to the Atwood quote, "You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.” Part of the reason it worked extraordinarily well for me as a kid was that it seemed as though the show understood that … and that, for instance, Angel's morning-after speech to Buffy was so painful because it was exactly what the enemy in her mind was going to say.
Anyway. It's interesting to see these blindspots play out in real life.
This never really occurred to me, but it makes sense. The ingrained misogyny in women is that male voice inside our heads. Whedon doesn't appear to realize the guy inside his head is inside the women's heads too, the poster notes. I find that fascinating.
She adds..
Also just worth noting that it's on the record that it's a favorite joke of Whedon's to tell pregnant women that they're fat — he does it for instance in Nell Scovell's memoir. She writes there that she thought it was funny at the time.
It's in Buffy, and various sitcoms, and was prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s. I saw it a lot in the workplace, even as late as 2010.
This is an idea Whedon plays with a lot in his writing, most explicitly in the Buffy episode Conversations with Dead People. There, Buffy says that she feels like she's better than all of her friends, and also like she's a terrible person for thinking that.
From the article:
"A vampire," Whedon said, "is an exalted outsider, a creature that feels like less than everybody else and also kind of more than everybody else. There's this insecurity and arrogance. They do a little dance."
Interesting - that's actually the definition of narcissism. Someone who feels superior but has no real sense of self. They are all ego. And the ego constantly needs to be feed. Narcissist is someone with no soul or sense of self. They are unself-aware.
That episode is a good example of how to make such an admission in a way that seems admirable, even perhaps overly self-flagellating. Buffy's a superhero! Her sins are pretty minimal. She is not, for instance, dating her much-younger employees.
And..
And this is another instance of Whedon seeming to instinctively understand that women do have that enemy in their heads, too. This is absolutely something that would happen on one of his shows, and I don't mean that as a compliment. You can see the storytelling instinct at work.
What she's referencing is an instance related in the interview, where Whedon started dating a Female Pickup Artist who'd written a memoir. When he found out she was into BDSM, he sent her all of his Dollhouse DVDs, and asked to set up a Master/Doll scenario. Which they did for several years. She related in the epilogue of her memoir that the worst thing that had happened to her was her boyfriend breaking up with her on her birthday. Whedon read the book and the epilogue, and they discussed it. Then Whedon went out of his way to show up on her birthday, and break up with her.
And she's absolutely right, it would happen on those shows. Whedon pushed his writers to come up with their most embarrassing, traumatizing moments, and mine the actors for theirs, then write about them. Marsters has indicated this in various Q&A's, as have others, including the writers themselves. Whedon wrote horror, and wrote what he knew and other's knew.
Sorry for all of the Whedon crap. I'm just fascinated by it for some reason or other.
***
It's late, must go to bed. Another early wakeup call tomorrow.
It is supposed to snow tomorrow. It's quiet now, and warmer today. So we shall see.
Random Photo of the Night..
Also went grocery shopping at the health food store after work, and scored gluten free ravoli via Cappelli's made with almond flour. I wanted the Beecher's World's Best gluten-free mac and cheese - but this was by far the healthier option. Apparently they can't have both in at the same time.
My entire immediate family, that isn't in Britain, ordered free At Home COVID Tests from the Federal Government. The one in Britain doesn't need them - the British are ahead of us on this one, and she's well stocked.
She apparently had her first in-person class last week. I wish I was studying Critical Race Theory and Global Economics in London. Well, okay, maybe not - I hated school. But I loved London. Theater in London is far better than theater in NY, granted they are different, but London theater is more affordable and accessible, also there's a greater emphasis on the classics. Helped by the fact that Britain has various State sponsored theaters - such as the National Theater, and the Royal Shakespeare Theater. And a greater wealth of talent. The best theater actors often pop up from Britain. I miss London Theater. Not that I'd be partaking, I'm not exactly partaking in NY. But I've gone a very long time without seeing live theater - the longest I've ever gone. Up until 2020, I was seeing at least one to two shows a year. I was even scheduled to see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with a friend when Broadway shut down.
I miss live theater. I truly love it more than any other brand of cultural entertainment.
COVID took my theater away from me. Let's hope it's temporary.
**
Anyhow, worked from home today and will work from home tomorrow, then back in the office. Work was somewhat productive. We'll see if it becomes more so tomorrow. I sometimes feel as if I'm pushing a piece of paper up a cliff at work. They keep adding layers of bureaucracy. It's ironic, but the bureaucracy was added by the private company consultants, not the folks in government.
Out of boredom more than anything else, okay, curiosity, I checked to see the responses to the Whedon article on Twitter - which was vocal but not quite as expected. Also FB on it - far more active, since they made it into the article.
Re-sharing this insightful interview with Claudia Black:
Claudia Black on the Nevers and Breaking Cycles of Trauma
There's also an interesting thread on Twitter...that pointed out things that had never occurred to me or not in that way, before...regarding Buffy:
It's by a young woman who imprinted on Buffy as a teen and is dissecting how she related to the series.
Constance Grady
constancegrady·
Jan 17
I often think of Buffy in relation to the Atwood quote, "You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.” Part of the reason it worked extraordinarily well for me as a kid was that it seemed as though the show understood that … and that, for instance, Angel's morning-after speech to Buffy was so painful because it was exactly what the enemy in her mind was going to say.
Anyway. It's interesting to see these blindspots play out in real life.
This never really occurred to me, but it makes sense. The ingrained misogyny in women is that male voice inside our heads. Whedon doesn't appear to realize the guy inside his head is inside the women's heads too, the poster notes. I find that fascinating.
She adds..
Also just worth noting that it's on the record that it's a favorite joke of Whedon's to tell pregnant women that they're fat — he does it for instance in Nell Scovell's memoir. She writes there that she thought it was funny at the time.
It's in Buffy, and various sitcoms, and was prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s. I saw it a lot in the workplace, even as late as 2010.
This is an idea Whedon plays with a lot in his writing, most explicitly in the Buffy episode Conversations with Dead People. There, Buffy says that she feels like she's better than all of her friends, and also like she's a terrible person for thinking that.
From the article:
"A vampire," Whedon said, "is an exalted outsider, a creature that feels like less than everybody else and also kind of more than everybody else. There's this insecurity and arrogance. They do a little dance."
Interesting - that's actually the definition of narcissism. Someone who feels superior but has no real sense of self. They are all ego. And the ego constantly needs to be feed. Narcissist is someone with no soul or sense of self. They are unself-aware.
That episode is a good example of how to make such an admission in a way that seems admirable, even perhaps overly self-flagellating. Buffy's a superhero! Her sins are pretty minimal. She is not, for instance, dating her much-younger employees.
And..
And this is another instance of Whedon seeming to instinctively understand that women do have that enemy in their heads, too. This is absolutely something that would happen on one of his shows, and I don't mean that as a compliment. You can see the storytelling instinct at work.
What she's referencing is an instance related in the interview, where Whedon started dating a Female Pickup Artist who'd written a memoir. When he found out she was into BDSM, he sent her all of his Dollhouse DVDs, and asked to set up a Master/Doll scenario. Which they did for several years. She related in the epilogue of her memoir that the worst thing that had happened to her was her boyfriend breaking up with her on her birthday. Whedon read the book and the epilogue, and they discussed it. Then Whedon went out of his way to show up on her birthday, and break up with her.
And she's absolutely right, it would happen on those shows. Whedon pushed his writers to come up with their most embarrassing, traumatizing moments, and mine the actors for theirs, then write about them. Marsters has indicated this in various Q&A's, as have others, including the writers themselves. Whedon wrote horror, and wrote what he knew and other's knew.
Sorry for all of the Whedon crap. I'm just fascinated by it for some reason or other.
***
It's late, must go to bed. Another early wakeup call tomorrow.
It is supposed to snow tomorrow. It's quiet now, and warmer today. So we shall see.
Random Photo of the Night..
no subject
Don't be sorry. On the surface, the discussion is seemingly about this one man, but in reality it's about all of us, our weaknesses, our strengths, and how we are aware / not aware of them, and how that all informs the way we interact with the world.
This quote from the Claudia Black interview stuck with me:
A lot of writers became directors because they were sick of people, in their eyes, destroying what they had written. And so there's enormous power for writers becoming directors. And a lot of those writers become directors. Again, this is not specific to any particular production I've worked on. But what I've experienced, in 30 years in the business, is often the writers do not have the skillset required for directors, in terms of communicating and the way they behave on set.
You mentioned in a previous post about the possibility that Whedon is a narcissist and possibly a sociopath. I have no disagreement with the narcissist label, that seems plainly obvious to ne. As to a sociopath, though... no, I'd say there is a difference between someone who does not have any empathy for others, and one who has perhaps a borderline dual or multiple personality disorder. I don;t see how Whedon could create the art he has if there was not a part of him-- maybe even a very strong part-- that appreciates the discrimination that others unfairly suffer.
But it's clear by now that inside his mind is a damaged portion that insists on taking that burrowed resentment for the traumas in his life and stoking them, pulling them to the surface in ways both minor and major, and he strikes out. Perhaps, he sees it as a way to keep from completely exploding, to do something in a fit of passion that could land him in prison, or financially ruined. And he can't get the demon, as it were, to go away.
Please not I am not making excuses for his poor behavior, only trying, as I suspect you and others are, of trying to understand. Just a little while ago, I was watching a PBS Frontline update showing the effects of widely spread conspiracy theories on recent US politics, culminating in the January 6th debacle.
As I watched it, what repeatedly came to my mind was not that such theories propagate, but that they infect such a huge number of people, even those who outwardly seem to be intelligent enough to dismiss them.
Whedon isn't the only damaged soul out there, and at least he isn't running for office.
Thanks again for your metas, kat, I appreciate them.
no subject
On the surface, the discussion is seemingly about this one man, but in reality it's about all of us, our weaknesses, our strengths, and how we are aware / not aware of them, and how that all informs the way we interact with the world.
The article on Whedon is fascinating, because it isn't just about Whedon but about the multiple levels of insanity that surrounded him. Things that on their surface appear relatively innocuous but really aren't.
How the fandom reacted to Whedon - is a reflection of how folks reacted to Trump and the January 6th debacle, also the reactions I've seen to RT Davies, and other creators. I mean the scholarly community put him and his works on a pedestal because there was something in them that struck such a strong chord or resonated so strongly.
But I find myself wondering what it is in something that causes people to worship it? Often without question?
I had a falling out with a friend over Whedon years ago. I was and am heavily critical of his works and Whedon himself. My friend thought Whedon could do no wrong, and just wanted to applaud him - she objected to the criticism. She met him in person. Had a picture of herself with him, and had his autograph. She even posted the picture of herself with him on her journal and FB, it's still there. (She's died long before any of this came out, and our falling out was about a year or so prior to her death. So, I've no clue how she'd have reacted to any of this.)
And it's not just Whedon that folks worship. Zack Snyder has his toxic fandom as well. As does Trump.
You mentioned in a previous post about the possibility that Whedon is a narcissist and possibly a sociopath. I have no disagreement with the narcissist label, that seems plainly obvious to ne. As to a sociopath, though... no, I'd say there is a difference between someone who does not have any empathy for others, and one who has perhaps a borderline dual or multiple personality disorder.
I agree. The sociopath label doesn't quite work. And someone pointed out on FB, the term narcissism may be incorrect as well. I believe he is mentally ill. And it is far more than PTSD. He's sadistic at times, yes, but he's not quite a sociopath like Trump. If he were - he wouldn't be championing liberal causes, nor would he have such strong issues with torture porn, and go so far as to write a film that subverts it. I don't think Whedon is a simple black hat villain. Anymore than Andrew Cuomo is, or Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, etc.
Also I agree Claudia Black's article - makes the same salient points, that part of this is situational. Bill Cosby's actions were enabled and in a way evolved out of his interactions with an increasingly toxic industry and work environment. (He was spending a lot of time at the Playboy mansion.) Cuomo was kind of similar, it's how his father behaved, and those around him.
And Hollywood or the film industry has a tendency to cater to one group, or one side - so their stories are heard over others.
And a lot of those writers become directors. Again, this is not specific to any particular production I've worked on. But what I've experienced, in 30 years in the business, is often the writers do not have the skillset required for directors, in terms of communicating and the way they behave on set.
And the article, along with other articles I've read - demonstrates and provides examples of this inability to communicate what was in his head to the actors. Whedon is a better writer than he is a speaker. The article states at one point...
Joss “is a layered and complex communicator,” one longtime collaborator told me. “His tone is deflecting, it’s funny, it’s got wordplay, rhyme, quote marks, some mumbles, self-deprecation, a comic-book allusion, a Sondheim allusion, and some words they only use in England. This means you, the recipient, have to do some decoding. You have to decide if there was a message in there that was meant to correct you, sting you, rib you affectionately, or shyly praise you.”
And in an interview with an actor on the Nevers that I read some time ago, the actor stated that while Whedon was a great writer, he wasn't a good director - he often had no clue what he wanted and had difficulty conveying what he did.
Joss's means of communicating would drive most people nuts. Add to that he has the writer fetish of wanting to get the words, including the commas exact. As a screenwriter, playwright or television writer - it's important to see yourself as part of a collaboration. And not be too wedded to your words. The director Robert Altman often threw out the script and just let the actors create. And others do the same. Actor's may forget lines and ad-lib, and the ad-lib may be better.
So, we have a writer, with "complex rejection issues" playing director and with a lot of power, add to that - the "cult of personality" - and that's an explosive cocktail. This explains his actions on-set, but not off set.
no subject
no subject
no subject
And well, we choose to read it, and think about it.
The general conversation on topic - how to enjoy the work of art when its creator is a crappy person will go on and on, because there is no definitive answer, every time every body will debate it again and again for themselves.
Interesting - that's actually the definition of narcissism. Someone who feels superior but has no real sense of self. They are all ego. And the ego constantly needs to be feed. Narcissist is someone with no soul or sense of self. They are unself-aware.
that's exactly what they did on Buffy though right? where vampires' lack of reflection in the mirror translated into lack of self-reflection and self-awareness
no subject
It is. The vampire's didn't appear to have reflection or awareness until they got a soul. The soul made them aware.
Which is something that hadn't occurred to me until I read this article.
***
The general conversation on topic - how to enjoy the work of art when its creator is a crappy person will go on and on, because there is no definitive answer, every time every body will debate it again and again for themselves.
It's rather topical now - since we have "cancel culture" - where people are shaming each other online into canceling or boycotting a specific artist. Yet at the same time, telling people, well, yes, you can enjoy their work, just don't let the artist do anything else.
I think we all want some sort of justice or a means of stopping the abuse. And we feel guilty enjoying products that may or may not have resulted in the abuse.
Do we buy the painting Picasso made of a child he sexually abused? Picasso is dead. Does it matter?
Do we watch DVD's of a television show that the featured the creators darkest fantasies, and he practiced in reality? Well, I don't know...how much he really could, and it was consensual, and everyone has dark fantasies.
I don't know, I agree there isn't really one answer to that. And it may not matter. I kept wanting to tell idiots on Twitter that they could watch Buffy without worrying over Whedon making money off of it - Whedon doesn't own the rights and doesn't make a dime off of Buffy. Fox and someone else do.
He's not JK Rowlings, he sold all his rights to Buffy ages ago, and had a development deal with Fox. I don't think he owns any of the television shows that he ran - no show-runner truly does. They are work for hires - done for someone else.