Discussing Cultural Media on the Internet...or how emotions can hijack logic and vice versa

1. Was having an interesting conversation about metaphor with the Momster the other day - mainly in regards to the tv show Once Upon A Time. And this is a good story, actually, to demonstrate how differently people think, even those related to each other.

( very vague spoilers for last week's Once Upon a Time )

2. It struck me today that I'm not really triggered by tv shows or fictional stories so much as people's reactions to those stories. It's a weird dilemma. I want to discuss these stories with others...but I also, want to enjoy the story and sometimes the two are counter-productive.

Examples? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I desperately wanted to discuss this series in Seasons 6 and 7, and in some respects loved those seasons, but I had to deal with a volatile online fandom. And often they'd make me hate something, I'd have loved if I wasn't interacting with them. Farscape - was easier to watch, because I watched it long after it aired, and so the fandom wasn't really that active. No problems. BSG however...had similar issues. It was hard for example to enjoy the Quadrangle of Doom - when everyone hated it so much online. I actually found it sort of interesting and I happen to like Quadrangles (or I wouldn't put up with soap operas). And god help you if you wanted to discuss the fact that Spike felt remorse, painful remorse at that, after attacking Buffy in Seeing Red. I was more interested and intrigued by why he felt deep remorse after the AR scene, than I was about the AR scene - which I more or less saw coming from a mile away. I found the AR scene not all that interesting, except in how it was shot and edited - that interested me. We had a rather lengthy discussion about that on the ATPOBTVS board at the time - that board was mainly made up of frustrated English Lit, Philosophy, History, and Psychology Majors with a pedantic streak. Our arguments tended to devolve into:
( example 1 - a discussion hijacked by pendants. )

That's a bit exaggerated. But you get the point. While hilarious in retrospect, it was at times extremely annoying. I'd find myself involved in lengthy fights over semantics. Although, this was admittedly better than:

( discussion hijacked by emotion, warning it's about the AR scene in Seeing Red and bound to push someone's buttons, so if this is a trigger, best to avoid. )

I really never minded what the tv show did, it was the fan reactions that drove me nuts. you couldn't discuss these things without getting into a pissing match - to the point that you wanted to kill the other poster, literally. Although, I am being a bit disingenuous here - since I did care - a great deal about what the comics did. And I'm sure people got annoyed with my reactions on that score. Because once your buttons are pushed, it's a bit hard to be rational or mature. That's the problem with discussing cultural media...emotions and critical thinking can hijack the proceedings. In the first example - it's the pedant that hijacks the discussion - trust me, I've read and engaged in very long arguments over the definition of a word. I remember in LJ once going over 100 comments on what a frigging soul was defined as. One poster notably was upset that we all didn't share the same moral world view or values. And I responded somewhat crankily - "share the same world view? We can't even agree on the definition of a soul in a tv show." And in another thread? We went 30 posts arguing about whether Bangle or Spuffy shippers wore rose-colored glasses and could not rationally discuss the characters. (Answer? Both can't. Depends on the situation though.)

The two episodes on Buffy that drove me the most nuts in regards to fandom? Actually there were three:

* Dead Things (extremely long arguments about domestic violence and the damn balcony scene (half of fandom thought it was rape).)
* Seeing Red (Lesbian Cliche and the AR scene, take your pick)
* Lies My Parents Told Me (Martyred Mom - Nikki Wood, Robin Wood, Spike, and the stupid jacket. People - I kept wanting to scream, read Frank Miller's Sin City and get back to me. This is Comic Book Pulp Noir Horror Fantasy, it's not supposed to be politically correct people, haven't you ever read or watched this stuff?)

I sometimes wonder if Shakespeare's fans had these fights?

I got to make dinner. Enuf of this. Make of it what you will.

OUAT, Good Wife, Merlin and Lost Girl

While The Good Wife episode entitled "The Ham Sandwich" - rocked, I mean really rocked. That was a brilliant episode and a satisfying one as well. Once Upon a Time is starting to frustrate me.

Dear writers of Once Upon a Time, either kill off the bwwahhahha evil Regina, or give me a reason to feel sympathy for her. Because right now, she's starting to grate on my nerves, and having her win in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE is getting old. Keep it up and I'll jump ship. The whole proverbial carrot routine that was such an in-thing dramatically in the 20th Century, isn't going to work in the 21st when we have serials like the Good Wife, Dowton Abbey, Justified, etc to choose from.

In short? Get to the bleeding point. LOST drug out too long too. Learn from Lost's mistakes, pronto.

I'm of two minds about Once - I love the metaphors. And the back story on Sydney Glass, otherwise known as Regina's mirror, is quite brilliant. But it also paints Regina as a classic Narcissist with no redeeming value. This is a problem. Morgana on Merlin is more sympathetic.

Speaking of Merlin? I finally figured out who the guy playing Arthur's Uncle/Cheif Advisor and Morgana's co-conspirator is - he's the actor who played Inspector Lynely on the Lynely Mysteries.
(Courtesy of the Momster). I already knew who James Callis was - because I adored that actor in BattleStar Galatica v.2. This past week's Merlin also rocked. We got to see a really cute white dragon. I have weakness for dragons, I admit it. The Momster and I suddenly wished we had kept all those Anne McCaffrey Dragon Riders of Pern novels, so we could re-read them.

Rather love Merlin. Lost Girl...sigh, can the dialogue be any more wooden or the acting for that matter? Yes, the guy playing the fae cop is sort of hot and looks like a Fae, but...this show is really badly written and this comes from someone who has watched a lot of bad television in her lifetime. It may be too bad for me to tolerate. I refuse to watch the US version of Being Human, it's just so cheesy, and once you see the British version...well let's just say, the US is unwatchable. I don't know if I'd have liked it - if I hadn't seen the British version first. Possible. But now that I have seen the British version - I just can't watch the US one.

Okay off to bed. May write a more in-depth review on Once and Good Wife later.

Here's a few quickie impressions:
( spoilers for Once Upon a Time )

( Good Wife )