Since we're experimenting with discussions this week, write your post as a response to the prompt below on your own blog, then we'll have a discussion by posting comments on this post.
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Madison Burton mentioned how Whedon acknowledged his father and uncle's appreciation of strong women in his speech. This essentially taught Whedon how to view the women in his life. What specifically is contradictory about this is how this view of strong women come from a male perspective. On a certain level it almost implies that women's strength are validated by the view of men. This reveals the codependency that men and women have on each other.
ReplyDeletesarahl elaborated on how women were a "mirror" for the men on "Firefly". This not only develops the men as characters, but also the women. Cracked.com mentions how the women "reached out" for the men on the show, which as I have mentioned in my blog, does not necessarily counter Whedon's feminism. Men and women are dependent upon each other. And, when you look past the opposing sexes in "Firefly", every character is a part of the crew, all on the same ship together, which is another reason they are all dependent upon each other; not just because they are men and women.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting perspective I didn't really think of. The character's in the term of their various personalities really is what make them dependent on each other, not just whether they are male or female. You really can understand the women better also by looking at the men's personalities. They function as different parts of a whole and each represent different characteristics of it.
DeleteI agree with Liam to the extent that Whedon elaborates on how both men and women need each other.Maybe this explains why we spend our lives searching for a life partner.Equality between men and women has been an ongoing process and he makes this known.Maybe he continues to write about strong women among dominant males because he wants to show that women can measure up to a males level.We need one another and in the end were equal regardless of sex and how others see us.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Liam in that the males need the females just as much as the females need the males in the show firefly. I also liked how he pointed out how the females really contradict themselves in this show. Just like we pointed out in class that no human beings are really completely female and completely male. I think that men and women both have some characteristics from the opposite sex. which just like in real life is evident int the show as well.
DeleteThat is a great way of thinking about it, which I had not really thought about, how both males and females need each other, and that would certainly explain why Whedon made the characters the way he did. They essentially complete each other, not only in real life, but especially in the show. The crew would not be the same without the different personalities, both male and female.
DeleteIn Jocelyn's blog I found a lot of points I could really agree with. It was really obvious how often the Cracked website remarked on the appearance of the female characters. That is a point I made on my blog,on why it is necessary to include that when analyzing who they are; this is only done because they are women. I also liked how she said that Whedon's answers to the questions are more for why shouldn't he make strong women characters. He was really passionate with his answers and you can't help but see the strength he puts in the female characters; he makes them more than how they look like.
ReplyDeleteAmber brought up a really good point that I had not thought about when listening to Whedon's speech. She pointed out that the reason he gave so many responses to the question "why do females have such a strong role in your shows", was because there were so many different things that made him realize the importance of equality. I kind of just thought he was messing around and never gave a real answer to the question. She also made a good point that equality is very important and that he was simply trying to portray that using the women in his shows.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I did not really think about that either, but now it makes perfect sense. I think the way he portrays all of the characters so differently kind of also shows how his views on equality may differ. If he thought of it all the same way then all of the characters would be more or less the same. That is a very interesting and critical point that Amber brought up.
DeleteI like how Amber quoted on Whedon on how equality was like gravity. Also how she said that Whedon gave different answers in his interview because he realized how important equality was. I agree with what she said that the cracked website is just someone's opinion about what they think directors put into the female characters. Amber has very good point in her blog, but I what caught my eye was how she said Whedon's interview said that people couldn't accept the position that Whedon puts his characters in. This was interesting because its true most people wouldn't expect to see women do some of the things that men do like fighting wars.
ReplyDeleteNicole brought up an interesting point that I loved, she mentioned that men sometimes get scared of women because they can be so demanding to get exactly what they want. That indeed can be quite frightening. I also agree with her that having powerful female characters makes for an interesting story line. They just add a whole other dynamic to the plot when they kick ass rather then waiting to be rescued.
ReplyDelete