| Subject: I have wanted to see this conversation (r) |
Author:
Nell
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Date Posted: 09:38:12 11/21/01 Wed
In reply to:
~delle
's message, "Wow. What an intense post, "name withheld" (r)" on 08:39:45 11/21/01 Wed
for so long - so glad this board and this story have finally prodded it into being. Thank you.
>Just to be a little snarky for a moment... don't you also think Michael's more sympathetic simply because he's a man (and a HANDSOME!!!! man at that...) and LFN has/had a predominately female audience?
Now, I *know* that will be considered heresy to some of you. ::shrug:: From where I sit, I saw a lot of Michael's cruelties justified and accepted - and Nikita condemned - only because it was *Michael*.<
Yes I do agree and I think you are totally onto something - it seemed to me that for many there was a seriously weird double standard opperating - Michael got away with a lot of crap because we believed he felt *really badly* about it, and he was so, very (!), beautifully emotionally tortured.
Nikita, on the other hand, was frequently condemed as an immature (? moral commitments are only for the young ?) whiner and scold for pointing out the various ethical and moral failings of Michael and Section. And when she sometimes took a detour off the high road herself when she faced a version of the prisoner's delimma, many were very very quick to pronounce her an unredeemable hypocrite and, more or less it seemed to me, write her off as a salvagable character.
Some were dissapointed in her (to say the least) for not knowing about and so forgiving Michael when it was clearly revealed ONLY to the audience and NOT to her that he was :conflicted!: about the many crappy things he did. Some seemed to want her to fall into his arms no matter what he did, regardless.
I think the fact that she was young and beautiful herself had a lot to do with the double standard - many seem to feel that young beautiful women already have all the power they need, so shouldn't complain about anything, ever - So it seemed to me that some in (at least the posting to the measage boards version of!) LFN fandom cut him major slack and cut her off at the knees.
I think the sad thing is that not only was the predominately male creative team behind LFN completely unsure of how they felt about a strong female lead, so were many, many in the audience. They wanted to like her, but at the same time, they didn't want her to have/to give her any real power to change anything for herself or anyone else -- so she was stuck constantly railing against fate - and Michael got to run around and actually do stuff to try and repair a small measure of the damage he caused, which did make her seem shrill while he got to be classically "strong."
And, in the end, when it turned out she had been trying to do stuff to redeem herself and section, it was presented - and read/viewed - not as good 'action' but bad 'betrayal' because it was kept secret (ie - the writers weren't aware of it until very late...:b) from everyone, including the audience, so instead of looking like a strong lead, she looked like a classically sneaky female.
I know I've gotten way off the story, but it is all related to the way this story provokes the discussion about who 'deserved' what from whom!
Whew. Wanted to say/post that for a long time! Obviously I'm sure! LOL!
Happy Thanksgiving All, Nell
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