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We all want a bad boy-friend*.
Nov. 6th, 2005 10:33 pmNever having watched an episode of Veronica Mars, be it in a legal or an illegal manner, I wasn't really interested in a conversation on this matter over on the BC&S. Until ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
frenchani got into the conversation with a remark about themes – and you should never ignore Chani's knowledge of themes. Let's quote her:
Oh, it's our whole battle of the sexes rolled into one sentence: the girl gets the guy and changes the lion into a domestic kitten. It's what we are supposed to do, isn't it? It's what is good – as opposed to the evilness / bad-boy-image of the male character. That's what makes us watch: the belief that there's an angel underneath and that we can actually get it out of a man.
On the other hand there's also the image of a girl falling for the bad boy and us loving to watch it, because it isn't the proper thing to do. In my opinion Spike was by far the most interesting character on Buffy. He was the one we weren't supposed to love, being the little bad and all, but we did love him. And in the end he got the good girl, taught her to be naughty and ended up saving the world – and totally fits into the above theme. Well yeah, it must be the idea that everyone can be redeemed in the end.
There are actually two things missing from the grand theme – things that exist in everyday life. First where's the bad girl, and can she be redeemed by love? If we go back to Buffy then we can look at bad girl Faith, who gets redeemed in the end, but out of her own choice and not because she wants to for the boy, whereas Spike gets his soul to make an impression on the girl (and kind of regrets it afterwards). So where's the man who wants to turn his lioness into a purring kitten? The evil girl is accompanied by an evil man (see Bonnie and Clyde or Natural Born Killers); the evil man gets hordes of girls behind him that want to work for his redemption.
Second we also love the bad boy who doesn't get redeemed in the end. We like and adore and cherish the bad boy, because of what he is, because there are no strings attached to what he gives. You can take and leave and he won't make you pay for it. It's what Buffy does when she first hooks up with Spike. It's what probably a great deal of affairs are based on. Unfortunately for Buffy the writers decided to let a bunch of feelings come into play as well. It became more than simple taking and leaving. It became a Theme.
Life doesn't do Themes. It just does without higher meanings and grand Themes. We take what we can get, cherish the moment and then go on living again. The others? Let's just say they read too many Bouquet Romances.
*This is the worse pun ever, but you try writing bad-boy-boyfriend or boyfriend with bad-boy-image and you'll know where I'm coming from.
frenchani got into the conversation with a remark about themes – and you should never ignore Chani's knowledge of themes. Let's quote her:Actually the THEME is "the good girl is attracted to the wannabe-bad guy who actually isn't that bad and she manages to turn him into a good guy".
Oh, it's our whole battle of the sexes rolled into one sentence: the girl gets the guy and changes the lion into a domestic kitten. It's what we are supposed to do, isn't it? It's what is good – as opposed to the evilness / bad-boy-image of the male character. That's what makes us watch: the belief that there's an angel underneath and that we can actually get it out of a man.
On the other hand there's also the image of a girl falling for the bad boy and us loving to watch it, because it isn't the proper thing to do. In my opinion Spike was by far the most interesting character on Buffy. He was the one we weren't supposed to love, being the little bad and all, but we did love him. And in the end he got the good girl, taught her to be naughty and ended up saving the world – and totally fits into the above theme. Well yeah, it must be the idea that everyone can be redeemed in the end.
There are actually two things missing from the grand theme – things that exist in everyday life. First where's the bad girl, and can she be redeemed by love? If we go back to Buffy then we can look at bad girl Faith, who gets redeemed in the end, but out of her own choice and not because she wants to for the boy, whereas Spike gets his soul to make an impression on the girl (and kind of regrets it afterwards). So where's the man who wants to turn his lioness into a purring kitten? The evil girl is accompanied by an evil man (see Bonnie and Clyde or Natural Born Killers); the evil man gets hordes of girls behind him that want to work for his redemption.
Second we also love the bad boy who doesn't get redeemed in the end. We like and adore and cherish the bad boy, because of what he is, because there are no strings attached to what he gives. You can take and leave and he won't make you pay for it. It's what Buffy does when she first hooks up with Spike. It's what probably a great deal of affairs are based on. Unfortunately for Buffy the writers decided to let a bunch of feelings come into play as well. It became more than simple taking and leaving. It became a Theme.
Life doesn't do Themes. It just does without higher meanings and grand Themes. We take what we can get, cherish the moment and then go on living again. The others? Let's just say they read too many Bouquet Romances.
*This is the worse pun ever, but you try writing bad-boy-boyfriend or boyfriend with bad-boy-image and you'll know where I'm coming from.
