by Mouseglove » Mon May 13, 2002 10:15 am
Great work, Willowlicious. Even in draft form, this is already a top-notch resource. Looking forward to seeing the finished version.
I have one question about your intentions here. In its final form, is this intended to be an article for general consumption and possible posting on news sites, or more of an academic resource for reference purposes? If its going to be the former, then it will definitely need some trimming. Of course, that kind of editing work is very tricky, especially when you have so much nutritious (and emotionally-charged) content to convey. But it's well worth it because shorter, punchier messages tend to have a stronger and more lasting impact on readers. Especially since theyre more likely to read all the way to the end. Brevity also tends to make prose flow better. If anybody reading this board happens to be a professional editor by trade, they might want to consider volunteering to take a crack at this; it could be a major public service.
But then, If it's meant for reference, then conciseness ceases to be a major issue. In that case, this could become a sort of living document, gradually adding more examples from the media and its real-life impact over time. Naturally you'll want to include some of the additional points contributed by other posters here (Xita's magic=homo=addict=toast equation and Sassette's "queer kids don't usually have queer parents" observation look particularly salient to me).
Or perhaps two different versions could be developed to accomplish two different tasks? It would certainly be better than trying to create a single document to serve both goals. But there's nothing wrong with choosing one purpose and sticking with it; I'm just curious what the goal currently is.
I'd like to raise issue regarding the content. In section 3:
"Compare this to the deaths of straight characters in BtVS - such as Jenny, Angel, Joyce, and Buffy (both times.) Not a single one occurs after a real or implied sexual act. In the cases where sex is even mentioned in passing much earlier in the episode, as with Jenny (who was looking forward to her reconciliation with Giles) and Joyce (who was finally dating again), [b:6118fccab4] there is no consummation;[/b:6118fccab4] the deaths therefore cannot possibly be viscerally felt as punishments for acts performed."
(emphasis mine)
In fact, Joyce's relation with the guy who sent her flowers was indeed consummated. If you recall, Joyce gleefully grossed out her daugher by going into gory details (loved that scene)!
What is important in this case is not so much the events themselves (whether or not sex was had prior to horrible tragic death), as their context. In Joyce's case, we never saw the guy. He was a... sort of a conquest for her. And maybe it's not so for other viewers, but for me the fact that Joyce got well and enjoyably laid the night before she died was a real blessing. It softened the blow for me. Probably didn't do much for the guy when he found out that Joyce died the day after, but we never saw him, so that's not important. What's important is that Joyce was permitted to live a full and satisfying life before she died. The sex was a happy last hurrah, and made it easier to accept her death.
Contrast this with what it was like for W and T and draw your own conclusions.
But the main reason I raise this issue is because if this FAQ does get posted all around the net without changing that "there is no consummation" for Joyce bit, you can bet that naysayers will jump all over it and use it to undermine the credibility of the whole piece. I don't think anybody here wants to see that happen.
Thanks for doing this. Good luck.
