I think I have a sort of weird view on this so bear with me. I didn't really get a chance to check out most of the replies to this thread so I don't know exactly how unique my opinion is. I acknowledge that the lesbian cliche is still around as unfortunate as that may be. I also understand how easily Tara's death could be construed as fitting into this cliche. I think ME made the wrong decision and I'm certainly not in favor of it but I don't think that it should be viewed as falling into the category of the cliche. I will try to make this as comprehensive as I can.
Quote:
What is even more damaging is that BtVS writers chose to kill Tara and change Willow and Tara's sex scenes from metaphorical to literal within the same episode. Up until "Seeing Red," all of Willow and Tara's sexual activity had been shrouded in magical metaphor. A sensual magic spell that ended with Willow writhing in orgasmic ecstasy was used to illustrate their first time making love in Season Four's "Who Are You?" Tara magically floated above the couple's bed as Willow hovered out-of-frame in Season Six's "Once More, With Feeling." They never kissed and barely touched during those "love" scenes. But "Seeing Red" removed all magical metaphors and placed Willow and Tara naked in bed together for the very first time. Viewers finally saw them behave like the straight couples on the show...and immediately one died and one turned evil. This seems to say that Willow and Tara were safe as long as things were metaphorical and hidden, but the moment their sex life was brought out in the open, there was hell to pay.
One thing to bear in mind is that the sex scenes were (mostly) not metaphorical by choice but rather by necessity. The networks on which BtVS was aired (specifically UPN) would not allow the couple to kiss on camera or even to lie on a bed together (through season four whenever they're on a bed together one is always sitting up). Once you get to Season 6, they do start "having sex" on screen. Personally, I wouldn't include the
Under Your Spell scene as "metaphorical" as the position is fairly definitive. Whedon called the scene "basically porn." I recognize that this doesn't quite address the point but i just wanted to mention this. To the point. You are upset that Tara was killed in the bedroom, claiming that it was unnecessary. According to the established purpose of Tara's death, it was absolutely necessary. Whedon has a tendency of killing his characters as soon as they complete their story arc
By this I mean as soon as they achieve a purpose or understand the meaning of life, friendship etc. or simply when they've been redeemed from something and are at their happiest (Angel is a quintessential example of both). Willow has finally been redeemed from her addiction and is as happy as she could be by sleeping with Tara (an excellent reason for the sex only becoming this "graphic" in Seeing Red). After this point, Willow's character would have become static had Tara not died.
Quote:
While it is believable that this historically gentle, moral character, who also carries deep-seated insecurities and rage, would murder Warren to avenge Tara's death, her utter descent into evil is extreme and over-the-top, to say the least. Warren's murder is not a quick "crime of passion," but a prolonged stomach-turning gore-fest that climaxes in his skinning and immolation. Her thirst for blood unsatisfied, Vengeance Willow (as UPN calls her) then tries to hunt down Warren's accomplices, Andrew and Jonathan, eliminate her friends and then destroy the world.
Willow's drive to do these things is not madness as a result of Tara's death. Rather, Tara's death is the catalyst that unleashes the dark magics inside Willow, which are ultimately what destroy her. She is distraught by Tara's death, not destroyed. As Anya points out, after she kills Warren she has "moved way beyond vengeance." Tara's death drives her to unleash the magics in order to kill Warren. The magics (a very obvious metaphor for drug and other substance abuse) then cause her to utterly lose her sense of self. In fact, when speaking to Dawn, Dark Willow refers to Willow as a separate entity from herself. The only point at which she returns to the first person is when she speaks about Tara.
Quote:
magic, once the show's primary metaphor for lesbian sex and love, was instead in Season Six portrayed as dark, addictive, and leading to insanity. The message--unintended as it may have been--of this storyline: Lesbian love is an intense, dangerous thing.
The thing is, this is done for a reason. The dual nature of the magic very apparently represents a dichotomy that exists in love and in all human beings. Love
is an intense, even potentially dangerous thing under some circumstances. Love can become self-destructive, just as the magic became for Willow.
Quote:
A man saves the world from the crazy lesbian.
I suppose that is one way to look at the scene. But it seems overly cynical to me. To me, the scene was "love saves the world from a totally out of control and very powerful woman who feels that she has lost hope." The thing is, hope is restored to her by Xander's love. I think this is an important point in understanding why the situation doesn't fall into the cliche. Because Willow is not hopeless by the end. Her descent into madness is caused by a
perceived lack of hope, not an actual one. If, as you state, the lesbian cliche perpetuates an erroneous and extremely harmful stereotype by establishing instances in which lesbian relationships end badly leaving the women involved hopeless or otherwise insane, then I firmly believe that W/T does not fall into this category. You clearly wrote this before Season 7 aired so there are some new factors that need to be taken into account.
Quote:
Joss Whedon (Bronze Beta 5/24/00): "...one post from a gay or questioning teen saying the show helped them is worth six hundred hate letters...Here's the word: Tara's not gonna disappear. She's part of the show, part of Willow's life."
Tara's death does not make her disappear from the show. She is constantly in Willow's heart, informing her actions for the rest of her life.
Quote:
It created the impression in a lot of people's mind that the event of her death was linked to them having sex.
This, to me, is the most unfortunate thing. Not that ME linked the two events, but that so many others did it for them. It seems that when people speculate that this was intention or even the result of the decision it actually strengthens the theory unnecessarily and causes more harm than good.
Quote:
No. First of all, how can Tara be both a mere "plot device" - a tool to get at Willow - and also be a "real person"? That is a contradiction. They can't have it both ways. Is Anya only a "plot device" to get to Xander? No. She has her own storyline and Emma Caulfield is a full regular in the credits. Is Spike a mere "plot device" to get at Buffy? No. Storyline. Credits. Amber Benson was the only Scooby significant other kept out of the credits. Tara was sent away most of S6 and not given an individual storyline, only to be brought back as a "plot device" to make Willow go crazy. From this, one can only conclude that ME didn't view Tara as a "real person" at all. She was a disposable object and she was treated as such.
I don't agree with this. Tara is absolutely considered a real person. Even when she and Willow are separated she grows as a person, she becomes Buffy's confidant, and is clearly an individual. She remains, however a secondary character. The main important aspect of the show is to maintain the momentum of the story which cannot be done if any of the core four have a static storyline. You question the utilitarian accuracy of this tradeoff so allow me to briefly address your answer.
Quote:
Writing is about making choices. Mutant Enemy had plenty of opportunities to send Willow down her dark magic path before "Seeing Red," and they chose not to use them. They could have, for example, had Willow pulled into darkness by her own pride and/or her own insecurity. Willow was clearly headed down this path early in Season Six when she raised Buffy from the dead, threatened Giles, and fought with Tara. But the writers chose to change directions and occupy her with a physical magical "addiction" until May sweeps when they could kill Tara and send her on a quest for vengeance. Mutant Enemy deliberately chose the cliché when plenty of other possibilities were available to them. Not to mention that Willow's Season Six vengeance storyline is merely an extreme retread of Willow's actions in Season Five's "Tough Love," in which she attacked Glory for brain-sucking Tara. Necessary forward progression? That's very arguable.
Whedon's style of writing dictates that it actually did have to be this way. Willow's descent into addiction had to be followed by a redemption (including reuniting with Tara) which then had to be followed by seemingly insurmountable tragedy, only to conclude with a revelation that all is not lost.
Quote:
Well, anyone could have been killed but they weren't. There are five straight major characters and two gay ones on BtVS. Only the gay ones are dead and evil.
Again this no longer applies
but of course I understand your point. I think the issue is viewing Tara as "the gay character" rather than "one of the most beloved characters on the show who is dating the other most beloved character on the show." Whedon himself said that, in order to keep the audience interested, one of the best plot devices to use was putting Willow in danger. This was
before Willow acknowledged that she was gay. As Petrie said, had Willow been seeing a man instead of Tara, they most certainly would have broken up. Potentially, he would have been the one on the receiving end of the bullet. We cannot think that Tara was killed by virtue of being gay, rather by virtue of being the love interest of the most beloved of the core four.
Quote:
Appearances. Are. Everything.
I have a problem with this assertion. Intentions should also be considered. Especially in the case where intentions are not so clear and enforcing the idea that appearances are relevant could actually increase how harmful the appearance becomes.
Quote:
Compare that to Buffy/Riley and Buffy/Spike where there were numerous graphic sex scenes in and out of bed that included full pelvic thrusts, groans, etc. And sadly, as mentioned earlier, Willow and Tara's intimacy led directly into Tara's murder, which is an unfortunate component of the "Dead/Evil Lesbian Cliché." It would have been much preferable to completely separate Tara's death from any sexual acts.
I don't think this is a bad thing. I believe that it was actually a calculated choice by the writers. Sex in television tends to represent an intimate expression of love
or a carnal expression of hedonistic pleasure. The extremely graphic sex that takes place between Buffy and Spike expresses how carnal their lovemaking is and how it is love of body rather than soul. In fact, in Season 7, Buffy and Spike's relationship becomes more about an emotional connection than a physical one, and hence they do not sleep together at all during the season. Similarly, Willow and Tara's relationship is extremely spiritual and not about pure, carnal desire. Therefore, even the most graphic of Willow and Tara's sex scenes is not so graphic. This contrasts directly with Willow's Season 7 relationship which featured the first [graphic] lesbian sex scene on television. That relationship was very apparently not based on a spiritual connection. The sex scene between Angel and Buffy was not
so graphic and, as with Spike, they never again consummated their relationship, relying exclusively on an emotional connection.
Quote:
Equality? Ummmm. No.
14) Doesn't the attitude that lesbians shouldn't die make them unfairly sacrosanct and not subject to the problems that other characters face?
There are actually a fair number of reasons that this is a specious argument. For one thing, what's wrong with keeping them sacrosanct, anyway?
I find this inherently contradictory. If what you want is equality then, again, you shouldn't think of them as the "gay characters." Granted there have been as you say "enough dead lesbians," but in the interest of equality W/T can't simply be considered another lesbian relationship that ended badly, but as a beautiful relationship between two people who loved each other but, unfortunately, life happened. As we know, life was the "Big Bad" of Season 6.
Quote:
Furthermore, seeing how fans were already going to be shocked and hurt by the ending of "Seeing Red," ME did not need to heighten the pain by "mischievously" adding Amber to the credits, building false hope to make their plan of devastation more complete. It was a mean and crass move.
Whedon actually stated once that he always wanted to introduce a character into the opening credits and immediately kill them off. It's not a sadistic or a mischievous move, it is to add another layer of shock and reality to the situation. The point of the entire season was to strip away metaphors and directly address certain issues in real life, like Tara's sudden, tragic death.
I don't want to seem like I don't believe in the existence in the dead/evil lesbian cliche or the harm that it represents. I just firmly believe that Willow and Tara's relationship doesn't fall into the cliche. In fact, I think that claiming it does may only be enforcing the idea that it is for people who haven't considered it and is doing more harm than good. I am confident that some people would never have thought of connecting the end of the relationship with the cliche, and placing the thought in their minds may destroy their view of the relationship, which really is a wonderful inspiration for not only LGBT individuals but for anyone who feels insecure about themselves or relationships in general. And I believe that is inspiration is something that needs to be preserved.