(*reposts original comment for you, heheh*) Okay, long after tomorrow (porn writing tonight) but while I think it's emotionally okay for teenagers to be righteous and impulsive and express the rage (though for the life of me I don't know what Hermione is expressing their rage at in POA), it's not okay for adult to tell them they're right. I am a feminist, and feminism is not about Buffy. Feminism is not about kicking the evil man's ass and abuse your power while doing it- even when they've done absolutely nothing to you.
It's about equality.
I hope moms these days aren't teaching their daughters it's okay to punch males who do nothing but tease them verbally because boys have been on top for so long it's time to fuck the up the ass. That's not what feminism is about at all. Girlpower is not about becoming a macho with tits. It's not about becoming the authority that oppressed you.
Anyway, I know that (a surface viewing of) Buffy & movie!Hermione isn't what grrl-power is all about-- if anything, I was explaining/highlighting the appeal to teenage girls themselves, about which these stories are being told. I was saying, of course Emma Watson digs this idea-- and I remember being 13/14 & so on and being rather keen on the whole arse-kicking venture myself.
I mean, these films (as well as BtVS & such)-- who are they directed at? Girls (and less so, boys) who're around this age, aren't they? And this is what they respond to. It's just-- in there. This -need- for that sort of heroine, this sort of story.
One grows up, of course, and realizes how silly it is to fight fire with fire (and I think BtVS was supposed to be about Buffy's journey to mature womanhood/heroism/feminism mostly). I wasn't saying that feminism is -about- this in total, just that the unrefined urge behind this sort of thing can be seen as a sort of pre-feminist (or protofeminist? something like that).
Yes, certainly, it's about equality in -real life- (in adulthood especially), but it's also about what works in stories, in terms of interpreting these characters, isn't it? I mean, some things work differently in stories because it's a metaphor or a wish-fulfillment thing or an allegory or something.
So while Tank Girl (one of my all-time favorite characters) would just kind of be a joke in the real world, what with the blowing things up and "sticking it to The Man" quite literally, one shouldn't take her that way. She's a metaphor, I think, an archetype in the same way that movie!Hermione can definitely be seen as a story-element & a metaphor.
I think in canon, actually, the more reserved & thoughtful Hermione is definitely more of a true feminist figure in the making than say, OoTP!Ginny or movie!Hermione, but. There's still (feminist) value in these stories, I feel, especially because movie!Draco wasn't really a "real" seeming person so much as an... I dunno... almost a running gag. I mean, in canon too, he's just a convenient punching bag, and this seems awful and unfair until you realize that in context it's more of a metaphor & a convenient plot-device than anything. Of course, in a good story, all characters are "real" characters, and there are no stock villains or whatever, but. *sigh*
I just think I'm much more comfortable with relegating some things away, away, away from the icky outside world with its real morals and its real issues. Wah, allegories/parables & ironically, parodies make my head hurt since they're so much more dependent on author intent. :>
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2004-06-08 02:22 pm (UTC)Okay, long after tomorrow (porn writing tonight) but while I think it's emotionally okay for teenagers to be righteous and impulsive and express the rage (though for the life of me I don't know what Hermione is expressing their rage at in POA), it's not okay for adult to tell them they're right. I am a feminist, and feminism is not about Buffy. Feminism is not about kicking the evil man's ass and abuse your power while doing it- even when they've done absolutely nothing to you.
It's about equality.
I hope moms these days aren't teaching their daughters it's okay to punch males who do nothing but tease them verbally because boys have been on top for so long it's time to fuck the up the ass. That's not what feminism is about at all. Girlpower is not about becoming a macho with tits. It's not about becoming the authority that oppressed you.
Anyway, I know that (a surface viewing of) Buffy & movie!Hermione isn't what grrl-power is all about-- if anything, I was explaining/highlighting the appeal to teenage girls themselves, about which these stories are being told. I was saying, of course Emma Watson digs this idea-- and I remember being 13/14 & so on and being rather keen on the whole arse-kicking venture myself.
I mean, these films (as well as BtVS & such)-- who are they directed at? Girls (and less so, boys) who're around this age, aren't they? And this is what they respond to. It's just-- in there. This -need- for that sort of heroine, this sort of story.
One grows up, of course, and realizes how silly it is to fight fire with fire (and I think BtVS was supposed to be about Buffy's journey to mature womanhood/heroism/feminism mostly). I wasn't saying that feminism is -about- this in total, just that the unrefined urge behind this sort of thing can be seen as a sort of pre-feminist (or protofeminist? something like that).
Yes, certainly, it's about equality in -real life- (in adulthood especially), but it's also about what works in stories, in terms of interpreting these characters, isn't it? I mean, some things work differently in stories because it's a metaphor or a wish-fulfillment thing or an allegory or something.
So while Tank Girl (one of my all-time favorite characters) would just kind of be a joke in the real world, what with the blowing things up and "sticking it to The Man" quite literally, one shouldn't take her that way. She's a metaphor, I think, an archetype in the same way that movie!Hermione can definitely be seen as a story-element & a metaphor.
I think in canon, actually, the more reserved & thoughtful Hermione is definitely more of a true feminist figure in the making than say, OoTP!Ginny or movie!Hermione, but. There's still (feminist) value in these stories, I feel, especially because movie!Draco wasn't really a "real" seeming person so much as an... I dunno... almost a running gag. I mean, in canon too, he's just a convenient punching bag, and this seems awful and unfair until you realize that in context it's more of a metaphor & a convenient plot-device than anything. Of course, in a good story, all characters are "real" characters, and there are no stock villains or whatever, but. *sigh*
I just think I'm much more comfortable with relegating some things away, away, away from the icky outside world with its real morals and its real issues. Wah, allegories/parables & ironically, parodies make my head hurt since they're so much more dependent on author intent. :>