gwyn | Down to the Wire

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the wire

Down to the Wire

I'm in a monstrously grumptastic mood today, and one of the things I was thinking about this morning while grumbling through getting ready for work is how annoyed I am by the disappearance of conversation in my fannish life, how few people want to actually talk about anything and how the disparity between the fannish consumer and the fannish producer has grown even more pronounced and how much I hate that (the idea that because someone isn't a writer or vidder they have no intrinsic value sends me into a frenzy of anger), and mostly, how much I resent the fact that I have no more shows to review. That was the defining thing for me in starting this LJ: the chance to write the meta, generate discussion (even if sometimes the discussions haven't been pleasant), review and critique and dissect, and I have nothing to do that with anymore. Because of the asshat executives who cancelled both Firefly and Angel, the best shows -- the Jossverse -- for reviews are gone, and there is nothing currently airing that I either enjoy, or that is the kind of show worth reviewing. Much as I love Gilmore Girls, for instance, it's not a reviewy show the way Buffy, Angel, and Firefly were for me.

I don't like Lost (mark my words, JJ Abrams will only bring you heartache and misery) and only endure it for Naveen Andrews, and even with Alias and some new eps of Spooks/MI-5 and 24 coming up, I doubt there will really be anything reviewy there either. The only things I've had the slightest passing interest in this year are Kevin Hill (watchable solely for the luscious Taye Diggs), and Veronica Mars, but it doesn't always hold my interest, and isn't so far a review the next day type show. I miss the discussion, the analysis, the whole... fun of picking things apart and looking for deeper meanings. It makes me grumpy that I haven't got anything like that. The Shield will also be coming up, but... they lost me a while ago and now I watch more out of loyalty than anything. I loathe and despise the crime procedurals with the white hot fury of a thousand burning suns, but have to watch the despicable and cretinous CSI:NY for my favorite actor, Gary Sinise. The only procedural I give a crap about is Without a Trace and it's more a tribute to that cast and the personal storylines than anything else.

The best things are all on pay cable, which I can't afford. I will be waiting for the S2 discs of Dead Like Me, for a while, I'm sure, but look forward to seeing it; can't wait to watch Carnivale on something better than the horrible rainbowed dark and murky tapes we saw first season on, and eagerly await the ability to view the second season. The idea of more Deadwood is thrilling, too. But none of these are shows I can sink teeth into because I often won't see them for months and months and months after they air. One of my favorite discoveries so far is The Wire. I really like this series and am only to episode 5. I wish I'd had the chance to watch this series as it aired; it would have been interesting to review, especially because I have no idea half the time what's happening. I can't keep about 2/3 of the characters straight, and especially the different gang street wars confuse me, as do the relationships of the hateful, venal cops that McNulty battles with. (Plus, crime! While I'm writing a crime-based WIP, it's enormously helpful as research material.)

But when I get what's going on, what a wing-ding of a show it is. It's also one of the few shows I've seen that deals with homosexuality on a fairly realistic basis and challenges assumptions about its acceptance in these very tough, often discriminatory worlds. Not they don't also play it for a little prurient interest, as well, but it's fairer than most other shows could hope to be. Omar, the one criminal character who seems to be on opposite sides of the Barksdale group, in particular fascinates me: his elaborate cornrows and his cool facial scar; his obvious tender love of his boyfriend in a world where a homosexual man is most decidedly not welcome; his sarcastic wit and wary perspicacity; his amusing idiosyncracies such as not wanting his boyfriend to swear because it's uncouth and his friendliness to the cops... I could watch him alone on this show and be happy. I've never seen a young black male character, especially a drug-dealing homicidal thug, portrayed like this, and I'm mesmerized not just by the role but by the actor (and his boyfriend, as well). I have a bad feeling subsequent episodes will bring bad things for him, but I'm enjoying these, anyway.

I also like the lesbian cop McNulty works with, whose name totally escapes me right now. The actress is up and down, not always on top of the role, but the character has a really unusual background and relationships with people that I've never seen before, especially when most shows would just have her be the dyke cop in the background. Anyway, I have quite a few more S1 discs to get through, and am looking forward to seeing Aiden Gillen when he arrives. But this is the first show that feels rich enough in characters and story arcs to be a review-worthy outside of Deadwood, but like Deadwood, I'm seeing these so much later that I never have the chance to get down and dirty with them. I miss that, a lot. Most of the time I don't miss the grind of movie reviewing, but sometimes I do, and have been feeling the loss of writing my little post-ep TV reviews in LJ a lot this fall. The Wire is definitely a series worth that kind of attention. I'm almost thinking of investing in the discs becuase it would make such a great vidding show, as well, but I'll have to think about that.

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As fandom's gotten larger and larger, the focus has shifted primarily to the producers -- especially the prolific and vocal producers -- and the "just consumers" now think they have no voice or right or need to speak up.

I hear this frequently, but I'm kind of in the camp that thinks this is more an effect of fandom moving to the net. It's never *not* been like this since I got in fandom. I had the same feeling when I first got online, knowing nothing, not even aware that *fandom* of this sort existed at all. It wasn't something I ever experienced before, despite being someone who went to a lot of conventions (sci-fi, comic cons) before I even had computer access. It didn't take me long to trip over "big" fans, people everyone knew, everyone referenced, especially *slash* which was still fairly small (as far as my perception went) Kellie Matthews, Kevin Robnett, those were my BNF's. I didn't feel like I had anything much to say about the show (HL) or the characters or concepts and it took me a couple of years, I think, before I felt confident enough to actually discuss things like characterization or arcs or underlying texts and messages...but what I could do was *write*. And it's what I did. But I also sent pretty gushing fan-girly letter to people, feeling pretty stupid and presumptuous at the time. The discussions were *so* very much of an academic-like nature that I felt totally inadequate. I still do, watching the discussions on LJ, where people who really do understand literary standards and are vastly more well-read than I make me feel like a first year comparative lit student again and I sucked at that class.

I don't disagree that some BNF's take themselves way to seriously, but I think that's more of function of their personalities that their status. (and the willingness of other people to fawn.) I've been there and the first time anyone ever referred to me as a BNF I was pretty much like, "what? are you nuts? all I do is write stories -- and badly edited ones at that."

It took me awhile to realize the status had way more to do with the fact that I was prolific rather than because I was good or because I contributed in some overall way to the whole HL fandom -- most of whom were still calling slash both an abomination and an aberration.

My one definition of a BNF is still guided by those early people, the people who actually influenced fandom in some way, either by producing or analyzing or being a reference, and people who have a high amount of name recognition.

Gah. all I think I'm saying is that I know it's different for you, but for me, coming in so much later, it's always been like this. HL was a balkanized fandom long before that became the term du jour, long before TPM hit the net...and even long before I realized there had been a whole other fannish existence before the net. The only thing I see now is that the people who can discuss fannish tropes (either fandom specific or on the meta level) -- they are hard to keep track of -- there's so many and way too many fandoms for me to keep up with. But there are a few. Cathexis comes to mind for the meta. Cereta at the fanfic Symposium, not because of what she writes but because of the kind of space she provides. And you do too, Gwyn, when I think of people who have managed to reach across multiple fandoms and leave an impact. I know you don't think you have but really, I think it's there.

While a lot of it is definitely longing for Ye Olden Dayes, much of it is just a longing for the ability to have something to talk about! I think one of the things that Joss Whedon's shows did was to inspire people into other areas that they never thought they might enter -- people discovered fandom at large, got into other things, conversation was encouraged, and so on. They were a great entry-level force that I don't see in any other fandom. Heck I think even people who didn't watch any of them felt their impact by widening the fan base so much.

Most of my friends who've been in fandom a long time are kind of tired out, the newer ones have drifted because the things that brought them in are gone and they have no passion, and the ones who are still active consumers think they shouldn't say anything because they're just consumers. Ergo, no one's saying much of anything at all. Ennui, I guess. And as passionate as I am about F&F, no one is talking. There's writing going on, but no talking. For most people that's fine; for me, it's a huge hole. I'm a talker, I guess.

What do you want to talk about? [g].

We can dissect the varying approaches to Dom...misunderstood or borderline psychopath? And is Brian jsut a serious adrenaline junkie or does he seriously have a death wish?

I can argue for both...

Every once in a while I think about starting a list. And then I think, no. Because I'd like to discuss the whole universe, and fic, and vids, and everything, and inevitably someone will bitch if it's an open list (you're so meeeeeen) or someone will be a flagrant diva and quash discussion, and if it's a private list, then no one will talk after the initial flurry. So I gave up that thought. I dunno.

I've been thinking about doing a variation on lierdumoa's my Dom is... my Brian is... post. Maybe I should.

We can dissect the varying approaches to Dom...misunderstood or borderline psychopath?

Can he be both? ;-) The thing I think rubs me the wrong way most in this fandom is that yet again, we have the big mean ugly mean guy syndrome (all the tough ones are big and mean and ugly and mean!) and the pretty frail girly suffering angelic beloved guy syndrome. I hate that. I actually think, in a lot of ways, that Dom is way more sensitive and emotional than Brian is -- you see it especially with Mia, the way he relates to his team, especially in that dinner scene. But he's just big ugly mean guy to 90% of the fandom, because Brian is so pretty and sweet and frail and the "little guy" (nemmind that he's taller). Gah. So, anyway, I think Dom can be both misunderstood and a psycho. He's got lots of facets. (Though not a psycopath -- psychotic, maybe, but not -path, since that indicates an entirely different behavior set and relates strongly to sociopathology, which he is decidedly not.)

Can he be both? ;-) The thing I think rubs me the wrong way most in this fandom is that yet again, we have the big mean ugly mean guy syndrome (all the tough ones are big and mean and ugly and mean!) and the pretty frail girly suffering angelic beloved guy syndrome. I hate that. I actually think, in a lot of ways, that Dom is way more sensitive and emotional than Brian is -- you see it especially with Mia, the way he relates to his team, especially in that dinner scene. But he's just big ugly mean guy to 90% of the fandom, because Brian is so pretty and sweet and frail and the "little guy" (nemmind that he's taller). Gah. So, anyway, I think Dom can be both misunderstood and a psycho. He's got lots of facets.

Se, we really are experiencing this fandom differently, because my first impression was that it was all about Dom -- that people missed (or ignored ) the fact that while he is indeed, kind of a nurturing , take-care-of-family guy, he is also a criminal. Not just for Linder but because he's been master minding truck heists for months, and when he's not doing that, he racing illegally. Both of which are part of his allure and his charm, but I definitely go the impression that None Of It Was His Fault. Granted, the impression didn't last long and by the time I'd read most of what was out there, it seemed more balanced. My impression was that yeah, in some corners, Brian was the frail tiny one…but also that he was the one in the Wrong for lying to Dom about who he was. (Which you know, maybe he was, but uh, criminal. Police investigation…)

I am all for the rebel without a cause admiration -- really. And I don't actually see Dom as really being psychotic. I think he consciously puts that rep out there because you know, in the crowd he runs with, it's useful.

I do agree that Dom is both sensitive and more emotional, although I think it's more that dichotomy of Brian appearing sensitive (which he is, but it's more obvious on him) but less outwardly emotional, whereas Dom's sensitivity is something you only catch glimpses of but emotionally, he is *out* there. Angry, happy, impatient, amused, what he's feeling you see immediately. In truth, I think Brian has more pathological behaviors than Dom, mostly because we never really see in the film what *drives* him. We know, or see more of what drives Dom, for good or bad.

I have this theory (my theory actually goes better with a large glass of alcohol in hand, but I can't do that over the net) about slash: 90% of slash fandom has to have a girl. They don't know they want a girl, they think they don't, but they do. So one guy gets to be the girl -- and it's always, always the one who: is shorter or thinner (Brian, Ray Doyle), intellectual (Blair, Daniel), younger (Vin Tanner), works in some type of non-establishment job or manner (Mulder), or any combo of the above (Methos being a weird combo/non-representative ringer, but he is thinner and therefore so much more girly, you know). We ten percenters have a lot more trouble because I think in most ways, Brian really is the tougher one emotionally. the big twist is that Brian is the hero of the piece, and that's usually exclusively the Big Mean Ugly Guy role (Jim, Duncan, Chris -- especially because he is the authority figure, which earns him the title even though he's the one who cries canonically on the show! -- and so on). Dom's a true anti-hero, like kadymae has talked about.

The problem might be too that Vin Diesel kind of walked off with the movie and so a lot of the attention was focused on him. It was such a star-making role that probably if you're coming into the fandom but not a fan of his, you would think it was oriented that way, but that 90% of the slash world, they're all cooing over the girl of the piece (just ask a Stargate fan who likes Jack just as he is!), which is what I noticed right away with Brian. And they make him such a fucking saint and it's just like... jesus christ, he let the criminal go! He's not much better!

Brian doesn't fit the role, though -- that's what's so frustrating. He's pretty, yeah, but we know next to nothing about him, whereas we get to know Dom very well. We rarely get to see his emotions beyond surface stuff, but Dom runs the gamut. In a way, they set Brian up almost too heroically by making him so mysterious that he loses focus. Which I think also attracts the "pretty girl" fans.

I like the fact that Dom is a criminal. I like how he's teetering on the edge of something really dangerous. Because I don't think that's who he is, really, but what he's become to be in the only world he knows how to live in. Watching The Wire recently has been cool that way -- it's a rare show where both sides of the law are given a chance to show all their facets, good and bad, and I think that's what F&F did really well with Dom. Unfortunately, they forgot to fill in stuff with Brian until the second movie!

Oh and this is getting too long, but I have Tanner thinking about something in a very mocking sarcastic way in the next part that I think is at work here -- that whole "you can't cage a beautiful wild animal, you have to let him roam free" kind of over the top shit. I think that could be a really funny concept to work with, seen from the other side.

I have this theory (my theory actually goes better with a large glass of alcohol in hand, but I can't do that over the net) about slash: 90% of slash fandom has to have a girl. They don't know they want a girl, they think they don't, but they do. So one guy gets to be the girl --

I don't disagree with that. In a way, given that most slash writers are women, it makes sense. It's a) what they are familiar with and while it may not go as far as self-identification, it's still close enough to count and b) it's what they are familiar with [g] in that it's what most of us (not all) but most of us grew up reading -- that kind of romance, the soft against the hard, the emotional against the logical, the taming of men by love, the rise of a woman's self esteem by being the one to tame such a wild creature. That's a highly idealized look at it and I'm not abandoning all my feminist roots, but that framework is there, for nearly every woman regardless of whether they embrace it, revile it or want to change it -- it's still a common point of reference.

which is what I noticed right away with Brian. And they make him such a fucking saint and it's just like... jesus christ, he let the criminal go! He's not much better!

Well, I'd agree that he's not a saint, but at the same time, I don't think my impression of the fandom as a whole is that he's made out to be one. More like a tarnished angel…throwing it all away for love. I do it myself to some extent mostly because I think *Dom* sees him that way. I mean, Brian ends up forcing Dom to look at things differently through the whole movie. Not just what he's doing with his life, but everything. Dom tacitly gives his approval to Dom and Mia when you kind of get the impression that maybe Mia and Dom have clashed on this before. Set up or not, Brian saves Dom's ass from the cops after the first race, making him wonder where his team was and how much reciprocity is going on there -- because given the party scene Dom and Brian walk into, if Dom had been picked up, he might have been cooling his heels in jail overnight until someone gave him a phone, and my guess is that it would have been Mia he'd call to either bail him out or come get him, rather than Vince or Leon or even Letty. And even after Brain reveals that he's a cop, Dom still owes him, for Vince, for doing that Dom couldn't. There's a lot of sacrifice on Brian 's part regardless of motive and on some level, Dom had to wonder why Brian is like that…yeah, he let him go, and if you take 2F2F into account, Brian then *ran* and didn't face the music, not voluntarily. In my own head, in my own writing, I have that in the back of my mind -- that in UB, if Dom hadn't come back (also regardless of reason) Brian would have run anyway. So for me, the idea was to balance the scales back out -- only Dom doesn't know he id. I'm not sure Brian realizes it entirely. Be a different twist to take if I ever get around to doing another ending.

I'll come back to this but it's midnight here and my brain is shutting down.

I have a terrible feeling that poor Bast is having to endure all these comments, because I think LJ sends comments to the original commenter on the thread... not sure, and you may want to kill me for this, but I thought I'd start a new thread down at the bottom, which means you'll have to come back to the original post! But I notice it's getting narrower and narrower, too, so I thought I could give us some extra space if I add a new comment at the bottom (I guess this also means that no one else will participate in the convo becuse you and I started this long after everyone will have seen the post).

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Down to the Wire

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