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quarter_to_fiveI've had a slightly ill, rainy weekend day, so I watched the rest of S2 of Remington Steele. Oh dear, leather suits. Oh dear. On the other hand, fire eating!
Mostly awesome season. Some of it leans in the direction of narm, but I feel like it's well earned narm. There was less really good plots towards the end, but they were still pretty solid, well mixed in with the character stuff.
Women consistently get a lot to do, all the time. Almost every episode has a female character or two (or more) in the mystery, and they're usually active agents, even if it is within the constraints of feminine social roles. (odds are, I think, that if theres a sweet little old lady, or a frightened blonde bimbo about, they'll turn out to be the brilliant mastermind of a killer.
It's amazing how physical women get to be, and competently and routinely so. Laura (and other women) regularly run, drive, climb, play sports, break in, fight, shoot, etc. I don't know why it jumps out at me so much, but it does - a lot of the time on tv women are either superheroes who's job is to be extraordinarily physically capable (which is A Thing, get it?!?) or they're a bit static, somehow - they just kind of stand there, and if they do have to do something else, it's in a hysterical OMG-I-can't-believe-I-just-did-that sort of way. You know, the damsel in distress breaks a vase over her assailants head, shrieking and jumping frightened away as she does.
But here Laura isn't a superhero, and she's not ever noted as being super-duper good at martial arts or whatever. She's just got no problem jumping a fence or a bad guy, and expecting no particular notice for it. And theres a teenage girl karate expert in Victorian attire with getaway rollerbladesskates (Skates! With 4 wheels arranged in a square! Rollerblades haven't been invented yet!) and a motorbike who is a totally effective scary villain! And a lounge-singer character who is attacked coming out of the shower (naturally clad in a towel)...who proceeds to get away on her giant motorcycle and preform riding stunts on Sunset boulevard. In a towel.
(In general, I think the show does really well on one-shot characters. Very often, there's an easier route to go down, and write generic tropes, but almost everyone turns out to be a little more complex, a little more interesting than the bare minimum one-shot characters in 45 minute show have to be.)
Anyway, I just love how unapologetically feminist the show keeps on being, and how much it supports Laura's feminism. She can keep coming out and saying "this is like that because I'm a woman", and it's not shrill, bitchy, selfish, petulant, deluded or evil. It's courageous and sympathetic! What's happened to you, television? And Steele's arc, in so much as he has one, I suppose, is learning to see that as being an extension of her personality, rather than just her ideology. It's not that he needs to get over being a bit of a sexist jerk, because he was never sexist - it's just that he needs to get over being a bit of a jerk in general, and he sort of does. He does manage to see Laura's ambition and pride and professionalism are essential parts of her - and that that's ok.
It would all be good, only...leather suit jacket. I mean, really, a lot of people were involved in creating that thing. Someone designed it, someone sewed it, someone sold it. A lot of people were involved in deciding that it would be a good idea to have the Steele character wear it, on television, you know. Finally, Pierce Brosnan had to actually agree to wear it, rather than, say, quit the show and move to a desert island or commit ritual suicide. It really is spectacularly hideous. Laura wears some appalling clothes too, but nothing that memorable.
But, fire eating!
I love this show. Why have so many shows gone so far backwards when it comes to the way they portray women - hell, when it comes to the way they portray men!?
Mostly awesome season. Some of it leans in the direction of narm, but I feel like it's well earned narm. There was less really good plots towards the end, but they were still pretty solid, well mixed in with the character stuff.
Women consistently get a lot to do, all the time. Almost every episode has a female character or two (or more) in the mystery, and they're usually active agents, even if it is within the constraints of feminine social roles. (odds are, I think, that if theres a sweet little old lady, or a frightened blonde bimbo about, they'll turn out to be the brilliant mastermind of a killer.
It's amazing how physical women get to be, and competently and routinely so. Laura (and other women) regularly run, drive, climb, play sports, break in, fight, shoot, etc. I don't know why it jumps out at me so much, but it does - a lot of the time on tv women are either superheroes who's job is to be extraordinarily physically capable (which is A Thing, get it?!?) or they're a bit static, somehow - they just kind of stand there, and if they do have to do something else, it's in a hysterical OMG-I-can't-believe-I-just-did-that sort of way. You know, the damsel in distress breaks a vase over her assailants head, shrieking and jumping frightened away as she does.
But here Laura isn't a superhero, and she's not ever noted as being super-duper good at martial arts or whatever. She's just got no problem jumping a fence or a bad guy, and expecting no particular notice for it. And theres a teenage girl karate expert in Victorian attire with getaway roller
(In general, I think the show does really well on one-shot characters. Very often, there's an easier route to go down, and write generic tropes, but almost everyone turns out to be a little more complex, a little more interesting than the bare minimum one-shot characters in 45 minute show have to be.)
Anyway, I just love how unapologetically feminist the show keeps on being, and how much it supports Laura's feminism. She can keep coming out and saying "this is like that because I'm a woman", and it's not shrill, bitchy, selfish, petulant, deluded or evil. It's courageous and sympathetic! What's happened to you, television? And Steele's arc, in so much as he has one, I suppose, is learning to see that as being an extension of her personality, rather than just her ideology. It's not that he needs to get over being a bit of a sexist jerk, because he was never sexist - it's just that he needs to get over being a bit of a jerk in general, and he sort of does. He does manage to see Laura's ambition and pride and professionalism are essential parts of her - and that that's ok.
It would all be good, only...leather suit jacket. I mean, really, a lot of people were involved in creating that thing. Someone designed it, someone sewed it, someone sold it. A lot of people were involved in deciding that it would be a good idea to have the Steele character wear it, on television, you know. Finally, Pierce Brosnan had to actually agree to wear it, rather than, say, quit the show and move to a desert island or commit ritual suicide. It really is spectacularly hideous. Laura wears some appalling clothes too, but nothing that memorable.
But, fire eating!
I love this show. Why have so many shows gone so far backwards when it comes to the way they portray women - hell, when it comes to the way they portray men!?
no subject
Date: 2012-12-08 02:11 am (UTC)But yeah, Laura is portrayed as just a genuinely athletic person. Not a superhero, and there's no dispute that Steele is more of the "brawn" than she is - he's physically stronger and an experienced fighter - but she can do what needs to be done. It's a great, admirable-but-realistic balance.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-08 02:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-08 11:09 am (UTC)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/1794-1887-Fashion-overview-Alfred-Roller.GIF
no subject
Date: 2012-12-08 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-08 08:24 pm (UTC)