Y'know what I found out the other day?
Whose Line had Jeff Davis on as a regular fourth seater.
Currently Jeff Davis does a podcast with Dan Harmon. Yes, the Dan Harmon who incidentally created one of my favourite shows ever, Community.
Due to my love of Community, I got myself a Greendale Community College T-shirt, which, guess what? A nearly identical one is worn by someone in a Jacksfilms video.
Jack Douglass, A.K.A. Jacksfilms, also happens to play Intern 2 on a certain web series called MyMusic.
This same web series also features a character called Indie, who happens to be played by Adam Busch, who also, incidentally, portrayed the character Warren on a little show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was created by Joss Whedon, the same person who created a little show called Firefly.
IS YOUR MIND BLOWN BECAUSE MY MIND WAS BLOWN.
I guess this just shows that at least I'm consistent in my obsessions? I mean, if they all kinda lead to each other like that, it just means that they all kinda have something in common, right? I'm going to go ahead and say intelligent humour. Yeap, I'm playing the smart card. Deal with it.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Joss Whedon Scripts are the Best Scripts
I found a website that has all the original shooting scripts for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of course, being a student of storytelling, I read them. Not all of them, but a good amount of them. And, because Joss Whedon (along with people like Benny and Rafi Fine) are on my list of insane people that are to be admired, reading these scripts have made it so that I have a special folder on my desktop, simply entitled "Joss Whedon Scripts are the Best Scripts".
Here's what's inside.
(If you can't read them due to the size being incompatible with the blog, you can just click on them and you should get them in the size they were originally screenshotted as).
Yeah...... these are pretty much the best.
Here's what's inside.
(If you can't read them due to the size being incompatible with the blog, you can just click on them and you should get them in the size they were originally screenshotted as).
 |
| This one isn't REALLLLLLY funny like the others, but Spike's "love's bitch" monologue is one of my favourite monologues, like, ever. I know it by heart. So it always interests me to read it how it's written versus how it's delivered. You'd be surprised at how much delivery can change it. |
 |
| "Pruitts the son of a bitch into unconsciousness". I'm very curious as to how many scripts that aren't created by someone completely insane describe things like that. |
 |
| "Incredibly poignant Sarah Mclachlan song". I laughed out loud, not gonna lie. |
 |
| I love Whedon speak! He "gets snacky". |
 |
| Again, this one isn't funny as much. I just find it interesting because in these scripts, even though the character is (in this case) already casted, and you can definitely explain the look to wardrobe and makeup yourself, they describe the character as if it's a novel. I don't know, I find that interesting. |
 |
| "fruit punchy". They reference a dumb joke made by their own show two seasons ago in the script whilst describing what is essentially a Buffy supervillain. I love these people. |
 |
| These last three are all from the finale of season five, in which (SPOILER ALERT) Buffy dies, and I kinda get the feeling that Joss MAYYYY have been so (unsurprisingly) passionate about this one that he stayed up a little too late working on it. Well am I WRONG? |
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Mama: Review
Yep, that horror movie that came out relatively recently. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, who directed the utterly FANTASTIC foreign movie Pan's Labyrinth (and who also helped with a book called "The Strain" that I never finished reading). The concept was cool, Guillermo Del Toro had no problem scaring me to death with Pan's Labyrinth, so, needless to say..... I was kinda excited for this movie.
A brief summary:
A man murders his wife and kidnaps his daughters..... something about a murder/suicide, I'm not sure, but the point is as he's fleeing with his daughters he crashes the car. So they're wandering through the woods and they come to an apparently abandoned cabin (though the older daughter clearly tells him "There's someone in there") and basically the dad gets taken out of the picture by a strange ghost type phantom thingy. Five years later, people are still searching for the girls and they finally find them. Except they've gone feral. Eventually the oldest one, Victoria, who's nine years old, recovers her language and social skills, though for Lily, who was one when the incident occurred, and is now six, is obviously having more trouble. Anyway, Victoria tells the psychologist about someone she calls "Mama" who took care of them. The psychologist comes up with the brilliant theory that in order to survive on their own, the girls created their own, imaginary guardian/parent figure to keep them safe. They're put in a certain house for special cases like themselves with their uncle and his girlfriend. And then..... Mama followed them. Cue the horror.
Except, my first reaction? Not horror. At least not as I know it. I'm not sure what it IS, precisely, but it didn't seem like a horror movie, the same way that movies like The Woman In Black or Dawn of the Dead or Insidious or.... or even something like The Messengers (which is a crappy Kristen Stewart movie) seemed like a horror movie. I mean, it was scary..... and there were enough jump scares, for sure....... but it seemed that the movie was trying less to scare you and more to make you understand about the situation as a story. I'm not saying it's a bad thing - I really enjoyed that side of the movie - I'm just saying it was a different tone for a horror movie to take. An interesting choice.
And that honestly surprised me. You've got your ghost, you've got your creepy children and creepy children's drawings, you've got the contorted bodies of ghosts and possessed people, insane asylums, don't look in the closet, incoherent whispers.... I mean, it was filled with things that horror movies do specifically to scare you, but it didn't FOCUS on those things, and that's what I find interesting. It focused on the relationships between the people in the movie - Lucas and Annabel, the girls and them, "Mama" and the girls, etc. Which again, is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is an interesting choice.
I'm not gonna lie. I was scared. I yelped. I hugged my blanket pretty much the whole movie. They nailed the suspense, and the release. But I'll not be getting nightmares from this movie, I don't think, and that's what lacked.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but when I watch a horror movie, I want to be haunted by it. I want to be scared to be home alone again. I want to have to sleep with the light on for a week. I want to be terrified of things I see out of the corner of my eye, and of sounds that I probably wouldn't even hear if I wasn't so damn tense. The Woman in Black did that for me, no doubt. By the time my parents came home the day after I watched The Woman in Black I was sitting on the floor cuddling my dog because I was scared to go anywhere else in my house. Mama won't do that to me. I knew it as I was watching it that it wouldn't be doing that to me. And I thought about why.
And I realized that this is why:
The secret of horror movies is to exploit what we don't know. That's part of the reason why Alien was so succesful in its time - they never SHOWED the alien, in its entirety. What you saw were shadows, drool, people looking up with terror on their faces. That's why The Blair Witch Project is one of the "1001 Movies You Have to See Before You Die" - because those moments of pitch blackness where all you hear is screaming and panting? They feed on your imagination. And no movie can match the high def imagery of your own imagination. Most ghost movies show nothing more than silhouettes, shadows, blurred reflections, out of focus behind-your-back shots, maybe a real shot of the ghost, but from r e a l l y f a r a w a y. The vaguer you are, the more scared your audience gets. Hell, Paranormal Activity was insanely low budget and insanely popular because YOU NEVER SAW THE DEMON. You never knew where it was, what it was doing, only how it affected things in the house - a door slam here, a light flicker there, etc. Because the things that are scary about horror movies are not ghosts, or demons, or monsters or whatever - the scary things about horror movies are the things that we don't know. We don't know why ghosts are here, or why they do what they do, or what it'll do next, we don't know what demons are or what they'll do next - more than anything we fear the unknown.
Which is apparently something that Guillermo Del Toro did not account for. Because in Mama, we knew everything.
We knew her whole story. We knew her entire backstory, we knew where she was, we knew why she was doing what she was doing. I mean, we were even told what ghosts, for the purposes of the story, ARE ("bent emotions, doomed to repeat itself until it finally rights the wrong"). But what....... nagged at me the most is we knew EXACTLY what Mama looked like. I mean, no room for imagination. They showed her face almost as freely as one would show the face of the protagonist. And I'm not saying that's wrong, I'm just saying that it contradicts what the horror genre is based on. Because a flash of her face is scary enough - it's a frightening image - but when you see it as much as they showed it, it stops being scary, and you can't imagine something scarier because they've already showed it to you enough that you remember it.
I don't think Guillermo Del Toro is a horror director by trade. Pan's Labyrinth was very frightening, but it wasn't horror. It was the definition of a thriller. And what made that movie so scary was the insane detail with which they showed things, which is the exact opposite strategy you have to have when directing horror.
So, the final word? I liked the movie. Not gonna lie. I enjoyed it. But I find it difficult to count as horror. It's pretty good as what it is, whatever genre that may be. Let's leave it at that.
4/5 stars.
A brief summary:
A man murders his wife and kidnaps his daughters..... something about a murder/suicide, I'm not sure, but the point is as he's fleeing with his daughters he crashes the car. So they're wandering through the woods and they come to an apparently abandoned cabin (though the older daughter clearly tells him "There's someone in there") and basically the dad gets taken out of the picture by a strange ghost type phantom thingy. Five years later, people are still searching for the girls and they finally find them. Except they've gone feral. Eventually the oldest one, Victoria, who's nine years old, recovers her language and social skills, though for Lily, who was one when the incident occurred, and is now six, is obviously having more trouble. Anyway, Victoria tells the psychologist about someone she calls "Mama" who took care of them. The psychologist comes up with the brilliant theory that in order to survive on their own, the girls created their own, imaginary guardian/parent figure to keep them safe. They're put in a certain house for special cases like themselves with their uncle and his girlfriend. And then..... Mama followed them. Cue the horror.
Except, my first reaction? Not horror. At least not as I know it. I'm not sure what it IS, precisely, but it didn't seem like a horror movie, the same way that movies like The Woman In Black or Dawn of the Dead or Insidious or.... or even something like The Messengers (which is a crappy Kristen Stewart movie) seemed like a horror movie. I mean, it was scary..... and there were enough jump scares, for sure....... but it seemed that the movie was trying less to scare you and more to make you understand about the situation as a story. I'm not saying it's a bad thing - I really enjoyed that side of the movie - I'm just saying it was a different tone for a horror movie to take. An interesting choice.
And that honestly surprised me. You've got your ghost, you've got your creepy children and creepy children's drawings, you've got the contorted bodies of ghosts and possessed people, insane asylums, don't look in the closet, incoherent whispers.... I mean, it was filled with things that horror movies do specifically to scare you, but it didn't FOCUS on those things, and that's what I find interesting. It focused on the relationships between the people in the movie - Lucas and Annabel, the girls and them, "Mama" and the girls, etc. Which again, is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is an interesting choice.
I'm not gonna lie. I was scared. I yelped. I hugged my blanket pretty much the whole movie. They nailed the suspense, and the release. But I'll not be getting nightmares from this movie, I don't think, and that's what lacked.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but when I watch a horror movie, I want to be haunted by it. I want to be scared to be home alone again. I want to have to sleep with the light on for a week. I want to be terrified of things I see out of the corner of my eye, and of sounds that I probably wouldn't even hear if I wasn't so damn tense. The Woman in Black did that for me, no doubt. By the time my parents came home the day after I watched The Woman in Black I was sitting on the floor cuddling my dog because I was scared to go anywhere else in my house. Mama won't do that to me. I knew it as I was watching it that it wouldn't be doing that to me. And I thought about why.
And I realized that this is why:
The secret of horror movies is to exploit what we don't know. That's part of the reason why Alien was so succesful in its time - they never SHOWED the alien, in its entirety. What you saw were shadows, drool, people looking up with terror on their faces. That's why The Blair Witch Project is one of the "1001 Movies You Have to See Before You Die" - because those moments of pitch blackness where all you hear is screaming and panting? They feed on your imagination. And no movie can match the high def imagery of your own imagination. Most ghost movies show nothing more than silhouettes, shadows, blurred reflections, out of focus behind-your-back shots, maybe a real shot of the ghost, but from r e a l l y f a r a w a y. The vaguer you are, the more scared your audience gets. Hell, Paranormal Activity was insanely low budget and insanely popular because YOU NEVER SAW THE DEMON. You never knew where it was, what it was doing, only how it affected things in the house - a door slam here, a light flicker there, etc. Because the things that are scary about horror movies are not ghosts, or demons, or monsters or whatever - the scary things about horror movies are the things that we don't know. We don't know why ghosts are here, or why they do what they do, or what it'll do next, we don't know what demons are or what they'll do next - more than anything we fear the unknown.
Which is apparently something that Guillermo Del Toro did not account for. Because in Mama, we knew everything.
We knew her whole story. We knew her entire backstory, we knew where she was, we knew why she was doing what she was doing. I mean, we were even told what ghosts, for the purposes of the story, ARE ("bent emotions, doomed to repeat itself until it finally rights the wrong"). But what....... nagged at me the most is we knew EXACTLY what Mama looked like. I mean, no room for imagination. They showed her face almost as freely as one would show the face of the protagonist. And I'm not saying that's wrong, I'm just saying that it contradicts what the horror genre is based on. Because a flash of her face is scary enough - it's a frightening image - but when you see it as much as they showed it, it stops being scary, and you can't imagine something scarier because they've already showed it to you enough that you remember it.
I don't think Guillermo Del Toro is a horror director by trade. Pan's Labyrinth was very frightening, but it wasn't horror. It was the definition of a thriller. And what made that movie so scary was the insane detail with which they showed things, which is the exact opposite strategy you have to have when directing horror.
So, the final word? I liked the movie. Not gonna lie. I enjoyed it. But I find it difficult to count as horror. It's pretty good as what it is, whatever genre that may be. Let's leave it at that.
4/5 stars.
Friday, August 2, 2013
This Post is an Allegory, I SWEAR!
So in my last post I mentioned (a few times) this Youtuber I've recently grown quite fond of called Jacksfilms (whose real name is Jack Douglass).
I didn't mention him quite as much as I wanted to in the last post because it was actually supposed to be more about MyMusic than good ol' Jack here - which is quite remarkable because I mentioned Jacksfilms quite a lot.
But I decided he deserved his own post because there's something about his channel(s) and his videos that kind of..... I can't think of an appropriate verb. It affects me. In a positive way.
Let me explain.
Jack is around..... 25. Thereabouts, methinks. He majored in film and minored in music when he went to college (which I could totally completely see myself doing) and now he makes his living by making Youtube videos. Literally. That's his job. His job is to make music videos or sketches or parodies or whatever that make people laugh.
And he doesn't take it lightly. Every Monday you've got a new PMS (parody/music video/sketch), every Friday we've got a new Your Grammar Sucks video. I mean, now and then the videos are a little late, but they come. They're made. And when they're late they tend to be really good.
And you can tell, when you really think about the videos you're watching that there is a LOT of TIME and EFFORT and ENERGY put into his videos. I mean, you can tell. They're not feature films or anything, but it's a production nonetheless. It's obvious.
But what you can also tell from those videos is that Jack LOVES IT. He loves working on his videos. He's got his own green screen and he buys new equipment like microphones and he animates stuff into his videos. AT LEAST half the time he's working on them with friends and stuff - there's a remarkably large community of relatively big Youtubers all kinda in one area in California - so in a bunch of his videos you've got Tobuscus who has his own dedicated fanbase (Jack does too..... we're called his "biches" [pronounced BIH - HES, extra H, Hebrew style]) and you've got Sean Klitzner. This trio in particular are known for working together and being friends, to the point where they've sort of been dubbed the "Sideburns Crew" - all three of them have really fantastic sideburns. He's also friends with Olga Kay and has appeared in her videos and she's appeared in his and a lot of the time he's just goofing off with his friends. Right?
Jack has been making videos for seven years. And still going strong. This gig just doesn't get old for him.
And maybe this is the "two o'clock in the morning clearly haven't gotten enough sleep - holy crap it's three thirty, when did that happen?!" talking, but I think that's admirable. That he's still going strong, and enjoying it.
I mean, especially in Your Grammar Sucks, it doesn't look like it takes that much effort, right? I mean, he just stands in front of a green screen and recites bad comments. But the thing is, he narrows down like sixty comments to about thirty - seriously, he showed the process, he read all the submissions and picked the ones he thought were really funny - and then he reads them all, out loud, individually, sometimes in different voices that he can choose from in the editing room. I mean, I would say Your Grammar Sucks is probably his most low-maintenance series he has going and that's still a lot of time and effort. And I can't even imagine how long it takes to edit that. Hours, I would guess.
And then.... well, I mean, just look at the rest of his videos. Lots of time, lots of energy put into that.
I didn't mention him quite as much as I wanted to in the last post because it was actually supposed to be more about MyMusic than good ol' Jack here - which is quite remarkable because I mentioned Jacksfilms quite a lot.
But I decided he deserved his own post because there's something about his channel(s) and his videos that kind of..... I can't think of an appropriate verb. It affects me. In a positive way.
Let me explain.
Jack is around..... 25. Thereabouts, methinks. He majored in film and minored in music when he went to college (which I could totally completely see myself doing) and now he makes his living by making Youtube videos. Literally. That's his job. His job is to make music videos or sketches or parodies or whatever that make people laugh.
And he doesn't take it lightly. Every Monday you've got a new PMS (parody/music video/sketch), every Friday we've got a new Your Grammar Sucks video. I mean, now and then the videos are a little late, but they come. They're made. And when they're late they tend to be really good.
And you can tell, when you really think about the videos you're watching that there is a LOT of TIME and EFFORT and ENERGY put into his videos. I mean, you can tell. They're not feature films or anything, but it's a production nonetheless. It's obvious.
But what you can also tell from those videos is that Jack LOVES IT. He loves working on his videos. He's got his own green screen and he buys new equipment like microphones and he animates stuff into his videos. AT LEAST half the time he's working on them with friends and stuff - there's a remarkably large community of relatively big Youtubers all kinda in one area in California - so in a bunch of his videos you've got Tobuscus who has his own dedicated fanbase (Jack does too..... we're called his "biches" [pronounced BIH - HES, extra H, Hebrew style]) and you've got Sean Klitzner. This trio in particular are known for working together and being friends, to the point where they've sort of been dubbed the "Sideburns Crew" - all three of them have really fantastic sideburns. He's also friends with Olga Kay and has appeared in her videos and she's appeared in his and a lot of the time he's just goofing off with his friends. Right?
Jack has been making videos for seven years. And still going strong. This gig just doesn't get old for him.
And maybe this is the "two o'clock in the morning clearly haven't gotten enough sleep - holy crap it's three thirty, when did that happen?!" talking, but I think that's admirable. That he's still going strong, and enjoying it.
I mean, especially in Your Grammar Sucks, it doesn't look like it takes that much effort, right? I mean, he just stands in front of a green screen and recites bad comments. But the thing is, he narrows down like sixty comments to about thirty - seriously, he showed the process, he read all the submissions and picked the ones he thought were really funny - and then he reads them all, out loud, individually, sometimes in different voices that he can choose from in the editing room. I mean, I would say Your Grammar Sucks is probably his most low-maintenance series he has going and that's still a lot of time and effort. And I can't even imagine how long it takes to edit that. Hours, I would guess.
And then.... well, I mean, just look at the rest of his videos. Lots of time, lots of energy put into that.
^He wrote that. And shot that. And edited that. Colour me impressed. (Even if he doesn't have the chest hair.... most of his videos where he's shirtless you can see that he shaved his chest hair into the batman symbol. Because he's a badass, that's why. Yeah, I heard you questioning it all the way from here.)
I mean, then you've got, my personal favourite at the moment:
Never mind that it's Christmas themed. That's a LOT of energy put into that. I mean, come on. You can tell. Right?
I've realized recently that I'm always attracted to (and then tend to get obsessed with) things that have a lot of passion put into them. Things where you can tell that the people making it actually really enjoy themselves and put all that time and energy into it not because they have to but because they genuinely want to. It makes a difference in what the thing ends up being, right? Can you imagine what Whose Line would have been like if they were sick of doing improv? If they didn't enjoy each other? It wouldn't have lasted eight seasons, I can tell you that.
You can just tell. That's the thing. It comes off kind of stale if they're not really enjoying themselves (that's also what I loved about Community - all the cast members are actually friends, and it definitely is part of the show's magic). And Jacksfilms just is not stale at all. He loves what he's doing. I mean, he's the first Youtuber I've seen where he seems genuinely delighted everytime he gets fanmail. Seriously. Like, almost equal excitement for the smaller things -
As well as the bigger things -
And I really like that.
So how is this post an allegory?
Well let me tell you.
My fondest wish is that when I am grown up and I have to start making a living for myself and earn money and everything is that I am able to make money by doing something that I love to do, that I am happy to put all my energy and enthusiasm into and I don't get tired of. And Jack does just that. I mean, I'm not saying I'll be a Youtuber - I'm not NEARLY entertaining enough - but I do want to do something that I'll be happy about doing every day. That is my wish. And people like Jack give me hope that I can do that. I watch his videos, I see the time and energy he puts into it, and the fun he has doing it, and it just lights me up.
See, no matter whether he's doing a sketch with his friends -
- helping one of them with THEIR videos -
^ classic Sideburns Crew right here
- or just messing with them -
- he has as much fun doing this -
- as he does doing this.
(This is my favourite song now, actually. Thank you Jack Douglass.)
And I think that's remarkable.
NAILED IT.
P.S Look, I would completely spam you with Jacksfilms videos and trivia, but that's kind of a jerk thing to do. I will, however, give you just one more video:
There's a lovely trend you may have seen on Youtube recently, the "Draw my Life" phenomenon. Every Youtuber is doing it. And usually I'm not into big Youtube trends (I only found out about Harlem Shake LONGGGGGG after anyone cared anymore) but this particular trend is actually kind of beautiful. People just..... tell their life story. Which is just so fascinating, to see a different depth to someone that you only know from Youtube or whatever, to have people be that open about stuff. It's awesome. And when I saw Jack's video....... let's just say that I connected.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Favourite Thing of the Week #5
MyMusic.
It's this webseries I've recently (VERY recently.... as in, two nights ago) gotten into. And yeah, it starts out kinda dumb, I guess. But it's just some light-hearted good old-fashioned fun stuff that makes fun of every music subculture known to man, and it's kind of addictive.
..... now that I think about it, the show itself is actually quite a bit like Community. Except that it's on the Internet and there are 34 episodes in one season (not including their other sort of mini-shows like The Mosh and MyMusic Presents and whatnot) and each episode is about 8 minutes long.
But it really is a lot like Community. Except - get this - goofier. Yeah.
Goofier than Community? Say what? What?! SAY WHAT?! WHAAAAAAATTTTT?! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!
I love references.
How did I find this, you ask?
Well, I was led to this by my current favourite Youtuber, Jacksfilms (Jack Douglass), who makes awesome music videos, parodies and sketches and the brilliant series Your Grammar Sucks --
SHUT UP INTERN 2!
^ This will make sense when/if you watch MyMusic.
So, because I'm nice, I will link you to the first episode. I need to share the MyMusic. It's pretty good.
I know it starts off kinda meh..... but bear with me here. It takes some patience, but give it a few episodes.
This is the Jacksfilms video that led me here..... I know it doesn't matter too much, but I really like Jacksfilms. :) It's just my kinda stuff.
(If you're going to check out Jacksfilms, check out Your Grammar Sucks. Try #20 or #40. Even my dad liked those ones, and he is not always on board with my strange sense of humour, so.....) (Also, while you're at it, check out his Lady Gaga parody. Hilarious. Not to mention his point is well taken.)
Also, the thing about MyMusic is that it's an interactive web series. So they answer questions asked by fans during their show The Mosh, and then they had all these videos with the bloopers (there's a LOT of improv going on on that show) and then the behind the scenes..... really cool. Cool stuff. Check it out.
P.S The guy who plays Indie on MyMusic played Warren on Buffy I'M SORRY BUT I SERIOUSLY DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE IT UNTIL I READ IT IN THE COMMENTS AND MY MIND WAS BLOWN.
P.S.S Have I mentioned that I really love Jacksfilms? Film major, music major...... and then, I mean, you watch his videos "Sh*t Film Snobs Say" and "Your Editing Lacks Continuity"..... the guy just gets it, y'know? It's almost sad how much I relate.
P.S.S.S I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THIS BEFORE BUT EVERY CHARACTER ON MYMUSIC HAS THEIR OWN TWITTER ACCOUNT. Like, even minor characters like Guess Guy and the Shaman, and I'm pretty sure Scarfman has his own Twitter too AND HE'S MADE OUT OF SCARVES. And, like, they've actually kept them maintained in the six months or whatever that MyMusic has stopped being made. There's stuff on these Twitter accounts from like, just hours ago. They've kept them maintained. Not to mention that they make both the main sitcom and all those other on-the-side shows like MyMusic News (which is actual music news) and MyMusic Presents (with actual musical talent) and The Mosh (characters answer questions from fans) and it's just like WHO HAS TIME FOR ALL OF THIS?! It's just, the show is so...... interactive. Seriously, HOW DOES ONE CREATE SOMETHING LIKE THIS?!
So for that reason, The Fine Brothers (who are the creators/writers/directors) go on my list of people who are both insane and to be admired.
It's this webseries I've recently (VERY recently.... as in, two nights ago) gotten into. And yeah, it starts out kinda dumb, I guess. But it's just some light-hearted good old-fashioned fun stuff that makes fun of every music subculture known to man, and it's kind of addictive.
..... now that I think about it, the show itself is actually quite a bit like Community. Except that it's on the Internet and there are 34 episodes in one season (not including their other sort of mini-shows like The Mosh and MyMusic Presents and whatnot) and each episode is about 8 minutes long.
But it really is a lot like Community. Except - get this - goofier. Yeah.
Goofier than Community? Say what? What?! SAY WHAT?! WHAAAAAAATTTTT?! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!
I love references.
How did I find this, you ask?
Well, I was led to this by my current favourite Youtuber, Jacksfilms (Jack Douglass), who makes awesome music videos, parodies and sketches and the brilliant series Your Grammar Sucks --
SHUT UP INTERN 2!
^ This will make sense when/if you watch MyMusic.
So, because I'm nice, I will link you to the first episode. I need to share the MyMusic. It's pretty good.
This is the Jacksfilms video that led me here..... I know it doesn't matter too much, but I really like Jacksfilms. :) It's just my kinda stuff.
Also, the thing about MyMusic is that it's an interactive web series. So they answer questions asked by fans during their show The Mosh, and then they had all these videos with the bloopers (there's a LOT of improv going on on that show) and then the behind the scenes..... really cool. Cool stuff. Check it out.
P.S The guy who plays Indie on MyMusic played Warren on Buffy I'M SORRY BUT I SERIOUSLY DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE IT UNTIL I READ IT IN THE COMMENTS AND MY MIND WAS BLOWN.
P.S.S Have I mentioned that I really love Jacksfilms? Film major, music major...... and then, I mean, you watch his videos "Sh*t Film Snobs Say" and "Your Editing Lacks Continuity"..... the guy just gets it, y'know? It's almost sad how much I relate.
P.S.S.S I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THIS BEFORE BUT EVERY CHARACTER ON MYMUSIC HAS THEIR OWN TWITTER ACCOUNT. Like, even minor characters like Guess Guy and the Shaman, and I'm pretty sure Scarfman has his own Twitter too AND HE'S MADE OUT OF SCARVES. And, like, they've actually kept them maintained in the six months or whatever that MyMusic has stopped being made. There's stuff on these Twitter accounts from like, just hours ago. They've kept them maintained. Not to mention that they make both the main sitcom and all those other on-the-side shows like MyMusic News (which is actual music news) and MyMusic Presents (with actual musical talent) and The Mosh (characters answer questions from fans) and it's just like WHO HAS TIME FOR ALL OF THIS?! It's just, the show is so...... interactive. Seriously, HOW DOES ONE CREATE SOMETHING LIKE THIS?!
So for that reason, The Fine Brothers (who are the creators/writers/directors) go on my list of people who are both insane and to be admired.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
The Gift
I can't even handle Buffy right now.
I really really can't.
This post will contain spoilers, in case people who haven't watched Buffy all the way through would like to. STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SPOILERS. THERE ARE MANY SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT AND IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SPOILERS THEN STOP READING NOW OR IT WILL BE SPOILED. STILL READING? CAUSE I'VE SPECIFICALLY MADE THIS LONG FOR YOU SO THAT YOU READ THIS INSTEAD OF YOUR EYE ACCIDENTALLY WANDERING TO THE SPOILER DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH. SERIOUSLY, IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SPOILERS, ABORT. NOW. ABORT. ABORT.
To the post:
Buffy's dead.
She sacrificed herself to save her sister. And the world. They finally defeated Glory, she and Willow and Xander and Giles and the whole gang, only to find that the Portal was still being opened. And it needed the key's blood.
Which was made from Buffy's blood.
So she killed herself so that Dawn could live.
This is a short post. But it's an immensely powerful scene.
Buffy's monologue to Dawn is insanely noble, touching, heart-wrenching and tear-jerking. And seeing Dawn crying as she watches helplessly as Buffy throws herself off the building is heart-wrenching as well. Seeing Buffy cry and writhe in pain as she tumbles through the portal. And then Tara helping Willow along, Willow in uncontrollable tears, Giles just standing stunned like a man who doesn't quite understand what happened, Xander carrying Anya in his arms and both of them just looking around with horrid sadness, and quite possibly the most heart-wrenching of all, Spike, bruised, bloodied, defeated in his endeavour to save Dawn, collapsed on the ground. It takes him a moment to process what's happened. And then he breaks down, sobbing helplessly into his jacket. Honestly, just when I think I managed to get through the scene without crying it cuts to Spike sobbing like a broken man and then the lump's in my throat all over again and here come the tears. I commend the entire cast on their performance in this episode. Truly brilliant. It's a work of art.
This episode....... pretty much encapsulates everything Buffy is. There are terrifically witty moments reminiscent of season 4, the season of witticisms, and moments of uncertainty (Willow's "I was never a gun!" is REALLY reminiscent of season 1) and then horribly sad and heart-breaking moments. Like the one I just mentioned, just for example. There's the self-sacrifice that Buffy has always acted on. Plus every character had some major steps forward - Xander proposed to Anya, for instance, which is HUGE. And Anya slapped him, yelling that he was only doing this because he knew the world was going to end and he wouldn't have to go through with it. To which he replied, no. He didn't think it was. He just didn't think he could live without her. And she said yes. Remarkable in it's distinct lack of cheesiness and feeling of being earned and rewarding.
Then there's Buffy and Giles's relationship. Giles recognizes that Buffy is a hero. He also recognizes that he is below her, nobility-wise, but he will do what he has to do save the world and make sure that the same danger won't ever present itself again. Buffy recognizes that in him, but refuses to let him kill any innocents, least of all Dawn. It's a conflict, but one both of them are extremely at peace with. "I'll kill you and anyone else who tries to kill Dawn." "I know." Which is extremely... interesting. And meaningful.
Willow faced Glory, got Tara back to health and acted as the group's saviour.
Spike's moment was one of the most heart-wrenching. First of all, Buffy invites him back into the house, which is a HUGE deal, since he's a vampire and all. It shows she trusts him. Really trusts him. And then she tells him to protect Dawn. He never shies away from it. "'Til the end of the world," he says, "even if that happens to be tonight." And then finally, his almost-a-speech. "I know you'll never love me," he says. "I know I'm a monster. But you treat me like a man. And that's...." and then he trails off, unable to find words to finish his thought. And then later he bursts through the army of minions to save Dawn. And heart-breakingly, he fails.
And the thing is, within all this building up drama, Joss (Whedon) managed to fit in a few moments to smile through your nerves. Because that's Buffy. Like simply pushing the new "big bad" off the tower. Or, a very memorable moment that happens pretty much just are you're sobbing, you see this image:
A gravestone, with the words:
I really really can't.
This post will contain spoilers, in case people who haven't watched Buffy all the way through would like to. STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SPOILERS. THERE ARE MANY SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT AND IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SPOILERS THEN STOP READING NOW OR IT WILL BE SPOILED. STILL READING? CAUSE I'VE SPECIFICALLY MADE THIS LONG FOR YOU SO THAT YOU READ THIS INSTEAD OF YOUR EYE ACCIDENTALLY WANDERING TO THE SPOILER DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH. SERIOUSLY, IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SPOILERS, ABORT. NOW. ABORT. ABORT.
To the post:
Buffy's dead.
She sacrificed herself to save her sister. And the world. They finally defeated Glory, she and Willow and Xander and Giles and the whole gang, only to find that the Portal was still being opened. And it needed the key's blood.
Which was made from Buffy's blood.
So she killed herself so that Dawn could live.
This is a short post. But it's an immensely powerful scene.
Buffy's monologue to Dawn is insanely noble, touching, heart-wrenching and tear-jerking. And seeing Dawn crying as she watches helplessly as Buffy throws herself off the building is heart-wrenching as well. Seeing Buffy cry and writhe in pain as she tumbles through the portal. And then Tara helping Willow along, Willow in uncontrollable tears, Giles just standing stunned like a man who doesn't quite understand what happened, Xander carrying Anya in his arms and both of them just looking around with horrid sadness, and quite possibly the most heart-wrenching of all, Spike, bruised, bloodied, defeated in his endeavour to save Dawn, collapsed on the ground. It takes him a moment to process what's happened. And then he breaks down, sobbing helplessly into his jacket. Honestly, just when I think I managed to get through the scene without crying it cuts to Spike sobbing like a broken man and then the lump's in my throat all over again and here come the tears. I commend the entire cast on their performance in this episode. Truly brilliant. It's a work of art.
This episode....... pretty much encapsulates everything Buffy is. There are terrifically witty moments reminiscent of season 4, the season of witticisms, and moments of uncertainty (Willow's "I was never a gun!" is REALLY reminiscent of season 1) and then horribly sad and heart-breaking moments. Like the one I just mentioned, just for example. There's the self-sacrifice that Buffy has always acted on. Plus every character had some major steps forward - Xander proposed to Anya, for instance, which is HUGE. And Anya slapped him, yelling that he was only doing this because he knew the world was going to end and he wouldn't have to go through with it. To which he replied, no. He didn't think it was. He just didn't think he could live without her. And she said yes. Remarkable in it's distinct lack of cheesiness and feeling of being earned and rewarding.
Then there's Buffy and Giles's relationship. Giles recognizes that Buffy is a hero. He also recognizes that he is below her, nobility-wise, but he will do what he has to do save the world and make sure that the same danger won't ever present itself again. Buffy recognizes that in him, but refuses to let him kill any innocents, least of all Dawn. It's a conflict, but one both of them are extremely at peace with. "I'll kill you and anyone else who tries to kill Dawn." "I know." Which is extremely... interesting. And meaningful.
Willow faced Glory, got Tara back to health and acted as the group's saviour.
Spike's moment was one of the most heart-wrenching. First of all, Buffy invites him back into the house, which is a HUGE deal, since he's a vampire and all. It shows she trusts him. Really trusts him. And then she tells him to protect Dawn. He never shies away from it. "'Til the end of the world," he says, "even if that happens to be tonight." And then finally, his almost-a-speech. "I know you'll never love me," he says. "I know I'm a monster. But you treat me like a man. And that's...." and then he trails off, unable to find words to finish his thought. And then later he bursts through the army of minions to save Dawn. And heart-breakingly, he fails.
And the thing is, within all this building up drama, Joss (Whedon) managed to fit in a few moments to smile through your nerves. Because that's Buffy. Like simply pushing the new "big bad" off the tower. Or, a very memorable moment that happens pretty much just are you're sobbing, you see this image:
A gravestone, with the words:
Buffy Anne Summers
1981-2001
Beloved sister
Devoted friend
She saved the world a lot.
And if that final statement doesn't make you smile a little through your tears then I don't know what will.
Cause that's what this show is about. It's never just been drama. It's never just been comedy. It's never just been action. It's everything all beautifully mixed into one, and if that final image doesn't magnificently represent that then I don't know what does.
This show will wring out your emotions like a wet towel.
Beautiful episode. I've said this before, but it was truly a work of art in film.
P.S I'VE JUST HAD AN EPIPHANY ABOUT HOW FAR SPIKE'S CHARACTER HAS COME.
It's totally random but it's just something I never thought about before.
See, I always found Spike really "loving" Buffy kind of.... uhm....... let's put it this way. Whenever a character on a show says they "love" another character, I tend to take it with a grain of salt unless it feels earned. Like, Xander proposing to Anya. That felt earned. Their relationship has grown immensely since Anya following him around Sunnydale High demanding he go to prom with her.
But Spike's declaration of love for Buffy... didn't feel as earned. Because he's always had an obsession with the Slayer, whoever that happens to be. During the Boxer Rebellion it was the chinese one, in the seventies it was Nikki, etc. And sure, he's clearly always been attracted to Buffy, but I think it's pretty easy for those things to turn into infatuation rather than love, right? So it didn't hinder my enjoyment at all - the storyline pretty much works exactly the same either way - but I always kinda found myself going "Uh huh, Spike. Alright. Whatever you say."
Earlier in the season Buffy puts a protection spell on her house so that Spike can't come in anymore - he's sort of un-invited. And it's a heart-breaking shot actually, when she slams the door on his stunned and sad face. But fair enough. He's a vampire, he's dangerous (despite the chip in his head) and he's obsessed with you. Seems fair to me.
Well, in this episode - the Gift - they go to Buffy's house to pick up some weapons to fight Glory and her minions. And Buffy walks in no problemo and Spike hangs out outside, unable to cross the threshold, as an uninvited vampire. First of all, it doesn't even cross Buffy's mind - she's learned to trust him.
But what's more remarkable about the situation - and this is what finally made me think "Huh. Maybe his love isn't so hokey after all." - is that he totally respects her right to keep him out. He knows he's a monster and he sees that this is Buffy's house, she has a right to keep a monster out. So the next things he says are said awkwardly, but the fact that he said them show me "Hey, Buffy. You can trust this guy. I mean, you can really trust this guy."
I don't have the exact lines, but he starts saying things like, "So, uh..... maybe you can pass it to me over the threshold or something...." Rather than a sarcastic "You're going to have to let me in, genius," type remark, which would have been totally characteristic of Spike and was really what I was expecting, he's decided "Y'know what? She keeps me out. Fair enough. I still wanna help."It took me aback and then Buffy inviting him in totally made me forget about overanalyzing that little piece but when you think about it it's really very meaningful and significant. He's not only attracted to her. He respects her.
P.P.S I know I said this was going to be a short post. But I lied. Sue me.
What made this episode in general so remarkable is that it both summarized Buffy as a series (thus far) and also the fifth season in particular.
It starts with Buffy fighting one vampire in an alley. Remember, in season 1, when fighting a vampire used to be a big deal? Now it's such a given that the show barely even shows it anymore. And they really made a big deal out of this particular vampire, who went down no sweat. And the kid she saved goes "But you're just a girl!" And she says "That's what I keep saying." Which pretty much sums up the ongoing theme throughout the show but especially in season 1 of Buffy dealing with her "destiny", and the fact that she can't just be a normal high school girl. That's also the main theme of season 2 ("I would love to be upstairs watching TV or gossiping about boys, or, god, even studying! But I have to save the world.") So there you go.
Season 3 and Season 4's themes were pretty much wrapped up - they're stuff that the show has already dealt with and it would be kind of old news to bring up again. So they didn't. BUT they did bring back elements of the seasons. Again, Season 4 was the season of witticisms, and there was definitely some good old fashioned wittiness going on, in spite of the gravity of their situation. I didn't catch any particular references to Season 3, but I'm sure they were there.
And most importantly, Season 5.
Season 5, mostly, had to do with what it means to be a Slayer. Does that mean I can't love as fully as everyone else? Does that mean I have to be solitary so as not to put any "civilians" in danger? and so on and so on. A concept that the episode wrapped up rather nicely with the teamwork of the Scoobies to triumph over Glory and her minions, and Buffy's sacrifice to save Dawn.
What I find interesting is that what the Guide tells Buffy on her quest - "Death is your gift" - is very close to what Spike told her during his "lesson" - "Death is your art". The Guide tells her "You are full of love. Death is your gift." And Spike tells her (let's see how good I've got this monologue down) "Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after day. That final gasp, that look of peace. And part of you is desperate to know... what's it like? Where does it lead you? [...] Every Slayer has a death wish." He goes on to say that the only reason Buffy's lasted this long is her ties to the normal world (Mother, sister, friends, etc.). So what I'm trying to figure out is... was Spike right? Because I don't think he was wrong. In the episode just before The Gift it talks about Buffy wanting out. He was certainly right about death following every Slayer. I don't think he was exactly correct, fully.... but I'm reluctant to say he was wrong. Again, maybe that's just my soft spot showing.
Anyway, besides that little digression, (which this blog is full of... you should be used to it) there were about a billion ways this episode tied up the fifth season. Tara is most definitely a Scooby, despite her lack of appearance in the opening title - her identity as a Scooby was kind of in question, so the season is basically just figuring out how to integrate her into the gang, and that definitely happened.
The orb Buffy found the episode we met Glory that never ever reappeared? Reappeared. Turns out it repels her. Go figure. So that was used to fight Glory.
The troll hammer that Anya's troll left behind a while back? Also made a reappearance. It was the primary weapon used against Glory.
Willow getting stronger with her magic? DEFINITELY a huge weapon against Glory. Sucking the cohesion from her mind back into Tara. That's big.
Spike's Buffybot made a reappearance! It acted as a decoy to keep Glory busy so that the real Buffy wouldn't be weakened from fighting and Glory would. Didn't see that one coming, I can tell you - I really didn't expect that one to come back. "Did anyone else know the Slayer was a robot?" Priceless.
Oh, and Xander's no longer being everyone's "buttmonkey"! You know, he got a job, a job he was good at, he found something he knew about and liked and was good at, got himself an apartment, proposed to Anya, and? He ran a wrecking ball into Glory. Which seems like a cheap way to sum up that storyline but it really wasn't. Y'know, he's finally helping, really, significantly helping, instead of being a damsel in distress, or worse, Renfield.
Anya definitely came through. She finally stopped complaining about saving the world and actually did it, basically coming up with all the ways to kill Glory that weren't Willow. She even says to Xander: "No, you see, usually, when there's an apocalypse, I skedaddle. But now I love you so much that instead, I have inappropriately timed sex and try to think of ways to fight a god and worry terribly that something might happen to you, and also worry that something'll happen to me and then I have guilt that I'm not more worried about everyone else but I just don't have enough, I'm just on total overload..." The fact that she's helping them instead of figuring out ways to run away, like she always did as Anyanka, is huge growth, along with the fact that maybe that monologue was a little weird, but she's learning how to be human. She's been learning how to be human since season 3, and this monologue shows that hey, guess what? She pretty much gets it now. (Anya's a great metaphor for pretty much anyone struggling to figure out the world and why it works the way it does.)
Dawn grew up. She was willing to sacrifice her own self to save the world, and she very nearly did. I know that's not what we were supposed to be focusing on, but Dawn seemed like a fairly petty character to me and that seemed like growth.
But most importantly, BUFFY grew up. She realized that her place as Slayer didn't make her a killer, it made her a protector. And because she's full of love, she protected Dawn. She didn't just die - she died at the end of season 1, but that wasn't sacrifice, that was just misfortune. She killed herself, deliberately, knowingly, willingly, because it saved the world and it saved her sister. She knew who she was and what she was supposed to do. And one of the first lines in her message to Dawn is "Tell Giles I figured it out." And that's huge.
Okay. I think I've analyzed the episode as far as I can go. I'm done. Promise. Not really promise. But I think I'm done.
Man. That post was a lot longer than I anticipated.
P.S I'VE JUST HAD AN EPIPHANY ABOUT HOW FAR SPIKE'S CHARACTER HAS COME.
It's totally random but it's just something I never thought about before.
See, I always found Spike really "loving" Buffy kind of.... uhm....... let's put it this way. Whenever a character on a show says they "love" another character, I tend to take it with a grain of salt unless it feels earned. Like, Xander proposing to Anya. That felt earned. Their relationship has grown immensely since Anya following him around Sunnydale High demanding he go to prom with her.
But Spike's declaration of love for Buffy... didn't feel as earned. Because he's always had an obsession with the Slayer, whoever that happens to be. During the Boxer Rebellion it was the chinese one, in the seventies it was Nikki, etc. And sure, he's clearly always been attracted to Buffy, but I think it's pretty easy for those things to turn into infatuation rather than love, right? So it didn't hinder my enjoyment at all - the storyline pretty much works exactly the same either way - but I always kinda found myself going "Uh huh, Spike. Alright. Whatever you say."
Earlier in the season Buffy puts a protection spell on her house so that Spike can't come in anymore - he's sort of un-invited. And it's a heart-breaking shot actually, when she slams the door on his stunned and sad face. But fair enough. He's a vampire, he's dangerous (despite the chip in his head) and he's obsessed with you. Seems fair to me.
Well, in this episode - the Gift - they go to Buffy's house to pick up some weapons to fight Glory and her minions. And Buffy walks in no problemo and Spike hangs out outside, unable to cross the threshold, as an uninvited vampire. First of all, it doesn't even cross Buffy's mind - she's learned to trust him.
But what's more remarkable about the situation - and this is what finally made me think "Huh. Maybe his love isn't so hokey after all." - is that he totally respects her right to keep him out. He knows he's a monster and he sees that this is Buffy's house, she has a right to keep a monster out. So the next things he says are said awkwardly, but the fact that he said them show me "Hey, Buffy. You can trust this guy. I mean, you can really trust this guy."
I don't have the exact lines, but he starts saying things like, "So, uh..... maybe you can pass it to me over the threshold or something...." Rather than a sarcastic "You're going to have to let me in, genius," type remark, which would have been totally characteristic of Spike and was really what I was expecting, he's decided "Y'know what? She keeps me out. Fair enough. I still wanna help."It took me aback and then Buffy inviting him in totally made me forget about overanalyzing that little piece but when you think about it it's really very meaningful and significant. He's not only attracted to her. He respects her.
P.P.S I know I said this was going to be a short post. But I lied. Sue me.
What made this episode in general so remarkable is that it both summarized Buffy as a series (thus far) and also the fifth season in particular.
It starts with Buffy fighting one vampire in an alley. Remember, in season 1, when fighting a vampire used to be a big deal? Now it's such a given that the show barely even shows it anymore. And they really made a big deal out of this particular vampire, who went down no sweat. And the kid she saved goes "But you're just a girl!" And she says "That's what I keep saying." Which pretty much sums up the ongoing theme throughout the show but especially in season 1 of Buffy dealing with her "destiny", and the fact that she can't just be a normal high school girl. That's also the main theme of season 2 ("I would love to be upstairs watching TV or gossiping about boys, or, god, even studying! But I have to save the world.") So there you go.
Season 3 and Season 4's themes were pretty much wrapped up - they're stuff that the show has already dealt with and it would be kind of old news to bring up again. So they didn't. BUT they did bring back elements of the seasons. Again, Season 4 was the season of witticisms, and there was definitely some good old fashioned wittiness going on, in spite of the gravity of their situation. I didn't catch any particular references to Season 3, but I'm sure they were there.
And most importantly, Season 5.
Season 5, mostly, had to do with what it means to be a Slayer. Does that mean I can't love as fully as everyone else? Does that mean I have to be solitary so as not to put any "civilians" in danger? and so on and so on. A concept that the episode wrapped up rather nicely with the teamwork of the Scoobies to triumph over Glory and her minions, and Buffy's sacrifice to save Dawn.
What I find interesting is that what the Guide tells Buffy on her quest - "Death is your gift" - is very close to what Spike told her during his "lesson" - "Death is your art". The Guide tells her "You are full of love. Death is your gift." And Spike tells her (let's see how good I've got this monologue down) "Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after day. That final gasp, that look of peace. And part of you is desperate to know... what's it like? Where does it lead you? [...] Every Slayer has a death wish." He goes on to say that the only reason Buffy's lasted this long is her ties to the normal world (Mother, sister, friends, etc.). So what I'm trying to figure out is... was Spike right? Because I don't think he was wrong. In the episode just before The Gift it talks about Buffy wanting out. He was certainly right about death following every Slayer. I don't think he was exactly correct, fully.... but I'm reluctant to say he was wrong. Again, maybe that's just my soft spot showing.
Anyway, besides that little digression, (which this blog is full of... you should be used to it) there were about a billion ways this episode tied up the fifth season. Tara is most definitely a Scooby, despite her lack of appearance in the opening title - her identity as a Scooby was kind of in question, so the season is basically just figuring out how to integrate her into the gang, and that definitely happened.
The orb Buffy found the episode we met Glory that never ever reappeared? Reappeared. Turns out it repels her. Go figure. So that was used to fight Glory.
The troll hammer that Anya's troll left behind a while back? Also made a reappearance. It was the primary weapon used against Glory.
Willow getting stronger with her magic? DEFINITELY a huge weapon against Glory. Sucking the cohesion from her mind back into Tara. That's big.
Spike's Buffybot made a reappearance! It acted as a decoy to keep Glory busy so that the real Buffy wouldn't be weakened from fighting and Glory would. Didn't see that one coming, I can tell you - I really didn't expect that one to come back. "Did anyone else know the Slayer was a robot?" Priceless.
Oh, and Xander's no longer being everyone's "buttmonkey"! You know, he got a job, a job he was good at, he found something he knew about and liked and was good at, got himself an apartment, proposed to Anya, and? He ran a wrecking ball into Glory. Which seems like a cheap way to sum up that storyline but it really wasn't. Y'know, he's finally helping, really, significantly helping, instead of being a damsel in distress, or worse, Renfield.
Anya definitely came through. She finally stopped complaining about saving the world and actually did it, basically coming up with all the ways to kill Glory that weren't Willow. She even says to Xander: "No, you see, usually, when there's an apocalypse, I skedaddle. But now I love you so much that instead, I have inappropriately timed sex and try to think of ways to fight a god and worry terribly that something might happen to you, and also worry that something'll happen to me and then I have guilt that I'm not more worried about everyone else but I just don't have enough, I'm just on total overload..." The fact that she's helping them instead of figuring out ways to run away, like she always did as Anyanka, is huge growth, along with the fact that maybe that monologue was a little weird, but she's learning how to be human. She's been learning how to be human since season 3, and this monologue shows that hey, guess what? She pretty much gets it now. (Anya's a great metaphor for pretty much anyone struggling to figure out the world and why it works the way it does.)
Dawn grew up. She was willing to sacrifice her own self to save the world, and she very nearly did. I know that's not what we were supposed to be focusing on, but Dawn seemed like a fairly petty character to me and that seemed like growth.
But most importantly, BUFFY grew up. She realized that her place as Slayer didn't make her a killer, it made her a protector. And because she's full of love, she protected Dawn. She didn't just die - she died at the end of season 1, but that wasn't sacrifice, that was just misfortune. She killed herself, deliberately, knowingly, willingly, because it saved the world and it saved her sister. She knew who she was and what she was supposed to do. And one of the first lines in her message to Dawn is "Tell Giles I figured it out." And that's huge.
Okay. I think I've analyzed the episode as far as I can go. I'm done. Promise. Not really promise. But I think I'm done.
Man. That post was a lot longer than I anticipated.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
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