meganbmoore | the break from fandom, it is not going so well...

Ok, seriously, how can women NOT be interested in women in fiction, or view them as irrelevant, or only there to complement the guys? I mean, seriously, HOW???

I don't mean liking every female character ever, or always being more interested in the female, I just mean approaching fiction with the idea that the female is less important than the male.

It seems to me that it should be the reverse...but then again, I shouldn't be surprised, as so much of fandom revolves around the ideathat it's good or more interesting to take the role of the female and give it to a male instead(yes, if you slash a canonically, heterosexually paired character with another male, you ARE robbing the female of part of her role in the story and giving it to a male. Period.)

No, I do not dislike you or not respect you or automatically think less of you if you aren't interested in female characters or slash canonically paired males(the f-list would be much smaller if I did.) But I also can't remotely with your viewpoint when you're coming at something with either one.

(ok, I must ask: is there something in the world's water supply the last few weeks? I keep seeing more and more rants...not that I'm one to talk.)

ETA: No, not directed at anyone specifically (I don't post rants directed to specific people if I know them) but on comments in various rants I've read the last week or so.

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So am I. I mean...female characters aren't universally, inherently more interesting than male characters, but they also aren't automatically LESS interesting, nor are they accessories. Honestly, I find it difficult to get into anything that doesn't have both a male and a female character who interests me, regardless of whether or notthere's romance, but it's a lot harder for me if there's no female than if there's no male.

I love writing female characters. Men are great, and I enjoy writing them a lot, but there's so much you can do with a female character.

I get so sick of people who are basically just saying, "I don't like this woman because she is with my man." If they made an effort to identify with the woman, they'd get far closer to the man of their choice than they would by writing him as gay.

I think they sometimes forget that the man is fictional and would not be with them even if he weren't with the woman of their choice.

In Steele fandom, I have met people who call Laura manipulative, cruel, unfaithful and neurotic and underneath it all is this adolescent jealousy, "She smells, because the boy I like, likes her."

"I get so sick of people who are basically just saying, "I don't like this woman because she is with my man." If they made an effort to identify with the woman, they'd get far closer to the man of their choice than they would by writing him as gay.

I think they sometimes forget that the man is fictional and would not be with them even if he weren't with the woman of their choice."

This is my reaction to so very, very much of fandom. *points to post a couple days ago*

As far as Laura goes...well she CAN BE cruel and manipulative...there are times where she really will do virtually to get what she wants(look at the entire setup ofthe show...) and she can be vicious when crossed the wrong way, but hey, when she lashes out at Steele, he really tends to deserve it. But, seriously, the woman has more than her share of flaws, but so does he. Part of the appeal of the characters is that neither is perfect, they both have a lot of flaws and their flaws often get the better of them. But they also get past it, and the good far outweighs the bad. And, seriously, anything she ever does or says to Steele? The man earns it., one way or the other, whether that specific moment, or because it's been building up.

They can both be incredibly manipulative, but a lot of it is a game they both enjoy. The people I'm talking about see Steele as an innocent victim of this terrible woman. I don't think she is cruel, thoughtless, yes, but never cruel.

Flawless people are mind-numbingly dull.

Steele? Innocent? In what universe?

Seriously, half the time, I'm surprised she doesn't just stab him in the heart with her high heals, given the stunts he pulls.

That's pretty much my reaction. They don't seem to get that by turning him into the innocent dupe of this wicked woman, they diminish his intelligence.

I literally go "high heals through the heart" when I think about Steele, and have since I watched the first ep and she realized he'd conned her.

The whole point is the clash of two incredibly smart, clever people with a whole lot of pride who'd realize they were made for each other if they could just swallow that pride.

Okay, I show this show years ago, and never so the pilot, so can you tell me something? At one point, Laura was saying something to the effect that she was the one who named him, and that sometimes she wished she'd picked a more human name so that when he was upset, it was easier to comfort him.

How did this work out?

Basically: She started a detective agency, but learned no one wanted to hire a female PI(remember: 80s) so she invented a fictional boss named Remington Steele who was always "out of town." He was a con artist who, in the midst of conning one of her clients, stumbled across HER con, and recognized a good gig when he saw one, and assumed the role of RS. She realized a somewhat controllable figurehead was good for business, ad that she couldn't risk his exposing her, so she let him. He never told her his real name(eventually, we learn he's an orphan and doesn't know his own name) and she gave him the nickname of "Harry," which he liked. Later, the man who raised him showed up(the actor, BTW, was Stephanie Zimbalist's RL father) and when he heard about that, he told her that he'd also given Steele the same name when he was a child.

Awww, adorable.

I consider their "meet cute" to be about 3/4 through the first episode, when she learns he's co-opted her con when her client announces that he(he told her he was a government agent investigating...well, himself, but she already had her serious suspicions) is Remington Steele...and she chews him out in a seething whisper and he knows the only reason she didn't kill him then and there(probably by taking off her high healed shoes and stabbing him in the heart with one of the heals) was because she was far too classy and refined-not to mention smart-to commit murder in a crowded room of potential clients.

That's a damn good meet cute.

And then imagine a whole series full of such scenes.

Yeah. It's been AGES since I last saw this (as noted elsewhere, I am ooooold and was a fangirl back when it was first broadcast), but I do remember them having wonderful chemistry together. And what's not to love about a young Pierce Brosnan? Do check it out.

The only thing not to love is that Brosnan has been stuck replaying the character in different roles ever since...I remember when it first came to DVD, reading some things from him where he indicated that he wished he didn't always have to play his roles like Steele. I think he did a movie a year or two ago(can't recall the title) deliberately because the character was the Steele/Bond character type, 100% stripped of all the glamour...letting him play the type he's known for, while making it something completely different for him.

I remember some of them. I really need to rewatch that series.

The transcripts for every episode are at http://steeleinlove.com/index2.html

Thank you.

the break from fandom, it is not going so well...

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