felicityking

Well. I don't think I'll ever get over the fuckery that was the Gossip Girl season 5 finale. I'm not even bitter, just natefused. But I am LOVING one thing:

Methinks the writers aren't on twitter cuz internal shit is going down. Every season, the media has stuck by the show despite endless controversy after controversy. I'm sure the CW wasn't expecting the "LOL redundancy, I have better shows to watch, hope you find somebody else in the media to cover the show next season cuz it won't be me!" panning. And from the sounds of the reviews, many of them mean it. They won't write about the show next season, because they were disgusted with how they were used and belittled (many asking "what was the point of the last 4 seasons if the characters are going to revert to worse-than-their-season-1-selves?') At any rate, I don't think Savage and company are feeling clever now.

I've started reading Sherlock Holmes. Now, I don't have the complete books and stories. Only "The Strand" SH stories and novel. I do plan on getting The Sign of Four, A Study in Scarlet, and the other short stories novel though. The first SH story I read was "A Scandal in Bohemia." Two SH movies and the TV series have told me Irene Adler is The Love of SH's life, but all I got from the story was:


( Spoilers if you haven't watched the show or read the story )

At least according the two year old teenyboppers who inhabit the Ed Westwick fanforum. For that matter, NO negativity is allowed there at all. That. is. ridiculous! I've never seen ANY fanbase be so pro-censorship. Leighton's fans diagree with her, and there are fans that disagree with Blair Waldorf...are those opinions censored on her fanforum, or the GG fanforum? NO! But, these people who supposedly love and admire Ed Westwick so much won't even allow HIS negative opinions about Chuck to be on a board discussing HIM. (Leighton is pro-Chair, but at least anti-Chair shippers TRY to understand her opinion before dismissing it out-of-hand. You can't even read Ed's Chuck-bashing on his own damn fanboard because his opinion doesn't count. Goes to show you how much they actually respect him.)

Anyway, this is the infamous post, which I'm posting here for everybody on LJ to see. (I've already reposted it on TWoP, too.)

"I think everyone knows here I don't like Chuck Bass. And I'm glad Ed doesn't like him either. However, I was thinking today. It's not that I *dislike* him: I don't mind bad guys, villains are interesting--and Chuck is an interesting villain BUT Chuck isn't portrayed a villain on the show. He's a Gary Sue. Nothing is ever his fault and everybody including his enemies will always step in and help him no matter how poorly he treats people. Hell, even Blair took blame for IP and it wasn't even HER fault. It was his.

I see Chuck Bass a modern-day Dorian Grey. Blair is his Sybill. However, the writers want to keep on insisting that their relationship is epic!, romantic!, the be-all-end-all of relationships, past and present. Now, as someone who knows people who have been emotionally and phsycally abused (and Chuck IS a textbook abuser), I take offense at that. Serious offense. I don't mind seeing deestructive relationships on tv. I don't even mind seeing the woman in abuse relationship, but telling me it's romance .... well, I'm boycotting the show. I adore Ed, I adore Leighton, I adore Penn, hell I even adore Blake and Chace, but I will not watch something where abuse is considered romantic. That disgusts me.

Back to Dorian Grey. Wilde never romanticizes Dorian Grey. Oh, he makes the character very witty, very appealing in shady, seedy way, but he doesn't say "this guy is a romantic hero and Sybill is the love of his life" (Dorian acts like she is, but doesn't treat her so). He just says: here's Dorian Grey. He's corrupt, he sucks, and he's evil. But he's so damn good looking: has great taste in art, clothing, jewelry, etc. BUT HE IS EVIL! And you will be hurt by him if you spend any time at all in his company. And he will not regret hurting you but you will feel the sting for the rest of your life and wish you had never met him.

Does Dorian pay for his actions? That's debatable depending on how you view the ending. I think he does. But it comes after long years of getting away with everything--and people knowing he gets away with everything. But even while he is getting away with everything, he is only worshipped in the "he has beautiful things" way. Sure, he has "friends"--but they are wary of him. Sure, he has a good reputation, but there are always scandals that follow him wherever he goes. Wilde enforces that he is fascinating from afar--but nobody really likes him. They just find him interesting.

Now, if GG would THAT route, I would totally okay with Chuck Bass. But instead, fans and certain writers of the show insist on telling me he is a good guy. Which is why I can't be a fan of him. If he was admired as Dorian Grey-type, I would totally be on the Chuck Bass love train (because it's a 'love to hate, love to admire, but don't ever trust him because he'll hurt you badly' love not 'aww, prince charming Chuck love').

Anyway, I wanted to get that out of my system."

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Yes, I will post on Ed Westwick's fanforum. Despite their infantile views, I like several threads there. And, there are a few who manage to not squee all the fucking time when they post, who are capable of intelligent conversation that doesn't sound like babytalk. However, I will definitely be spending far more time in Leighton's and the main GG fanforums.

(I guess I've officially had my rite of passage and am now an official LJer now, given that so many of friends and communities I'm in have complained about fanforum.)

Congratulations. You've lost a viewer. In retrospect, I never should have started watching again. But you lost me for good this time.

I stopped watching the show when season 2 started, because I wasn't a Chair fan.(I was a Derena and Dair fan back in the day.) I missed that whole season, andd didn't regret it. Somehow the season 3 promos and advertising pulled me back in. And, shockingly, I found myself loving Chair.

Then IP and the whole shitdown on Blair happened afterwards. My heart shifted back to Dair but I still hoped Chuck would be redeemed, even though I didn't want him back with Blair. I watched this season with increasing horror and shock. And, then, Monday happened. That was too far.Then, reading the interviews where those fucking twits who write the show tried to justify Chuck's abuse.

That is TOO much. I am done. Done! I'll still keep my membership in LJ GG forums because I adore the people I met there (and they are very articulate, intelligent and thoughtful and always willing to call the show on its shit). But no longer am I viewing it.

Now, to be clear: I'm still a fan of the actors (Leighton's got a great career ahead of her, and if the others are phoning it in, they can't be blamed when they have such CRAZIES behind the scenes running the show.) I'm still a fan of the fashion and the music. But as a feminist, I can't support watching something that negates the impact of how domestic violence affects women.

DOMESTIC ABUSE IS NOT ROMANTIC!
JUST BECAUSE HER BRUISE WAS "DAINTY" DOESN'T MEAN CHUCK'S BEHAVIOR IS JUSTIFIED!
JUST BECAUSE CHUCK DIDN'T HIT BLAIR DOESN'T MEAN HE DIDN'T ASSAULT HER!


PS: I will freely admit I will probably still seek out Dair scenes on youtube and watch the BTS blooper reels. But I'm not watching the show live.

<url=http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/10/gossip-girl-preview-no-sex-just-coffee-plus-rachel-zoe-gets-messy.html>Remember when the Headband was a symbol of Blair's power? Remember it was a reminder that she was a Bitch with a Heart of Gold?</url>


Now, I said in gg_feminism I'd lay off critiquing Blair, so I can't leave this post like this. I'm actually more appallled by Dorota's statement: "you aren't fighting with Chuck, so you're fighting with the help." Does Dorota have no memories of her wedding? Of Blair being so damn unhappy, she broke down in front of everybody and was afraid she had ruined D&V's wedding? Of Blair being afraid that if she and Chuck walked the happy couple down the aisle, D&V would be cursed because CB were in such a bad place? DOROTA ISN'T A CHAIR SHIPPER!!!!! Stop trying to make her the Chair's #1 fan, Josh Schwartz! It's NOT working

And, it's getting damn pathetic that the writers on GG are now trying Chair by having everybody in the universe tell either Chuck or Blair this season that they loved each other, that they were meant to be, are meant to be. If you believe in your precious ship that freaking much, SHOW it, don't tell it. And, for that matter LET BLAIR MOVE ON!!! And, then, we'll see if your destined couple holds up in the long run after Blair has a real love interest.

I love that Eleanor has gotten so classy since she married Cyrus. I bet she always was though. Once she let go of what she thought the UES expected of her, she just has loosened up and become a great Mom, a great friend, and even great to the help. Now, she just needs to get through Blair's head before it's too late.

It continues to amaze me after all this time that Josh Schwartz can be running 2 very different in quality shows: Chuck, which after a shaky 3rd season, appears to be back to it's old, fun self yet with with several sly upgrades. Then, there's Gossip Girl, which appears to be going even more off-the-rails than ever all for the sake of ChuckandBlairareepic!!!!!  over the top drama.

To say Chuck is my favorite show on television would be an understatement. It likes Alias meets The Office meets Gilmore Girls. It's very quirky and quick-witted and better than many big budget action movies in how it delivers its kicks and punches. If you aren't watching it, something is very wrong with you. And, if you are watching it, I salute you.

I'll spare you my thoughts on GG. I watch it mainly for the fashion and the music nowadays. Oh, the cast can be good when the show is written right--and as an ensemble are appealing to watch. Tragically, everybody's growth and plotlines have been stunted so Chuck and Blair can run around acting like Healthcliff and Cathy (while both might be villians, they aren't weren't that evil and selfish towards each other or others originally). Hmm. I told you I'd spare you. So I'll quit now. I'm sure you'll get lots of complaints and rolled in as the season progresses on. (Strangely, I am a Chair fan. But mostly because they remind me of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, not because I love their self-esteem issues that supposedly make them great for each other.)

As far as non-television goes, I'm finishing up A Tale of Two Cities. In high school, I thought Dickens was overrated. However, I've come to appreciate his writing as I've grown older. While he does have a set of stock characters, he knows how to use language and invigorate what should be just another soap opera with pathos and social commentary. I can't wait to dig into Dickens' other books once I'm finished with one.