tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post9044655481590363967..comments2024-03-19T07:27:06.216-04:00Comments on VOTARIES OF HORROR: Spiderman, Angst, Redemption and All That Good StuffKatherine Woodburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14364517253667798449noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-12239268833501322452007-05-19T17:16:00.000-04:002007-05-19T17:16:00.000-04:00I think another aspect of this is that we want to ...I think another aspect of this is that we want to see the protagonist grow as an individual, and we know that growth comes through hard work and suffering. Hence the predictable sequence in any sports movie where the hero recognizes his shortcomings and gets down to work (queue training montage and inspiring music!).<BR/><BR/>What we don’t want to see is gain without pain. Or conversely, pain without gain, the latter being the product of authorial laziness: creating conflict by doing terrible things to the main character like a capricious god. Job without any metaphysical or theological insights. This is what made ER and NYPD Blue so intolerable after a couple of seasons.<BR/><BR/>The travails of House, on the other hand, are mostly things he brings upon himself and therefore must react to on his own terms. One gets the idea that with each self-created disaster, he gains additional insight about himself. Even if he never changes, he’s not blind to who he is. Which is also why he doesn’t terribly mind being beaten at his own game.Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03182644885948983861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-48592550675163831202007-05-11T14:28:00.000-04:002007-05-11T14:28:00.000-04:00Whether Whedon understands redemption, I've always...Whether Whedon understands redemption, I've always been a little bugged by how freely he redeems his characters from the most heinous acts with precious little contrition. (And yet kills off other characters for relatively minor offenses, if at all.)<BR/><BR/>(Willow's redemption, for example, was awfully pain free. Spike even got a weird pass a few times [had to, from the time he showed up, he was the most interesting character]. And even the Angle/Angelus thing gets borderline creepy--at least in Buffy, he had to pay dearly for his sins.)Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.com