In which I wonder if I'm being too sensitive?

[salienne]

I love Moffat's writing, and the man is brilliant. But this one quote of his squicks me a bit: "Despite all the fear, death and screaming women, it is a charming, optimistic show and children bond with it like no other."

Now, I agree with all of that, and it's a lovely quote... except for what I have bolded. I mean, yes, the show has had its share of screaming women, but... shouldn't it be getting rid of that as a "trademark"? Especially from the future showrunner, defining it like that bothers me.

So... is this me overreacting, or being legitimately bothered?

Comments

[violet-lane.livejournal.com]

What bothers me about that quote is that it isn't even that true. Sure, there were companions who did a lot of screaming, but when you look beyond that, a lot of the females on Doctor Who were miles ahead of their time. I mean, take a look at Romana, Liz Shaw, SJS, Zoe, Ace and Leela to start with. Even Mel, who was a definitely a screamer, was a female computer programmer (how many of those do you see on television).

So, yeah, there was a lot more to those women than screaming.

[ariastar.livejournal.com]

While I love Moffat lots and lots as a writer, he does have weird Women Issues and therefore the bother is entirely legitimate. On the other hand, most of his Women Issues seem to come out in various interviews and quotes, not actually in the writing he's done for the show -- if you look at his record, Nancy doesn't scream, Reinette doesn't scream, Sally screams but Larry does even more so, and while I am not entirely comfortable with Miss Evangelista I suspend judgment of the latest until it's finished airing. So while, yeah, there are screaming people on a show like Doctor Who, I think the fact that he mentions women specifically is more his own weird Thing than it is reflected in any of the show, including the parts he's done.

[hippiebanana132.livejournal.com]

I'm bothered too, so at least if you are over-reacting, you've got company. =D

[salienne.livejournal.com]

Okay, good to know that even Classic Who supports my squick.

Why oh why must Moffat come off as vaguely sexist? :/

[salienne.livejournal.com]

Okay, good to know it's not me then. While I do think it has leaked a bit onto the show (while GitF is pretty much one of my all-time favorite episodes of GitF, it still has a bit too many touches of "dignity/the right thing to do is letting your guy cheat on you and then wait for him to come back without raising a fuss" for my liking), it does seem to be more thought/spoken than penned much of the time. Hopefully it'll stay like that during his time as showrunner?

[salienne.livejournal.com]

Yay! :D

...I think?

[ariastar.livejournal.com]

Also, look on the bright side (she says, a bit tongue-in-cheek): if we actually have stuff like Moffat's Issues With Women to discuss and/or wank about, maybe the fandom will actually do that rather than the endless Rose v Martha wars!

And yeah, if you're looking for it Moffat's Women Issues are sort of there in the episodes, but at least he writes interesting enough characters that we can hopefully analyze and find them interesting.

[salienne.livejournal.com]

Hee, the sad part is, part of me finds that rather appealing.

*Nods a lot*

(Oh, and your icon makes me happy on very many levels. Something about Martha+arrows+exasperated face. And I want her outfit, but that's beside the point.)