Quote du Jour: "A Labyrinth of Voices"

[red_satin_doll]

"There's a labyrinth of Voices inside your head, a counterpoint of self-awareness and the remembered sayings of your guides and mentors, who don't always agree. Sometimes, you wish you could go back and ask your teachers again to guide you..."

"... but up there, onstage, exactly where they always wanted you to be, you must simply find your way. They have given you all the help they can; the only person who can solve the labyrinth of yourself is you."


- Jeremy Dink, "Every Good Boy Does Fine," The New Yorker, April 8, 2013; pg 43.

Comments

[kikimay]

Beautiful - and really wise - quote. I like the association of pictures.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thanks hon, I knew you'd enjoy it. I found that quote the other day - the article it's from is Jeremy Dink writing very memorably and vividly about his piano teachers through the years; I highly recommend it - and knew it fit the Buffyverse perfectly. I had imagined having matching images of Buffy and Spike, of Faith with Angel and then with the Mayor, or maybe just Buffy and Faith, etc...in other words, I could have combined a thousand or more images from the show, but I thought I'd better focus - this took all day as it is!

[kikimay]

I this case good work and lovely choice. It's really poignant with Giles and Joyce together and the parallels between S3 and S7

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

The tension between Joyce and Giles fascinating - maybe in part because I'm the daughter of a single mom and there's a particular mother/daughter bond I connect with on the show, because I always love female characters anyway; and maybe a bit because fandom isn't as interested in Joyce. And neither is the show, really - fandom is taking it's cues from the show in some respects - but it's interesting to me that Joyce never really goes away, even after her death. She's absolutely central to Buffy's life, and her presence haunts Buffy and Dawn throughout S6-7, even if only in the form of the framed photo of Joyce next to the couch (on which Joyce died.)

I really remember watching the show the first time through that I wanted to see much more of Joyce in it, although what there is of her is so rich and compelling at times.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

That's a fantastic quote!
I love the addition of the pictures as well.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I love the addition of the pictures as well.

I don't know why I spent hours playing with screencaps when I should be writing more meta essays, it's certainly enough work! But I also love how much the images reveal about how the show's themes reach across the seasons and repeat themselves - like a piano concerto, with variations.

Thanks!

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Great quote ... nice pictures!!

Thank you! I'm glad it worked for you. (I tried to find some relevant images from Graduation Day but nothing really worked visually.)

BTW - I've been meaning to ask, who is that in your icon? Is that early seasons Buffy or someone else?

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I have read her stories as a matter of fact and I'm using one of her icons as well. I love the watercolor tones and layers/dissolves she uses; her artwork has a delicacy that not many people are able to pull off successfully, IMO.

When I was on a Moulin Rouge fanforum I had hundreds of MR icons that I made. (I should post them somewhere and let other people play with them I suppose.) I used to only ever use one icon for years, but then I started making them and revolving them every month. (Probably a sign that my ADD is getting worse in my old age! Or that I'm easily bored.) If I had a paid LJ account I'd do the same thing, I'm sure.

[kwritten.livejournal.com]

/ugh

but because - Because the connection between Slaying and Performance is so astute and wonderful.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your comment! It's much appreciated, knowing that I'm not just "seeing things". :)

Because the connection between Slaying and Performance is so astute and wonderful.

I was enjoying Dink's article/memoir, just relaxing into it the way you do with any engaging story, and then this part - the very last sentences - popped out at me. I had originally planned to have images from various characters to show the parallels, but it was easier to concentrate on Buffy. When I remembered the image from "Anne" of Buffy on that platform, it all fell into place.

Dink is a pianist who recalled his piano teachers from boyhood through college, and so the article like BtVS is a coming-of-age story; there's the same themes of dependency on parental figures/teachers, then eventually disillusionment with them as the student achieves mastery, or some semblance of it. But we internalize our judges and critics so that they continue to live in our heads long after the lessons are over.