I think you're quite right about Anya - Cordy suffered the same fate; not a complete person; I didn't find her interesting until she broke from Xander, broken-hearted; I thought they would do more with her from that point on, but I've heard it's not until AtS that she became a really interesting character? (I haven't watched that series yet.)
I've bookmarked vamp-mogs metas, thanks for the rec! Not a lot has been written about Anya as far as I've seen. And no, we don't take her seriously for most of the show, which is why we don't take her "crimes" of misandry seriously. She talks about "vengeance" and hurting men, but not actually killing anyone, so it almost comes as a shock to see her actions in S7. I do love the way they build her character in S7 - Emma Caulfield certainly deserved the opportunity and had the skill to play Anya more in-depth. But at the same time, it was rather sudden on one level, and required really shifting my conception of the character. And I'm sorry that her arc with Xander, their relationship, wasn't resolved satisfactorily. (HIs comment "That's my girl, always doing the stupid thing" is intended to be affectionate - and is very much in-character for him - but at the same time is slightly dismissive and patronizing/possessive IMO "MY GIRL". Which is why I prefer Buffy's "He's in my heart".)
And I definitely look forward to any meta you have, so consider this encouragement.
as well as some recent comments made in interviews
Care to share?
I do find Buffy's downward mobility an interesting area of exploration, particularly in contrast to Xander's simultaneous upward mobility (which is very much gendered in both cases). Her situation fits with the plight of the middle-class - or working class - in America (few good-paying jobs, shutdown of factories, service sector jobs - like the ones Buffy takes - becoming the largest growing industry, etc.) I don't think they do a particularly good job of the matter; the treatment of her financial situation is pretty unrealistic and has huge holes (doesn't Hank pay child support for Dawn? etc. Never mind Buffy's nice wardrobe.) But it's hard to find realistic treatments of lower middle class and working class families in American TV. In the '70's you had All in The Family and Good Times, among others; but in the 1980's there wasn't much except "Roseanne" which was fairly groundbreaking at the time on several levels.
I don't know that it's possible to "get" the working class or the poor unless you've been there, any more than it's possible to "get" depression, or racial issues.
Unfortunately, i don't think he "gets" the working class, and i think this makes an analysis of Anya more complicated, because it "breaks" a neat and tidy analysis - at least from where i stand, since Whedon (and, consequently his works) is confused about the subject.
I'll have to ponder this. Would you care to elaborate? (I don't have the theoretical background in class theory I'd like to.) Or is this material for your meta? In which case I'm more than happy to wait.
no subject
I've bookmarked vamp-mogs metas, thanks for the rec! Not a lot has been written about Anya as far as I've seen. And no, we don't take her seriously for most of the show, which is why we don't take her "crimes" of misandry seriously. She talks about "vengeance" and hurting men, but not actually killing anyone, so it almost comes as a shock to see her actions in S7. I do love the way they build her character in S7 - Emma Caulfield certainly deserved the opportunity and had the skill to play Anya more in-depth. But at the same time, it was rather sudden on one level, and required really shifting my conception of the character. And I'm sorry that her arc with Xander, their relationship, wasn't resolved satisfactorily. (HIs comment "That's my girl, always doing the stupid thing" is intended to be affectionate - and is very much in-character for him - but at the same time is slightly dismissive and patronizing/possessive IMO "MY GIRL". Which is why I prefer Buffy's "He's in my heart".)
And I definitely look forward to any meta you have, so consider this encouragement.
as well as some recent comments made in interviews
Care to share?
I do find Buffy's downward mobility an interesting area of exploration, particularly in contrast to Xander's simultaneous upward mobility (which is very much gendered in both cases). Her situation fits with the plight of the middle-class - or working class - in America (few good-paying jobs, shutdown of factories, service sector jobs - like the ones Buffy takes - becoming the largest growing industry, etc.) I don't think they do a particularly good job of the matter; the treatment of her financial situation is pretty unrealistic and has huge holes (doesn't Hank pay child support for Dawn? etc. Never mind Buffy's nice wardrobe.) But it's hard to find realistic treatments of lower middle class and working class families in American TV. In the '70's you had All in The Family and Good Times, among others; but in the 1980's there wasn't much except "Roseanne" which was fairly groundbreaking at the time on several levels.
I don't know that it's possible to "get" the working class or the poor unless you've been there, any more than it's possible to "get" depression, or racial issues.
Unfortunately, i don't think he "gets" the working class, and i think this makes an analysis of Anya more complicated, because it "breaks" a neat and tidy analysis - at least from where i stand, since Whedon (and, consequently his works) is confused about the subject.
I'll have to ponder this. Would you care to elaborate? (I don't have the theoretical background in class theory I'd like to.) Or is this material for your meta? In which case I'm more than happy to wait.