The sporadic ramblings of Emily C. A. Snyder - devoted to God, theatre, writing, and much randominity.

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Location: New York, New York, United States

Host: "Hamlet to Hamilton: Exploring Verse Drama" | Founder: TURN TO FLESH PRODUCTIONS | Author: "Cupid and Psyche" "Nachtsturm Castle" & Others | Caitlin O'Sullivan in "The Ghost Ship" (Boston Metaphysical Society)

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Mass is from God


(And the winner for this year's most redundant statement is....)

"The Accolade" by Edmund Blair Leighton


Anywho, going to mass, receiving graces, really being able to worship - thank.God. And I mean it, thank You, God. Had an interesting image during communion. "We Are One Body" from the Denver World Youth Day was played and - I must admit, I'm not a fan of the song - but suddenly I got this image of the whole host of Heaven, and every sort of tribe and nation from every time period dancing in their particular style to the music - each completely unique and yet in total harmony. Viennese Waltzers next to Noh Dramatists next to African and Maui Tribalists - next to GI Lindyhoppers! All celebrating together. Beautiful.

Have purchased another external harddrive (I've found my memory! ;) to try to move around things that need to be moved around. Have yet to set it up, though. Finished watching Season 2 of Veronica Mars - where I was pleased to learn that the writing has improved *significantly,* and where I had much fun watching Buffy alumn, including Joss Whedon, frolick about the set. Howsomever, it has led to some rather nasty dreams, so...there.

And on that note (but a moment to tangent - RANDOM! - Apocalypta's cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" is on. Sooooooooooooo good - but no pun on "note") - I'd like to take a moment to discuss the...

Perennial Problem of the Bad Boy Beloved by Good Heroine Plot Point
Being a Brief and Rambling Demi-Rant on the Uses and Abuses of This Character and His Recent Story Arcs


There's an old phrase that Good Girls Love Bad Boys. Heck, there's an entire sub-genre dedicated to this particular plot. And the satisfactory plots go one of two ways.

  • The Set-Up: Good Girl meetscute Bad Boy; Bad Boy, after much amusing and tittilating non-wooing-wooing gets Good Girl.

  • Comical Ending: Through relationship with Good Girl, Bad Boy is redeemed and, after struggling with one last inner demon, Bad Boy saves the day and Girl and Boy live happily ever after; or

  • Tragical Ending: Bad Boy nearly is wooed over to the light side by dating Good Girl, but in the end his one last fling with the Sith lords of that particular universe tragically at least his romance if not more frequently his life; with the additional collorary

  • Cautionary Tragical Ending: That sometimes Bad Boy rubs off on Good Girl and Good Girl goes bad, joins Bad Boy in his one last fling and they both die.

    Han Solo took the Comical Ending, which made him more lovable because then he was just a delightful rogue and every good girl's dream bad boy (which is to say, a redeemable bad boy - all of the fun with none of the damnation). Spike was trying to follow the comical, but made the fatal error of being more interesting than their increasingly whiny Buffy and so was given the tragical ending rather than the comical ending which he deserved. Hence his story felt wronged.

    Now, we've got two more Bad Boys on TV whose stories I fear for. We've Logan Echolls on Veronica Mars who the writers keep on forcing towards Tragical Ending, but they keep dangling the comical (and to my mind, far more satisfactory) ending in front of us. Same goes for the makers of Lost who seem to feel somehow that they're obliged to keep Sawyer from any sort of path of redemption.

    My latest theory is that those authors who are trying to keep their females the heroines get very nervous around the Bad Boy gone Good plot, and think that by keeping their interesting bad guys bad, they're somehow helping keep the girl front and center. But all they're really doing is confusing the trajectory of their own plotlines! Giving secondary characters a full plot themselves doesn't detract from our heroes, but makes them stronger. And if the danger is that either the Bad Boy is becoming soppy or the Good Girl is becoming disinteresting, the solution oughtn't be to weaken the Bad Boy and to toughen up the Good Girl, but rather to really delve in deep to learn how to portray Goodness in all its complexity and tribulation and struggle and excitement.

    So c'mon, Hollywood and NYC - learn how to be good and to write *ahem* Good, too. QED. Thus spake Zarthrustra. $5 pizza calls my name, which makes it not only a Sunday cheap pizza, but an impressive pizza, too.

    Mood: Mieux, merci
    Music: Acts I & II of Hamlet - currently "Earth" from Gladiator
    Thought: How could I have forgotten my brothers, those soldier in Heaven fighting on our behalf?

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