Moffat's Brand Of Feminism

Moffat's Brand Of Feminism-

I am a feminist. It's great to see more female-centric stories in the mainstream media. Even in geek culture, there are now movies which have female heroes, not as eye-candy but as a heavy hitter. 

"Is the future going to be all female?"

What's makes a good, strong female character? Or Better yet, what makes a good, strong character in general?

For me, it would their story, their hopes, ambition, their relationship with their family and their growth as a character.

For Moffat, a strong female character is sassy, knows it all, is very sexy, has sexual tension with the Doctor, know more than him, bosses him around, has a convoluted and messy but not properly explained backstory, with minimal character development.

I just described Amy, River, and Clara. 

Say what you want about Rose being annoying, Martha being a rebound or Donna being too loud, at least they are properly developed characters. We know about their lives, their hopes, and ambitions and even know about their family. They were proper characters, not just plot points. 

Amy and Clara, on the other hand, are basically the same character prototype as discussed earlier. 

Amy starts out as a sassy, loud character who bosses the Doctor around. This is her character. We don't see her relationship with her family or anything. Her dealing with her family and friends is usually left to quick montages, which don't add anything. Her character improved when Rory came aboard, we saw their interactions and her softer side. Even River added to it.

But Clara, on the other hand, has no Rory or River to help her character. Sure there was Danny Pink but he himself was such a dull and weak character. I mean if you had thought Rose/Mickey was bad, Clara/Danny is just on another level of bad.

Clara started as a plot device and then overstayed her welcome. The show focused too much on her and sidelined The Doctor. She didn't have a particular character, sometimes she loved the Doctor while other times she kept bitching about it, Sometimes she was bossy while other times she was a damsel in distress. There wasn't any consistency with her. It's like the writer had no idea what to do with her character. Her emotional death in 'Face Of The Raven' was completely fucked over in 'Hell Bent'.

The only way to describe River Song is Deus Ex Machina. Like that's her only role. Honestly, her knowing more than the Doctor was funny at first but after a while it became annoying. Also, the whole brake thing was stupid. I like her small doses, too much focus on her spoils her.

The only thing I would like to say in the conclusion is that Moffat doesn't know how to write proper female characters. Most of them are mary sues without any depth or faults. They are what the script needs them to be and are nearly perfect. 

Why I Don't Like Moffat's Era of Doctor Who

Why I Don't Like Moffat's Era of Doctor Who-

Steven Moffat

Steven Moffat is one interesting person. I really liked his work under RTD's era so I was really excited when he was announced as the new showrunner. But after watching the show under him, I was really disappointed.

Here are my problems with Moffat Era-

1. Lack of proper character development-

One of my main problem with his era is the companions. Bill was such a dull character who had nothing to her. Both Amy and Clara are essentially the same character prototype, strong, sassy woman who bosses the Doctor around. Rory had the best character development out of all them. Amy was more likable because of the trio relation as a family. She was essentially a prop for a character, where most of the episodes would be them going to an unknown place, Amy sassing someone and getting captured and Doctor and Rory arguing and trying to save her. Clara, on the other hand, is just annoying. She is a weird mixture of everything and anything, she is what the situation wants her to be. She is sometimes sassy in the face of danger and sometimes scared when facing danger. She is what Moffat wants her to be. Like if your character trait is that you hide your fear with sass then keep it consistent, don't change it. Also, her death and resurrection just spoiled her character further. By the end of her run, the show focused too much on her and her problems, rather than the Doctor.

And about River Song, I think they spent too much too much on her in later episodes. She was essentially deus ex machina. But they later spoil her mystery while trying to add more shit. Instead, they could've had her character like Jack Harkness, a sassy, badass person, who helps the Doctor from time to time. They could've given her a mini-series rather than shoehorning her in.

2. Too much build up not enough pay off-

Moffat has this same problem with Sherlock too. He sets up all these crazy new ideas but doesn't properly deliver. He will set up various references, teasers, and plot points but won't properly connect them. I don't know whether this is just bad writing or something else but Moffat isn't consistent. He makes up and changes things according to the episode which doesn't add up in the long run. Most of the time the episodes have plot-holes or very convoluted. Most of the conflicts in his work are solved by a sacrifice by an under-developed side character or the sonic screwdriver, which gets boring after a few times. 

3. Too many cope outs-

Resurrections completely destroy the impact of a character's death. Same for too many deaths. This is one of my biggest issues with Rory. I know that this is one of the running jokes about Rory being kind of like the Winchester. But his frequent deaths desensitized me to his actual death. Same for Clara, even though I am not her biggest fan, I actually felt bad when she 'died', but then they brought her back, even more annoying. For me, Clara should've died saving the 11th Doctor. Her story as the impossible girl was over, no point in trying to continue with that.

4. Overuse of certain villains-

I haven't watched Classic Who yet(trying to), so my first introduction to Dalek was the episode 'Dalek' in S1. I felt a whole whirl of emotions. At first, I was interested, then I was terrified and finally, I felt bad for it. The writing along with Eccleston's brilliant acting cemented it as one of the best episodes of the revival. But then there more Daleks and even more Daleks, and soon they started popping out every episode or two. Not only that but the Daleks were nerfed, where earlier a single one took out a whole facility of human or even easily destroyed cyberman, now they serve tea and fall down like cans. The same problem with Cybermen, they were supposed to vicious soldiers, not Missy's toys. But I admit I was really interested in the idea of the dead being turned into Cybermen, but then they fucked it over.

5. Fucking over Capaldi-

After having two younger, 'lighter' doctor, I was actually very excited for a more mature and grimmer Doctor, kind off like John Hurt's War Doctor. Capaldi was fantastic as the Doctor, you could see how earnestly he tried. But Moffat's writing fucked him over. They should've left the sitcom vibes to 11TH Doctor and family, rather than dragging it over here. Instead of continuing the amazing idea of the Doctor searching for Gallifrey, the show focuses more on Clara and her love life.  After all the optimist vibes in the previous series, they should've gone for a more cynical one. The Doctor is always angry, but rather than slowly building up to a bursting point, he has small bursts over the episodes, mixed with more fun and happiness. He doesn't have to be family friendly. Both Smith and Capaldi portray very different Doctors, the writers should've written accordingly.

Honestly, I know I am coming across as extremely cynical, but I don' hate his works. I think Moffat works better with some restrictions, rather than going off freely in all directions. There were good episodes and there were bad episodes, but there weren't any particular 'great' ones. The series were riddled with plot holes and in general were very confusing. There was inconsistency in both the plot and the behaviour of the characters. The tone was all over the place. And overall I think the quality kept dropping. 

I won't say that his Era was completely horrible but I would definitely say that it's overrated.

Thank you for reading. If you agree or disagree, do comment.

Of Racism And Hotel Shampoo

Of Racism And Hotel Shampoo-

Halsey

So Halsey has recently gone on a Twitter rant about hotel shampoos and how they are supposed to be discriminatory against POC's. Now I don't mind Halsey, I like some of her songs. I don't consider to be alternative. She is biracial and can use her platform for so much good yet she focuses on stupid things like hotel shampoos.

Honestly, this is so stupid it hurts. Firstly, who the fuck uses the shitty hotel shampoos? that shit will destroy your hair. Also, Halsey's hair is not even curly, it's barely frizzy. Secondly, her tweet implies that POC cannot afford their own shampoo, which is even more horrible. Like, we can buy our own shampoo, thank you very much.

Halsey is the epitome of Tumblr feminism. She calls herself an activist and voice of both the POC and LGBTQ community, but rather than using her platform for focusing on actual issues, she wastes them on this kind of petty issue.

Does racism exist? Yes, it fucking does. Our society needs to deal with a lot of issues to help solve it. Is hotel shampoo, one of them? No.

Thank you for reading. Do share it and add your thoughts to it. 

 

Suicide Squad: What Went Wrong

Suicide Squad: What Went Wrong 

So yesterday I watched Suicide Squad Hell To Pay and it was ... okay. I didn't like it as much as Assault on Arkham but it wasn't bad. The plot was fine, the voice acting wasn't that good, the animation looked cheap but overall it was a very fun and entertaining movie. This made me think, why do the animated SS movie work and where the live action one went wrong? So, here are some of my problems with Suicide Squad (2016)

Enchantress

1. The Villain-

Enchantress as the villain didn't make sense. They should've left her for the Justice League Dark. It would've made more sense to have magic users deal with her. The task force X isn't equipped to deal with her. The villain should've been more grounded, maybe like a mob boss or some other. Or it could've been them stealing something or breaking to free someone. Also, Cara Delevigne's portrayal of The Enchantress was bad. It was laughable in some parts.

Suicide Squad

2. Too many people in the Squad-

The Task force X could've done with fewer members. There were just too many. They could've done without Rick Flag, Katana, Slip Knot. Instead, they could've had Killer Frost on the roster, that would've helped introduce metahumans in the universe. They could've had five members with a proper backstory for each and could've killed off two of them. Too many members resulted in some getting too much attention while others had next to none. Having fewer members would give them more time to develop their story and thus the audience would be more invested in them and their deaths would have a greater impact.

Joker

3. Joker was unnecessary in the movie-

Apart from being in Harley's backstory, I don't think that Joker was exactly needed in the movie. Rather than being in for a few scenes, they could've skipped him altogether and avoided the backlash. And even if they wanted to have him in the movie, the should've limited his appearance in the trailers and not spoil his scenes.

Harley Quinn

4. Too much Harley-

I liked Margot Robbie's portrayal of Harley, but there was just too much of her. Harley is the type of character who is fun in smaller doses like a funny one-liner or something. Too much of her gets grating and annoying after some time. Also, why have her get back with Joker. In the recent years both in the comics and animated movies she has broken free from Joker and has become her own individual. Why get her back with that asshole?Why glamourize such abusive relationship?

5. Too Tame-

Suicide Squad is comprised of a bunch of villains who are more than happy to backstab or fuck-over each other. The movie definitely tamed them. They should've been ready to betray or conspire against each other. Especially Deadshot and Boomerang. Harley should've been more psychotic and violent.

Honestly, I didn't like the movie, compared to the animated counterparts it was weak and messy. It should've been better.

Do you agree or disagree with my points? Would love to hear your thoughts.

My Problems with BBC Sherlock

I love Sherlock both the BBC series, the novels and even Elementary. But I don't think its as perfect as some others claim it to be. Here are some of my problems with BBC Sherlock-

1. Queerbaiting-

Let's start with the main issue-Queerbaiting.
Queerbaiting is the practice to hint at, but then to not actually depict, a same-sex romantic relationship between characters in a work of fiction, mainly in film or television. Johnlock: which is the ship name for John Watson and Sherlock Holmes. Now, I particularly don't mind people shipping them. I can see why fangirls ship them. Both Cumberbatch and Freeman have great chemistry together. My problem isn't with the fangirls it's with the writers who keep baiting them. If you want to turn their chemistry into sexual tension then at least address them being not straight. You can't keep them straight to appease the general audience while trying being homoerotic on the side for the shipping fangirls.

2. Sherlock is sometimes annoying -

I know Sherlock is a 'high functioning sociopath' but sometimes he is really annoying. It's fun to see him correct and deduce other, but too much of that in a single episode gets boring and repetitive. He is supposed to be an eccentric, brilliant genius, not a childish maniac.

3. More grounded plot-


Sherlock is not a superhero, stop treating him like that. His greatest asset is his brain. Stop trying to overdo everything. You already have more than enough material to work with. Why are the writes hell-bent on adding extra things which make no sense and just further complicate the things. The result is the new season. Just pick a story from the novel and add your own contemporary twist to it.

4. Introduction of Moriarty-


I loved Andrew Scott's portrayal of Moriarty. But I think they should have waited for at least two or three seasons for his introduction. It would have better if they used the first two seasons to properly establish all the characters and then bring in the Arc- enemy. Kind off like MCU and Thanos. They could have teasers and easter eggs for him. The impact would've been more


THANK YOU for reading my thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree with my points, write them below in the comments.

The State of DCEU

The State of DCEU-

So with Aquaman being the only DCEU movie this year. I wanted to talk about the current state of DCEU. It's bad. Very bad. There is a definite lack of support. With Marvel going strong with Black Panther and the upcoming juggernaut Infinity War. There isn't much competition. Also for some reason, WB keeps adding stupid projects like Harley Quinn solo movie. The way DCEU is moving forward is problematic. DCEU's most successful movie yet is Wonder Woman. The main reason many non-DC fans liked that movie is that she was the first female strong comic hero in a long time. 

If I could change DCEU I would probably make the following decisions-

1. Enough with Superman and Batman-

I love both of them. Heck, Batman is my favourite DC character, but I am tired of seeing the same characters over and over again. One of the reasons MCU has become so successful is because of its freshness. The general audience did not know the characters before their movies thus they did not have anything to compare them with. They felt fresh and the audience wanted to know their stories. Batman and Superman movies have been beaten to death. Everyone knows their stories. I am tired of seeing the Waynes being shot. DC has an array of amazing characters. They can literally do anything they want.

2. More representation-

Black Panther continues to kill at the Box office. I as a person of colour can see why. People want more representation. I know quite a lot of people complain that the movies have become too politically correct. But I don't think to ask for proper representation is being too P.C. People want authentic characters not walking stereotypes. WW worked because female comic book fans got represented by a strong female hero and not just an eye candy. In the current culture, movies about characters like Vixen, Lady Shiva, John Stewart(GL) and many more would work very well with the audience.

Adding to this point. I wanted to talk about Batman Ninja movie which according to me is just unnecessary. Instead, they could've had an anime about Cassandra Cain/Black Bat or Lady Shiva. Doing so would've increased their popularity among non-comic book reader audience and thus if they were to ever make a live action movie, the general audience would've also been into it. 

Also, representation isn't just about the skin colour, LGBTQ needs representation too. Give a Mighnighter and Apollo movie or even better give me a Batwoman movie. Stop erasing their sexuality. If they are JL Dark, address John Constantine's bisexuality. 

Speaking of representation, instead of BatGirl give me Oracle.

3. No studio interference-

What's the point of hiring good, competent director if you're going to mess with his work and direction? WB royally fucked over Zack Snyder with BVS and was going to do the same to Patty Jenkins too. Stop trying to cut off important parts of the movie and save the actual proper cut for DVD. This may help you earn a bit more but in the long run, will completely destroy the general audience's interest in the franchise. Devoted fans like us will buy the DVDs but others won't.

4.Less is more-

Stop trying to add more to the roster. Just because some people liked Harley in Suicide Squad does not mean that they want a solo movie. First properly establish the characters you have instead of trying to add more. MCU has had years setting up the character so when something happens, people care. Now, I am not saying the DCEU has to follow the same formula. But they have to make us care for them. Give it time.

Speaking of less, don't spoil surprises in the trailer. I am talking about Doomsday trailer thing. It could've been so much better to see Doomsday in the hall rather than give it away in the trailer. It takes away from the enjoyment when you see it int he halls later. Also, this scene then became a meme, which I think definitely hurt the movie. People stopped talking it seriously which affected their understanding of its theme and seriousness. The same thing happened with Cavill's mustache in Justice League.

Nevertheless, I am excited about future DCEU movies. Hope they don't let me down. 

Thank you for reading.  Probably going to cover the new Suicide Squad movie next.