A Writer's Responsibility
Nov. 8th, 2008 05:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cedar_groveThis is long, and I make no apology for the majority of it not being under a cut.
Today, I have had it irrevocably spelled out for me that I could never write for a network television show... and I'll be surprised if I ever get published - why?
Because I won't compromise.
I have been sitting here today trying to put into words just how I feel, right now, over the question of what /is/ a writer's responsibility.
Is it to bow to pressures of a society that seeks to be entertained only by a 'fluffy bunny,' 'black and white,' 'comfortable' view of a world where there are no monsters under the bed, and we're not faced with moral questions that might alarm us when we see our answers?
Or is a writer's responsibility to her characters, their integrity, and the integrity of the world/society they write.
Is it a writer's responsiblity to challenge us as readers (of any kind of text, be that literary/visual/audio etc) - to hold up the mirror before our faces that prompts us to see within those dark corners of our own beliefs, attitudes and psyches, and make us think and to make us realise, as we examine the villain, Wait a minute - I understand - and there but for the grace of God, go I.?
Is it a writer's responsibility to remind us that the world is not a fluffly place, but that in spite of that, there is still hope?
Is it a writer's responsiblity to remind us that the answers to moral questions aren't 'black and white,' but that in spite of that, there is still hope?
Is it a writer's responsibility to remind us that, actually, there are monsters under the bed and that they could well be, likely are of our own making, but that there is still hope?
And should the writer hold up all of that to us and say, Look... I am the voice of your conscience, I have seen your actions, and your thoughts. I know you and can judge you, and find you wanting, but there is no cause for alarm - do not despair, because there is still hope.?
I believe the all of the latter.
There is only one TV show I could name that consistently, through all its incarnations, was not afraid to do that - to challenge us, to hold the mirror to us, to shake us from our comfortable complaceny and to make us think. That show is Star Trek.
They did it consistently, and they did it well, and still, at the end of each dark night they took us through, made us face, they left us with the message that, yes, there is still hope, but that it is our responsibility to take that potential and shape it, embrace it, make it ours.
They did it in The Original Series, they did it in The Next Generation, they did it with bells and whistles in Deep Space Nine, they did it less well in Voyager, but they still did it, and yes... they even did it in Enterprise toward the end - but then what happened? The show got cancelled.
Is it a symptom of the sickness in our society that we, as a people, given the choice would turn our back on anything and everything that holds that Mirror Darkly up to our faces and demands Look! - that we abrogate the responsibility for our own morality and moral choices - everything that proves our humanity - to others, whom we then revile?
Give us more shows like Star Trek, Writers - challenge us. Shock us from our moral apathy! Show us the real world through your art.
Last night, Stargate: Atlantis, one of the shows that created for us a wonderful 'dark mirror,' with such potential for the kind of examination of ourselves that I fear we need, finally capped its consistent failure to do so. I know there are many who will read this paragraph and tell me, "Yes, but that's not the kind of show it is. They don't write like that." and while I acknowledge that, know that you're right, and hate that it's true - I still had hope.
While the episode was exciting, tense, and contained a lot of good lines, there were too many occasions where the characters displayed stupidity, or in the end were just so out of character, on many levels, that in the end it lessened the impact of the episode.
I truly believe that, in the end, the ultimate victory in this, is Michael's. He proved his point. We're not that different, and in that it made his end that much more ignominious and disrespectful.
The episode treated him badly.
I suppose I'm somewhat biased. I've never really been able to see Michael as a 'villain' in the classic sense of the word. More like and antagonist, perhaps I'd even go so far as to say an 'anti-hero.'
There's been a lot of discussion about the rights or wrongs, merits or otherwise of Fan Fiction on the blog of one of the producers of SGA - Joe Malozzi. In my opinion, The Prodigal was an episode which justifies all of the merits of Fan Fiction, and embodies the responsibilities of the writer, (Official show, or Fan Fic Writer).
After watching that, I don't even know if I want to watch the rest of the season. There are many people singing Cark Binder's praises over The Prodigal (he wrote it), but I actually find myself disturbed by it... and equally as disgusted. Whereas until this point he seemed to have held out against network pressures as much as he could and still have a job, in The Prodigal he finally lost it. Sold out to those network pressures - for a network that must already have known that they were going to cancel the show - that wouldn't allow Teyla to 'go to the dark side' as I'm sure they thought everyone would see it.
It is not, and it would not have been... and I firmly believe that it is something that she could, perhaps would have done. Consider, she's prepared to work with the Wraith, the mortal enemy of her people - to become one of them, even, for the good of the people of the Pegasus galaxy. Teyla isn't stupid. She saw and heard how her very presence affected Michael and his actions, even in the short amount of time she was with him... how much more could she have done at his side. Yes - her son was the key to Michael's plans...
All these worlds filled with people, busying themselves with their pathetic lives. They come and they go, they live and they die and the galaxy is no better for it. But your son – your son will be an instrument of change. He will be remembered for the ages. (Search and Rescue - Martin Gero)
...she asks him, what of the mother well... The Prodigal should have been her answer. The Mother could have redeemed everything, perhaps even Michael himself... if only she (and the writers) had had the courage.
Teyla questions Michael's sense of justice at killing so many, she knows that what he did, he did to survive. (Allies, Vengeance) and yet, still she accuses him for his motives, and then... when she has him there, dangling from the ledge, calling out her name - which I believe was not just a plea to save him from falling, but from so much more - In. Cold. Blood... she murders him. She truly shows in that moment that she was no different to Michael, in fact, she's worse, because it was no longer a fight for survival. Teyla from the first four seasons would never had acted in such a morally reprehensible way. She would have wanted justice, yes... but the right kind of justice.
And I'm sorry, but, I believe by that point you can forget the whole sorry question of a 'mother bear' protecting her young, that's been bandied about as the excuse for her behaviour. By that point in the show it's no longer germane... it ended when Michael told her he already had Torren's DNA and if she came to him he would turn off the self destruct and leave the city with him... because she would have done. She knows Michael well enough, has a connection with him (what happened to that, btw? Gone the way of the Wraith Telepathy, I'll warrant), enough that she would have no reason to doubt his sincerity. She's felt his emotions, when he asks her to go with him, and she has the evidence of his word that he'll harm neither of them. She woke, her son was there, and he was fine. If Michael was going to harm him, he would have done so before she woke. So no - that excuse no longer stands, or is at best fatally flawed.
For me, sadly, Atlantis (the show anyways) has blown it. The Prodigal was a big thumbing of the nose to all those who vilify Fan Fiction. In this instance... in this fan, and this writer's opinion - the writers on the show have been subsumed by the network ideals too much to write any longer with integrity. They have compromised themselves, they have compromised their characters, and have - unfortunately - taken a cowards' route out. But I must also thank them - because they gave the Fan Fiction writers out here so very much to work with.
And I... at least... intend to do so.
Today, I have had it irrevocably spelled out for me that I could never write for a network television show... and I'll be surprised if I ever get published - why?
Because I won't compromise.
I have been sitting here today trying to put into words just how I feel, right now, over the question of what /is/ a writer's responsibility.
Is it to bow to pressures of a society that seeks to be entertained only by a 'fluffy bunny,' 'black and white,' 'comfortable' view of a world where there are no monsters under the bed, and we're not faced with moral questions that might alarm us when we see our answers?
Or is a writer's responsibility to her characters, their integrity, and the integrity of the world/society they write.
Is it a writer's responsiblity to challenge us as readers (of any kind of text, be that literary/visual/audio etc) - to hold up the mirror before our faces that prompts us to see within those dark corners of our own beliefs, attitudes and psyches, and make us think and to make us realise, as we examine the villain, Wait a minute - I understand - and there but for the grace of God, go I.?
Is it a writer's responsibility to remind us that the world is not a fluffly place, but that in spite of that, there is still hope?
Is it a writer's responsiblity to remind us that the answers to moral questions aren't 'black and white,' but that in spite of that, there is still hope?
Is it a writer's responsibility to remind us that, actually, there are monsters under the bed and that they could well be, likely are of our own making, but that there is still hope?
And should the writer hold up all of that to us and say, Look... I am the voice of your conscience, I have seen your actions, and your thoughts. I know you and can judge you, and find you wanting, but there is no cause for alarm - do not despair, because there is still hope.?
I believe the all of the latter.
There is only one TV show I could name that consistently, through all its incarnations, was not afraid to do that - to challenge us, to hold the mirror to us, to shake us from our comfortable complaceny and to make us think. That show is Star Trek.
They did it consistently, and they did it well, and still, at the end of each dark night they took us through, made us face, they left us with the message that, yes, there is still hope, but that it is our responsibility to take that potential and shape it, embrace it, make it ours.
They did it in The Original Series, they did it in The Next Generation, they did it with bells and whistles in Deep Space Nine, they did it less well in Voyager, but they still did it, and yes... they even did it in Enterprise toward the end - but then what happened? The show got cancelled.
Is it a symptom of the sickness in our society that we, as a people, given the choice would turn our back on anything and everything that holds that Mirror Darkly up to our faces and demands Look! - that we abrogate the responsibility for our own morality and moral choices - everything that proves our humanity - to others, whom we then revile?
Give us more shows like Star Trek, Writers - challenge us. Shock us from our moral apathy! Show us the real world through your art.
Last night, Stargate: Atlantis, one of the shows that created for us a wonderful 'dark mirror,' with such potential for the kind of examination of ourselves that I fear we need, finally capped its consistent failure to do so. I know there are many who will read this paragraph and tell me, "Yes, but that's not the kind of show it is. They don't write like that." and while I acknowledge that, know that you're right, and hate that it's true - I still had hope.
While the episode was exciting, tense, and contained a lot of good lines, there were too many occasions where the characters displayed stupidity, or in the end were just so out of character, on many levels, that in the end it lessened the impact of the episode.
I truly believe that, in the end, the ultimate victory in this, is Michael's. He proved his point. We're not that different, and in that it made his end that much more ignominious and disrespectful.
The episode treated him badly.
I suppose I'm somewhat biased. I've never really been able to see Michael as a 'villain' in the classic sense of the word. More like and antagonist, perhaps I'd even go so far as to say an 'anti-hero.'
There's been a lot of discussion about the rights or wrongs, merits or otherwise of Fan Fiction on the blog of one of the producers of SGA - Joe Malozzi. In my opinion, The Prodigal was an episode which justifies all of the merits of Fan Fiction, and embodies the responsibilities of the writer, (Official show, or Fan Fic Writer).
After watching that, I don't even know if I want to watch the rest of the season. There are many people singing Cark Binder's praises over The Prodigal (he wrote it), but I actually find myself disturbed by it... and equally as disgusted. Whereas until this point he seemed to have held out against network pressures as much as he could and still have a job, in The Prodigal he finally lost it. Sold out to those network pressures - for a network that must already have known that they were going to cancel the show - that wouldn't allow Teyla to 'go to the dark side' as I'm sure they thought everyone would see it.
It is not, and it would not have been... and I firmly believe that it is something that she could, perhaps would have done. Consider, she's prepared to work with the Wraith, the mortal enemy of her people - to become one of them, even, for the good of the people of the Pegasus galaxy. Teyla isn't stupid. She saw and heard how her very presence affected Michael and his actions, even in the short amount of time she was with him... how much more could she have done at his side. Yes - her son was the key to Michael's plans...
All these worlds filled with people, busying themselves with their pathetic lives. They come and they go, they live and they die and the galaxy is no better for it. But your son – your son will be an instrument of change. He will be remembered for the ages. (Search and Rescue - Martin Gero)
...she asks him, what of the mother well... The Prodigal should have been her answer. The Mother could have redeemed everything, perhaps even Michael himself... if only she (and the writers) had had the courage.
Teyla questions Michael's sense of justice at killing so many, she knows that what he did, he did to survive. (Allies, Vengeance) and yet, still she accuses him for his motives, and then... when she has him there, dangling from the ledge, calling out her name - which I believe was not just a plea to save him from falling, but from so much more - In. Cold. Blood... she murders him. She truly shows in that moment that she was no different to Michael, in fact, she's worse, because it was no longer a fight for survival. Teyla from the first four seasons would never had acted in such a morally reprehensible way. She would have wanted justice, yes... but the right kind of justice.
And I'm sorry, but, I believe by that point you can forget the whole sorry question of a 'mother bear' protecting her young, that's been bandied about as the excuse for her behaviour. By that point in the show it's no longer germane... it ended when Michael told her he already had Torren's DNA and if she came to him he would turn off the self destruct and leave the city with him... because she would have done. She knows Michael well enough, has a connection with him (what happened to that, btw? Gone the way of the Wraith Telepathy, I'll warrant), enough that she would have no reason to doubt his sincerity. She's felt his emotions, when he asks her to go with him, and she has the evidence of his word that he'll harm neither of them. She woke, her son was there, and he was fine. If Michael was going to harm him, he would have done so before she woke. So no - that excuse no longer stands, or is at best fatally flawed.
For me, sadly, Atlantis (the show anyways) has blown it. The Prodigal was a big thumbing of the nose to all those who vilify Fan Fiction. In this instance... in this fan, and this writer's opinion - the writers on the show have been subsumed by the network ideals too much to write any longer with integrity. They have compromised themselves, they have compromised their characters, and have - unfortunately - taken a cowards' route out. But I must also thank them - because they gave the Fan Fiction writers out here so very much to work with.
And I... at least... intend to do so.
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 05:17 am (UTC)I must have missed something along the way, 'cause I don't get why Michael wants the kid. Michael has plenty of subjects for hybridizing...doesn't he? Does it work better if the subject's younger? Even if so, surely he could pick up lots of babies around the galaxy.
What's so special about THIS baby? (And I don't think that "Teyla has Wraith DNA" is a good enough answer. Because, um, Michael HAS Wraith DNA available. It's what he's using to hybridize people, no?
Until someone explains this to me, I'm going with the theory that Michael, who was clearly insane at this point, had fixated on Teyla & Torren as his family, his wife and son, since she was the only one who was ever nice to him.
And yes, I do think that what the Atlantis team did to him is morally reprehensible.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 05:28 am (UTC)