I think House of old was good at puncturing and deflating those views. House mocking clinic patients for naive views, or teaching 'lessons' through the POTW. Now it seems like an endless fugue of 'let's see how fucked up House can get and who cares about the other characters? Oh, except Taub who nobody likes! Let's make it the House and Taub show where they are fuck-ups who've surrendered all redeeming qualities).
I wasn't one of those (as you know) who thought that Cuddy could cure House with her magic vagina. I do think the character is capable of more than the state he finds himself in now, and finale spoilers really push him to the point of irredeemable. The glory of House that I used to watch was that he was an asshole in many ways, but he had something about him that was right or interesting. Now he's just an asshole. He's not even 'saving' his patients lately.
I think for smart and engaged viewers like us, that's fine and we can make the distinction. But if politics in the past century has taught us anything it's that most people can't make that distinction and just grab for the McNuggets (to quote our lovely Josh). House is cool because he does drugs and bangs hookers? Cool. Never mind that the show is actually about how miserable that makes him. Well, it used to be. Now it's more torture porn about just how fucked up he can get.
It's just... compare this to The Good Wife, or even shows I don't particularly like or watch like Criminal Minds -- they can show the worst elements of humanity without treating women the way this show has been on and off screen.
It's misogynistic to offer Lisa a paycut and not RSL. It just is. No one can argue she doesn't pull her weight and he does, so what else can it be based on? If it's because of attachment to feminist causes then that's still misogynistic. It might not be intentional even, but that doesn't excuse it. Maybe it's FOX overlords more to blame, but if this shit doesn't get called out, it carries on -- as that Roseanne article in NYmag showed just this week.
I don't know that letting either J-Mo or Lisa go is a purely creative decision, but in context it definitely looks worse. We won't ever know all the facts of it, but I don't recall any chatter of letting Jesse go instead of her, or saying 'ah let RSL piss off to Broadway then, he's out of contract anyway'.
I'm worried this sounds angrier than I mean it to, but I know you know I still like YOU. It's just the debate, man ;)
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2011-05-20 12:42 am (UTC)I wasn't one of those (as you know) who thought that Cuddy could cure House with her magic vagina. I do think the character is capable of more than the state he finds himself in now, and finale spoilers really push him to the point of irredeemable. The glory of House that I used to watch was that he was an asshole in many ways, but he had something about him that was right or interesting. Now he's just an asshole. He's not even 'saving' his patients lately.
I think for smart and engaged viewers like us, that's fine and we can make the distinction. But if politics in the past century has taught us anything it's that most people can't make that distinction and just grab for the McNuggets (to quote our lovely Josh). House is cool because he does drugs and bangs hookers? Cool. Never mind that the show is actually about how miserable that makes him. Well, it used to be. Now it's more torture porn about just how fucked up he can get.
It's just... compare this to The Good Wife, or even shows I don't particularly like or watch like Criminal Minds -- they can show the worst elements of humanity without treating women the way this show has been on and off screen.
It's misogynistic to offer Lisa a paycut and not RSL. It just is. No one can argue she doesn't pull her weight and he does, so what else can it be based on? If it's because of attachment to feminist causes then that's still misogynistic. It might not be intentional even, but that doesn't excuse it. Maybe it's FOX overlords more to blame, but if this shit doesn't get called out, it carries on -- as that Roseanne article in NYmag showed just this week.
I don't know that letting either J-Mo or Lisa go is a purely creative decision, but in context it definitely looks worse. We won't ever know all the facts of it, but I don't recall any chatter of letting Jesse go instead of her, or saying 'ah let RSL piss off to Broadway then, he's out of contract anyway'.
I'm worried this sounds angrier than I mean it to, but I know you know I still like YOU. It's just the debate, man ;)