More fannish thoughts and a couple Real Life ones

[terrie]

A couple years ago, when I was working at Barnes and Noble, I ran into someone from high school. I didn't remember the gal too well, but said hi and then went about my way. About twenty minutes or so later, she was back. She explained that on her way home God had revealed to her who I was. Yes, that was how she phrased it. She said she had come back to apologize for the crap she had given me in high school and thatit was because she hadn't had God in her life then. Two years later, her words continue to bother me. What does it say about a person that they need God in their life to know something as simple as the fact that treating people like crap is worng? What are they lacking that such things aren't self-evident? Actually, it would explain a lot about such people if they were lacking something.

Also, for amazing comments on the pro-choice/pro-life issue, please read this entry by naamah_darling.

Ooo, snarkiness. I LOVE the snark. The world needs more snark.

I was amused by Wilson's caluclating assesment of how, if Stacy doesn't think she can trust House, House won't be able to get her to do things for him. Even more amusing is knowing that there are many fans out there who were shocked by such behavior out of Wilson. Sorry, but nice is a behavior, not a character trait. Think about it. House is rude, but we as fans don't assume that makes him a bad person. Wilson is nice. He's also kinda cute. It's hardly shocking that he uses these to his advantage. The man is a doctor. He's smart. He's friends with HOUSE. Why do people continue to be shocked?

The part I'm not looking forward to about the new season is the continued meta fights over things like the show's use of the word "addict". Is House an addict? Well, that really depends on what definition of the word you're using. But I continue to be amazed by the way people foam at the mouth at this issue as central to the show's realism, but no one ever comments on the fact that, given the hand Hugh Laurie is holding the cane in, House is putting the majority of his weight on his bad leg. Or the fact that the massive teaching hospital is apparently completely lacking in techs and nurses, because the doctors do every little thing. I mean, I get that it's all for dramatic purposes, but what makes on issue jump out for a whole fandom, while equally important issues seem to be using invisibility fields?

Comments

[milkshake-b.livejournal.com]

The part I'm not looking forward to about the new season is the continued meta fights over things like the show's use of the word "addict".

Why on earth do you have me friended, then? Because this is one of my Issues with a capital 'I'. If it's just the fic, I post to the communities eventually. And it's not exactly pleasant for me when people try to insist I don't have a right to be upset about something--in fact, you're pretty much borderline right now with the girl who told me if I know how these things work in reality, I have no business watching the show.

What bothers me is there is no reason for it--and it's the main character. They screw up medical facts on Patients of the Week regularly, but on the other hand, they're just that--there for a week and then gone. But shouldn't they be doing things accurately enough with the main character that people who paid attention in Junior High Health class can't point out that uh, no, Cuddy, you'll go into detox if you're abusing the pills or not, how the hell are you running a hospital if you don't even know that?

As for the dramatic necessity... there isn't one. You can completely rewrite Detox to be accurate to the medical realism and still have the same plotline by changing about three lines of dialogue. That's it. It's not that it's not possible--it's that the show is being lazy. It doesn't really matter to anyone's characterization or perceptions if a character is doing their own labwork, but being an addict matters a lot.

Like it or not, when these people made the decision to have their main character as a disabled person, they also gained a responsibility. And outside of the thing with his so-called addiction, they've actually fulfilled it quite well--I can't tell you how many other people I've met who have agreed how wonderful it is to see a disabled character who isn't shown as masterfully rising over their problems and racing off to win gold medals in the Olympics or curling up in a ball of agony and ceasing to exist. He manages, he sucks at it sometimes, he's okay with it other times, he understands exactly what an accomplishment it is to be able to make your meals... that's priceless. That's amazing. That's something I've never seen anyone do before.

And then they go and undermine it with some stupid crud about how drugs are bad, mmmkay?

To be fair, I could put up with the show if not for the fandom. They're... borderline. But the problem is with this society and this topic, borderline is what leads to things like people assuming that of course, without any doubt, it had to be that he was popping speed at the end of last season. Because they couldn't bother keeping their main character's medical problems as accurate as a ninth grade bio textbook, the fandom is free to think and claim the worst possible things about him and insist that by the canon, it's totally justified. Because reality doesn't matter, or common sense doesn't matter, or the fact that you're basing these judgments on little more than the fact a disabled man needs his medication doesn't matter--the show said the 'a' word, so House is a junkie.

It would be one thing if he actually was an addict--if they'd done the characterization and laid the groundwork and done the research and found out what things to show that yes, are signs of addiction. But they didn't, so by their standards, every single person in this country who is on medication is an addict. Every. Single. One.

And I'm not supposed to get upset about this?

It's like going, "This and this and this is an inaccurate portrayal of reality, so why is everyone getting so upset over how the women are all being shown?"

Except for one thing--the fandom does froth regularly over the portrayal of women on the show... and nobody ever questions that.

So does it only matter when the minority getting badly represented is a trendy one?

[terrie01.livejournal.com]

Why on earth do you have me friended, then? Because this is one of my Issues with a capital 'I'. If it's just the fic, I post to the communities eventually. And it's not exactly pleasant for me when people try to insist I don't have a right to be upset about something--in fact, you're pretty much borderline right now with the girl who told me if I know how these things work in reality, I have no business watching the show.

I'm not looking forward to the *fights*. Discussion and analysis are different. I enjoy your analysis, I dislike things like the speed fight which could be (and later was) settled by simply looking at the scene again. I used the image of frothing to imply a certain mindlessness and craziness.

The truth is, under certain uses of the word, yes, House is an addict. So am I. IF you use the definition based on the existence of withdrawl symptoms. Under other definitions, he's not. Regardless, I do agree that the big problem is that many fans assume addict=junkie. To me, that's a different issue from the show's portrayl of House's pain killer use.

Me? Actually, my big issue is when they show House drinking on top of his chronic pain killer use. I keep waiting for some fan to claim that this shows House is suicidal. And when that happens? I'm heading for the hills.

[milkshake-b.livejournal.com]

Discussion and analysis are different. I enjoy your analysis, I dislike things like the speed fight which could be (and later was) settled by simply looking at the scene again

Oh, you mean that amphetamine that wasn't an amphetamine, unless you're the official recapper for TWoP and then it was without a doubt an amphetamine, and questioning that, you'll find if you look in on the forums, is insulting to the recapper and should never be done and is totally clearly wrong, besides?

A lot of us scream because we've had it up to here with this stuff--it got so bad for me for a while I had to go away because mentions of the upcoming season were making me want to cry, with the sheer dread of what horrible, stupid theories the fandom was going to come up with and insist were so obviously true. I think one of the last straws was... you might remember me complaining that the fan-written summary for the episode on TV Tome said it was the speed, and then someone changed it to the more ambiguous 'a pill'?

When TV.com bought TV Tome out, they changed it back.


The truth is, under certain uses of the word, yes, House is an addict. So am I. IF you use the definition based on the existence of withdrawl symptoms. Under other definitions, he's not.

The problem is you can't argue that definition is valid because of how the show set it up--the show is trying to argue that this is how it works medically, and in medical terms, he's physically dependent, not addicted. If they hadn't tried to insist that this was medically accurate, it might be different, but as-is....


Regardless, I do agree that the big problem is that many fans assume addict=junkie. To me, that's a different issue from the show's portrayl of House's pain killer use.

Yeah, but has it ever occurred to you the show at least partially caused that problem? Detox was all about how House wouldn't go through withdrawal unless he was abusing them. Unless he had a problem. So he went through withdrawal--of course, because that is how that works--and then said, "Okay, I am addicted, but it's not a problem," and the fen all went, "Oh yes it is! Because Cuddy said you wouldn't go through it unless it was a problem and you did and therefor it is!"

I've had people ask me if my problem with Detox is that they didn't sufficiently point out the difference between abuse and physical dependency. It isn't: my problem is that they never acknowledged that physical dependency exists at all--and if you don't admit to that, what options does that leave most people?


Me? Actually, my big issue is when they show House drinking on top of his chronic pain killer use. I keep waiting for some fan to claim that this shows House is suicidal. And when that happens? I'm heading for the hills.

I hope you've got a nice cabin secured up there, because I've already seen the, "Oh noes he's an alcoholic," thing several places, and god alone knows what sort of things people were saying on that post ladysorka linked to--they told me not to read it, and when people make a point of that, I generally don't. *sighs* Never have I so loved a show and at the same time so loathed the show's fandom.

Interestingly enough, I did run into someone this summer who could take four vicodin and have some beers and still be pretty much sober, so it's just remotely possible the show isn't being idiotic with this and knows what they're doing. I actually really doubt it, but it could be.

More probably, it's just a coincidence, because everything they've done (such as Stacy's comment about House being a lightweight) indicates to me the writers are so dense it's never occurred to them that there would be any issues there at all.