about that word... and another word: yeah, more Torchwood meta

[rm]

Was anyone as struck (and oddly so) as I was with the word choice in "You yielded in the past. You will do so again" from the 4-5-6?

There were a million other words they could have used: submitted, agreed, obeyed, consented, etc.

But yield was such an interesting choice, both because it implied culpability (to yield is arguably a choice to be weak -- it's submission and the choice to submit), and because it immediately, without any conscious thought, from the first time I heard it uttered in the show, made me think of my own associations with its euphemistic use: romance novels, and, even more specifically, romantic gay narratives more than a few decades old.

Sadly, this is a gut thing, because I've not looked at language in this stuff in any systematic way to write you something totally awesome about this, it's just... where I hear the word, and I think I'm not so wrong about it.

So when the aliens said it to Jack and Ianto, to these men who are so clearly emotionally and sexually involved with each other, and they replied with "No," well, that's what the Whoniverse is all about, right? The supposedly powerless going, "Um, sorry, WRONG."

After 3 episodes of what I referred to yesterday in my meta about the word queer as Ianto's Very Bad Homosexual Day, and then him having that horrible fight with Jack at the beginning of 3.4 and then them going to fight a war as a way to make up with each other (stupid, stupid, stupid, but so them) after what was pretty much a "you make me be a better man" speech, I thought it was so interesting to have them say "No" to what struck me as an ever so particular word choice.

I really felt like it was RTD (probably unconsciously, but who knows) underlining that Jack and in this moment, Ianto, are queer action heroes (pause here and enjoy how awesome that is, folks!). They are not delicate or yielding or weak for their natures -- and it even manages not to be misogynist because Gwen and the assassin woman have also been so powerful in this series and are, in fact, intercut with this mess of events that lead to Ianto's death.

To me this episode (and to a given degree the whole series) has, despite the situation of the children, been all about how you should fear the people you were raised to believe were powerless -- they're not -- not the PAs or the women or the folks living on council estates or the fucking queers.

And I loved it. And it makes me cry.

Comments

Yield/Romance Novels.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Oh, Gosh, ET civilisations(good bad or other) as THAT guy.
Some days you are just full of Deep.

[demotu.livejournal.com]

I really like this. And I think the whole "lowest performing 10%", which would essentially be the lowest socioeconomic 10%, will bring that theme right to the front in the final episode, because those people are not going to let the people sitting in Thames house walk all over them.

(And to think, the arc started with the epitome of the powerless group - children - terrifying everyone.)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yup. All of this also justifies some of the weird issues in the radio plays, particularly the insane colonialism issues in the India piece. They were building a theme. And it was all really smart.

It also implies that by the time Ianto died he was over his own shit as being perceived as gay because of Jack.

About how the people you were raised to believe were powerless are NOT

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

To me this episode (and to a given degree the whole series) has, despite the situation of the children, been all about how you should fear the people you were raised to believe were powerless -- they're not -- not the PAs or the women or the folks living on council
estates or the fucking queers.

This is a beauteous summation in a nutshell of the whole series(and, original gangster viewer me would assert, the whole Whoverse.)
Except that I don't know what a PA is.*dies of shame*

Re: About how the people you were raised to believe were powerless are NOT

[rm.livejournal.com]

Personal Assistant.

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

i love how you always put things in a new perspective for me :D
i'm still sad, but thank you

Re: About how the people you were raised to believe were powerless are NOT

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Duh. I am feeble.
But now it's even more awesome as a summation.(The Daleks were Management right at the beginning.There are some fuzzy B&W images that have stayed with me all my life.)

[timelady.livejournal.com]

Power to the PAs!!!

[gina-r-snape.livejournal.com]

Wow. Your brain is amazing sometimes.

I like this interpretation!

Stupid, stupid, stupid, but so them

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Well, they were going to go to war(I'm guessing) anyway, but, yeah, eh?

Finally watching this is going to be like getting a tattoo you have to have. Yes, it's going hurt-but you must.

Queer action heroes

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Awesome. Just...awesome.

[madambackslash.livejournal.com]

The "lowest performing 10%" also includes all the children with disabilities. The person I was watching with said "They're talking about MY SON".

Yeah.

[alba17.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I like that interpretation of the powerless saying no, etc. Makes me feel better about things.

[maryling.livejournal.com]

"That which yields is not always weak."

Similar (v Short) essay posted here by me:

[woogledesigns.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/dw_academy/82085.html

Also that speech was very 'We will fight them on the beaches'. Which is something that has echoed around the British psyche for 6 decades, although we recently let it down.

The whole of TW is so British. Specifically Welsh. Only a Welsh person would get the irony of the Croeso I Gymru remark by Andy. See that's a tourist office slogan and its the sort of thing that appears on buses, sign posts, brochures. It's ubiquitous and meaningless. Bland noise that reminds you you're in Wales and annexed to a bigger, richer country that sees where you call home as a pitiable holiday destination at best. Pitied to point of quaint, unnecessary tourist slogans being put up everywhere. Not that you need to be told anything about your home, and it's absurd there is so much effort made to 'welcome' you there.

But to have come back from a momentous time in England to quaint little Wales, it takes on a black humour, and the veiled question 'what trouble's coming with you?'.

[kindkit.livejournal.com]

all about how you should fear the people you were raised to believe were powerless -- they're not -- not the PAs or the women or the folks living on council estates or the fucking queers

A beautiful and very astute observation. I loved that moment when the men from the estate attack the soldiers to buy some time to get the kids away, and especially when PC Andy takes off his uniform and joins in.

I just finished watching the last episode about an hour ago, and mostly I've just been stunned at the brilliant bleakness of it, but this post makes me realize that there's a much more complicated and much more political aspect to the story.

ETA: Here via cesario's rec, by the way.

[tenar.livejournal.com]

oh, *well said*!

[thady.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, that!

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

*Cheers this so hard I'm crying again!*

*insert incoherent fan babble here!*

Sorry.

[rm.livejournal.com]

OMG, your fucking icon!

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

It is the best fucking icon EVER!!!!

It is gakkable, since I gakked it :)

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

Yes. This.

Bravo

[dkellergrl.livejournal.com]

To me this episode (and to a given degree the whole series) has, despite the situation of the children, been all about how you should fear the people you were raised to believe were powerless -- they're not -- not the PAs or the women or the folks living on council estates or the fucking queers.

Excuse me for a moment, but I've just discovered your lj, through the TW:COE community. You've written some wonderful posts about how amazing and utterly EPIC CoE was to watch for THIS particular viewer.

Thank you.

Re: Bravo

[rm.livejournal.com]

And thank you! I was less than coherent in many of them -- hard week, but I do think it was great television and they really honored the characters and the themes as far as I was concerned. Glad you enjoyed.

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

I loved the way jack and Ianto moved together when they went in to face the 456, so in tune with each other, so valiant. It stood out in it's simple beauty and stuck in my head throughout. I see that warrior dance in my head even now when I think of them together.