and on another subject, but related to queer fetishization

[rm]

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/07/backlash-shmacklash-thats-torchwood-creator-russell-t-davies-reaction-to-the-outcry-over-the-death-of-gareth-david-lloyds.html#

I know many people in fandom are pissed about this interview.

But you know what? I fucking love it, because what I do think he's taking aim at in the thing about "go watch Supernatural" and the paragraph that follows on from there, I think he's talking about the fetishizaton of gay characters by parts of the audience and some of the nasty pop-psychology out there from people who really haven't walked even an inch in anyone's big gay shoes. Now sure, those people aren't all of fandom, and no one likes to be lumped in with clueless people they really disagree with, but so it goes.

For me, it's hat tip to RTD time. I don't always agree with his writing choices or his thoughts on writing, but I largely loved CoE, and am writing both Ianto is dead and Ianto isn't dead stuff, and think his remarks on this theme are right fucking on.

(and for the record, I don't think Ianto was fridged either. Jack's ongoing lovers are going to die, and, while he works for Torchwood, probably young and violently. If we expect to see omnisexual Jack having relationships with men, we have to expect those men to meet nasty ends in service to the dilemma of Jack's existence).

(and for the additional record, we can disagree and respect each other, because this is, among other things, about how we care about stories, and that's fucking lovely)

Comments

[lefaym.livejournal.com]

I kind of have mixed feelings about the Supernatural comment. I totally see what you're saying here about fetishisation, and in some ways I also saw it as RTD accepting that people will move on from Torchwood because of this -- he's NOT saying that fans are stupid if they no longer feel like watching Torchwood, that there are other shows out there. And that's cool.

But, on a personal level, it rubs me the wrong way because ultimatley, I don't really care about Sam and Dean Winchester. Lots of people might do so, and that's great, but it was Jack and Ianto that I found interesting. And sure, I wrote and read a lot of porn about them, but ultimately, I wouldn't have cared to if it wasn't for the underlying relationship with all its complexities and fucked up nuances. And that story between Jack and Ianto never got resolved. I know RTD said in the After Elton interview that that lack of resolution add to the tragedy, but in my mind, it simply makes for a less satisfying story -- a less satisfying tragedy. And on that level "go watch Supernatural" just doesn't work.