Being Human U.K. Season One, Episode Five

 

Oh my goodness, this show keeps getting better and better. This episode opens with George asking what it is about that them, that leads people to drop of jars of jam, by way of apology, for writing pedo on the front door, and Annie announcing her decision to haunt Owen.  George tells Annie that he understands why she wants to haunt Owen, but says that he does not want her to go. Annie replies, "I want to scare him, to make him beg and scream. It's not just about justice; it's more jagged than that." I am glad to see Annie stand up for herself but sad that it is happening after she is already dead.  As we know women die from domestic violence daily but for them death is always the final assault.

At the funeral home, Herrick is holding court and rejoicing over the fact that Mitchell has decided to join them.  Lauren is clearly not impressed by what is going on.  She hints that there is plenty of room for storage and this of course implies their feeding habits.

At the hospital, Mitchell invites Herrick in through what looks to be a back door.  I don't understand why Herrick needs an invite, when the hospital is a public building.  In the elevator, Mitchell tells him about 41 year old Duncan Johnson, who has 5 weeks left to live, because he is dying of AIDS. When Herrick inquires about Duncan's profession, Mitchell tells him that he is an architect. Herrick then proceeds to introduce himself to Duncan, saying that he has a proposition for him.  What dying man is going to turn down that offer?

Back at the house, George calls Owen to complain that the plumbing is on the fritz again, to get him to come over to the house. 

Later, in the hospital cafeteria, Mitchell approaches Josie, a woman who he dated in the 60's.  Though she knows that he is a vampire, she is still shocked to see that he has not aged a day. Mitchell tells her that he shares a house with some friends, and they reminisce about a weekend they spent together. When George interrupts them, Mitchell introduces him to Josie, but when George balks, Mitchell reassures him that she already knows all about them.  George mumbles about talking later and leaves. Josie then tells Mitchell, "that was mean, you just outed him."  Really?  Outing is something that happens to GLBT people with disastrous results, it's not something that happens to imaginary werewolves, and the analogy is absolutely wrong and insensitive. It amounts to yet another example of using the language of the oppressed, to apply to the supernatural. Josie then goes on to tell Mitchell that she is dying of lung cancer, and that there is no hope for her.

Later that day, Owen shows up at the house.  He walks into the kitchen, only to discover that the plumbing is indeed working.  As he leaves the room, Annie is waiting for him. She says, "I am death. I am darkness, vengeance and fury, fire and blood, diamonds and bones, sapphire and steel. Confess Owen, confess." When she walks away from him, Owen taunts her asking , "hey Annie, is that the best you got?"  As Annie stands there absolutely shocked, he laughs dryly. " I should have known that even death would not be a match for even one of your sulks," Owen says.  He dismisses her and walks out of the door. 

Back at the funeral home, Mitchell and Herrick are watching over the body of Duncan.  Mitchell asks Herrick if he would consider talking to Josie.  When Herrick learns that she used to be a dance teacher, he says, "not exactly an essential worker, but come the evolution, we will need to learn how to dance". Lauren overhears the conversation and when Herrick leaves, she tells Mitchell, "You shouldn't do that, let them take someone you care about." When Mitchell asks why not, Lauren replies,"they could become cruel.  It changes you this life."  Mitchell says, "It didn't change me", but Lauren answers, "yes it did, it just took longer." Duncan suddenly sits up, drawing a huge breathe, and as Mitchell rushes to comfort him, Lauren leaves the room.

Back at the house, Annie tells George about Owen's reaction to seeing her. She says, "It makes sense really when you think about it. We were expecting him to react like a sane person, even though this is someone who killed is fiancee, concealed it, and then rented out the crime scene." I feel it necessary to point out that the writers have fallen back on the criminally insane.  We all know that people who are neurologically atypical, are far more likely to hurt themselves before hurting anyone else, and yet in the media, the insane violent person is what is most often depicted.  This is absolutely disableist, because not only does it actively other, it creates unreasonable fear. Annie then decides that she is going to visit Janey, for fear that she will be next.

Mitchell arrives and interrupts the conversation. Annie tries to tell him what has been going on in his absence, but he clearly is not listening to a word she is saying.  George asks Mitchell where he has been and then outright says, "You're back with them."  Mitchell tells him that it is different and that no one is being forced.  He is still angry about what happened with Bernie.  He says humanity is stupid and cruel and that humans are really the monsters. 

The next day, Herrick approaches Josie and says that it's a lot to take in, and that it's about there being another option.  Mitchell tries to tell her that hospitals would be antiquated, and that this would end all famine and all war.  Josie responds, "Being human means being mortal. It means dying. You can't rob people of that.  It's a trick, Christ Mitchell just because they are handing themselves voluntarily it doesn't stop it being a con.  You're offering something you have no right to.  Of course people want eternal life. People want capital punishment, it doesn't make it right. Never a birth, never a death; that's no evolution, that's a full stop." She goes on to ask whether or not Mitchell's friends know about what he is doing, and when he says no, she tells him that this is why he got Herrick to approach her because he knew what she is going to say.

Promo for american horror story’s finale next week: Afterbirth

GBLT people and themes in the Black Dagger Brotherhood

Since I’ve finished this series (so far, until the next book) I’m doing a few posts to analyse various series wide tropes. Previously I’ve looked at how the series treats women, now I’m looking at GBLT issues in the series. I think this is ideal in long series because you can recognise persistent patterns that often make an individual problematic scene far far worse that (for example, one of the women being kidnapped? Not ideal. Nearly every last female love interest being kidnapped, stalked or threatened with such is a whole different level of problematic).

Ok, now buckle in folks, because this is going to be a bumpy ride. Eye protection may be needed.

Let us start with what is probably the most extreme and objectionable element - in fact, it is so extreme that I have difficulty criticising beyond this because it becomes redundant. It’s like complaining that the neighbour’s dog has messed in your garden while it’s busy trying to bite your leg off.

The Omega is the big bad guy. He is the evil god that wishes to destroy all of the vampires out of spite and envy. He is evil, sadistic, genocidal - and literally an animate figure of living darkness. He’s also gay. Yes, animate living shadow is gay. But, it’s far far worse then the simple gay villain trope.

See, the Omega’s weapons in destroying the vampires are the lessers. The lessers are humans (usually rapists, murderers and similar) who are inducted to become undead by having their heart ripped out and the Omega’s blood pumped into them. And he rapes them. In the beginning of the series there was a hint that the Omega was raping his inductees and punishing disobient lessers with the same - but when we reached Lover Mine we’d given up on hinting, there’s definite rape going on. But it gets worse.

See, when the Omega is on the outs with his son (more on that in a moment) he gets a new recruit. And, yes he is raped - but, what’s this? Lash listens in and hears sounds of pleasure - why, the rape victim must be gay! Yes, the animate darkness is raping a man (who is having his blood drained and heart ripped out) and the victim likes it because he’s a gay man. Yes, just pause a moment and let that sink in. now think about how there is a pervasive idea that a gay man cannot be raped because gay men like it. But it gets worse!

Because the Omega is seduced by his rape victim, kicks out his disappointing straight son (hey, see what they did there? The gay man is kicking out his straight offspring for being straight - despite it being the opposite that happens all too often) and sets up his new “boy toy” as the head of the lessers. The rape victim seduces his rapist (that would be the animate living darkness).

Ok, take a deep breath and let that sink in, because we’re going to have to talk some more about rape here in the series - because there’s a lot of it. Including a lot of rape-as-emasculation. The Bloodletter, in his warrior training camp had the fighters spar with each other - and the loser was raped. John Matthew and Zsadist have both been raped - both consider the process emasculation - and in Zsadist’s case, he finds being raped by a man far more shameful and demeaning than being raped by a woman. These victims continue to hold their attacks as something that needs to desperately be kept secret (not being raped by a woman, however) and while many victims may feel that way, it’s never addressed or challenged. There’s never any real attempt to make it anything other than a shameful secret. And between the Omega raping his servants as punishment/to show them whose boss, Zsadist and John Matthew being emasculated by their rapes and the Bloodletter having a rape camp where the big strong men repeatedly rape other men to show how much stronger they are - we have an ongoing theme of male rape victims being seen as lesser men. Not just a theme - it’s writ large and bold and constantly repeated.

Ok, we can move away from the rape now, thank gods and move on to another problem - Blaylock and Saxon, the only 2 gay men in the series and probably the only male vampires in these books who can be considered mild. Polite, restrained. It would probably be less blatant coding if it weren’t for the constant emasculation theme and Blay’s existing to serve without even having the Ahstrux Nohtrum to justify it. Which is something else I have to touch on while I’m on the subject of service - while the rest of the cast are members of the Brotherhood, Blaylock (gay man) and Qhuinn (bisexual man actually seeking a relationship with another man) are not independent members - they’re attached to (and serve as sidekicks for) John Matthew, a straight guy. A definite secondary role.

Review: Heartless by Gail Carriger, Book 4 of the Parasol Protectorate

Our favourite urban fantasy heroine is back. Alexia Maccon, La Diva Tarabotti is back in London and heavily pregnant. But she has a bothersome problem - the vampire hives still want her dead because of the child she carries. The constant murder attempts are really quite tiresome and Alexia is left with a rather dramatic solution - adoption. Having her child adopted by Lord Akeldama, and rather disrupting her own domestic arrangements to be near it. of course, Alexia is a master of disruption - in causing it at least.

Being on rather more polite terms with the Vampire hives, she finds herself pursuing a new mystery. The ghosts of London come to her with a warning - someone is trying to kill the Queen. Naturally, as Muhjah to Queen Victoria, she takes this very seriously indeed.

Her investigation takes many interesting turns, including inducting Ivy Tunstel nee Hisslepenny into the ancient- well, rather new order of the Parasol Protectorate, investigating the attempt on the Queen’s life 15 years ago that involved Lord Maccon’s old pack and finding that absolutely nothing was what it seems

And then she finds herself in the extremely tricky position of playing host to a vampire hive of all things. As you may well imagine, vampires and werewolves do not make happy bedfellows.


As ever, except for some problems we’ll mention later, Alexia Maccon is one of the best protagonists in Urban Fantasy. She’s independent, she’s strong, she’s intelligent and she’s fierce. I adore the stress and and conniptions she causes all around her. I love the thinly veiled wariness the other characters regard her with. I love how she forges through society doing things her way no matter what. I love how, even in the most extreme circumstances, she is calm, collected and snarky - and I love just how screamingly funny she is.

And she doesn’t have to be super woman to be all this, her powers are not extensive or miraculous, certainly not in comparison to her supernatural companions. Often in Urban Fantasy a strong female character is depicted with extreme skills or super powers - Alexia Maccon needs neither to be strong and awesome.

The story is exciting and has many twists in it. I was sure I had figured out the truth before the end and then turned out to be very wrong. We have some wonderful world building and insight into Alexia’s father, the Woolsey pack’s history and so much more of this fascinating and complicated world. I never guessed at some of the revelations, was surprised and fascinated and am left hungry for even more.

I love many of the side-characters - Ivy Tunstel’s acceptance of Alexia’s status and induction into the Parasol Protectorate made me laugh out loud. Lord Maccon’s wasn’t in this book a great deal but I still love his exasperation with the world around him that has been heavily Alexia’d.

And, of course, this series is screamingly funny. Again, I laughed out loud and again I spent most of the book chuckling away. And though it’s a repetition of what we’ve said in past reviews, we’d still be wrong not to praise this book for its excellent impression of time and place. I have never before read a Paranormal Steampunk that has such an evocative sense of Victorian era London. You can believe the setting and it feels real.

It really comes to a point where it’s hard to adequately praise the positive elements of this book without just gushing and repeating superlative adjectives until I get dizzy from the fanpoodling

If this was the end of the review, I’d even now be joyously pasting 5 Fangs at the bottom and rhapsodising some more in conclusion. Alas, it is not the case, because in this beautiful gem of a book, we have a glaring flaw that we cannot ignore.

Lord Akeldama and his crew.

Review of American Horror Story Season One Episode 11: Birth

 
This episode opens with Tate as a little boy playing in the murder house.  He goes into the basement and is scared by a creature named Thadeus.  Tate is saved by Nora, who tells him that if Thadeus scares him again, he simply has to say no go away. Fast forward to present day, when Tate comes across Nora crying. He says to her, "life is too short for so much sorrow."  Tate tells her that he cannot give her Vivien's baby, because he is in love with Violet, but she says, "I can and I will. That baby is mine."

Vivien is being released from the hospital, and so Ben decides to drag Violet out of the house to pick her up.  He tells Violet that he does not trust her, and that he does not trust Tate. Gee she only missed 17 consecutive days of school bringing a truant officer to the door, but now he cares.  Violet tries to blow him off saying that she is not feeling well, but at this point, Ben is so frustrated, that he does not care.  He tells her that they are going to pick up her mother, and then go straight to the airport. Violet gives up and lies down in he back of the car so that Ben will not see her disappear. Just like all of the other ghosts, Violet cannot leave the house.

Back in her room Violet asks Tate what she is going to do. She is worried that if  her parents find out that she killed herself, that they "will go insane, literally insane this time." Violet worries that she will become like all of the other ghosts, "prisoners in a windowless world," but Tate comforts her saying that everything will be okay because they have each other.

In the nursery, Chad and Patrick are painting when Tate and Violet walk in.  Violet questions who asked them to decorate the nursery, and Chad responds, "Let me break it down for you sweetheart, this is our house and we're having twins."  He goes on to tell her that their surrogate is Vivien.  Tate the rapist and father now suddenly has concerns and steps up to add, "you pathetic homos couldn't steal the shit out of your own ass."  This must be some kind of record.  American Horror Story actually waited until eight minutes into an episode before throwing in some homophobia. Violet does not feel any fear because she knows that Ben and Vivien have plans to leave, but Chad tells her that as long as she is there, her parents aren't going anywhere.  In a shot at Tate, Chad goes on to ask, "were you a c section, is there an existing zipper we might use?"  Tate knows that this is directed at him and so he says, "watch it you damn queen."  Now that Chad and Patrick are dead however, they have no reason to fear Tate anymore. 

In desperation, Violet turns to Constance.  She asks Constance to get in touch with Billy Dean in the hope of getting rid of Chad and Patrick.  Constance decides that she can handle this by herself and so she marches upstairs to the nursery. Constance tells Chad that what he is trying to do is "unnatural."  She even goes as far as saying that, "man shall not lie with man. It is an abomination. Why can't you people content yourself with having pets? Why must you subject an innocent child to your perversions?"  What I loved about this scene, was Chad standing up for himself.  He first points out that studies have shown that children raised by same sex couples grow up just fine.  When Constance continues with her tirade asserting that she gave birth, and that this is something that Chad will never understand.  Chad makes a point of reminding her about the numbers of her dead offspring walking around in the house.  Just because a parent is straight, does not mean that they are a good parent.  It is then that  Constance slips, and tells Chad that he will not put his hands on her grandchild.  When Constance says that he is not fit to raise children, Chad responds that he has no plans to raise the kids, and that he intends to smother them when they reach the age of 1 or 1 1/2.

I love that scene primarily because it involved someone finally pointing out that homophobia is wrong and telling Constance off.  For far to long, Constance as a character has been allowed to say absolutely anything without any repercussions.  The viewing audience is to assume that Constance is simply vile; however, we all know that attitudes like hers exist in society, and are actively tolerated. Isms like homophobia should not be erased from our viewing, because it is part of society; however, unless they are actively called out as Chad did, they remain an acceptable thought process.  It only took American Horror Story eleven episodes to get a clue about this.

GBLT Hollow Characters: Lesbian Shark, Gay Uncle, Gay Maris

One of things we often complain about in this genre is the absolutely absence of GLBT characters. This is especially true when it comes to the trans community who are particularly erased.  It should be noted that erasure is its own form of oppression as we typically deny historically marginalised people the right to take up space and participate in society.

The other sign of the coin are authors who decide to include a GLBT character but then give such ridiculous portrayals, that erasure almost seems like a gift. There are many ways a GBLT portrayal can fail - stereotyping, grossly offensive tropes but today we’re looking at the Lesbian Shark - a trope Christopher Moore introduced us to, the Gay Uncle, brought to us by M.L.N Hanover and the Gay Maris, introduced to us by Teen Wolf.


There are sharks in nature that cannot stop swimming. If they do, oxygenated blood doesn’t pass their gills and they die - literally drown. And so it is with the lesbian (or gay male) shark. If they stop mentioning that they are a lesbian, fail to refer to it every 5 seconds, then they disappear.

So it is with Jane in A Dirty Job. She’s a  lesbian. This is pretty much all she is. Whatever scene she appears in, her sexuality will be mentioned. If she has a conversation, there’s a good chance her being a lesbian will be raised at some point in the discussion. This is the sole reason for this character existing. She is a walking avatar of her sexuality, if she weren’t a lesbian there would be nothing there at all. She’d have nothing to talk about, nothing to do. her sole actions are supporting the main character and making sure there’s no chance we missed her being a lesbian. This feeds the trope that when someone is GBLT that that remains the only defining characteristic of a person - they are nothing but an avatar of GBLT-ness. Any other traits about this character are not worth depicting (which presents being GBLT as excessively weird and overwhelming) or are completely absent. And that absence in turn creates the idea that all GBLT people are the same - homogeneous with only one real feature rather than unique individuals.

There is also no attempt to develop her as an actual character or an actual person - she is simply the lesbian sister, removing her as a person and instead turning her more into an extension of the protagonist.

In Unclean Spirits, M.L.N Hanover introduced us to the Gay Uncle who wasn’t.  From the very beginning of the book we know that Eric is dead and what matters about him is that he has dedicated his life to fighting evil spirits and he is an uncle. His niece Janey knows nothing about him and fixates on his supposed sexuality.  For a large part of the book, every reference that includes Eric comes with the announcement that he was gay. Even the fact that he owned several properties is enough to cause consternation because it is believed that he was gay.  My personal favourite however has to be the gay uniform of the White shirt because that was all Eric had in his closet.  After you have reached the point of being irritated with the continual reference to Eric’s sexuality, it was revealed, ZOMG he was not gay.

As appalling as Hanover’s not-gay Eric was, it represents a typical approach to introducing GLBT characters in a book.  The reader is continually beaten over the head with the reminders that the author is talking about a gay character in case you missed the first 20-30 references.  Their sexuality becomes the most important thing about their identity, obscuring anything else about them as a person.  

Enter to Win The Fangs for Fantasy E-Reader Christmas Giveaway

Hello everyone, when Paul and I first started Fangs for the Fantasy, we saw it as a place to critically discuss a genre that we love very much. Urban Fantasy often gets a pass on its many fails because its nature encourages critics not to look at the under lying messages in the stories. Overtime our little project has become a vibrant community.This is why we decided to hold an extra special giveaway this month to thank everyone for turning our blog into a place with lively discussion and a new online home.

One lucky person will win:

 

Yes, a 7.0 TFT ereader with earphones for listening to MP3 and MP4, on USB Cable and a Power Adapter.  The ereader itself understand various popular formats.  If you love to read, this is the prize for you.  You will be able to store hundreds of books and take them with you everywhere you go.  That's right, your library will fit in the palm of your hand.

Is True Blood's Rutina Wesley Michonne?

 

Fans of the comics The Walking Dead have been speculating for some time about when Michonne will enter the series and who will play her.  Fans of HBO's True Blood, know that the season ended with Tara, played by Rutina Wesley with the back of her head shot off.  We know that Wesley is returning to True Blood but I can only believe that it this point her role with be much less reduced. This would of course free up some time for Wesley to pursue other things.

At this time there are several the web is a buzz with the suggestion that Wesley has been cast to play the now iconic role of Michonne.  The most reliable site that I could find reporting this is Examiner.com.  How true the rumour is I have no idea, but after her shoddy treatment as Tara on True Blood I would love to see Wesley in a more empowered role.  What do you think Rutina Wesley would make a good Michonne?