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[annissamazing]

Another rerun, but perhaps you weren't on my f-list when I originally posted this essay on Dr. Horrible.

Dr. Horrible and the False Dichotomy of the Love Triangle

Comments

[bunny-chan85.livejournal.com]

Did you want a critique or just to share? I guess that means I have something to say. =]

[miranda-askher.livejournal.com]

I can't remember if I saw this before--but I was really glad to see it, either way. Penny has always bothered me. She's just so...stereotypically good-girl, you know? And you are absolutely right about Billy's immature desire to have his cake and eat it too.

Maybe I have too much faith in Joss, but I can't help but think that's intentional.

You're right about the love triangle. Compared to Buffy/Spike/Angel though, it seems to be inverted. In Buffy, you have a fully developed protagonist defying expectations by not choosing one of the "love interests". In Dr. Horrible, the question isn't so much who or if Penny will choose; it's more about what the two guys will do to get her to choose.

I've never quite had time to sit down and sort DH out, but I think it doesn't have mcuh to say about women and conceptions of femininity. It seems to have a lot more to say about men and conceptions of masculinity. If Penny, as a character, didn't exist, the rivalry between Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer would just be a comic book-style sendup of endless playground fights between jocks and geeks. bunny_chan85 pointed out that Penny's just a catalyst. She brings out extremes of "guy"-ness in both characters: wimpy passive-aggressive nice-guy-ness in Billy and egotistical, misogynistic machismo in Captain Hammer. In the end, nobody gets the girl, nobody gets revenge, and nobody gets what he wanted--in part because guys can't live their lives striving for these stereotypes any more than women can live fully striving to be skinny cheerleaders or 1950s housewives or whatever feminine "ideal" one might aspire to.

Huh. I think there might be more than a few essays floating around in Dr. Horrible. :)

[redcirce]

This was great, I agree wholeheartedly, especially with the Buffy comparison.

I enjoyed Dr. Horrible a lot, but it failed on some levels for me, especially in how it relates to women. I understand that the particular focus of it was on male characters, but it still bugged me.

So much of Whedon's work plays on subverting stereotypes, and I feel like Penny never escaped hers- that of being the "nice girl"/love interest. It wouldn't have bothered me so much if there had been other important women characters in the series.

I think that what you point out- that she is treated as an object by the other characters- is intentional, but since Whedon didn't give her much of a personality, it sort of feels like he did the same.

[redknightalex.livejournal.com]

Sorry, late to the party. :(

I disagree with you about why Dr. Horrible couldn't pull the trigger on Captain Hammer. He had already stated earlier that he wasn't the killing type and, ultimately, Dr. Horrible/Billy is a Jekyll/Hyde situation and, by the time Dr. Horrible has to pull the trigger, Billy is the one doing the talking. "Head up Billy buddy," is what he says to himself, reverting to his other personality. Sure, Captain Hammer put into motion Dr. Horrible's actions in the auditorium, but that doesn't change who he is.

I don't normally see people talking about Dr. Horrible/Billy as an almost split-personality issue, which is how I see it, so that may be our main difference. Either way, Dr. Horrible wanted to get into the E.L.E. by using his brains, thus the Death Ray (with numerous research), and not by force. Killing wouldn't have really changed the status quo, now would it?

Btw, have you ever read the comics?