liliaeth: (flowers)
liliaeth ([personal profile] liliaeth) wrote2004-02-07 11:06 am
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Sometimes I wonder about ME's idea of morality. Of dealing with racisme.
I don't have much time to go on about it right now, but I'm just reading the Buffy and Angel crossover novel 'Monster Island'.

The thing that strikes me about it the most is this...
The book's about racisme, about a group of nazi like demons that can't stand halfbreed's, that ...

Yet despite that, despite the fact that the scoobies are supposedly the good guys, they constantly show themselves as racists, and noone even seems to realize it.
Yes I've said it, racists.

It's not just the way they treat the demons they meet, as if they're somehow superior, merely by the sake of being human. Yet in this book most of it is locked in their treatment of Spike. A treatment that admittedly is shown almost as bad on the series during season six and seven, but that hits even closer to home in this book.

The scoobies, well scummies more like, use Spike's services, they don't ask for his help, they demand it, not even considering that Spike might say no.
They don't pay him for it, they don't give anything in return for his help, yet they act as if showing him even the slightest bit of appreciation would be a bad thing. That even just a hint of a thank you would be succumbing to evil.

Why?

Cause he's a vampire?

The way they behave is horrible. It's immoral and wrong. Utterly and hopelessly wrong. Yet the writers, probably mostly Christopher Golden, don't even seem to realize what the problem is. Hell, they don't even see it as a problem, it's probably right and proper behavior to them.

Yet what the scoobies do, what Buffy allows is slavery.
And I can't abide by it.
Makes me realize why I so often prefer fanfic, at least fanficwriters, or at least the ones I find worth my while, give the scoobies some morality.

[identity profile] ladydewinter.livejournal.com 2004-02-07 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
There's an essay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy about this. And it really is problematic. I wouldn't lock it down to their treatment of Spike - I think it is in his case not just because he is a vampire. That may be the superficial reason, but in Xander's and Giles's case - who have the most ardent objections, I think - their dislike is more motivated by jealousy and protective instincts. However the way they treat demons in general can be seen as racist. Especially compared with what we learn from Angel. The problem is naturally that we don't know in how far those things actually can be compared - but if you look at Harmony, who doesn't have a soul nor a chip nor anything that makes her different from ordinary vampires, but who is trying to reform herself somehow - Buffy would just have killed her, like she killed all the vampires.

[identity profile] spikesbint.livejournal.com 2004-02-07 11:04 am (UTC)(link)
yeah, I so agree,there didnt even seem to be a moment of gratitiude directed towards Spike after he died in the hellmouth and saved all their sorry asses!

And so many other times, just dont get me started lol

Angela