Finkelman Rant
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Finkelman Rant |
| Creator: | cmshaw |
| Date(s): | July 19, 1998 |
| Medium: | Usenet post |
| Fandom: | The Sentinel |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | Finkelman Rant |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Finkelman Rant is a 1998 essay by cmshaw.
Some Topics Discussed in the Essay and Comments
- lack of strong female characters
- Megan Connor, a Sentinel character
- other female characters in other shows: Star Trek: Voyager, The X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Essay
i just wanted to agreed with the person ... who was saying that captain finkelman's actions in last week's ep were not what we might wish for a strong woman in a cop show. i think blair's anaylsis was spot on: she had something to prove, and she was out to prove it. i *also* think it's a damn shame she wasn't *allowed* to prove it.
on the other hand (although still, let me stress, in *complete* agreement), have we *ever* seen a good female character on the sentinel? even conner was introduced as she violated proper police procedure -- granted she did it in the heroic mode without needing to be rescued, unlike cassie or finkelman, but then she's a co-star. just maybe after three years of complaints tptb clued in to the fact that fans generally hate the women on this show because they're always either victims (whom j & b get to rescue and comfort), villains (whom j & b get to arrest and lecture), and/or love interests (who try to drive j & b apart). conner gets to be a hero sometimes, albeit a superfluous hero in a city which already has a sentinel and a shaman looking out for it.
i suppose i just extend my science-fiction suspension of disbelief to cover gender roles in this show. 'tis a shame, but it lets me enjoy the little things (like finkelman's "focus, business" in that great new York accent as she points to the money, or "i'm wearing...clothes. well, yes, i am offended.") without constantly grating my teeth over the wispy little blonds, etc. things like sabin's "i don't do business with women" are certainly *realistic*, and one thing going for this show is that it's willing to give us some unpleasant realities. (the usual rant: of course, *pleasant* realities, like a jim-blair *hug* for cryin' out loud, get censored. sure, we can handle prison-rape jokes, but a *hug*? oh, the downfall of western civilization if two men are *nice* to each other...) i missed the first season (but am slowly acquiring the tapes), so i don't know how co-star carolyn was depicted. from what i've seen, i don't expect much, though.
Fan Comments
[XmagicalX]: I agree, this is one of my BIGGEST problems with TS. As a longtime Trekkie and an X-phile, both shows with strong, awesome female chars, I've come to expect a wee bit more from my tv when watching my own sex.OTOH--how many shows out there do have honestly good femme chars? before we go into a list, I think there's equally, if not more, that lack them. For that matter, how many action/cop shows have major femme chars? I think X-files was, if not absolutely unique, at least one of the first to be focused on only two major chars, one of which being a woman. There are a lot of romances, but not that many m/f partnerships, and I don't know of any f/f partnership shows. Admittedly, that'd mean we couldn't swoon over the stars, but it's be kinda kewl to have women considered strong enough to get into situations w/ angst...
[snipped]
XmagX Who thinks that Meghan has potential but hasn't exhibited much of it thus far...and when will TS learn that women do NOT always have to have curly hair, tight outfits, and lots of cleavage to be good chars. Or are UPN the ones that need that message..?
[Trish]: The last 'good' f/f partner show was Cagney and Lacey, and that was years ago.
[zul]: I think part of the problem there is the same problem that Voyager has. A male character and a female character can go through exactly the same trauma and have exactly the same reaction and the male is seen as sensitive and the female is seen as hysterical. I still remember a discussion right after Voyager came out when one of the MCPs (male chauvanist pig) started talking about how he thought the captain "was going to cry" every time something got difficult. There was nothing there for that assumption, except the double perception. In fact, the same double perception happens in real life. One of the things I had to learn growing up was to deliberatley pitch my voice low when I'm trying to express anger or annoyance, because otherwise people (usually men) will ignore a higher voice as being shrill and emotional, regardless of content.
[XMagicalX]: Not to go all sociologistic (well, that's sorta on-topic, anthropology, sociology, they're all in the same basket) but I'd say a related problem is for a woman to be considered strong/competant, she has to behave like a man, preferably a Manly Man, the sort that avoids emotion like Mr. Spock except for agressive displays. To be feminine is to be weak and squidgy. But then when a woman is thus masculine, she's stamped with the stigmata of being an "iron-clad b*tch". Sort of a catch 22 situation.To its credit, I think Voyager is at least attempting to deal with this. Lestways what I've seen of Janeway reminds me more of Captain Kirk than of the any other captains (not the woman-chasing bit, but certainly in pigheaded stubborness and a certain unwillingness to negotiate) But at least to me Janeway doesn't come across as all that witchy, more tough. Could be 'cuz she doesn't bat her eyelashes or use her "feminine wiles". And I do like the way that in spite of 7 of 9's (may Alex rot in hell) painted uniforms, she is not a seductress by any means (they could've used Jeri Ryan better in TS, I'll mention, in a desperate attempt to drag myself back on topic. Alex was definitely not above using her looks lead Blair on, though I thought one of the more interesting aspects of that relationship was how little he did seem interested in her like that, all things considered. He honestly was far more focused on her abilities than her sex. Unusual restraint, at least for him ;)
That's also why I say Megan has potential, however unused. In spite of her clothing (I agree with Jim--honestly, what *is* that, pink dingo?) and UPN's so-called advertising (I thought advertising was supposed to make you *want* to watch) Megan really doesn't seem to be after the boys. Cassie flirted shamelessly, but Megan at least appears as if she'd like to "just be friends". Which to me at least seems to be one of those concepts that Hollywood truly has a hard time grasping--there is such a thing as platonic love, and it *can* exist between males and females. TS especially gives little evidence of understanding this--is properly used, Megan could be a pretty good showcase of an too-commonly uncommon phenomenon.
OTOH, if she's mysteriously summoned back to Australia while Blair's in the hospital during the premiere, I'm not gonna be crying too hard...
[StarGem]: At least, let me say that I agree with Blair, Finkleman WAS out to prove something, but I (as far as what wasn't shown goes) think she DID prove it, it was a cop and an anthropologist that pointed a finger at her faulty logic.[snipped]
Conner also needs to learn HOW to get along with these American cops. Not that I'm pointing a finger at American's (of which I am), or Aussie's (of which she's one), but I thought I'd mention that the character needs more work than you can tack onto the last 3 eps of season 3, which means working her well into next season, provided that you can do it with just 13 episodes.
[StarGem]: > And no, you (us females) probably COULDN'T swoon over another female, but that's what MALES are for. At least on tv. In real life you'd have to deal with either there "others" or yours. No, we couldn't swoon. But I also get to live vicariously through them, that's how I look at it. It's fun watching women kinda going off. Have to admit watching Meghan beat the crap out of PW was kinda fun. I couldn't help giggling the whole time, but I did cheer at the end when he finally hit the ground.