The lens of love
Saturday, August 15th, 2015 10:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
serai.
At one of the Youtube videos from the PD Comic Con appearance, I posted this comment in response to someone who said they preferred not seeing the Ethan/Dorian scene continue because SEX EWW and it's-better-implied, yada yada, and then said the Ethan/Brona scene was EWW, and yeah - am I supposed to just listen to that?
Ah, your perspective on sex scenes is rather different from mine. I'm not a person who objects to seeing sex vis-a-vis sex. I do find straight up porn to be boring as hell, and kinda gross in some ways. But I also don't object to explicit sexuality when it's relevant and expresses something important. The scene between Dorian and Angelique, say, went a long way towards helping me understand what was going on between them, and how they each experienced it. And oh my, the scene between Ethan and Brona - it had me in tears, and still does, as I watch it now and again because it's just so flat out beautiful. It's beautiful on its own, because damn, those two lovely creatures. But it's also beautiful for how it portrays their relationship, especially in contrast to both Ethan's earlier sex scene (where he's a good-natured lothario only out for pleasure), but also in contrast to all the OTHER sex going on in the series. This is the only sex scene so far that is quiet, tender, heartfelt - it's an expression of actual love between these two, and that's very rare in this series. The contrast of textures, too - the scene is filmed in a dusty bluish light, indirect sunlight near water; the two figures are completely naked, the first time we see that in the series and it's also a rare thing, as most of the sex is between clothed or semi-clothed people, thus the nakedness can be seen as a metaphor for the nakedness of their hearts and feelings; the slow, tender, deep movements; the intense, fascinated way they gaze into each other's eyes. The scene is so very DIFFERENT in so many ways from all the other sex scenes so far. Taking into account how Ethan talks about Brona later on, I'm always struck by his hands gripping the bars of the bed as he moves, and the symbolism of those bars - the wolf being caged by love.
There is so much in sexuality that is never explored in our culture. This is a major, major part of people's lives, and yet we've convinced ourselves that we shouldn't look at it or talk about it or make art about it. We don't turn off our lives or selves when we go to bed - we are still exactly who we are, with the same problems and viewpoints and habits. So much happens in those situations, yet we don't acknowledge it. Penny Dreadful, by the very nature of the kind of story it's telling, does go overboard. It's intense and violent and operatic, because it is, after all, a tawdry story about demons and monsters in Victorian London, and how much more purple can a setup be than that? But I do applaud its willingness to deal with sexuality, because I think it's a mistake to pretend that sex has nothing to offer art in the way of meaning, that two bodies can come together to do almost anything in life and it counts, but when they come together to do the one thing that makes life possible, suddenly art must stay silent, and the door must be slammed. I say that one scene between Ethan and Brona proves all of that wrong. I don't think I've seen one that more perfectly expressed real love - within its own context.
For the same reason, I'm disappointed not to see Ethan and Dorian. It's not just that they're hot - although they are, good Goddess, kill me now - but they are so very different from each other. I mean, just look at that kiss - two diametrically opposed energies colliding. Ethan is weeping - no one else does that during sex on this show. (Am I wrong there?) This is MAJOR for him. Something serious is happening to him, some extreme outpouring; that montage using his memories to get his emotions across is so hugely, well, operatic. (I still wonder at his reaction when the demon brings it up. He doesn't look nearly as freaked out as I'd expect.) So, given that the show is so willing to keep going, to be denied this scene where clearly something extreme is going to happen to a major character seems cavalierly cruel to the viewership. It's not all about the sex - it's about the character's story and missing a chunk of it, possibly a very important chunk, depending on what happens from here on out.
It's rather off-the-cuff and may contain some inaccuracies about exact things that happened on the show, but it's how I see it, basically. Because bitch, you do not throw down on my boy. Ever.
At one of the Youtube videos from the PD Comic Con appearance, I posted this comment in response to someone who said they preferred not seeing the Ethan/Dorian scene continue because SEX EWW and it's-better-implied, yada yada, and then said the Ethan/Brona scene was EWW, and yeah - am I supposed to just listen to that?
Ah, your perspective on sex scenes is rather different from mine. I'm not a person who objects to seeing sex vis-a-vis sex. I do find straight up porn to be boring as hell, and kinda gross in some ways. But I also don't object to explicit sexuality when it's relevant and expresses something important. The scene between Dorian and Angelique, say, went a long way towards helping me understand what was going on between them, and how they each experienced it. And oh my, the scene between Ethan and Brona - it had me in tears, and still does, as I watch it now and again because it's just so flat out beautiful. It's beautiful on its own, because damn, those two lovely creatures. But it's also beautiful for how it portrays their relationship, especially in contrast to both Ethan's earlier sex scene (where he's a good-natured lothario only out for pleasure), but also in contrast to all the OTHER sex going on in the series. This is the only sex scene so far that is quiet, tender, heartfelt - it's an expression of actual love between these two, and that's very rare in this series. The contrast of textures, too - the scene is filmed in a dusty bluish light, indirect sunlight near water; the two figures are completely naked, the first time we see that in the series and it's also a rare thing, as most of the sex is between clothed or semi-clothed people, thus the nakedness can be seen as a metaphor for the nakedness of their hearts and feelings; the slow, tender, deep movements; the intense, fascinated way they gaze into each other's eyes. The scene is so very DIFFERENT in so many ways from all the other sex scenes so far. Taking into account how Ethan talks about Brona later on, I'm always struck by his hands gripping the bars of the bed as he moves, and the symbolism of those bars - the wolf being caged by love.
There is so much in sexuality that is never explored in our culture. This is a major, major part of people's lives, and yet we've convinced ourselves that we shouldn't look at it or talk about it or make art about it. We don't turn off our lives or selves when we go to bed - we are still exactly who we are, with the same problems and viewpoints and habits. So much happens in those situations, yet we don't acknowledge it. Penny Dreadful, by the very nature of the kind of story it's telling, does go overboard. It's intense and violent and operatic, because it is, after all, a tawdry story about demons and monsters in Victorian London, and how much more purple can a setup be than that? But I do applaud its willingness to deal with sexuality, because I think it's a mistake to pretend that sex has nothing to offer art in the way of meaning, that two bodies can come together to do almost anything in life and it counts, but when they come together to do the one thing that makes life possible, suddenly art must stay silent, and the door must be slammed. I say that one scene between Ethan and Brona proves all of that wrong. I don't think I've seen one that more perfectly expressed real love - within its own context.
For the same reason, I'm disappointed not to see Ethan and Dorian. It's not just that they're hot - although they are, good Goddess, kill me now - but they are so very different from each other. I mean, just look at that kiss - two diametrically opposed energies colliding. Ethan is weeping - no one else does that during sex on this show. (Am I wrong there?) This is MAJOR for him. Something serious is happening to him, some extreme outpouring; that montage using his memories to get his emotions across is so hugely, well, operatic. (I still wonder at his reaction when the demon brings it up. He doesn't look nearly as freaked out as I'd expect.) So, given that the show is so willing to keep going, to be denied this scene where clearly something extreme is going to happen to a major character seems cavalierly cruel to the viewership. It's not all about the sex - it's about the character's story and missing a chunk of it, possibly a very important chunk, depending on what happens from here on out.
It's rather off-the-cuff and may contain some inaccuracies about exact things that happened on the show, but it's how I see it, basically. Because bitch, you do not throw down on my boy. Ever.
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Date: Saturday, August 15th, 2015 08:13 pm (UTC)With Ethan and Dorian, it felt like something different. Self-discovery, perhaps, for Ethan, his first experience with another man, and he was overwhelmed by the feelings. There was a lot of residual anger in there too, I believe. Remember he'd just been attacked in that bar, after witnessing something that clearly upset him deeply. All those emotions went into the first kiss, but the second was different. It had some of the same tenderness we saw between him and Brona. I think it was new for Dorian too, to experience that kind of emotional involvement with a partner. I wish they'd followed through more, but it really was a beautiful scene as it was filmed.
And with Angelique, it took my breath away. She was such a fragile creature, I was afraid for her from the start. Dorian could be kind, but he became bored so quickly and started looking for the next thrill while Angelique was falling in love with him. Her murder was ievitable, but that didn't make it any less wrenching.
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Date: Saturday, August 15th, 2015 09:11 pm (UTC)Oh, poor Angelique. The moment she showed up, I thought, "Oh, this can't end well." Although the show had taken pains up to then to portray Dorian as this beautiful blossom of a youth so that it was easy to forget who he actually is, her death was inevitable, as you say. She wanted a lover; he wanted a toy. They both got what they wanted, but only one could survive the affair.
Oy, this show is just so. fucking. purple. It's awesome.
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Date: Sunday, August 16th, 2015 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, August 16th, 2015 04:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, August 25th, 2015 03:26 am (UTC)