Top 5 Meta, Take 2: Outside the 'verse and Into Real Life

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When I posted my  first list  of "top 5" meta for the year I already knew I would do a second list, because there were too many good meta from the year to limit to just five. What I hadn't known or planned on was how neatly the two lists would fall into groupings. Where the first concerned itself with issues within the Buffyverse itself; this second set combines analysis and history with personal meditations and observations.  My response to BtVS was on first watch and continues to be a combination of emotion and intellect I haven't experienced with anything else in pop culture; and essays that reflect this complicated response and bridge the two not only touch a chord in me, they demonstrate why the story of a Slayer and her friends still matters.

"Some Willow [Rosenberg]-y Thoughts, Part 1"   by   local_max   The brief self-assessment at the beginning of this essay, followed by his usual incisive examination of Willow's arc, nearly breaks my heart; in describing himself, it feels as though he is describing me on my behalf because I lack the courage to do so. And as always, his examination of Ms Rosenberg sets me back on my heels to reconsider everything I thought I knew about her.

"Moar Buffy Meta for Mid Season 6"  by   coracle33   Her (I am assuming gender, with apologies) analysis of Willow and Buffy's shared addiction arc - the misdirect both characters make from from the real sources of their problems onto their addictive habits - and why it works for her is very much against the grain of general fan opinion regarding that storyline.  She argues persuasively for it nonetheless, and as another member of fandom who struggles with depression, she reminds me all over again just why S6 strikes struck a deep emotional and intellectual chord in me.  She's only written two posts, both about S6, on her LJ, but I hope for more in 2013.

"In Which I Ramble On"   by  rahirah   A sharp, incisive meta about interpersonal fandom dynamics, factional divisions and the toxic results of hanging onto our own "principles" to the exclusion of respecting one another, by one of the most respected voices in this fandom. Can’t we all just get along? The cherry on top: one of my favorite descriptions of Buffy Anne Summers, bar none.

"Being a Buffy Fan on the Internet 1998 - 2012"   by  shadowkat67  .  A personal response and historical timeline of nearly every major development in this fandom from the beginning: the near-simultaneous birth of BtVS and the explosion of fandom on the internet; the sites were fans congregated, celebrated and fought; every major controversy, faction and war. Recommended for cultural historians, long-time fans nostalgic for the "good old days" - or not; and newbies like myself who had no idea what they'd gotten themselves into and are trying to avoid the landmines.

"Untitled (Ruminations on Writing Fanfiction, Personal Expression, and Depression)"  by  angearia  This one hit me hard because I see myself in every word of it. A very personal meditation about writing in fandom, and finding small spaces of release and relief in letting the words flow on the page; the unfair stereotypes of the people who are unemployed and/or work very hard in crushing "menial" jobs just to get by; and how unemployment and depression combine to strangle creativity. Like Buffy, Emmie is full of love - and courage. Simply admitting that one is un- or underemployed (i.e. poor), or depressed, is terrifying in a world interprets both states as personal failures and moral sins. (ETA: I didn't realize when I posted that this meta is friendslocked. Post is now unlocked.)

Originally posted on DreamWidt http://buffyversetop5.dreamwidth.org/330120.html

Five Fics I Really Enjoyed in 2012 (and yes, they were very good too)

[shapinglight]

I couldn't think of another way to link these five fics together. I just enjoyed them. They're all great.

What It Is To Burn by quinara. Spike/Buffy, R (I'm guessing). Set post Chosen, after three years in a long distance relationship with Spike, Buffy's the one who cracks first. I love the way quinara writes both these characters. They're them but with a thoughtful, deeper edge.

( Read more... )

Top 5 Meta, Take 3 (Because it hurts my heart to leave these off)

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

More meta-y goodness from 2012. Because meta essays just don't get enough love. (Parts 1 & 2   ere  and   ere )  I had originally promised myself not to repeat authors but changed my mind.  Humor me, gentle reader.  Hopefully more love will mean more meta essays in future, so share the love!

"Buffy and Spike Ramblings"   by  angearia   If there is anyone in the fandom, including myself, who loves Buffy Anne Summers and expresses that love more tenderly and thoughtfully than Emmie does, I haven't met them yet.  (Granted, I've only been in this fandom less than a year, but still...) How often do you come across a meditation, more prose poem than essay, on Buffy's feelings for Spike that begins with a poem from Pablo Neruda?  I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving.

"Effulgent Love"   by  angearia  Because I couldn't choose.  I call this Emmie's definite statement on Buffy's love for Spike, her declaration in Chosen, and the "evolving state of her heart" over seven+ seasons. So many choice sentences and phrases that sing to my soul:  Buffy shows Spike all the ways she loves in Season 7 and it culminates with her verbal declaration in "Chosen", that final barrier to her fully opening her heart again, that damaged, battered organ that's been too afraid to love ever since her father left her, ever since Angel traumatized her in Innocence and the back half of Season 2 and the more in Season 3

"Giles and the Wild Woman"    by  norwie2010  The journey of one Rupert Giles, how he is tested, challenged and changed by the women of Sunnydale, especially Buffy, Willow and Jenny, and how he tries to navigate the evolution "from tamer" under a patriarchial structure, "to tutor, to guide", the man who in the end steps back to support the narrative of the female heros.  And if that sounds dry, never fear; norwie enlivens academic concepts with a witty style as dry as a three-olive martini.

"A Conversation that  Might Interest You, Dear F-list"  by  local_max   A direct response to norwie's meta, going deeper into the themes of power and gender, on the shifting relationships of Giles and all the women on the show, including Faith and Anya, most especially Willow; also touches briefly on the parallels between Xander and Spike in the later seasons.

"The Chosen O"   by  lostboy_ljI couldn't decide between all of his metas in 2012;   "Buffyverse Monsters, Part 2"   is worth reading just for his meticulous analysis of Buffy's conversation with Holden Webster in CWDP (yes, I just cheated and slipped in a 6th. Shhh...)  But this is one of the most interesting and provocative takes on the final scene between Buffy and Spike, hence the title; lush romanticism contrasted with post-modern referentiality and a nod to Star Wars. Worth it just for the utterly gorgeous screencaps of SMG's face during that scene and every shift in her expression. I just wanna bask....


Originally posted on DreamWidth  http://buffyversetop5.dreamwidth.org/330395.html