Here we go again...another interesting and challenging question from Whistler.....
Beauty...Brains....how comical that they both start with the letter "B"....
Well, let's see...I do look at beauty...and brains...I look for character development and I look for challenging and thought provoking dialogue among the characters...Especially in the female roles, I look for characters that intrigue me and that I can find something to entertain but most importantly to critique about..yes...I do like to critique....I guess because I learn something from it..or perhaps not!
In either case, I think you do have a point...but I do think that they are looking for beautiful and attractive women...Just not the norm of what is consider attractive in the spotlight of Hollywood right now...
I bought the Rising DVD and I believe that it was Brad Wright that stated that he knew from the very beginning phases of Atlantis that he wanted a non military woman to command Atlantis...He knew exactly what he was looking for and he found it in Weir....He mentions how when he sees Torri, she just personifies strength and the ability to lead a city like Atlantis from a non-military stand point...I loved that! He was not looking at beauty...he was looking for a female leader...and that is powerful....Same thing with Teyla...He knew he wanted someone that would be a strong, courageous and at the same time a soulfoul woman..and just looking at Rachel she interprets all of those qualities..she is just that! So, I think these characters are so great because the writers were looking for something beyond beauty...They are beautiful woman...I don't know how anyone would say that they are not...and I think they are drop dead gorgeous..If I may...because their not only beautiful on the outside but their inner beauty is reflected in their characters as well....VAlA...I can't stand...and I don't think she is beautiful at all...She has an awesome body..but if you look at her face..she is not your ordinary beauty....but that is just my opinion...Carter, Frasier...they aren't drop dead gorgeous either...
Today's woman has changed and our perceptions of women have changed drastically...go back a several years and look at what television considered beautiful and compare it to today's beauty and it is not the same...Today's women likes to be treated equal to men in some things but at the same time we like to preserve what makes us different from men...We like to have the same positions as men but we also like to continue to dress and walk differently..why because we are different...Today's working woman likes to see herself as capable of accomplishing anything and everything that a man can do and she doesn't have to be gorgeous to do it..and that is why television today can get away with taking a regular beauty and turn her into a bombshell...but when you look at them when they first started off, they are nothing compare to what they have turned them out to be...and yes...I think Stargate writers and producers do care about beauty..isn't this one of the strongest arguments against Teyla...that they are going for a specific persona because of her outfits? And what about the fact that Torri now is loaded with makeup...again, I just saw the Rising DVD in my 65" HighDefenition TV and she hardly has any makeup and frankly, not her best look...and neither does Rachel...her hairdo was horrible and she had much less makeup than what she does now and didn't have her skimpy outfit....
Reality...looks does matter on TV....it's just that they are opening a different kind of beauty and letting us see a different type of beauty...one that is dictated by them..but they are still prying for our eyes...and our approval..the advantage, if any, of this is that they are also recognizing the importance of women today and our role in society as females that can lead just as good if not better than any men in any type of leadership role. And this is what I love and look for in my favorite female characters...go back to Camryn Manheim from the Practice...again...I couldn't think of any on SciFi...an overweight woman who over the years of playing this characters became one of the strongest and most admired actresses in Hollywood..but it took awhile and it took several pounds off and several makeover...but it did happen...is she considered a bombshell..no...but she is one of the few that has broken the mold on what a strong female character can bring to a show besides just looks...and that to me is very significant as a woman....but, frankly, how many more examples like this do we have? Not much...and still we have a long way to go...
So, let's not go and say that now they are not interested in looks..YEAH RIGHT! It's just that now they have added a new characteristic to the stereotypical way of looking at women on TV...but frankly, I think SCIFI has a long way to go........we still see the leather and black tights..and the whole she bangs! (did I spell this right) for some that is enough, for others it's just partial and for most of us, it is not enough and we do look for women characters that slightly shed some light on what a real women in the real world is capable of accomplishing regardless of her looks...
Is SciFi there yet? I don't think so.....but maybe they are trying...and that is something.
Beauty...Brains....how comical that they both start with the letter "B"....
Well, let's see...I do look at beauty...and brains...I look for character development and I look for challenging and thought provoking dialogue among the characters...Especially in the female roles, I look for characters that intrigue me and that I can find something to entertain but most importantly to critique about..yes...I do like to critique....I guess because I learn something from it..or perhaps not!
In either case, I think you do have a point...but I do think that they are looking for beautiful and attractive women...Just not the norm of what is consider attractive in the spotlight of Hollywood right now...
I bought the Rising DVD and I believe that it was Brad Wright that stated that he knew from the very beginning phases of Atlantis that he wanted a non military woman to command Atlantis...He knew exactly what he was looking for and he found it in Weir....He mentions how when he sees Torri, she just personifies strength and the ability to lead a city like Atlantis from a non-military stand point...I loved that! He was not looking at beauty...he was looking for a female leader...and that is powerful....Same thing with Teyla...He knew he wanted someone that would be a strong, courageous and at the same time a soulfoul woman..and just looking at Rachel she interprets all of those qualities..she is just that! So, I think these characters are so great because the writers were looking for something beyond beauty...They are beautiful woman...I don't know how anyone would say that they are not...and I think they are drop dead gorgeous..If I may...because their not only beautiful on the outside but their inner beauty is reflected in their characters as well....VAlA...I can't stand...and I don't think she is beautiful at all...She has an awesome body..but if you look at her face..she is not your ordinary beauty....but that is just my opinion...Carter, Frasier...they aren't drop dead gorgeous either...
Today's woman has changed and our perceptions of women have changed drastically...go back a several years and look at what television considered beautiful and compare it to today's beauty and it is not the same...Today's women likes to be treated equal to men in some things but at the same time we like to preserve what makes us different from men...We like to have the same positions as men but we also like to continue to dress and walk differently..why because we are different...Today's working woman likes to see herself as capable of accomplishing anything and everything that a man can do and she doesn't have to be gorgeous to do it..and that is why television today can get away with taking a regular beauty and turn her into a bombshell...but when you look at them when they first started off, they are nothing compare to what they have turned them out to be...and yes...I think Stargate writers and producers do care about beauty..isn't this one of the strongest arguments against Teyla...that they are going for a specific persona because of her outfits? And what about the fact that Torri now is loaded with makeup...again, I just saw the Rising DVD in my 65" HighDefenition TV and she hardly has any makeup and frankly, not her best look...and neither does Rachel...her hairdo was horrible and she had much less makeup than what she does now and didn't have her skimpy outfit....
Reality...looks does matter on TV....it's just that they are opening a different kind of beauty and letting us see a different type of beauty...one that is dictated by them..but they are still prying for our eyes...and our approval..the advantage, if any, of this is that they are also recognizing the importance of women today and our role in society as females that can lead just as good if not better than any men in any type of leadership role. And this is what I love and look for in my favorite female characters...go back to Camryn Manheim from the Practice...again...I couldn't think of any on SciFi...an overweight woman who over the years of playing this characters became one of the strongest and most admired actresses in Hollywood..but it took awhile and it took several pounds off and several makeover...but it did happen...is she considered a bombshell..no...but she is one of the few that has broken the mold on what a strong female character can bring to a show besides just looks...and that to me is very significant as a woman....but, frankly, how many more examples like this do we have? Not much...and still we have a long way to go...
So, let's not go and say that now they are not interested in looks..YEAH RIGHT! It's just that now they have added a new characteristic to the stereotypical way of looking at women on TV...but frankly, I think SCIFI has a long way to go........we still see the leather and black tights..and the whole she bangs! (did I spell this right) for some that is enough, for others it's just partial and for most of us, it is not enough and we do look for women characters that slightly shed some light on what a real women in the real world is capable of accomplishing regardless of her looks...
Is SciFi there yet? I don't think so.....but maybe they are trying...and that is something.
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