"My Medea" is forceful but it kind of cheats by bookending itself with the first part of River/Echo/Asylum Buffy’s journey from helplessness to power thus making it look circular. All vids cheat! ;) But seriously, that's deliberate, and the vidder is very aware of it. To quote her: 'I made this vid in a white rage at what Dollhouse was doing, and the fact that I knew I had seen it before and I was tired of it.'
It was a reaction against a Joss trope. I'm not saying it's a bad trope, but (to quote laurashapiro, because she puts it best): 'we're told to accept that the women are victimized, because they will come to power later. The vid, IMO, asks whether that exchange is worth it.'
Power is complicated, of course, but it's the victimisation that rankles. The women are victimised and through that gain their power (River was smart before, but it was the mind rape that turned her into a fighting machine). Powerful men (and Buffy) tend to be powerful already and then brought down by circumstances (/deliberate attacks etc.etc.) which then forces them to fight back even harder with the power they already have. See Buffy catching Angelus' sword, or choosing to empower the Potentials - it's innate power brought to the fore. s8 throws superpowers at her from absolutely nowhere.
As for boxes, then yes, everyone is in a box. But Buffy was never in the [female] victim box. And when someone tried to put her in, she out-and-out refused it, right down to the label. From Helpless:
Buffy: I throw knives like... Giles: (calmly) A girl? Buffy: (confused by his reaction) Like I'm not the Slayer.
I find the s8 box of 'fame' deeply suspicious since I don't know how she got into it. I'm not saying it's a bad box to be exploring, but if they don't bother showing us why I'm not going to care.
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All vids cheat! ;) But seriously, that's deliberate, and the vidder is very aware of it. To quote her: 'I made this vid in a white rage at what Dollhouse was doing, and the fact that I knew I had seen it before and I was tired of it.'
It was a reaction against a Joss trope. I'm not saying it's a bad trope, but (to quote
Power is complicated, of course, but it's the victimisation that rankles. The women are victimised and through that gain their power (River was smart before, but it was the mind rape that turned her into a fighting machine). Powerful men (and Buffy) tend to be powerful already and then brought down by circumstances (/deliberate attacks etc.etc.) which then forces them to fight back even harder with the power they already have. See Buffy catching Angelus' sword, or choosing to empower the Potentials - it's innate power brought to the fore. s8 throws superpowers at her from absolutely nowhere.
As for boxes, then yes, everyone is in a box. But Buffy was never in the [female] victim box. And when someone tried to put her in, she out-and-out refused it, right down to the label. From Helpless:
Buffy: I throw knives like...
Giles: (calmly) A girl?
Buffy: (confused by his reaction) Like I'm not the Slayer.
I find the s8 box of 'fame' deeply suspicious since I don't know how she got into it. I'm not saying it's a bad box to be exploring, but if they don't bother showing us why I'm not going to care.