From: Helen Krummenacker avona@jps.net
How can you complain about women writing about Avon Suffering (NOT my preference in fanfic, either), but love a movie where a woman is raped by a man wearing spikey armour and making it, thereby, even worse? And call it beautifully Pre-Raphaelite? I love pre-Raphaelite paintings, but they focus on the moments of romance or religion rather than violence.
For one thing, I like violent movies (as opposed to IRL). And Uther's rape of Igrayne is part of the legend, therefore it has to be there. The focus of pre-Raphaelite art on the non-violent subjects can be construed as a romantic gloss on what was, after all, a violent time. Knights in armour are romantic - vicious thugs who wear armour to prevent themselves being dismembered whilst simultaneously trying to do the same to other vicious thugs are not romantic, yet closer to the reality. PR art falsely ennobles the vehicles of violence by denying the violence inherent to their social role (Leighton was especially good at this, not that he belonged to the PR school proper).
As a depiction of a legend (as opposed to history, which it ain't) Excalibur is at least honest in acknowledging the brutality underlying the romance.
It's a pity B7 (to stay on topic, and hence keep Calle from getting all jittery) couldn't have been as honest. It went some way in that direction on occasions (Gareth Thomas has cited the time where he was allowed to break someone's neck in the 1st Season), but for the most part was glossily sanitised and depicted as exciting fun. Now violence may be exciting (all that adrenaline) but it's rarely fun, especially for the losers, so trying to make a game of cowboys and indians (to quote Vere Lorrimer) is an insult to my intelligence and an even bigger insult to the intelligent tone of the series as a whole. Yes, I like violent movies. I like violent movies that remind me why I don't like violence IRL.
Neil