*headdesk*
Jan. 16th, 2008 08:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gnimaerdI’m sorry you were disappointed by Marian’s death in the final episode of Robin Hood. Our aim was simply to tell the best story we could imagine and create a story that felt engaging and surprising for the audience. We felt that Robin Hood mattered most to our audience, and what mattered most to Robin was Marian...and therein lay the most compelling and dramatic climax to the end of Series 2.
Rest assured that Sir Guy of Gisborne has not got away with killing Marian and evil certainly hasn't prevailed over good. This is something that Sir Guy of Gisborne will have to live with forever and Series 3 will see him struggle with the consequences of Marian's death.
Robin Hood is a returning drama series that we hope will be entertaining families for years to come. In order to achieve this we need to make difficult decisions to ensure the series survives, and that there's room to introduce new characters and new storylines.
The show is made with such passion by everyone involved in the production, so we really hope you will give Series 3 a chance.”
Yours sincerely
Sarah Brandist
Commissioning Editor, Drama
My letter to them, re the RH series finale, is here, for anyone who didn't read it.
Look, I appreciate what they're trying to say. I appreciate that they probably got a LOT of letters like mine and that this may well be a standard responce.
But OH MY GOD they are MISSING THE POINT.
My complaint was not about the story telling. It was not about evil triumphing over good.
It was about the fact that they murdered Marian when it was completely unnecissary to do so, and then exited Djaq in a way that utterly degraded the character. It was the fact that they forced Marian completely out of character in ORDER to kill her. They BUTCHERED her in every sence of the word. It was the fact that they BETRAYED thousands of female viewers by reverting right back to steriotypes that women have been fighting to be free of for CENTURIES. It was the fact that the final was rushed, that the writers went back to default mode and thus reinforced ancient steriotypes that women have been trying to vercome for CENTURIES, in writing, in cinema, in television - I mean MY GOD was Jane Austen WASTING HER TIME?
Believe me, I'll be writing back to them.
For God's sake - I'm a writer by vocation and hopefully by profession in the very near future. I know about writing, about making 'tough' decisions for a good plot. And I know good story telling.
The RH series final WASN'T it and NO FORCE ON EARTH will EVER convince me otherwise.
Suck it, Auntie Beeb - I'm not coming anywhere NEAR the third series of Robin Hood is THAT'S your attitude.
Edit: Yup - as I thought. This is a standard responce. One of my other f-listies has recieved exactly the same letter. I am not at all surprised, but I am bitterly disappointed.
This isn't good enough. I'm writing back to them. They have to know - this isn't good enough.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-17 10:49 am (UTC)I'm not going to ask you whether you read my original letter to the BBC. I'm not going to ask whether yor REALLY, TRULY think that Djaq's portrayl in the series final wasn't even SLIGHLTLY insensitive (a MUSLIM? Handling a PIGS HEAD?)
Because all that will do is make me angry again at how forcefully blind people are being to the latent sexism and racism that is all around them - how fear of coming off 'whiny' is stopping people from speaking out of little things that eventually add up to MAJOR issues in the society we live in today.
What I am going to do is ask you this:
What part of 'if you think i am over reacting, I don't want to know' did you NOT get?
I am perfectly aware that there are other points of view on this. I have read them and debated them in a friendly and civilised manner with people in other posts. In discussion posts. In threads created specifically as forums for people to air conflicting views and talk to each other about those views.
This is not one of those threads. I created this post because I am upset and I know a great deal of other people are upset too. I needed a place to rant and for other people to rant with me. It's a solidarity thing. It makes me feel better. Then I could take a deep breath and go back to being sane and sensible about this, taking practical action and then forget about it to stop it eating at me.
I asked that people with differing views stay out of this post. I did that because I knew that hearing people trying to 'explain' the 'other side' to me would make me feel stupid, patronised and frustrated. It's nothing personal - it was just the need to create a safe place. You ignored me. I find that disrespectful and upsetting.
Next time, show some consideration and stay away from where your views are neither needed nor welcome. There are many other places where a comment like the one you just wrote will be heard receptively by people who both agree and disagree with you. If you can't find one, create a post of your own. Your views are perfectly vallid and you have a right to be heard. I have people who I like and respect on my f-list who share your opinion. But you will notice that none of them aired those views here - because they had the curtesy to respect my wishes and wait for a more constructive moment to have a debate with me.
Like I said - next time, please show a little consideration for the wishes of the poster.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 07:10 pm (UTC)I wouldn't have posted if I had known that you really did not want anyone being insensitive to you butit is very hard over the internet to discern "a constructive moment". I am someone who likes to take a step back and study these things and make sense of them and part of that is debating with other people. But I really don't like "over touchy" people who get offended by every little thing (for instance if you accidentally step on someone's toe and they kick up a large fuss even when you apologise) but I reckon you have a HUGE point when it comes to Djaq, a muslim, holding a pig's head! I totally didn't notice that but it is a big oversight!
But I'm afraid I really don't think they were trying to be sexist, just bad at writing...
There is sexism in our society which needs stamping out and believe me I stick up for women (got in to a hell load of trouble on a comm which said women are nasty money grabbers who marry for money then divorce and take everything) but I just don't see it on this program. If I was a kid I would come away from this program thinking that Marian was some kickass character who followd her own mind and nasty Guy killed her and I couldn't wait to see how he gtes his come uppance next series. I just wouldn't feel that women must be killed or that women must not be on a tv show. Do you get me?
Sorry to upset you but I honestly did not see a sign saying " stay away", this is the link I've got http://gnimaerd.livejournal.com/136017.html?thread=866641 so please understand that I am not some naive troll out to upset or insult people.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 07:10 pm (UTC)I wouldn't have posted if I had known that you really did not want anyone being insensitive to you butit is very hard over the internet to discern "a constructive moment". I am someone who likes to take a step back and study these things and make sense of them and part of that is debating with other people. But I really don't like "over touchy" people who get offended by every little thing (for instance if you accidentally step on someone's toe and they kick up a large fuss even when you apologise) but I reckon you have a HUGE point when it comes to Djaq, a muslim, holding a pig's head! I totally didn't notice that but it is a big oversight!
But I'm afraid I really don't think they were trying to be sexist, just bad at writing...
There is sexism in our society which needs stamping out and believe me I stick up for women (got in to a hell load of trouble on a comm which said women are nasty money grabbers who marry for money then divorce and take everything) but I just don't see it on this program. If I was a kid I would come away from this program thinking that Marian was some kickass character who followd her own mind and nasty Guy killed her and I couldn't wait to see how he gtes his come uppance next series. I just wouldn't feel that women must be killed or that women must not be on a tv show. Do you get me?
Sorry to upset you but I honestly did not see a sign saying " stay away", this is the link I've got http://gnimaerd.livejournal.com/136017.html?thread=866641 so please understand that I am not some naive troll out to upset or insult people.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-19 04:47 am (UTC)Anyway, look, I know you're not a troll - you didn't come off as a troll - you just came off as someone trying to put a view across where it had already been made obvious that that view was unwelcome. If you want to have a constructive debate, you can post here; http://community.livejournal.com/robinhoodbbc/712238.html
Like I said - I am not going debate anything with you here. I'm too upset and anything I'm liable to say will just cause hurt feelings and frustration for more people than are already in pain as a result of this. Part of my request that people with opposing views not state them here was in order to try to limit the damage that the sries final has already done to the fandom. I didn't want this post to turn into a wank fest, which it would given how upset so many people are - a disagreement was liable to turn into an all out brawl because people are in no mood to be sensitive or logical or considerate of other people's points of view in this thread.