I find Moffat's writing for Who pretty unique, at least amongst the TV I've watched, in how much attention and importance it does place on that meta narrative--on all the layers of narrative, really, in a very traditionally literary way. Symbolism, allusions, all the layering of tropes and themes does contribute substantially to the story, and I find that much of the characterization and character development does happen on those levels just as much as it does on a more realistic level. All of which I suppose makes it more difficult for some people to make a connection with but I know that I love it to teeny tiny bits. So, yes, I am with you in that normally my connection to characters has to be, first and foremost, personal in that way you describe. And yet I'm loving having this new way to engage with them as well.
Interestingly, I'm sort of the opposite from you in respect to how I got into River and Amy. With River I watched the Library episodes just a week or two before the Angels ones, and while I liked her quite a lot and was very intrigued by her, what really grabbed me and prompted me to write about her was the symbolism around her. That balanced out and I became more and more invested in her character as a character as we went along and it became easier to see who she was and to piece together her motivations, but a huge chunk of my involvement with her has always been with that symbolism, which was just more accessible. (ETA: I'm making it sound like I wasn't excited to be watching River during the last season, which is patently not true and I have the squee posts to prove it. But my interest in her meta has always been there and always been deeply ingrained in my understanding of the character.) Amy, on the other hand, I just immediately liked in that personal way that one normally connects to characters and while I enjoyed looking at her storyline and some of her symbolism and themes and discussing them, at the end of the day it kept coming back to "Amy Pond is fantastic, simple as." And I can't say that my fundamental approach to her has changed all that much; I've mostly just deepened in my appreciation.
That said, I would love to see any and all discussion or vids you cared to produce about Amy--I'm a great fan of your perspective on most things.
Prior to the season-ender last year, though I like Amy and Eleven, I was still really watching always and only for River. But when the themes all came together for everyone, I retroactively loved the whole thing with new eyes. This makes me very, very happy. I find it an astonishing show in almost all ways, and unlike anything else I've ever seen. I am embarrassingly evangelical about it *g* And then I joke sometimes that Steven Moffat has written me a television show and is just being nice in letting the rest of y'all watch it too ;)
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Date: 2011-04-22 03:14 am (UTC)Interestingly, I'm sort of the opposite from you in respect to how I got into River and Amy. With River I watched the Library episodes just a week or two before the Angels ones, and while I liked her quite a lot and was very intrigued by her, what really grabbed me and prompted me to write about her was the symbolism around her. That balanced out and I became more and more invested in her character as a character as we went along and it became easier to see who she was and to piece together her motivations, but a huge chunk of my involvement with her has always been with that symbolism, which was just more accessible. (ETA: I'm making it sound like I wasn't excited to be watching River during the last season, which is patently not true and I have the squee posts to prove it. But my interest in her meta has always been there and always been deeply ingrained in my understanding of the character.) Amy, on the other hand, I just immediately liked in that personal way that one normally connects to characters and while I enjoyed looking at her storyline and some of her symbolism and themes and discussing them, at the end of the day it kept coming back to "Amy Pond is fantastic, simple as." And I can't say that my fundamental approach to her has changed all that much; I've mostly just deepened in my appreciation.
That said, I would love to see any and all discussion or vids you cared to produce about Amy--I'm a great fan of your perspective on most things.
Prior to the season-ender last year, though I like Amy and Eleven, I was still really watching always and only for River. But when the themes all came together for everyone, I retroactively loved the whole thing with new eyes.
This makes me very, very happy. I find it an astonishing show in almost all ways, and unlike anything else I've ever seen. I am embarrassingly evangelical about it *g* And then I joke sometimes that Steven Moffat has written me a television show and is just being nice in letting the rest of y'all watch it too ;)