Why aren't more people ranting about this?

[caz963]

I am utterly stunned that, in NONE of the reviews I've so far read of last night's DW (the off LJ ones) does anyone say how inappropriate and conpletely squicky the pregnancy plot-line is.

Now, I'm not normally one to cry "sexism" - in fact, I'm usually pretty much on the fence about things like that, as in the end, a lot of it comes down to personal perception and feelings about a particular issue. I've also (mostly) steered clear of the whole "Moffat is a sexist bastard" issue, becuase I recognise that perhaps some of his comments have been taken out of context and because I don't know enough about the man to be able to make that sort of a judgement.

But now... I'm going to do it. And I'm not just directing it at Moffat, I'm going out on a limb to theorise that most of those reviews were written by men, too. The debate appears to be about the Doctor's motives and ethics in "decomissioning" ganger!Amy, which I thought was explained in the episode (she was made from a different version of the Flesh and therefore functioned in a different way - she wasn't sentient in the way the gangers we met in the story were; rather she was more like a walking shell that had a psychic link to real!Amy and not a completely integrated copy).

But nowhere - so far - outside of LJ have I seen anyone discussing the fact that here we have a major female character who is restrained, imprisoned and terrified - all while about to give birth. Is the pregnancy even consentual? It seems that, until she looks down and sees the bump, Amy isn't even aware that she IS pregnant. Was she kidnapped and inseminated against her will and without her knowledge? I know that some are theorising that it's Rory's baby but that it has somehow been affected by the timey-wimeyness of the TARDIS - but we were told in the DWC that Amy hasn't been real!Amy since 6x01 and possibly earlier, so I'm not sure it can be Rory's.

But that's all beside the point.

The point is this. In a comment to my review yesterday, papilio_luna says this:

bringing pregnancy into it, it's like a bridge just too far for me, especially when the episodes are written by men. Being pregnant is something that only happens to women, and for a dude to turn that into a horror scenario is something I've always had a problem with

- and I agree, 100%. There's something extremely unsavoury about it that's leaving a very bad taste in my mouth indeed.

I'm not a Moffat hater. While I'm not his biggest fan, and I preferred DW under Rusty, I've always taken care to be fair in my reviews and comments. But I don't know if I'm ever going to feel the same way about my show after this.

Two interesting comments from the Guardian's DW blog :

The problem I have is that, by this time, I don't remember all the unexplained questions from episode 1 - because they haven't been kept fresh, just parked for a few weeks. I can't remember exactly what happened in the White House bathroom, or just what happened at the end of episode 1, not really do I care by this time.

This is a mystery designed for diehard fans. It's telling those of us who just turn in every week for an interesting, entertaining family show that we're not wanted - as some of the negative comments directed at "casual viewers" in these blogs testify.

The mystery is, I presume clever - Moffat is a clever writer. But turning Dr Who into a memory test isn't.

and -

it's all a bit much for everyone who doesn't enjoy having to put that much effort into Saturday night entertainment.

I look back on the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant episodes with wistful nostalgia - good entertainment but not necessitating sustaining a photographic memory of each moment in each episode throughout the entire series (and into future series).

Mr Moffat clearly enjoys changing Doctor Who in the way he has, and he's clearly creating enjoyment for a small tribe of like-minded people, but he may just be writing himself into a shark-jump from which it will be difficult to recover.

I, too, look back with a sense of nostalgia - to the days when the plot made sense as I was watching it.

Comments

[caz963.livejournal.com]

I think you and lemony69 are spot on about the majority of people being distracted by the cleverness. And for me, even if the baby turns out to be Rory's (although if it is, why is it so special?) or the story diverts off in some other way in which that turns out not to have been Amy at all, or something along those lines, it still doesn't excuse those really disturbing images. If I'm watching something late at night then I know there might be things in it that I may not want to see, but this was at just before 7.30pm on a Saturday evening, and I couldn't have avoided it if I'd wanted to. My girls have both seen the episode, and fortunately dont' seem to have been too upset by the ending, although I did have serious reservations about letting my eldest (going on twelve) see it (she was out at a friend's when it aired). I haven't asked them what they thought about it yet.

fans continue to apologize for Moffat

*nods* Not that I was expecting any different - there have always been the Moffat apologists for whom he can do no wrong (or who won't admit that he can) but I really thought there'd be more of an outcry about the direction this has taken.