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osprey_archerDay 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Probably “Un-American Graffiti,” although “Lord of the Pi’s” also gets a special NO in my heart because of the way that it deals with the Lilith House feminists. Still, whatever else is wrong with “Lord of the Pi’s,” at least it isn’t preachy, ham-handed, and overly pat in its message the way that “Un-American Graffiti” is.
Overly pat! That is not a description I ever thought I would have to apply to a Veronica Mars episode. Usually the episodes end with Veronica delivering some measure of justice, or at least finding the truth, but there usually isn’t the sense that everything is going to be okay. Most of the world is a sea of not-okay in Veronica Mars, and it’s too much for one person to fix, even though Veronica tries her hardest.
And, admittedly, it’s not like “Un-American Graffiti” ends by suggesting that Veronica has Fixed Racism. But nonetheless it feels like a Very Special Episode about racism, where the racism gets tidied up and put away at the end, rather than remaining as a constant insidious undertow in the characters’ lives.
I am not fond of Very Special Episodes in the first place, but I felt especially aggrieved to find one in Veronica Mars because generally the show is so aware of racism (classism, sexism, all the isms…) as a constant shaping force in the world. These are all things that Veronica sees and loathes all around her; there's no need for a very special episode. Confining the issue to one episode feels conciliatory, because it makes injustice feel smaller than it is.
Probably “Un-American Graffiti,” although “Lord of the Pi’s” also gets a special NO in my heart because of the way that it deals with the Lilith House feminists. Still, whatever else is wrong with “Lord of the Pi’s,” at least it isn’t preachy, ham-handed, and overly pat in its message the way that “Un-American Graffiti” is.
Overly pat! That is not a description I ever thought I would have to apply to a Veronica Mars episode. Usually the episodes end with Veronica delivering some measure of justice, or at least finding the truth, but there usually isn’t the sense that everything is going to be okay. Most of the world is a sea of not-okay in Veronica Mars, and it’s too much for one person to fix, even though Veronica tries her hardest.
And, admittedly, it’s not like “Un-American Graffiti” ends by suggesting that Veronica has Fixed Racism. But nonetheless it feels like a Very Special Episode about racism, where the racism gets tidied up and put away at the end, rather than remaining as a constant insidious undertow in the characters’ lives.
I am not fond of Very Special Episodes in the first place, but I felt especially aggrieved to find one in Veronica Mars because generally the show is so aware of racism (classism, sexism, all the isms…) as a constant shaping force in the world. These are all things that Veronica sees and loathes all around her; there's no need for a very special episode. Confining the issue to one episode feels conciliatory, because it makes injustice feel smaller than it is.
