tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post7864123347928298861..comments2024-03-24T03:19:39.745-04:00Comments on Just About Write: 5x12 "Basic Story" (To Live Is To Change, To Acquire The Words Of A Story)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-91135541883995987862014-04-14T20:26:07.362-04:002014-04-14T20:26:07.362-04:00The most interesting spin I've seen put on thi...The most interesting spin I've seen put on this (and I still don't think it defends Britta's desperation as well as it needs to) comes from Vulture:<br />"Jeff’s early infatuation with Britta was the catalyst for the study group coming together in the first place, and the creation of the study group was totally in line with Harmon’s Story Circle concept (step three, the protagonist’s “unfamiliar situation”). But the thing is, Jeff has been around the circle a couple of times now (Annie recognizes it, thus her eye-rolling at Jeff’s “I love Scotch, and myself" assertion; she knows there’s more to the guy at this point). Britta’s not really what he wants anymore; she’s just there, and Jeff is trying to preemptively put her in the impending void that Greendale’s closure will create. Britta’s doing the same thing by agreeing. This should bear itself out next week. There’s no way they’re going to get married, but don’t hold your breath for a Jeff and Annie coupling, either; it would just be more of the same, but with a larger age gap."<br /><br />Again, at this stage I ship Jeff/therapy. I mean, in the last six months (in show time) his business has gone under, he's started a new career at a much lower salary, one of his friends died, another left the country, he nearly died himself (at his own hand), and now his school/job/first real home is closing. Now is not a good time to be making any romantic decisions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-68008598943257192652014-04-14T17:10:47.165-04:002014-04-14T17:10:47.165-04:00'There’s a part of her that has probably alway...'There’s a part of her that has probably always known that she can’t live forever in the past, and for you, specifically, it’s time to understand that, despite these people being sitcom characters, they still must evolve.'<br /><br />Agreed but here's the kicker -- wasn't the entire conversation about Jeff and Britta pre-proposal negating what you JUST said above? The reason Britta said yes (and why Jeff asked) was seemingly BECAUSE of their desire to live in the past. They reminisced on the reason Jeff joined the group; Jeff had just lost Greendale, the most emotional and longest relationship he has ever had. And Britta didn't seem to jump into the marriage because she wanted to evolve -- she agreed (halfheartedly might I add) because of her fear of moving forward, not her desire to. Right? Isn't that the near-exact words of that scene? So, if that is what Harmon meant to convey, then how am I supposed to read Britta as a character?<br /><br />I don't think that by expressing distaste for this scene that I'm boxing Britta in. I, in fact, would argue that I'm doing the opposite. Doesn't Britta deserve to be with someone who wants to be with her for real? As the first choice and not out of some desperation? And doesn't she -- as someone who has been in relationships before -- deserve to say yes to someone not out of that same desperation and fear? How is agreeing to marry Jeff because she's afraid of the future in any way progressing her as character? Or Jeff? It's saying that Jeff is as desperate and as selfish as he was in the pilot and that Britta is worse; in the pilot she had standards and wouldn't sleep with Jeff because she had been jaded by men like him. In 5x12, she... what? Suddenly decides "what the hell, might as well do this because I don't know if there's anything else out there"? Britta deserves a LOT better than that and that's where I just don't understand. And if this was the other foot -- if this was Annie and not Britta -- I'd be just as disappointed and disgusted, believe you me. Annie doesn't deserve to be someone's rebound and neither does Britta. And no one deserves to be proposed to out of fear and desperation. Not a very solid foundation of a marriage, eh?<br /><br />'Besides, you’re doing it wrong. You’re looking at these characters within their confined tropes, within the prism of them fulfilling their sitcom roles – how about looking at why Britta says yes in terms of what a real person in her position would do? She’s just like everyone else – she wants meaning in her life, validation that she’s done some right, contributed in a way that she’s able to look back and say that she accomplished something.'<br /><br />The point I'm making is this: Britta may be scared and Jeff may be scared but after five years of Greendale -- five years of realizing that the outside world is scary but that they've been CHANGED because of it and are not the same terrified, selfish people they entered as -- these people SHOULD be acting differently. Jeff shouldn't be just as selfish, nor Britta just as jaded. And yet my feeling this season is that the message is that people don't really change at all. Or that what we've seen over five years is just a grand, crafted illusion. And if that is true, then I don't know what to make of a comedy seemingly about optimism that turns into pessimism.<br /><br />Oh, and I don't know if I'm "doing it wrong," but I AM doing it differently than you. And those two things, friend, are not synonymous.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11696902354009598893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-2216248689699029042014-04-14T16:55:01.274-04:002014-04-14T16:55:01.274-04:00You (and the other commenter) wonder why Britta sa...You (and the other commenter) wonder why Britta says ‘yes’ - if you paid attention to the Beta Male episode, it’s clear as to why she agrees. Britta’s always characterized an aversion to ‘selling out’, yet when she runs into her anarchist friends, she’s surprised by the fact that they’ve all endorsed their lives over to the status quo. This makes her realize that she can’t go on forever Banksy’ing shit, taking on whatever hot, topical cause and railing against it, and the ilk. She’s 33. There’s a part of her that has probably always known that she can’t live forever in the past, and for you, specifically, it’s time to understand that, despite these people being sitcom characters, they still must evolve. I notice a lot of you JA shippers tend to box Britta in because it's convenient for you to REMAIN boxed in. I mean, you mention that she’s an “independent woman” with no need to define herself through a man – dude, I know what you’re TRYING to say, but you sound like some generic "feminist" tripe straight out of some grrl ‘zine who THINK they know what feminism looks like. On top of that, Dan’s never painted her as a woman that was truly convicted to that type of aggro-feminism - that is, while she’s raging against the machine of a patriarchal society, there have always been glimpses of her wanting the stock traditional shit of being a wife and a mother. The show has referenced that at least 5 times over the course of the series, and yet, you think she’s someone still doesn’t need/want a man because…WHY? Because she complains about men? Because she wears leather jackets and is weird/odd/traditionally un-feminine like Annie? Because women can’t rail against the horrors of misogyny AND want to don the apron and heels and make a man feel good? Or is it because you need Britta to remain as two-dimensional as possible, enough to express disbelief because she wants to settle down? When she agrees to marry Jeff, it’s not OOC no matter how many leather jackets she owns. Also, I’m pretty sure the writers have a better idea of who Britta is than you. No offense, but how about cutting them some slack here, instead of viewing pivotal moments like the proposal as simply a wrench into your shipping proclivities, because I’m pretty sure if Annie was the recipient of the proposal, you’d be singing a very different tune here.<br /><br />Besides, you’re doing it wrong. You’re looking at these characters within their confined tropes, within the prism of them fulfilling their sitcom roles – how about looking at why Britta says yes in terms of what a real person in her position would do? She’s just like everyone else – she wants meaning in her life, validation that she’s done some right, contributed in a way that she’s able to look back and say that she accomplished something. Those are Basic Human Desires 101, and a lot of that can't happen without having a relationship of some type of others. Instead, you pin her to a stupid “she’s a feminist, feminists don’t need men!” parochial ideal that really does nothing to help your "review".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-82522298722577277412014-04-14T15:08:40.642-04:002014-04-14T15:08:40.642-04:00" It doesn't matter why Jeff decided to p..." It doesn't matter why Jeff decided to propose to Britta, because either way, I'm sure he loves her."<br /><br />Yes, yes it DOES matter why. If a guy proposed to you because he just wants to make himself feel better, you don't say yes. Because if you really love someone, you don't USE them. Which is what he's doing right now. If you buy that it makes sense for Britta to say yes, then she's just using him right back. That's not romance, that codependency.<br /><br />Jeff shouldn't have proposed to Britta. He shouldn't have proposed to ANYONE, because he doesn't really want to get married, he just can't handle Greendale (which, as Annie noted, is what he already WAS"settling down" with) closing. He's not in the right state of mind to be making these decisions.<br /><br />"Maybe the timing was wrong, but they should still end up together at the end."<br /><br />If there's a sixth season, we'll see about it. Right now, I ship Jeff/therapy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-75602457083884629592014-04-14T15:03:57.792-04:002014-04-14T15:03:57.792-04:00Britta had her identity crisis back in episode 7, ...Britta had her identity crisis back in episode 7, but she seemed to be feeling better. I'd imagine her switching her major randomly or running off to a foreign country or joining a commune to make herself feel like her life had meaning. If they meant Britta to be having a renewed interest in Jeff, I could buy that if it was set up, but they missed almost every opportunity. They could have been on the same team in "AAD&D," they could have done flirty snark in "VM&EP," they could have had an almost-kiss moment in "AD&C"... there's been nothing. I used to really like them as a couple, and while I've grown fonder of Jeff and Annie over the seasons (as Annie got older), and I could have been resold on it. But doing it this suddenly feels like massive character derailment for Britta.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-23752649509162068882014-04-14T14:50:31.732-04:002014-04-14T14:50:31.732-04:00Thank you for the comment! It was very out of char...Thank you for the comment! It was very out of character for Britta to be so desperate and needy and to agree to just get together with Jeff like that, no? We've seen no indications of her struggling with post-Greendale life or insecurities. It's just... very strange to have thrown that "twist" onto the end of an otherwise okay, if not a bit underwhelming, penultimate episode.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11696902354009598893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-1729819083168912612014-04-14T14:40:11.195-04:002014-04-14T14:40:11.195-04:00I'll let Dan Harmon take this one for me:
&qu...I'll let Dan Harmon take this one for me:<br /><br />"You stand Jeff next to Annie, you feel the energy crackle off the screen. In other ways than I thought, there is a distinct, chemical lack of chemistry between Jeff and Britta. There's a beautiful kind of ex-girlfriend/sibling, familiar bond between them. I really like to see them go on funny missions together, and I like to see Jeff and Annie go on more idealistic adventures, and I like to address the fact that "We're all gorgeous, and we're all single. I'm a man, you're a woman, and that makes things difficult. I have feelings.” And we do go there within the 13 episodes in a relatively large way. Obviously I can't really go into more detail than that." (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/01/dan-harmon-on-his-surprising-return-to-community-and-his-approach-to-season-5?page=2)Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11696902354009598893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-47467411136936863752014-04-14T14:03:01.076-04:002014-04-14T14:03:01.076-04:00I think Britta ending up with Jeff would be amazin...I think Britta ending up with Jeff would be amazing. They are such a great fit for each other, and the whole Jeff/Annie is disturbing because of the age difference. Plus, Annie is soooo different from Jeff. Jeff can't even be himself without Annie scolding him. Britta and Jeff hate each other as much as they can't stand being away from each other. It doesn't matter why Jeff decided to propose to Britta, because either way, I'm sure he loves her. Maybe the timing was wrong, but they should still end up together at the end. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6678481478994191244.post-17372120245719498042014-04-11T12:32:18.416-04:002014-04-11T12:32:18.416-04:00"Why did Britta say yes to Jeff, anyway? Is s..."Why did Britta say yes to Jeff, anyway? Is she really THAT desperate, too?"<br /><br />Quoted because thank you. Way too many reviewers are focusing on this proposal as par tof Jeff's journey, and I can actually buy that even if it feels like he's being an idiot, I get it, he's going through a midlife crisis. I just hope he comes through all this mess a better man.<br /><br />But what about Britta? Why does this make sense with anything we know about her character? She and Jeff have barely interacted this season. It just doesn't fit that she'd say yes... unless she's higher than usual, anyway. That's my current theory.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com