#zzzleep

6:40 thoughts: I still find it vastly uncomfortable to see that Tumblr seems to divide, where Supernatural is concerned, between only two camps: one full of people whose only goal in life is to see two of the male characters end up together, whereas the other apparently consists of people who loathe the series on the ground of misogyny and queerbaiting. I’m a bit weirded out by the fact that the same ones complaining about the queerbaiting are actively promoting male-only stories that effectively erase female presence from the show, how little there is anyway, but hey, it’s Tumblr. I’m more disturbed by the lack of meta on my Dash. Supernatural’s first five seasons form a narrative arc that should be an example to many storytellers. Former showrunner Eric Kripke’s universe unfolded progressively, as the main characters were changing, their views and values evolving somewhat, the dynamics of their relationship a constant affair of ill-equilibrated balance and thus fascinating to watch—the world around them complicating while they were growing out of their father’s model… It used to be a surprisingly well-written show in many ways, with an impressive internal consistency that not many showrunners could pull off. It was long a curious and challenging mixture of typical CW bait and genuine storytelling ambition, with welcome nods to the X-Files and to Buffy from people who actually worked on both shows. People who criticise the most the series today, although perfectly right about the sexism and more than a part of the queerbaiting, often (always.) sound like their sole motivation is to see Dean and Castiel hook up, and that can’t be it. It’s very good if your happiness depends on those two finally snogging the living hell out of each other, but that can’t be the only reason... Somehow, it feels like it shouldn't be, or wanting to see it get better would only be a matter of kink preferences. Where's my delirious meta work on the narrative intricacy of the characters' psyche and the growing complexity of the demons proposed? Where are the essays on the family dynamics, including the ones underlining the merits of female character Mary Winchester who changed the way you could perceive women's roles in the Winchesters' life, retrospectively challenging the very notion of Mary's fridging? That's not a bad question, actually; why do the haters sound like the only thing they've seen is the later debacle of the show post-Kripke? Sometimes, I do wonder whether the trainwreck of the other seasons (in spite of a few good elements here and there, yes) isn't partly the fans' fault. As in, greedy producers thought they could capitalise on people's obsession with Destiel without actually getting as far as a gay relationship (No Homo! I'm half-certain sometimes that much queerbaiting happens because ill-advised writers are convinced that people will either be on the "joke", or swallow the mockery). Because, let's be frank: you spent so much of your time whining online about the crushing import of getting Dean and Castiel together, fans, as soon as Castiel winged his way into the show, after spending so much time pairing the brothers with each other, that you ended up convincing the showrunners that it really was the only thing that ever mattered to you. You *begged* to be queerbaited, my dears. For once, just once, it would be great if you didn't act like all that Internet craze is happening in a vacuum. You are certainly not guilty of making the showrunners and producers sexist and phobic of everything not white, male, and straight, but you are entirely responsible of the way you are perceived.