Now that makes sense. I understand what you are saying.
Given that, I don't have an issue with it. I think it's a lot to ask that every single person out there 'get' Jack Harkness as a character. I don't think some people have the life experience to understand or deal with something like him. No matter how well he is presented, there will always be people who believe that about him. Even if they oversimplify him and take away a lot of the nuance and mystery that make him so appealing, I don't think very many of those people who still don't get that fact will.
I like louiex's Rorschach analogy, but I don't think it's a product of uneven writing. I think it's a product of the character that existed even in Moffat's original story. Jack is a an ink blot test on how people see society. Some people need labels and ritual and tradition to get by. They need to see things in black and white. No matter how fascinated they are with people like Jack, they can never 'get' him.
I think the same thing applies to Ianto, in a way. I think that a lot of what I'm hearing about him has more to do with the fact that the character is male instead of female. If Ianto were a woman I think people would be able to see how strong and able - and devious - he is. But because he's a man, who dares to sleep with and fall in love with a man, and dares to cry on screen, I think there are just people who will only see him as a woobie and a victim because they don't have the experience or the depth to understand that a man can have both qualities. It's a weird sort of reverse sexism.
no subject
Given that, I don't have an issue with it. I think it's a lot to ask that every single person out there 'get' Jack Harkness as a character. I don't think some people have the life experience to understand or deal with something like him. No matter how well he is presented, there will always be people who believe that about him. Even if they oversimplify him and take away a lot of the nuance and mystery that make him so appealing, I don't think very many of those people who still don't get that fact will.
I like louiex's Rorschach analogy, but I don't think it's a product of uneven writing. I think it's a product of the character that existed even in Moffat's original story. Jack is a an ink blot test on how people see society. Some people need labels and ritual and tradition to get by. They need to see things in black and white. No matter how fascinated they are with people like Jack, they can never 'get' him.
I think the same thing applies to Ianto, in a way. I think that a lot of what I'm hearing about him has more to do with the fact that the character is male instead of female. If Ianto were a woman I think people would be able to see how strong and able - and devious - he is. But because he's a man, who dares to sleep with and fall in love with a man, and dares to cry on screen, I think there are just people who will only see him as a woobie and a victim because they don't have the experience or the depth to understand that a man can have both qualities. It's a weird sort of reverse sexism.