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*Firefly is the exception. From what I remember. It's been a bit. With Firefly, my memory's telling me that while they bicker, this is a group that actually has each other's backs. Aside from Jayne, probably. They don't have quite the emotional abuse that the other 'teams' Whedon writes tend to have.
This is despite the fact that he's said he's trying to write dysfunctional "families"1.
I just want to put this out there, because so many people praise the teamwork he writes. I would not want to be a part of the Scoobies or the MCU Avengers. Dysfunctional is one thing. 'Teams' where every member is emotionally abusive to each other are not my cup of tea. And don't get me wrong, I love Buffy and the MCU. But I didn't realize exactly how dysfunctional the MCU and the Scoobies were until I started a) reading fanfic and other interactions with the universes and b) for the MCU, watching Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Avengers Assemble. I love b. It gives me all of the teamwork I didn't realize I was missing. It does a good job at not having everyone be self-loathing (I'm sick of angst/dumb teenager stuff--I'd say I grew out of it but the truth is despite slight depression I never did the teenage angst thing and slight depression is probably why I hate angst so much, because to me angst is stasis, it prevents action). And despite rather large differences of opinion (re: Cap and Iron Man), there's respect there.
We need stuff in the media that shows that it's perfectly fine to respect those with a different opinion. We need to stop normalizing emotional abuse.
So, what did Whedon do, exactly?
He gave us all beautiful, expansive playgrounds to play in. A number of the fans writing there show much more healthy teams, or at least address the issues therein. (Or they justify why one character they love is right rather than fixing all the issues that everyone on the show/movie perpetrates, which...really?)
Unfortunately, he also put in place a system in which it's perfectly acceptable for fans of the various superheroes to declare each other horrible people or to glorify abusive or otherwise unhealthy relationships. And not everyone seems to realize that, which is even more dangerous.
*I didn't mention Dollhouse. There's a reason for that. The dysfunctional stuff and emotional abuse is accompanied by other types of abuse. But it made sense for the story. The whole thing is meant to be messed up. The others are actually supposed to be good teams.
1. http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/the-avengers-are-super-dysfunctional-1.3694995
This is despite the fact that he's said he's trying to write dysfunctional "families"1.
I just want to put this out there, because so many people praise the teamwork he writes. I would not want to be a part of the Scoobies or the MCU Avengers. Dysfunctional is one thing. 'Teams' where every member is emotionally abusive to each other are not my cup of tea. And don't get me wrong, I love Buffy and the MCU. But I didn't realize exactly how dysfunctional the MCU and the Scoobies were until I started a) reading fanfic and other interactions with the universes and b) for the MCU, watching Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Avengers Assemble. I love b. It gives me all of the teamwork I didn't realize I was missing. It does a good job at not having everyone be self-loathing (I'm sick of angst/dumb teenager stuff--I'd say I grew out of it but the truth is despite slight depression I never did the teenage angst thing and slight depression is probably why I hate angst so much, because to me angst is stasis, it prevents action). And despite rather large differences of opinion (re: Cap and Iron Man), there's respect there.
We need stuff in the media that shows that it's perfectly fine to respect those with a different opinion. We need to stop normalizing emotional abuse.
So, what did Whedon do, exactly?
He gave us all beautiful, expansive playgrounds to play in. A number of the fans writing there show much more healthy teams, or at least address the issues therein. (Or they justify why one character they love is right rather than fixing all the issues that everyone on the show/movie perpetrates, which...really?)
Unfortunately, he also put in place a system in which it's perfectly acceptable for fans of the various superheroes to declare each other horrible people or to glorify abusive or otherwise unhealthy relationships. And not everyone seems to realize that, which is even more dangerous.
*I didn't mention Dollhouse. There's a reason for that. The dysfunctional stuff and emotional abuse is accompanied by other types of abuse. But it made sense for the story. The whole thing is meant to be messed up. The others are actually supposed to be good teams.
1. http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/the-avengers-are-super-dysfunctional-1.3694995
