2 Oct 2014 01:38 pm
10 Greats Meme: Sarah Manning
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frayadjacentEach day, write a post about one of your favorite women, trans*, and/or genderqueer characters. A tribute, a defense, an epic meta, a bullet-points list of why you love them, whatever you like! Or post a rec for a vid, fic, meta, or other fanwork that illustrates why you love them.
My first post is about Sarah Manning, my favorite character in Orphan Black, and one of my favorites in general.
Sarah is not a typical protagonist, especially of a genre show. Most shows of this type would choose the cop, Beth, or maybe the corporate boss, Rachel, as the main character. But Orphan Black has somewhat marginalized these character types by killing one of them and making the other an antagonist. Instead, our heros are punks, people living on the margins of society and outside the formal economy.
Of course, like Mrs S says, Sarah found the punk music and subculture but ignored the politics. In her youth Siobhan fought for a better world, but not Sarah. At the start of the show she's fairly selfish, particularly in taking advantage of a suicide to run off with a daughter she's not prepared to provide a stable life for.
Over the course of the first season, Sarah learns to fight back, not just for her own interests but for others too. She finds a community of sorts, people she cares about and will fight for. She develops a stronger sense of morality and tries to do what is right and not just what is easy. And she maintains a strong distrust of authority, as opposed to Cosima and Allison who are more easily duped by Dyad's machinations.
I love how flexible and adaptable she is. This is something I often notice and admire in characters because it's a trait I lack. Now, it's pretty common for television to feature characters who can deal with change (Allison is a rare example of someone who can't, which I appreciate seeing!) because, well, they have to keep up with the plot. But with Sarah this trait is elevated to a strong skill, one that totally makes sense given her background and the kind of work she's done in the past.
I adore Sarah's relationship with Felix, which is sometimes tense but also the emotional bedrock of the show. He caretakes while she protects and defends. I also have a lot of empathy for her fraught relationship with Siobhan. There's a lot of sadness and anger and mistrust there as well as a desire to trust. And her love of Kira, and her desire to be the kind of parent to Kira that she never had, combined with her horrible circumstances and lack of experience, is very compelling. As is her fundamental sense of compassion, which she brings to her relationships once she is able to trust a little.
My first post is about Sarah Manning, my favorite character in Orphan Black, and one of my favorites in general.
Sarah is not a typical protagonist, especially of a genre show. Most shows of this type would choose the cop, Beth, or maybe the corporate boss, Rachel, as the main character. But Orphan Black has somewhat marginalized these character types by killing one of them and making the other an antagonist. Instead, our heros are punks, people living on the margins of society and outside the formal economy.
Of course, like Mrs S says, Sarah found the punk music and subculture but ignored the politics. In her youth Siobhan fought for a better world, but not Sarah. At the start of the show she's fairly selfish, particularly in taking advantage of a suicide to run off with a daughter she's not prepared to provide a stable life for.
Over the course of the first season, Sarah learns to fight back, not just for her own interests but for others too. She finds a community of sorts, people she cares about and will fight for. She develops a stronger sense of morality and tries to do what is right and not just what is easy. And she maintains a strong distrust of authority, as opposed to Cosima and Allison who are more easily duped by Dyad's machinations.
I love how flexible and adaptable she is. This is something I often notice and admire in characters because it's a trait I lack. Now, it's pretty common for television to feature characters who can deal with change (Allison is a rare example of someone who can't, which I appreciate seeing!) because, well, they have to keep up with the plot. But with Sarah this trait is elevated to a strong skill, one that totally makes sense given her background and the kind of work she's done in the past.
I adore Sarah's relationship with Felix, which is sometimes tense but also the emotional bedrock of the show. He caretakes while she protects and defends. I also have a lot of empathy for her fraught relationship with Siobhan. There's a lot of sadness and anger and mistrust there as well as a desire to trust. And her love of Kira, and her desire to be the kind of parent to Kira that she never had, combined with her horrible circumstances and lack of experience, is very compelling. As is her fundamental sense of compassion, which she brings to her relationships once she is able to trust a little.
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I love Helena so much! I never would have expected that from Season 1. I was annoyed but unsurprised when she survived the S1 finale, but all it took was one or two episodes to have me totally rooting for her. That moment when she met the rest of her sisters was just wonderful and totally didn't bring tears to my eyes in case you were wondering.