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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:27:21 GMT -5
I just got back from grad school and I have to weigh in on this whole naked Spike issue. I think his nakedness could be an allusion to his having a soul, and the fact that he's laying himself naked before Buffy (metaphorically, of course), showing her his true self, as he doesn't have his evil to hide behind anymore. I think this metaphorical nakedness was most evident in the church scene in "Beneath You," with Spike's "service the girl" comment, with which Spike explained his whole sexual relationship with Buffy (from his POV). Also, on a less philosophical note, Spike and Xander are the only guys on the show, and I think Spike has more of a reason to be naked than Xander does (though I'm still a little hot and bothered from the memory of Xander in that tiny Speedo in "Go Fish"). Edited By Chimene Mata at 12/2/2002 9:38:00 PM.
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:27:55 GMT -5
I think you may have something here.
I've taken a few costume design courses (one with the Late, Great Patricia Zipprodt).
If there is a Blue Forshadowing Theme thing going it was most likely a private touch (read: secret code) created by the designer and may not even be known or talked about with the writers of the show.
In any case GREAT OBSERVATION!!!!
Wayne Blood
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:28:35 GMT -5
Ah, H2O - What can I say about expectations for the Spike? There's obviously some heavy symbolism brewing. The fact that it involves nakedness could make it go either way. I, for one, would happily wash the vampire's feet and dry them with my hair, but if he ends up on a cross in a loin cloth I will personally drop kick my television off the balcony into on-coming traffic.
Spike haters crave the dust. Buffy haters chorus *Bored Now.* B/S shippers need to get a life. Soul survivors need to-get-over-it and redeem the value of the snarky warrior within.
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:28:56 GMT -5
Taking notes furiously,"...use of nudity to symbolize Spike’s being stripped of all façade..." Got it. Sounds good to me!
Yours truly, Gutter Mind
P.S. Is there going to be a test on this? Please?
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:29:22 GMT -5
Yes, Alexandra, there will be a test. So you must all march over to your VCRs and study the current trends and be prepared to analyse them. I'm sure this won't be a hardship for you.
PS: I'm actually off to check my tape of Spike in bed when Anya came in. I still haven't noticed any extra weight, so I think I should study myself.
M.
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:29:56 GMT -5
What deep philosophical message is being imparted when Spike strips off his shirt in his “Out of My Mind” dream?
A)He is offering Buffy his true, unadorned self
B)He is casting off the evil ways of his undead existence for Buffy
C)Slayers are less likely to slay you if you look good enough to eat
What is the metaphorical meaning of Spike exposing himself to Riley in “As You Were”?
A)It symbolically reassures Riley that Spike has nothing to hide.
B)Spike is showing strength through vulnerability
C)It suggests Spike is the bigger man.
Well, I am exhausted from so much intellectual pursuit. Whew.
Edited By Spring Summers at 12/3/2002 9:52:00 AM.
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:30:45 GMT -5
40? Where did you here 40? I thought he was no more than 31.
But I have played the last two episodes over and over and compared it to the only older episode I have on tape, which is the one where he gets the Buffybot and is taken prisoner by Glory (sorry, don't know the name). I had been trying to tell myself that the difference was all in my imagination but I'm afraid the contrast all too real.
That's the trouble with portraying an immortal.The character is meant to be forever physically unchanging but the actor in the role is all to human.
JM is NOT by any means flabby, anwhere. But while in in the Buffyverse Spike should be forever young, unlined, and rail thin, JM has filled out a bit to the point where he is merely slim rather than Sid Vicious thin. The sharp planes of his face are a little less defined, and, dare I say, his forehead has grown just a little higher.
Part of me is a bit ashamed of myself for even writing this because who among us would be happy under the high powered microscope with which we scrutinize JM's every physical feature?
He is an extrordinary talent, first and formost. But any signs of aging or change in weight in an immortal character are unfortunately, an unavoidable distraction that I, for one, must struggle to NOT allow any interference with my whatchamacallit- Suspension of Disbelief.
deborah cohen
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:31:39 GMT -5
Study him when Buffy kicks him out of bed after she's seen him hit on the *I like bad boys, so lets have sex in the alley* bimbo. He's shirtless in said leather pants. Compare that to Spike having his shirt ripped off by inviso- Buffy in Season 6. (The Pauses button is necessary, and a glass of wine and a cigarette may also seem appropriate). There are PR shots of JM in leather pants from a couple of years ago. So he either owns some, or was given some for the shoot. The ones he's wearing now are still too big for him in the legs. I'd rather see him back in the black jeans.At least they fit. And that blue, stretchy t-shirt thingy? Burn it!
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:32:15 GMT -5
(C), Definitely (C)!
Rusty Goode
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:33:42 GMT -5
Yes, a topic close to my heart. All this season, my poor husband has had to hear me complain about JM's obvious weight gain and showing his true age (yes I've read that he is somewhere in the upper 30's and it does show).
Is he still hot -- yeah. Still, on FX where they are showing the repeats of season 6, I get to compare.
I miss his cheekbones (that hollow under them is not there anymore). I noticed his "new" stomach in the second episode "Beneath You", and the lines in his forehead.
JM is still one of the best actors ever, but he started off as pretty close to physical perfection, and now like the rest of us he's getting older.
How unfair of us to judge him, but how human we are.
But we're still going to love him -- right girls/women?? Right!!
Judith Goldberg
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:35:09 GMT -5
Okay, just when I thought I was going to leave this board, the Scoopme people start some topic with Spike and nakedness -- and my intellectual side of Buffy is thrown to the wind and my true Spikelust is showing.
One more thing I miss about Spike -- they are no longer darkening his eyebrows to black. No more black eye make-up either.
Sometimes I can't see his scar because his eyebrows are a more natural color. I know he has a soul, but can't I keep the eyebrows?
Okay, I will now put my Spikelust away, and again convince myself that I watch the show for so many other reasons -- not him, and that my heart doesn't go "pop" everytime he appears on screen (even when he was wearing that stupid blue ballet shirt).
Yeah, to the person who mentioned blue, they definitely use it for something. I noticed it too.
Okay, no more Spike, no more Spike, no more Spike (it's a chant my therapist taught me).
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:36:42 GMT -5
Okay, just when I thought I was going to leave this board, the Scoopme people start some topic with Spike and nakedness -- and my intellectual side of Buffy is thrown to the wind and my true Spikelust is showing.
One more thing I miss about Spike -- they are no longer darkening his eyebrows to black. No more black eye make-up either.
Sometimes I can't see his scar because his eyebrows are a more natural color. I know he has a soul, but can't I keep the eyebrows?
Okay, I will now put my Spikelust away, and again convince myself that I watch the show for so many other reasons -- not him, and that my heart doesn't go "pop" everytime he appears on screen (even when he was wearing that stupid blue ballet shirt).
Yeah, to the person who mentioned blue, they definitely use it for something. I noticed it too.
Okay, no more Spike, no more Spike, no more Spike (it's a chant my therapist taught me).
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:38:35 GMT -5
Check out JM's page on imdb.com
While the year of his birth is "19??", read the rest of the miscellaneous trivia and bio of James. I believe it says something like a search of the births on public record in California show that one James Wesley Marsters was born on August 20, 1962. Which would make him 40. Of course if I were truly psychotic I would try to also find out what years he attended Julliard, but I won't go there. I believe it.
Athene V
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:39:18 GMT -5
You'll notice that Spike's not smoking cigarettes this season. Apparently because JM has quit or is trying to quit. Which is a damn good reason for a little weight gain.
I watched a rerun of "Afterlife" tonight and was once again blown away by his performance. I mean, seriously good, and at his best when he's not saying a damn word, staring soulfully with a lump in his throat...
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Post by Dalton on Oct 29, 2003 18:39:59 GMT -5
I never would have guessed that he was 40!! Any way you slice it, he still looks better than most of the men on TV. I am not normally this appreciative of how TV/movie stars look, but he gives me butterflies that I haven't felt since Rob Lowe graced the cover of Tiger Beat! Not to mention something about him reminds me of a high school boyfriend. I've missed a good chunk of Season 6. Is there really a Naked Spike episode that I should watch for?
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