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lunabee34LaPrincesseNini is an SGA vidder that makes narrative vids that I find very surprising in an awesome way. (Find all hir vids HERE).
I'm used to narrative vids that take the most popular pairings in a fandom--McShep or Sparky or Wincest or Jack/Daniel or Sam/Jack--and make from clips of the show a narrative that runs parallel to but is very different from what canon is explicitly showing us. It helps that in canon, many of these characters really are gazing at each other with expressions that look a hell of a lot like naked desire, wistful longing, and the unbearable palpitations of their wee little hearts. Do TPTB mean for Sheppard's soulful glances at Rodney to signify that they're doing it in the transporter after briefings? Probably not, but Sheppard and Rodney really are giving each other those looks, whatever they mean. Same thing with Sam and Jack, although to be fair, TPTB probably do mean for those looks to signify the unworkable Epic True Love canon hints that those two share.
So what's really startling and cool to me is to see these same images used in different ways that controvert fanon, especially when those images are used in vids that narrate a story about a rare pairing.
Unfaithful is a vid that tells the story of a Rodney who is cheating on Sheppard with Carson. In addition to being astonishingly well edited and well suited to the music chosen, this vid shocks me as a viewer by taking images that in the context of other vids are used to demonstrate the depth of John and Rodney's positive romantic feelings and using them to demonstrate John's anger and sadness and Rodney's guilt. In this vid, John's despair and helplessness is palpable, and I buy the story LePrincesseNini tells here of a John driven to hurt himself by Rodney's infidelity and a Rodney who commits suicide as a result of his guilt.
Even more shocking is this untitled vid that pairs Sheppard and Michael with Beckett thrown in the mix in a way I can't quite parse yet. This is a dense vid and I've watched it the least of all I'm reccing here. This is a quite fucked up Sheppard. I almost don't want to say anything about what happens because it's so shocking when you see it for the first time. I think this vid is a very subtle AU; clues from the song lead me to believe that Carson is the one with the power in the world of this vid. He's the one who has made Michael; he's the God in the song. And twice over, the vid implies that Sheppard kills Carson for what he's done. Wow.
I already talked about Sober but I've watched it at least twenty times more since I recced it, and I have More to Say about it. We get very few episodes that show Ronon having difficulty integrating into society or dealing with the ramifications of Running for 7 years. He should be insane. He should be incredibly psychologically damaged, but 99% of the time, the show presents him as just fine and dandy. I think the show forgot how much it damaged him half the time. The Ronon in this vid is just barely holding it together; he's terribly broken, and this vid is an exploration of his coping methods.
He doesn't want to be "the girl who laughs a lot," "the girl who never wants to be alone," or "the girl who has to fill the silence." He can't use gregarious social situations or humor to hide his hurt. He doesn't want to surround himself with people, and the one woman he does express an interest in moving on with isn't interested in him. He doesn't want to fill the silence but he's so afraid of the quiet. I think sometimes of how terribly lonely it must have been for him to speak to no one for such a long period of time and how silence must be both a comfort and a terror for Ronon. We see him flirt with joining Ford and his crusade, and we see him as a Wraith worshipper hopped up on enzyme. None of these things fix him; none of them fill the void that's in him. LaPrincesseNini uses addiction as a metaphor for the masks that Ronon wears, the way he's quietly coming undone. He uses his physical prowess as a mask, his silence as a mask. The song lyrics say, "trying to find the you that you once had," and that's Ronon's mission in this vid--trying to get himself back to the man that he once was. Unfortunately, he's unsuccessful. The only answer for him is death, and in the glare of the light that consumes him, we see the positive relationships he's had, the friendships that should be enough to heal him but aren't. Really, really, really powerful. Also, there's this cool shot where two moons are transposed over Ronon's eyes; very nice image.
And finally, this one goes outside the cut because it's just that awesome. This is the best SGA vid I have ever seen. Hands down. No contest. Five Years Of... is what I love about SGA and what I love about the show. The chorus of this song begins, "Be my friend," and I love the moments used over that line: Ronon stepping in front of Rodney when Koyla threatens the team, Elizabeth patting Rodney on the back, Teyla taking Jennifer's hand. There's a moment at 2:42 that I can't place from the show but it looks a heck of a lot like Elizabeth protecting Ford which rocks so hard I can't even say. Every damn time I watch this, I cry, because it is so sweet and bittersweet and all the reasons that I am still fannish about SGA. I encourage all of you to watch this one even if you give the others a pass.
I'm used to narrative vids that take the most popular pairings in a fandom--McShep or Sparky or Wincest or Jack/Daniel or Sam/Jack--and make from clips of the show a narrative that runs parallel to but is very different from what canon is explicitly showing us. It helps that in canon, many of these characters really are gazing at each other with expressions that look a hell of a lot like naked desire, wistful longing, and the unbearable palpitations of their wee little hearts. Do TPTB mean for Sheppard's soulful glances at Rodney to signify that they're doing it in the transporter after briefings? Probably not, but Sheppard and Rodney really are giving each other those looks, whatever they mean. Same thing with Sam and Jack, although to be fair, TPTB probably do mean for those looks to signify the unworkable Epic True Love canon hints that those two share.
So what's really startling and cool to me is to see these same images used in different ways that controvert fanon, especially when those images are used in vids that narrate a story about a rare pairing.
Unfaithful is a vid that tells the story of a Rodney who is cheating on Sheppard with Carson. In addition to being astonishingly well edited and well suited to the music chosen, this vid shocks me as a viewer by taking images that in the context of other vids are used to demonstrate the depth of John and Rodney's positive romantic feelings and using them to demonstrate John's anger and sadness and Rodney's guilt. In this vid, John's despair and helplessness is palpable, and I buy the story LePrincesseNini tells here of a John driven to hurt himself by Rodney's infidelity and a Rodney who commits suicide as a result of his guilt.
Even more shocking is this untitled vid that pairs Sheppard and Michael with Beckett thrown in the mix in a way I can't quite parse yet. This is a dense vid and I've watched it the least of all I'm reccing here. This is a quite fucked up Sheppard. I almost don't want to say anything about what happens because it's so shocking when you see it for the first time. I think this vid is a very subtle AU; clues from the song lead me to believe that Carson is the one with the power in the world of this vid. He's the one who has made Michael; he's the God in the song. And twice over, the vid implies that Sheppard kills Carson for what he's done. Wow.
I already talked about Sober but I've watched it at least twenty times more since I recced it, and I have More to Say about it. We get very few episodes that show Ronon having difficulty integrating into society or dealing with the ramifications of Running for 7 years. He should be insane. He should be incredibly psychologically damaged, but 99% of the time, the show presents him as just fine and dandy. I think the show forgot how much it damaged him half the time. The Ronon in this vid is just barely holding it together; he's terribly broken, and this vid is an exploration of his coping methods.
He doesn't want to be "the girl who laughs a lot," "the girl who never wants to be alone," or "the girl who has to fill the silence." He can't use gregarious social situations or humor to hide his hurt. He doesn't want to surround himself with people, and the one woman he does express an interest in moving on with isn't interested in him. He doesn't want to fill the silence but he's so afraid of the quiet. I think sometimes of how terribly lonely it must have been for him to speak to no one for such a long period of time and how silence must be both a comfort and a terror for Ronon. We see him flirt with joining Ford and his crusade, and we see him as a Wraith worshipper hopped up on enzyme. None of these things fix him; none of them fill the void that's in him. LaPrincesseNini uses addiction as a metaphor for the masks that Ronon wears, the way he's quietly coming undone. He uses his physical prowess as a mask, his silence as a mask. The song lyrics say, "trying to find the you that you once had," and that's Ronon's mission in this vid--trying to get himself back to the man that he once was. Unfortunately, he's unsuccessful. The only answer for him is death, and in the glare of the light that consumes him, we see the positive relationships he's had, the friendships that should be enough to heal him but aren't. Really, really, really powerful. Also, there's this cool shot where two moons are transposed over Ronon's eyes; very nice image.
And finally, this one goes outside the cut because it's just that awesome. This is the best SGA vid I have ever seen. Hands down. No contest. Five Years Of... is what I love about SGA and what I love about the show. The chorus of this song begins, "Be my friend," and I love the moments used over that line: Ronon stepping in front of Rodney when Koyla threatens the team, Elizabeth patting Rodney on the back, Teyla taking Jennifer's hand. There's a moment at 2:42 that I can't place from the show but it looks a heck of a lot like Elizabeth protecting Ford which rocks so hard I can't even say. Every damn time I watch this, I cry, because it is so sweet and bittersweet and all the reasons that I am still fannish about SGA. I encourage all of you to watch this one even if you give the others a pass.
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Date: 2009-10-02 12:55 pm (UTC)Thanks for sharing! I'll keep checking out what you rec. :)
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Date: 2009-10-02 08:30 pm (UTC):)
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Date: 2009-10-03 01:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-04 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-05 12:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-05 02:26 pm (UTC)