My apologies, I didn't phrase that sentence too effectively and didn't mean to imply that the scene was meant to be comic or that I saw it that way. Those were just two examples of attitudes I saw going unquestioned in the show and perhaps unwisely I yoked them together for effect.
Fair enough dude, though I'm still not sure I agree.
The comedy of Jezebel seems more to me to be centred around her, and her mother's, unshakeable belief that she's some kind of goddess walking amongst men. The massive chasm between her own self-image and how other people see her, and the way it's just smilingly accepted by others, is what they writers are putting up for amusement. Granted, it's far from subtly done, there's no real reason they had to pick an overweight actress for the part (aside from making sure to ram the joke home to people) but, I dunno, it strikes me as more a casual body fascism on the programme makers part then a "Ha! Let's all laugh at the fat girl!" sort of a thing if that makes any sense?
As for the other scene, that of Jack's reaction to Mark's cross-dressing, again I don't think it's as clear cut as someone just beating up a man in woman's clothes because he's wearing woman's clothes. In the previous scene where Mark's being made up by Zoe and Jezebel it's all done very casually, the lipstick and eyeliner action is just an unremarkable background to the talk about what brings various people to Meadowlands and there's no evidence there that the writers have steeped the thing in transphobia. Then comes the scene with Jack which is a bit more complex than 'man sees man in woman's clothing so hits him'. Jack's pretty much on the edge as it is and is desperately searching for Zoe because he's become convinced she's his salvation, his way out of the destructive pattern of only being aroused by fear. Firstly he's confused and disappointed when 'Zoe' turns out to be Mark, probably seeing his chance at salvation slipping away because he's supposed to be leaving Meadowlands imminently, then there's the fear reaction from Mark which doubtless sends confusing signals to his twisted sexuality and pushes him over the edge into violence. Maybe I'm being apologist here but it all seemed to fit with the plot and the character (as we know him thus far) so didn't seem overly gratuitous to me. And Jack's violence wasnt exactly unquestioned given what happens to the character directly afterwards, a fate that befalls him entirely because of his throttling of Mark. |
