An alternative perspective

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nextboldmove_/]

EDIT: This is a post for people to talk about WHY THEY WILL STILL WATCH. This isn't for people to reinterate sexism, why CBS sucks, etc. Please keep that in consideration!

I want to try something, and I'm sure it might not go over well. Mods...use your powers if you feel it right. But I think we need this here.

There are some of us, while sad AJ is leaving, who aren't going to stop watching the show. We may have thought some of the protests went too far. We may be excited for the change in team chemistry. Basically, we're gonna give it a shot.

We're also afraid that however calm and articulate we are, we'll be seen as flamers or we'll be flamed. I thought this could be the post for those of us who need to get this off our chests. Need to vent in another direction.

Feel free to be anon. I'd urge nobody to slam other fans, just talk about what they hope for season 6, why they aren't going to stop watching, etc. I don't want ANYONE ON ANY SIDE to feel insulted.

Whadda ya think?

EDIT: This is a 'Why I will watch' thread, not yet another place for people to state 'why they won't watch.'

Comments

[tragicllyhip.livejournal.com]

Thats a long long discussion that this situation is only a dent in. I do think both characters were portrayed a lot better than most females on television, which is why i liked them both so much. I find most female characters on TV unrelatable for the most part--they're either too tough or too whimpy--CM's girls managed to have a nice balance of strength and femininity and I applaud them for that. My thought is that J.J was the most expendable because she wasn't a profiler. Paget is getting a slight reduction, so I'm happy about that, and they are bringing another female on the show...so I don't know.

The audience is to blame as well, and I know I'm partly guilty, because when it comes down to it, the mere fact that I'm female makes the male characters appeal to me more than the female, because there's the attraction factor. Whether its human nature or not i have no idea, but whatever it is, CBS does not shoulder the blame for all of it.

The way they did it sucked, but its a corporation, how many people arrive at work on a Friday morning to be told to clean out their desks with no warning.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nextboldmove_/]

I agree with you, and I should have expounded on my own comment. I see both sides, I really do. My problem is that I try to push opposing viewpoints, even if I don't agree with them, to see where it takes both myself and others in a forum/discussion.

I don't participate in comments much on LJ, so I forgot how things work on here, which I guess is why people see me as they do. That's my fault.

[tragicllyhip.livejournal.com]

And also, if it wasn't clear, i do completely agree with you. Working in an industry thats all about demographics is very disheartening--males buy more cars and cars pay the most in advertising, thats the bottom line. I don't know what can be done about it, but i think there is more of an impact to be made challenging these values outside of a tv show. I hope this insights some to question what they see everyday. I'm grateful to have enough strong wonderful women in my life that i don't need to look to TV, but quite a few aren't so lucky and every little bit helps.

[aratama.livejournal.com]

I believe I should qualify that statement with a source (http://thehathorlegacy.com/why-women-cant-vote-with-their-dollars-in-film-and-tv/), because it sounds preposterous. But it's not.

[felicity-c.livejournal.com]

I think I'll keep watching Criminal Minds. I don't necessarily think it was a sexist decision, JJ unfortunately is the easiest to wrap up, but a bottom line one.

I feel for the actress coming up though. She might be beaten over the head by the fandom. Best of Luck to her though.

I signed the petition and did what I could. but the fact that Criminal Minds is a television show, and AJ Cook will be perfectly fine was not lost on me. I think so fans got carried away but hey, thats them. I understood why they got so caught up in it. But AJ Cook did well on Criminal Minds and was very graceful about her exit, so she's has a lot going for her.

[ahwannabe.livejournal.com]

The only way I'll stop watching the show is if the writing just gets too sucky, period. Which may yet happen, cast cuts notwithstanding. In the last season only about a third of the episodes were up to snuff, in my opinion, and if it gets any worse I'm going to give up. It's a shame, but that's how it usually goes with TV shows.

[doverz.livejournal.com]

Word.

[doverz.livejournal.com]

Standing ovation!!! I agree with everything you said.

[doverz.livejournal.com]

My decision not to watch isn't about me being butthurt over Em and JJ. It's because without strong female characters, I simply am no longer interested in CM anymore. Even if JJ amd Em weren't my favorites--Hotch is--having them there is important.

ITA with everything, but this especially. Reid is my favorite character on the show, but I can't watch a show where the male perspective is going to be the one we see 24/7. Yeah, there are more males than females, but the female characters balance out the testosterone. We get to see Hotch and Morgan kick ass, but we also get to see JJ and Emily sympathize with the characters as well as being bad asses.

I'm going to watch JJ's two episodes and then probably two more episodes. If I don't like what I'm seeing, then I'm not watching after that. I'll have the first 5 seasons to go back through and watch.

[antoinettemason.livejournal.com]

you seem to be contradicting yourself in your comments. you claim here that you're trying to push opposing viewpoints/promote discussion, yet upthread and in your edit you say this is a "why i will still watch" post. one says you welcome discussion, the other says you only want to hear views that agree with yours. which is it?

i also think a lot of the flak you (and a few others) are getting here is coming from those who are taking a strong feminist stance on the issue perceiving a complete denial of the sexism involved in cbs' decision. i don't think anyone is berating anyone else for their decision to keep watching; their issue is more that they feel like they're seeing cbs' sexism denied/explained away/justified and that's what they're taking issue with. the commenters who've said that they're still planning to watch, while still acknowledging the sexism inherent in cbs' actions haven't received any negative comments that i've seen.

personally, i'll admit that i'm deeply torn. i love the show, and i love the remaining characters, but i can't help feeling a bit skeevy in continuing to support a network that treats women so disrespectfully. at the moment, i'm more leaning towards not watching than watching, but if i do continue watching i don't think i'm going to be very comfortable with it.

[xxchelsosaurus.livejournal.com]

Do I like what's happening? No, I signed the petition and whatnot, but the final decision isn't up to me.

I was upset that Mandy left, but I continued watching. And I will continue to watch this show until I can't stand inane banter or redundant story lines.

As a woman, the fact that two strong-willed female characters are getting cut from the show isn't lost on me. Was it a sexist decision? Possibly, I don't know. But I have a feeling that because Paget and A.J are phenomenal actresses, their best is yet to come.

[lostandalone22.livejournal.com]

Reid's my favorite character. As long as they don't do anything to him (outside of what I want them to do to him), I'm gonna keep watching the series.

I'm bummed about AJ and Paget, but it's at a point where I've had to filter my flist, because all I was seeing is posts about that.

[dragonladyk.livejournal.com]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I watch the show for Hotch. So until they royally fuck him up beyond all reason like they did with Grissom on CSI, I'll still be tuning in.

That being said, it's looking to me like a JTS-moment for Hotch is all but inevitable at this point.

Dragonlady

[thedoublefold.livejournal.com]

First let me say that I love both AJ and Paget and their respective characters, but I love this show as a whole even more. For a while now I've been thinking that the quality of the show was being put in jeopardy simply because of an excess in characters that share roughly the same role. What I mean is you could take the better part of any character's dialogue and interchange it with that of somebody else's and nobody would notice (with the exception of Garcia's dialogue). I'm not sure if I'm explaining this right, but what I mean is that for the most part the dialogue lacks character. It's like the writers went 'one line for him, one line for her, one line for him,....' and so on. For that reason I'm not entirely put off by the fact that there's going to be one less character for now.

I am scared about the new character they have planned - I don't want a one dimensional character like the one from the spin-off. But I was scared about the same things when Elle left -and we ended up with Prentiss - and when Gideon left - and we ended up with Rossi. I think we need to have faith in the writers and the cast. Aside from the spin-off they haven't let us down yet. This is an amazing cast and crew who seems to be exceptionally friendly and accommodating when it comes to their fans and I think we need to remember that this show is also their bread and butter at the moment. I think the remaining cast and crew deserves our continuing support.

[cailinamour.livejournal.com]

I feel exactly the same.. If they give AJ a brilliant exit, then I'll be okay, and the same on her replacement. I couldn't stand Jordan Todd, every thing she did annoyed me. Hopefully, this won't be the same. Love Emily, but at least she's not axed..
I feel the same on JJ's replacement though, definitely! :)