Frustrating. This most recent discussion is pointless and frustrating. Every few months fandom gets itself in a tizzy over another fan’s proclamation that admiring RA’s physical assets is somehow dehumanizing or that seeing him in a sexual light takes away his human dignity. It sparks a war between the fans who feel that way and those who lust over him and ponder the size of his package (no, I don’t mean the one that just got delivered).
I believe everyone has a right to their opinion and should follow their conscious and can go ahead a blog about it until their fingers fall off if that makes them happy. I just wish opinions were expressed in a manner that does not put others down if they don’t agree with the blogger. Mutual respect. That being said, here’s my opinion. After reading this, I realized that I lean more towards objectification and that I’m OK with it. I’m not a huge movie person and not really impressed by acting ability or anything like that. I go more by my “gut” feel and RA makes my gut feel good (along with a few other parts). On the other hand, I appreciate Hiddles but that’s another discussion.
Rich has taken roles where he has allowed himself to be filmed just about naked. In my mind, someone who takes those roles should expect that some people will be titillated sexually seeing that. Being that RA took these roles, I have the suspicion that he doesn’t mind. In fact, someone who was as dorky as he was during his teen years probably gets off on the fact that men and women get off looking at him now.
Richard Armitage, Between the Sheets. I personally wouldn’t do stuff like this on film if I didn’t want to be seen in a sexual way.
Richard Armitage, Between the Sheets. Although they seem to be more on top of the sheets….
Second, RA has never came out and said that he wishes his fans would stop making gifs, videos, blogs, photo manipulations, etc, especially those of a sexual nature. He never will. These kinds of things are good for business, they keep fans interested and buying. Acting is not a profession where looking good and being sexually attractive are considered a bad thing.
Third, Rich keeps a lot of things to himself. I’m sure this allows him to feel that he is keeping his dignity and sense of self. As has been brought out so many times on various blogs that it makes my head hurt thinking about it: we don’t know the real RA, we know what he wants us to. That being said, I don’t think we as fans can hurt him as long as we don’t invade his personal boundaries.
If you agree with me, fine. If you disagree with me that’s fine too. If you want to express your opinion, great. The more dialogue the better (I guess). Just please do it in a manner that gives those who disagree with you respect as well. If you can’t do that it may be best to keep your opinion to yourself because if you don’t I suspect many fans are at a point to be inclined to return the rudeness with a ….
Kiss my….Photo courtesy of Jas Rangoon.
Insofar as some of us went through this at the beginning of our fandoms, it was to be expected with the influx of new fans. But I agree, the condescending nature of it is getting tiring …
Very tiring. I guess I never felt super protective but I can see how a new fan may feel that way.
I think the condescending nature of the post that served as a catalyst for mine led me to speak in more black and white terms than I normally would. Objectification, taken at face value is not necessarily a negative thing, but I’ve gotten so tired of hearing it almost solely used in a way that defines it as such. I think that’s why I’d rather just throw the word out!
I don’t know why we can’t just let each other enjoy what we enjoy and express ourselves however we choose. It is one thing to dislike stuff and something else all together to try and dictate (even if you deny you’re doing it) what is acceptable for other fans. Just avoid the stuff you don’t like and respect other’s right to live according to their own conscience.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here, so I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Objectification (if you take it from a scholarly perspective) is a really complex notion — you hit one piece of it on your blog and there are others — but I just don’t think it’s useful any more. The world has changed visually so much in the last forty years or so that our language hasn’t yet quite caught up with it or describing our behaviors around images. When I’m looking at a picture of Richard Armitage and going “whew” (calming response) or “ooh” (arousal response) or “aaw” (sympathetic response) or whatever the response is, I’m not objectifying him as much as I am experiencing an internal world via a particular mechanism. In that sense the image triggers a particular attitude or mood — but it doesn’t change who or what he is for me or for others, and I would say in that sense that objectification just doesn’t describe what’s happening. It’s not about what I, the observer, do to the real Armitage — it’s about the emotional state the image of Armitage evokes in me. I’ve been trying to write about this, but I ended up in this whole narrative about my graduate school boyfriend and my perceptions of his use of p*rn in order to sort it out, and I haven’t finished.
Is it just me or does it seem like the primary protectionists are Americans? Isn’t this the fandom that coined “ovaries exploding”?
That’s always been a theme. Even why my European readers don’t like what I write, they are more like to be simply silent, as opposed to going on crusades. It’s not an absolute role but it’s a general pattern.
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This is a great post. I really LOVE looking at Richard Armitage. His handsome face and sexy body is only part of the reasons that I love looking at him. All of the wonderful things that I read about RA from those who have worked with him has a lot to do with it. If I had come to find out that RA was conceited, difficult to work with and just generally not a nice person, I would not be as attracted to looking at him. It is the whole package that draws me to wanting to ogle him.
I have never seen Between the Sheets, so those scenes above on this post is my first time seeing them and I was like….WHOA! I have to agree that if I don’t want to be seen in a sexual way then those types of scenes are not the best to do in films. I have seen Spooks so I did see the scene where he takes his clothes off and you get a full backside view. I recall that Harry had to strip down in a later episode but his backside wasn’t shown, so that tells me that RA did not have to allow his backside to be shown and instead agreed to it. RA is obviously comfortable with on screen nudity and simulating sex on camera. RA is a grown man and I am sure knows that those scenes will make some people see him in a purely sexual way. That is what happened to Sharon Stone after she did Basic Instinct. It also happened to Halle Berry. A male friend of mine told me several years ago that Halle is referred to as a “sperm bucket” privately in male only company. I was shocked and quite frankly offended that any woman would be given such a label.
Anyway, if a person does not like certain RA fanblogs because of content they can simply not revisit them and leave people alone.
Finally someone who actually admits to being turned on more by the shell and less than what is beneath. Thanks for that, Snicker’s, it takes people with courage to stand up and say “this is what I do, and I do not need to justify that”. In all honesty – I think I am still in denial about my true motivation why I like RA. I pretend it is for his amazing talent, but I suspect I am more enchanted by his looks…
I don’t know why anyone should have to feel they have to pretend. (It’s been a dynamic forever — people always saying, “yeah, he looks good, but it’s his talent that I admire.” I don’t know why it has to be that way.
Well Said, Snicker’s Mom,
Richard Armitage is a grown man, making grown up decisions. I love his body of work–and his kind face and yes, his stunning body. He is an amazing storyteller and fearless actor because he reveals so many nuanced facets of his characters’ emotions and motivations. I salute him and look forward to many more stories and lives that he will share with his fans!
Cheers! Grati ;->