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Outlander: AKA 50 Shades of Plaid
So my wife had a few friends over to watch a new show called Outlander. I had heard it was similar to Game of Thrones so I was game to watch it also.
The first episode seemed fine (I dig historical stuff). But one thing standing out to me is that the love interest in this show (who didn't seem that remarkable) was universally praised as the hottest leading man ever by this sample set of women viewing (who all read the book) . Now I'm a guy so maybe I'm missing something. Knowing what I know about attraction I figured this character must be super alpha as well as being fit; but most leading men are so I'm wondering what sets him apart.
Looking up reviews of the book it's based on I find out that the character is known for raping and beating his women! In fact one reviewer called the book 50 Shades of Plaid. The (cliché) story line has her choosing this bad alpha barbarian over her nice attentive boorish husband.
Are American women so starved for alpha that even the absolute worst asshole alpha is now the pinnacle of attraction? I get this fits with evolutionary psychology but the degree and how widespread this is still surprised me.
Comments
I haven't seen the show, but I read all the books except the last one (there are eight of them - none under 700 pages or so
) and Jamie, the protagonist is everything but bad alpha barbarian! If he came across like that in the show it's very badly written and acted indeed.
Quite on the opposite, he's the poster boy for great alpha-beta balance: A leader, born and bred, but also a great provider, fiercely protective, great swordsman, insanely courageous, very well educated, loving and affectionate - all in all a very well composed (if a tiff unrealistic, lol) mixture of softie and badass.
If you want us to be unapologetically feminine, be unapologetically masculine.
I'm a huge fan of the Outlander series. The reviews you describe sound like they're from people who haven't read the book or are semi-literate. The lead male character is Jamie Fraser. In all eight books and side-series, he has never raped anyone. There is a beating scene in the first book that makes a lot of sense in historical context. It's not a BDSM scene.
Not really sure what to tell you. Some like the series and some don't, but your description is fully inaccurate.
Basic synopsis (avoid if spoilers are not desired): Claire Randall is married to Frank Randall. The book is set in Scotland post WWII. Frank and Claire were separated by the war (they both served - she as a nurse) and are now reunited and on a second honeymoon. He's not boorish. They clearly love one another. She is unexpectedly hurled through time back to 1743. She meets Jamie Fraser. They are forced to marry. They fall in love. Adventure ensures. It's a complex love story with a lot of historical fiction. I happen to find it a beautiful depiction of humans and what drives them - the main characters are flawed but essentially good.
I don't think it is always a great idea to put too much stock into what women (or men) say they find sexy in a total fantasy context. My wife finds Kal Drogo's character in Game of Thrones to be pretty sexy in a fantasy context, but I'm pretty sure if a barbarian horse lord showed up at our house and tried to capture her and make her his concubine as he led a group of raiders on raping/killing/thieving expeditions, she'd plug him between the eyes with a few .45 ACP rounds and that would be that.
Plus, barbarians smell like BO and feces, no matter how hot they look. That doesn't come through well in fantasy literature.
"My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy, if not, you'll become a philosopher." -Socrates
Oy, missed your rape accusation of Jamie Fraser! Nonono, that's just painfully wrong. The man had a strong opinion on the ethics of sex!
Actually the question if one is commiting adultery by marrying someone in a different time, centuries before their first spouse is actually born, is a main theme in the first volumes.
All characters are very complex and the story line is anything but cliché. I'll stop now - and reread Outlander, lol.
I think @TPoke might have unwittingly started a Jamie Fraser appreciation thread
If you want us to be unapologetically feminine, be unapologetically masculine.
I know, @Maria! And I can't believe you haven't read Written in My Own Heart's Blood yet. You must. It is wonderful.
The first Starz episode is out, for free via internet. I've not watched it yet but maybe tomorrow. Then I'll be all disappointed because I don't have cable and can't watch the rest until it comes out on DVD! What I've heard so far is that it's very good, and a reasonable adaptation of the books. The author has very positive things to say.
I have to get together with my sister to watch it. We've been waiting impatiently.
I have not been this excited for something on television for years. We barely watch it, but i'm all over this. And I really love the actors selected. So impressed. There are also many potential spinoff knitting projects.
I can't view it, as I'm not from the US
If you want us to be unapologetically feminine, be unapologetically masculine.
I just read a bunch of the 5 star and 1 star reviews on Amazon. It's entirely possible that the reviewers there are exaggerated.
One for example said...
"Claire and the sexiest of the Scottish guys have to get married (and do it!) so that she doesn't get raped by the English. She still wants to get home to Frank but is having wicked awesome sex with Jamie (the Scottish hunk of man meat) so it isn't that big a deal. Then, ooops, she discovers she's right by the time travel stones. She tries to reach them and ends up almost raped by her English ghost husband thing. It's okay though. Her husband (husband number 2, if we're keeping track) saves her in order to savagely beat her. And then rape her.
Umm some more stuff happens. She doesn't go back to husband A because he's not as sexy as husband B.
Then the hot mess that is "Outlander" totally looses all grasp on reality and there's people killing wolves and rescue by cows and (yes, you guessed it) rape!"
Another review called the book "an extended rape fantasy". But maybe all these reviewers are just prudes.
Read it and see for yourself. You probably won't like it, Gabaldon's epic style is not to everyone's taste and history/fantasy hybrid novels are not everyone's cup of tea to begin with.
However, the above is really a totally ridiculous review. I doubt the reviewers are prudes; they just didn't find the books to their gusto and made fun of them. That's not rare; I sometimes read absolutely over-the-top negative reviews just for a laugh, some of them are masterpieces of sarcasm and scorching wit.
Oh, and: There are steamy love scenes en masse - it's worth reading the books for them alone
If you want us to be unapologetically feminine, be unapologetically masculine.
Awesome @TPoke for the post title LOL
Remember to play!
Do the right thing, whether anyone is watching or not.
Be married, until you are not.
Email address: angeline.greenwood@att.net
"My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy, if not, you'll become a philosopher." -Socrates
Inaccurate descriptions, as already noted.
The books are good. The majority of the readership is women, but there's enough sex, violence and history to keep men interested, too. I really enjoyed the first three books, I think, then they started to drag a little bit.
If you dig historical fiction you may really enjoy the book series. Diana Gabaldon (the author) was an assistant professor before becoming an author, so her research is meticulous. There is a shit ton of Scottish and eventually other history covered over the course of all the books.
I've not read 50 SoG or EPL, though I did skim a bit of the former. The first difference striking to me is that Gabaldon uses complete sentences. lol. Really, the difference is profound - Outlander was published in 1991 so what you're seeing now is a >20 year buildup rather than a fad. As for leaving her first husband, again I having read EPL so I can't compare, but in the books it's handled with complexity - Claire doesn't just shrug off the memory of Frank and go riding off into the sunset.
Apropos of nothing, I'm swiping the thread title "50 Shades of Plaid" if I ever write a history of the clans of Scotland.
So, I just asked my husband if we could have an "Outlander + backrub" evening and he agreed (I figured out how to stream it onto our television - watching on a computer screen is sooooooo not adequate). Couldn't resist sharing that for tpoke's sake.
I guess I thought the series started next week...my wife will be crazed if she missed the beginning. I've got to read the books because, far and away, this is my wife's favorite series. Funny thing too, she wants to go to the Scottish Festival in town next week - I'm Scottish so it's all good by me and I've told her I would love to do some caber tossing!
There must be something about the character she likes because he seems to be the protagonist against which she judges all others. She says he just such a manly-man and captures the kinds of traits she finds attractive.
This seems like a good opportunity to do something fun and sexy (like @Scarlet is planning). Ideas? Me in a kilt? Is a sword required? Do I work the accent or just be the crazy Scotsman that I am?