007: Netflix's 'You', The Joe Goldberg's of the world, Priscilla & Elvis Presley, the Bad Boy's Good Girl and our obsession with bad men despite ourselves.
What a well thought-out piece, Jas! I can't lie that I used to read After on Wattpad and giggle, thinking this is what a passionate and consummate affair should look like. But I was fourteen. You're right in saying that categorising these books as YA or gateway to reading, we are setting up young girls for failure. It is fine to read stuff like this if it really floats your boat, but such work should come with heavy disclaimers.
Also, interesting you mentioned Ethel Cain's Preacher's Daughter. It is, maybe, one of my top albums of all time. However, in Strangers, when she says 'Am I making you feel sick?', I imagine it is a taunt. Like she knows he's going to be sick, but that's her one way of retributionβto make him feel sick. It's interesting to see the subjectivity of art at play here :)
Great essay! Thank you so much for writing and sharing it! Can't wait to read more from you :)
tysm for commenting!! this took so long so i'm really happy for the feedback <3 i think it's fine to read these texts if you're old enough to separate them from real life and understand it's not an example to follow - same way Lolita was written as a demonstration of Humbert's twisted perspective and was intended to be a cautionary tale from a skewed narrative but gets misinterpreted as being pro-Humbert's lifestyle. I definitely see your pov on Preacher's Daughter as well, I feel like it could do one or the other depending on interpretation, or maybe even both? Think similar to Phoebe Bridgers' "know it's for the better / no, it's for the better". tysm for your thoughts, I appreciate them so much <33
What a well thought-out piece, Jas! I can't lie that I used to read After on Wattpad and giggle, thinking this is what a passionate and consummate affair should look like. But I was fourteen. You're right in saying that categorising these books as YA or gateway to reading, we are setting up young girls for failure. It is fine to read stuff like this if it really floats your boat, but such work should come with heavy disclaimers.
Also, interesting you mentioned Ethel Cain's Preacher's Daughter. It is, maybe, one of my top albums of all time. However, in Strangers, when she says 'Am I making you feel sick?', I imagine it is a taunt. Like she knows he's going to be sick, but that's her one way of retributionβto make him feel sick. It's interesting to see the subjectivity of art at play here :)
Great essay! Thank you so much for writing and sharing it! Can't wait to read more from you :)
tysm for commenting!! this took so long so i'm really happy for the feedback <3 i think it's fine to read these texts if you're old enough to separate them from real life and understand it's not an example to follow - same way Lolita was written as a demonstration of Humbert's twisted perspective and was intended to be a cautionary tale from a skewed narrative but gets misinterpreted as being pro-Humbert's lifestyle. I definitely see your pov on Preacher's Daughter as well, I feel like it could do one or the other depending on interpretation, or maybe even both? Think similar to Phoebe Bridgers' "know it's for the better / no, it's for the better". tysm for your thoughts, I appreciate them so much <33