(Untitled)

[captlebubbles]

I was thinking about Coupling and how I might rewrite it to keep all the things that charm me about it while making the gross icky parts less gross and icky, and I realized that ninety percent of the changes would pertain to the handling of Jane and Jeff’s backstories.

Because Jane was a bisexual woman repeatedly being told that she wasn’t, was

Comments

[wolfy_writing]

Ooh, yes! I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter!

[captlebubbles]

I just keep thinking about Jane and how unfair it is that everyone treated her bisexuality like a game. Like I wouldn't change it from her friends because them being butts to her is a part of the overall presentation of the show, but it'd be nice if there was someone who heard her say "I'm bisexual" and then went "oh, lovely!" or something. Or even if it wasn't treated as just something to titillate potential male partners.

I'd also change the way Steve's fetishization of sapphic women was presented in general: frame it as fetishization rather than a perfectly healthy expression of sexuality. (I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with enjoying gay porn of the gender you're attracted to, but Steve often flirts round the edges of "sapphic women exist for my titillation" and he gets very passionate about how he's not fetishizing anyone, not him, nosirree, women should be taking it as a compliment that he wants to see them naked

[captlebubbles]

The trick with reframing the way the show is presented is to keep the irreverent humor that I love so much (the joke about Jane's loneliness seminar was funny, even if it was sad), while still exploring the depths the characters were given and giving them a fair chance all the same. Dark, irreverent humor is fine, but give the girl a chance to cope with her depression better. People not taking her sexuality seriously is fine, but at least let the narrative validate it. Jeff being blase about his abusive upbringing is understandable, but at least let his friends not entirely write it off. You know?

[wolfy_writing]

Yes! Like you can do it where friends are dismissive of Jane's bisexuality and the joke is on them. A lot of the Patrick jokes were jokes about his asshole behavior, so why not reframe the "Jane bi? Please, she's just doing it to seem sexy to men" as jokes on the other characters being the asshole