First off let me express my love for Neil Patrick Harris! And everyone involved in the production and creation of Dr. Horrible because I truly enjoyed it. I haven't enjoyed musicals in awhile. Generally I find them campy. Note: this is most likely due to six years and many mediocre productions of public school musicals playing violin in pit orchestra (although one year I had the honor of being THE fiddler on the roof.) Consequently unless I am wowed by a production, I am usually unmoved.
Dr. Horrible was an exception. Joss Whedon did a phenomenal job of producing a witty, clever and satirical musical that explored themes of love, good vs evil, idealism and even digital media.
Dr. Horrible is an incredibly appealing character. Like Dexter, he reminds us we can sympathize with a "bad" character and that traditional roles of good vs evil within the super hero narrative are never absolute. His blurring of the lines of morality transform what would be a typical heteronormative romance narrative into something dark, comical and smart.
The music is also wonderful. Whedon seems to be playing with the idea of traditional ensemble musical by fusing cinematic editing (superimposing, freezing etc.) with musical motifs that create a different affect than a stage musical has.
Like Ferris Buhler before him, Whedon has Dr. Horrible break the "fourth wall" and acknowledge his audience (within the frame of the film, his blog readers). This engagement creates a strong bond between the protagonist and the viewer, the viewers like voyeurs reading a blog on the computer screen, hearing Dr. Horrible and seeing him on film.
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I enjoy how characters like Dr Horrible and Dexter challenge our perception of good vs. evil. It keeps programs more interesting and keeps viewers more engaged in the shows. The media is evolving, but also the plots, characters and the relationship between the two.
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I found myself forgetting many times that technically Dr. Horrible was the villain and Captain Hammer (was that his name?) was the "hero". Even writing that now doesn't seem right and I always applaud writers and actors that can impose such counter intuitive role reversals on emotional connection of the audience. I also agree that the musical in a cinematic medium allows for manipulations of time and space that are less effective, or impossible on stage. I love seeing the proper use of that potential.
ReplyDeleteI like your comparison to Dexter--I have trouble sometimes aligning myself with both of them from time to time, but it's always an interesting point of view regardless.
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