What I learned about... the probably evil complex female character trope

Don't get me wrong, I love a strong female character in a film or tv show and I really want there to be more shown. But there's one kind of character trope I keep seeing that basically I think is writers trying too hard. A woman who is intelligent and often a leader in her field: a doctor, a lawyer, a detective, a professor... but as the plot unfolds we find out some things about her that we don't like. Is this an interesting story, her motivation, or is she actually a bad person?


Here's Annalise Keating, played by Viola Davis. In How to Get Away With Murder, she plays a brilliant defence lawyer who despite her "hard" exterior wants to push and protect her students. We see her with several lovers during the series and we could forgive her some indiscretions. Then, maybe because this is how such tv shows are written, we start to find out more about her past, and the present isn't looking good either - but why? She was a good enough character to start with, there was plenty going on with the actual plot, since she appears to get a new murder case every month, so why make her character so flawed?

Carrie-Anne Moss, my motivation for writing this post, has managed to play 2 of these.

In Jessica Jones, she plays Jeri Hogarth, also a defence lawyer, in the process of getting a divorce. Again, we have to assume that defence lawyers possibly aren't always motivated by the best of intentions, and again she's a fantastic character. I just can't find anything to like about her. The divorce plot makes sense, I just think she needed another side to her if we are to believe Pam wanted to marry her in the first place.

Meanwhile in the UK, she appears in Humans as a possibly suspect software guru... avoiding spoilers (because I started writing this post some weeks ago) she again comes across as cold and unapproachable. Could we have a character who is touched by grief and yet isn't portrayed as less human than the robots in this show? I have hopes...

what I learned about.... becoming a Mac user

Dear Windows,
I have to tell you this, and it won't be easy for either of us. You see, I've been seeing someone else for a few months now. They're not even my type; I think if it was someone like Linux, people would find it easier to understand. You probably know them. It's a Mac.

I started as many do, with an ipad. I refuse to have an iphone, because I hate them. But, I was offered the chance to have an ipad for free, and it came in very handy. I even started using it at work. It's a slippery slope. Before long I was even paying for apps.

Speaking of work, this was the next step in the affair. I managed to get a job at the only school in the area that uses Apple instead of Windows PCs throughout. So when I needed a new laptop, a MacBook was the inevitable choice. I currently have 2, as work have lent me one too. It's old and clunky, but I have to say it's fairly indestructible. The MacBook Air that is my new beau is like lightning. It's fast, it's beautiful, I can type in the dark, the screen is crisp... I think I might be in love.

So. Do I miss you, Windows? Of course. You were my first love. You saw me through my A Levels, through writing my dissertation in a basement library and a basement flat and saving it all on 3 and a half* inch floppy disc. I have a fierce nostalgia for when we first started using PowerPoint in teaching instead of a million worksheets and writing on OHP transparencies with pen; everyone animated everything and filled it with sound effects. I didn't realise how much I relied on you until I didn't have you any more, and if that isn't the story of so many relationships I'll right click on delete.

Of course, one should always write a list when making a decision, so...

WINDOWS
- I didn't ever realise how annoying the system sounds were until I realised OS only really has 2 or 3 sounds. So soothing.
- You crash. You freeze. You make me use Internet Explorer which is like time travel. The bad kind.
- The menu system got unusable but Windows 10 didn't sort it out either.
+ PowerPoint. I'm sorry. Once I got over the early 00s whistles and bells this ended up being my favourite and most relied upon programme and I have literally cried bitter tears over KeyNote and all the things it does not do... but Powerpoint on a Mac sucks. It really sucks.
+ The Office suite in general. The irony is of course, I wouldn't have it now anyway because I can't afford it and I'm using the free stuff anyway.

MAC OS
- Why? Why the decision to not have the right click options? I have set it up now but I don't think my fingers will ever stop going for those things that just aren't there. Plus my laptop can't always tell when I'm two finger scrolling or trying to right click.
- I literally cannot find anything ever. And you do not make it easy to search for. Googling does not always help. I've asked a lot of stupid questions.
* I have no idea how to write a 'half' symbol. I only found the # about 2 weeks ago.
- Takes about 3 weeks to log on and off
- Pages. It's a piece of shit, more so after 20 years of Word!
+ IMovie. Honestly, I learned it super quick and I love it. Once I found all my photos.
+ Having a lot of things open at once. OK, this is the reason people have a Mac. On the big screen at work, with a mouse, I really enjoy this; you can have a zillion things open and it all works, you can drag and drop and the screen is beautiful and crisp. So far, no freeze.
+ Screenshots. It's total bullshit that you have to press 3 buttons to get one but it's so good when you do and it sits on the desktop so you don't lose it in all the stuff.

So, I'm going to carry on seeing the Mac for a while. Please don't take it personally, Windows, because I'll probably always love you (XP excepted). I'm sure there are others out there who will stay loyal to you forever....

Yours awkwardly,
Ju x