I was looking thru YJ Twitter (always a mistake)
...and I ran into this post again, which bothered me just as much today as it did when I first ran into it, and I've been chewing it over in my mind since then. I wanted to get some of my reactions down so they're not driving me to distraction. Maybe I'll break this up into tweetable bits and respond more directly on twitter, but for now this is what I'm doing.
So the post starts with the arguable statement that Ben's most defining characteristic is his incompetence, and goes on to dissect a scene that is the clearest display of Ben's competence...both as a teacher and as an outdoorsman(? I guess? that's the word I'll go with here). It makes the (much more justifiable) argument that this scene illustrates the violence of patriarchy, through Travis's wielding of the gun and the misogynistic comment he makes toward Nat/the girls, and claims that Ben's "passivity" in this scene--the fact that he doesn't yell at Travis or punish him in some way--makes him complicit in upholding this system. There are definitely moments in the show where Ben is passively complicit in the violence of others--although, interestingly, this is more common in the face of the new society that the girls create in the wilderness, rather than in service to the patriarchal society they left behind--but I disagree with the reading of Ben as passive, here. He's supportive: he creates a system based on skill (the penny and can tests) that the teens can choose opt out of (like Shauna) and in which they all have equal chance of succeeding, but he isn't a stickler for the rules, and bends them to allow Nat the opportunity to address Travis's misogyny in her own way. His flexibility with his own rules reveals a sense of justice--Travis is being a dick and should be taught a lesson--but also trust, since he trusts Nat to be able to teach this lesson, which she does.
So to jump to the heart of this scene--and the part where the poster's and my readings diverge the most--Nat's just failed the penny test, and Travis, as the only boy and the only one who's passed the penny test so far, crows that hunting should be handled by men and that women should stick to what they're good at, like sucking cock. Just writing that makes me want to punch him again. Nat demands another go. Jackie, more concerned with the fairness of Nat's do-over than with Travis's disgusting comment, objects: "Can she do that?" Ben's reply: "I'll allow it."
And I LOVE this moment, guys!!! I just love it! Ben's off-screen here, IIRC, so we don't see his face, but we see what he sees: Nat's expression, furious and determined, and we know what he knows--that that penny isn't going anywhere. The Yellowjackets are at the end of an undefeated season, and Ben's known and worked with the girls on the varsity team for at least a year, much more likely longer than that. He's definitely seen that expression on Nat's face before, and he knows what it means. The claim that I've seen people make--that Ben just turns a blind eye to Travis's grossness and lets Nat dangle in the wind--doesn't hold water when you see the moment Nat and Ben share here. They make eye contact and share a look of private triumph--a quiet echo of the girls' more vocal celebration.
Nat's so proud of herself! Ben's so proud of Nat! And Nat remembers this moment later, when she needs advice about Travis. She seeks Ben out and is incredibly vulnerable with him, discussing her sexuality with him, and trusting that he won't judge or shame her. I just love their relationship, and I see a throughline of shared trust between them from the penny test moment through their intimate conversation and beyond.
(I also have a lot more to say about Ben's role as guide to the wilderness (before Lottie becomes guide to the Wilderness), specifically about how his disability informs it, and how we also see that on display in this scene. IMO, dissecting Ben's role as leader without engaging with his disability at all leaves the analysis lacking--not only in terms of his character arc but also regarding the narrative as a whole. Ben's interesting because he is both a symbol of that patriarchal authority they left behind and also a representation of the most vulnerable members of that society. The girls in some ways reject the injustices of the "civilized" world and in other ways they just reaffirm them--and you can see them doing both in Ben. Very economical.)
@toomanyfandoms25 I hope you don’t mind that I screenshotted your comment—I just had too much to say, as usual.
Yeah I think “as characters” is really important. I can’t speak so much to Travis, but Ben is often spoken about and judged as if he’s a real person, while the other characters are allowed to be characters—constructs that propel the plot and allow the writers to explore particular themes. To the extent that they feel like real people, it’s fun to examine their motivations and see how far we can sympathize with people doing terrible things. I find Ben “analysis” so frustrating and surface-level bc so much of it is just “he should have done X/shouldn’t have done Y”—basically, doing the reductive sort of moralizing that we’re reminded not to do with the other characters. It’s just not a useful way to think about a fictional character, and I find that people who do this end up not only flattening out Ben, but also simplifying the narrative, to the extent that they actually misremember or misrepresent things that happened.
The Twitter fanbase is very odd. There seems to be an “in” group that defines itself against an “out” group, and the way you signal you’re part of the “in” group is by performing an exaggerated hatred of the (three or four?) male characters. And it’s just like…I’m an adult, you know? I stopped thinking boys had cooties in third grade.
