Presentingā¦.The Use ofĀ āFreakā in Gotham (so far)
Lisa and I have been talking about this for months (especially regarding itās pejorative queer-coded use) and I have (finally) collected every (as of 4×03) reference
to someone in Gotham being called a freak or being described as one:
Unsurprisingly Oswald and Strangeās Monsters are called freak the most, with Azrael, Bridgit, and Ed tied for second place.Ā
The only people to self identify as a freak are Ivy and Oswald.Ā
Cops are the biggest users of the word, accounting for almost 1/3 of these (and Bullock accounting for more than half of those).Ā Ā
None of Strangeās Monsters are ever referred to directly as freak. Oswald is referred to directly 3 times, and Bridgit and Ed are referred to directly 2 times.Ā
Freak is used almost exclusively used for villains and true to comics, villains of a particular type. Even when Fish has powers, sheās wasnāt called a freak, and Mafiosi are never freaks, only masked villains (to quote Harvey āanother freak in a mask, awesomeā) and those with super abilities. (Which makes Oswald here so interesting since in the comics heās much closer to a gangster type, and in Gotham too, than the freakish masked villain type, hence the queer-coded pejorative discussion. Ogden Barker calls Oswald a freak immediately after referring to him as a āfruitcake leprechaun soā¦ And both Ed and Oswald end up killing someone in reaction to being called a freak)
Thereās a ton more info in the document (including the full line, who said it, if at was said directly, and if it was a self identification) which can be found hereĀ but this feels like enough to be getting on with. And Iāll update the list as we go through s4,Ā
[*] at the beginning of the quote means the line refers to more than one person and has been entered again separately for each personĀ
oswald gets called a freak even more than iād thought, poor thing. no wonder he uses it for himself – likeĀ āpenguinā, sometimes itās better to take a word for yourself to lessen the sting and take back some power. iām sad they havenāt followed through with the whole freak family thing so far this season for exactly that reason; it was such a nice idea. and i 100% agree about the whole queercoding thing.
(also, it doesnāt surpise me at all that harvey is the one calling people freaks most of the time. that kind of thing seems to be his shtick.)
now that iām caught up on Gotham, i needed to rant and vent a bit about it
mostly about oswald and ivy
because ugh what the hell
so here goes
(also this might make no sense because iāve only watched the new episodes once each and itās been a couple days so iām probably missing details/getting things wrong because memory is not perfect, and also my brain keeps jumping all over the place)
YES!! I agree with everything you said about Ivy and Oswald!! They had such a great dynamic for it just to be ruined. I mean itās like you said in a family you have to get used to the annoying/angering traits with the people you live with and learn how to deal with it and move ahead. Itās not impossible. It all really just seems like a crappy excuse to turn Ivy againat Oswald.
And let me just say, I love how you said that Ivy really was dumb in trying to help out Oswaldās enemies. Like Ivy really. I wonder if maybe she would do that in the past and chime in when she should really hold her tounge. I mean Oswald is trying to run things. He needs to appear in control. Ivy really canāt just pipe in. That would make Oswald look bad. Just saying. Maybe thatās why Oswald started being mean to her to. I mean what if she screwed something up and he lost respect or trust in her because of it. We all know how hard Oswald has worked to be where he is at.
I havenāt seen episode 2 yet, but Iāve heard that Ivy apparently hates Oswald now, and that he had it coming because heās been being a dick to her, and I have a few thoughts on that.
People have been saying that Oswald doesnāt learn his lessons and keeps getting stuck in the same patterns, and yeah, thereās definite merit to that, but my take on it is that he mostly just keeps picking the wrong parts of his experiences to learn from.
And it really is so sad and such a hard lesson to learn when you’ve been put down time and time again. I personally know EXACTLY how Oswald feels and I really have wanted to just shut off any sort of compassion and trust for that same reason because the end result is always too risky and painful, but like you said it just doesn’t work. No matter how much one may hate the idea of getting close to people for fear of betrayal and hurt, it’s just impossible to do. As human beings we’re social creatures who need interaction and help to survive. And yeah it sucks. It really does. Especially when you have suffered and lost precious people like Ozzie has.
Ultimatley, Oswald does need to learn to get past this. But after, no doubt, so many years of being put down and stomped on, and especially since this seems to stem from early childhood too, it will be really difficult. Changing such a mindset will take a lot of work. Months and years even, depending on how deep the hurt and wounds extend. Though it doesn’t just come down to Oswald in doing all the work. He also needs other people by his side who can see and understand this. To help him through this and help him realize this. Of course, people willing to be patient and really understand, without judging or leaving is really hard to find. Especially in a place like Gotham.
I know Oswald during this time will yeah, be shitty likely, and try to push others harder away, but others have to understand his point of view and remain firm and stay by his side. Again patience and comprehension is important. Especially loyalty. Then maybe they can start to change his views.
I really hope we can see Oswald grow as a character and come back stronger once he realizes this, while still being the adorable and cunning bird we love.
I have got to remember not to take anything people say and whine about at face value. This ep was good like last week, once again.
I know people are most upset about Penguin being mean to Ivy, and yes I can see why, but I mean let’s be honest. This is Gotham. The place is a literal piece of shit. No one ever respects anyone. Everyone will always back stab you. If you want respect and recognition you have to work for it. Either through allies or on your own. I mean this is how Penguin has risen time and time again. Ivy, is now doing this. I mean I can’t count the number of times everyone has been direspectful to other characters when they didn’t deserve it *looks at jim and harvey always running their mouths*
Of course, this gives Oswald no right to act the way he did, and honestly seems dumb to me in terms of writing in a way??? I mean c’mon, this is Penguin. He knows how to survive, how to manipulate, how to stay on top. He should know that being on good terms with his allies is good thinking. So then wtf is this??? Just seems like a sloppy way to tear Oswald and Ivy apart.
And idk, but in terms of verbally shutting down his colleauges, I can’t really recall anything this brutal like with Ivy. He always sasses people, but mainly to his enemies and the people who have treated him like shit. I mean, Zsasz is with Oswald a lot right? He doesn’t seem to have anything against him. And I know Gabe was mad at Ozzie for passing him over, but he was never verbally abusive. Nor with Butch from what I remember? So then wtf is going on with him and Ivy??? Either Ivy screwed up something causing Penguin to lose respect in her possibly or he’s just being shitty. If it’s the latter, writers I swear!!!Someone please correct me on this if I’m wrong. Guess, we’ll have to wait and see Fries and Bridgit to really see.
Other than the disaster with Ivy. It was good. I love how Ozzie is on top, especially against Barbara. And seeing Jonathan against Jim had me just smiling wide. Should be obvious who I was rooting for there. coughscarecrowcough
All in all, Oswald is still and will always be my fave. He better prepare for the war that is coming!! Especially against Ivy!! C’mon Ozzie!!! You got this!!
like,, i know oswald cobblepot is kind of a giant murdery crab and is mean to ivy and literally everyone else but,,, how can u not just,,,, Love Him with Every Part of U
Literally me, but in a way I think I understand why he is being especially cold. I mean, this is after he froze the man that he loves, the man who tried to destroy him in every way possible, and kill him. Oswald has always been strong and a survivor, able to easily see through any manipulation people try to throw at him, however, when it came to Ed. He couldn’t. Love weakened him.
I can’t imagine how painful it must be for him to realize and think that one of the people he cared so much about could never love him back, but also hurt him so much, in such a way, that he could not see coming.
So, of course he’s decided to squash down his emotions and likely not want to get close to anyone ever again – be it friendship, romantically, emotionally, etc. Why? Because experience has taught him that such a thing only leads to pain, betrayal, and death.
It also makes me wonder if these wounds come from early in his childhood? “Don’t listen to the other children. You’re handsome and clever. And one day you will be a great man.” This is what his mother would tell him. And we all know how hurtful bullying and the like can be. It’s a no wonder why Oswald may be shutting down his emotios and connection with others. Not to mention this is Gotham. Everyone will always trample and kill you to get what they want. Manipulate you. Use you. Play you like a fool. Even people you thought were your friends. So, again this is like reaffirmation that people will only hurt you. Thus, things like trust and frienship is fleeting. Much less things like love. It’s a weakness to be exploited.
That’s not to excuse his behavior, especially towards Ivy, but I think looking at things from this perspective and psychologically may explain why he is being cold to her. If such emotional connection only leads to deep hurt, then it isn’t worth to risk it and put yourself in any danger.
Gotham 4×01
Penguin was great this episode! As always Robin’s potrayal is simply amazing and my god, I can never read his facial expressions. Such an interesting and complex character, Penguin is!
Not sure how I feel about his liscening of crime, but dammit, he will always have me like:
Seriously though, it was amazing to see him see right through Jim’s manipulation and capture those gangs. U know, before Ivy had to ruin it *sigh*Just really writers
Me to Ivy:
And then that scene with the fear gas had me like:
*throws vase against the wall*
Other than those two things, and well Jim being obnoxious, though this time around at least with licesing crime, I understand where he was coming from; the ep was actually great.
Just writers, LET PENGUIN HAVE SOMEONE LOYAL BY HIS SIDE. AND JUST LET HIM BE HAPPY, DAMMMIT
š„ There is beauty in destructionš„ 