From: kimi@fang.att.com (Kimiye Tipton)
Subject: Re: The Wolf; was Re: Was it 849? 
Organization: AT&T Tax Systems Development, Maitland FL
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 14:17:31 GMT

In article <MAS.93Jan5160009@porgy.jpl.nasa.gov> mas@porgy.jpl.nasa.gov (Marc A. Sarrel) writes:
>In article <1993Jan5.204320.8992@leland.Stanford.EDU> H. Nunes <hwnunes@leland.stanford.edu> writes:
>   As for the wolf thing?  Well, taken in the context of the show, it went
>   way over my head.  If someone could explain the purpose of the wolf,
>   please do.  I thought it was more man hating, but it wasn't that clear. 
>
>Well, as I saw it, the Wolf was very Freudian.  Not only that, but
>very patronizing and demeaning as well.  (Some people would consider
>those two statements redundant.)  I think the dream was what finally
>motivated Maggie to rebury the artifacts.  The wolf represented
>everything she disliked about men.  Notice how the wolf talked to her
>as a child and, at the end, took the basket away.  I don't mean to
>misquote or misparaphrase anyone, but I believe that some feminists
>consider Freud to have been very sexist.

Okay, close enough-- the wolf was Maurice.  He sweet-talked her, then
stole her goodies (artifacts) while she was distracted.  The wolf is
also Joel-- in Maggie's mind, he's after some other goodies she's got,
and that's why she blows up at him when he tries to be kind or friendly
or concerned.  This is because no matter what's going on, when Maggie
runs into Joel, the first thing she has to suppress is raging desire
:-)  You know how some shows make a joke of a woman chopping a guy
off short when he makes some advance, and the guy turns around, grins
and says, "She wants me _bad_!"?  Well, this is supposed to be what's
going on with Maggie.

I didn't think the dream was particularly demeaning-- I loved the way
Maggie argued with the Wolf's interpretations ("It's just a _hood_."--
when's the last time you heard a clitoral reference on TV?!?)  Yes,
it was Freudian, but made fun of Freud at the same time.  Maggie's
putting a lot of energy in denying her sexual needs these days, but
she's not stupid, so her psyche is trying to wake her up, using the
very weapons she would refuse to let anyone else use.

I love the dream segments of NX-- besides being amusing, they 
are revelatory, and I'm one of those people who also has dreams that
make me realize things about myself and others.  Anyone else out
there have the experience (which can be major unsettling!)?

I was very annoyed, almost pissed off, while watching this show, but
I've got to say that after seeing all the comments on this group and
in the mailing list, and doing some hard thinking, I'm beginning to
love it.  Some of the pseudo-feminist arguments got under my skin,
as I've heard them all before, and generally talking like that gets
you written off as a madwoman.  In Real Life, you have to soft-peddle
the feminism, no matter how outrageous the sexism is.  Maggie's
anger gets the same reaction from guys on the show and even worse from
men on the net-- they think she's completely unreasonable.  That
was part of the point-- her blowups were forcing the men who were
receptive to her position (Joel and Chris) to join with the men 
who were taking advantage of her.  Hell, her remarks were putting 
off some of the real feminists in the audience!

This was probably the most risky show to date.  As with
all risks, you're gonna anger some people so much they won't come
back, but those who really try to understand this episode have some
great insights awaiting.  At least, it's been that way for me!


Kimiye   kimi@kokomo.att.com
(see quote inside post)