'Guiding Light' decided to have what are now 'frenemies' Olivia and Natalia live together and jointly raise Olivia's daughter Emma. They also work together (with Natalia being Olivia's personal assistant-a job she's been doing for a while anyway without pay or recognition). What first turned out to be a sick and weird connection between these two (Olivia tried to take Natalia's late husband away from her and ended up with his donated heart, which she did not want. Natalia thwarted Olivia's attempts at suicide and self neglect)., has somehow blossomed into a real friendship.
I watched an episode of the "all-new Olivia and Natalia roadshow" and I wondered why no one thought of romanticallt pairing these two before. To be sure, women can be friends without being lovers, just like men and women, but maybe it's me-I saw some romantic chemistry there and the potential for some interesting explorations of character. Neither have to be latent lesbians (both can be bisexual-meaning that writers would not have to fret about how Olivia and Natalia, whose sexual history speaks of heterosexual choices would all of a sudden 'turn' gay because they could be latent bisexuals who didn't find the right gal yet.)
Emma's presentation on the episode that aired January 16th, seems to open the door to yet another storyline where the town 'misunderstands' their relationship and the morals of both women, particularly Olivia's are called into question. After all, Natalia's son is in the joint and Olivia...well the townfolk could roast her for many sins as it is. What's more rather than take a real and honest look at how a relationship between two same-sex people happens and evolves, they'll bung it up and what would have been cool will be reviled in soap mags across the country.
I mean, I get it. Soaps are basically heterosexual women's fantasies. I would even, given the dearth of main characters of color, even say they are white heterosexual women's fanstasies. White heterosexual women are not fantasizing (or at least admitted they are if they do) about two women falling in love and having a loving and sexual relationship. The writers just are acknowledging that healthy same-sex anything exists. I voted for creating a drinking game that had everyone doing a shot everytime the camera cutaway when ATWT's Luke and Noah were just about to kiss (had we done the game, would have been very drunk indeed).
I want Guiding Light to be that-a 'guiding light' in terms of introducing new stories and new ways of looking at life. I love the fact that they changed the way that the stories were shot and certain outcomes of storylines. Unfortunately, I think they still cling onto plots and devices that are woefully dated and that don't serve the show at all (this can be said of many soaps). True, certain stories are soap staples and you need to have them. I only ask for a diversity of viewpoint a rescue from plotlines that use the same characters in plotlines that they did 20 years ago and that apparently they never learned lessons from.
And to respond to those who feel that Emma does not need to 'see two women being loving towards each other in that way'...well, consider that Emma has been exposed to insane kidnapping father, formerly insane older sister (who tried to kill her in utero), scheming mother who used sex to manipulate along with money, more infidelity than normal, crazy other older sister who faked pregnancy to keep a man while tormenting another women to keep her and another man apart and crazy selfish grandfather who has blackmailed her mother, I think she'd survive seeing her mother in a loving relationship with another woman.
I also would remind the naysayers about how soap characters who have various children manage to have lots of sex, sexcapades and shenanigans and no one seems bothered this.
So...here's to the hope that Olivia and Natalia hook up and have a loving and romantic and adult relationship, which oddly enough I think Gus would have been okay with.
Well said! I am a middle age heterosexual woman of faith who has watched GL since high school. I like the "Otalia" storyline, and have seen the way the writers have obviously used the chemistry between these two to convey a budding of feelings. Olivia's especially. They are writing it as if Olivia is falling in love with Nat, but is truly unaware of it herself, until the "my two Mommies' episode, in which I think Olivia went to the towers bar to try to prove to herself that she was hetero indeed. But I don't think it worked. For whatever reason, not necessarily sexual, Olivia wants more than friendship it seems. She is obviously hurt that Natalia left to go out with Frank. I think CC is at her best in these scenes.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I completely agree that I've noticed that it seemed that Olivia has been the one who seemed to be falling with Natalia first, so much that for a long time I suspected that she was acting extra evil to mask this. I also agree that this 'OTalia' has given CC better opportunities to display why she is so great, especially after such duds as the "Jeffrey raped you by accident so surprise here's your daughter Ava, whose life you tried to destroy" and the "I am yet again going to latch onto someone else's husband for no other reason than I think he deserves better and that's me." I did see the 'kiss' the other day and the bisexual I am wanted them to fall into it just like all of the other couples would have if they were hetero. However I do recognize that for Natalia, this would have been a paradigm shift of epic proportions for her just to get THAT carried away. I would like them to have her really explore her feelings and her upbringing, since her religion plays a large part in who she is.
ReplyDeletePoor Frank...if they are not leaving him for the bad boy or dying or going back to their 'true' love, then they have to leave town or fall for one of his family members. If 'OTalia' has not happened, I would have wondered why not Frank and Natalia, but I actually wish that someone would put him and Mel Boudreau together. I think that some good stories might come out of their "Law and Order" relationship. I think the problem that Frank has is that he like many other soap heroes likes the whole "rescuing the damsel in distress" thing and Mel is not a damsel in distress. If anything, she would be the one to call Frank and the Cooper men on this behaviour and tell them to knock it off.
This is a stupid storyline, how do you expect people to believe these two women are gay or bisexual after one of them has had sexual relations with nine different men and the other is a religious catholic woman who would never approve and has already tried to tell people she isn't gay is now willing to have sex with another woman. This is just stupid and an obvious attempt to boost ratings.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your opinion. While I might agree that this is in reaction to the storyline on All My Children, where Bianca finally gets to marry the girl of her dreams, I don't agree that it is implausible for two women to fall romantically in love with each other even though their pasts would suggest to most that they are heterosexual.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is bisexual, I can tell you that pretty much until I reached my sophomore year of college, I was what was once called boy-crazy, but I also was in love with some of my female friends. I did think this was odd and that I had to choose. Then I found out that I didn't. I also learned that there was nothing wrong with not having to choose and that this was not a fad. I also had to come to grips with what I was taught about sexuality, which was not gay or bi-friendly at all. I also as I became an adult had to come to grips in the same manner with everything I had been taught about race and racism, which included some ideas that were implausible at one time, but definitely not implausible now. I also realized that my 'boy-craziness' had more to do with wanting to be loved and to be special, which meant (and still often times means) being in a relationship with a guy and ultimately marrying him. You grow out of it of course and start looking for someone that you can build a life with versus someone who will slay the proverbial dragon for you because honestly you can do that do much better yourself. In contrast, the long term relationships I had with both men and women were more satisfying and even though some did not work out very well, they were learning experiences, like any dating relationship is. My concerns about this storyline are many, but they center largely around perpetuating stereotypes, one of the biggest being that lesbian or bisexual is some kind of fad that women go through because either the right man has not come along or that there is something wrong with them (Olivia is a manipulative slut that lives in a town where there is very little fresh game and Natalia is too Catholic and her devotion to her son is too Oedipal).
As mentioned before, the writers have a good opportunity to tell a satisfying story about a romantic relationship between two women that is healthy (though given Olivia's track record...).