Why "Atlas"? It's a word with more than one meaning, which is helpful if you're choosing a single word title. It's a story about people who are on a journey, who are trying to find their way. An atlas is a book of maps, useful for journeys. Atlas is also the name for the Titan who holds up the planets, including Earth, for all eternity as his punishment for siding with the older gods against the Olympians.
I think both Mulder and Scully have been forced to shoulder heavy burdens because of their role in fighting the Consortium, fighting colonization. They're both strong people, in their own, complementary ways.
The title works for me.
My real problem is a matter of taste. I simply don't enjoy the fanciness of the style. A line like "it passes like second-hand smoke, an unreal dreamscape buzzing at the nape of her neck" to describe a haircut seems to be trying too hard. And why "second-hand" anyway? Smoke is smoke. Unless you're trapped in a burning room.
It is a matter of taste. I like her style. It suits the story she is telling. The line isn't about the haircut itself so much as it is about the character's state of mind. Why secondhand smoke? Secondhand smoke has a different connotation than ordinary smoke. It's more specific, it comes from cigarettes, when you breath it in, it's not something that you're doing to yourself, it's not of your choosing. Someone else is doing the smoking and you're getting to breathe in their pollution. Smoking has a specific and very negative association in TXF universe because of the Cigarette Smoking Man, aka Cancer Man. "Second-hand smoke kills." Need I go on?
Cutting is something people do as a way of coping with emotional pain, feelings like sadness, rage, guilt, self-hatred, emptiness, and so on. It's also a way of taking back control when your life otherwise feels out of your control. She's cutting her hair, which is socially acceptable, rather than cutting into her skin, or burning herself, which is not, but the need is the same. She may not be trapped in a burning room, but she's trapped. The fact that it's partly because of choices she's made along the way isn't much comfort.
Smoking can also be something people use to cope. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs but it's also a drug that simultaneously calms you and makes you more alert. The mysterious smoking woman? I think she's whatever or whoever you want her to be. But I don't think she's analogous to Nurse Owen in "One Breath." For one thing, I'm pretty sure Scully has never told Mulder about Nurse Owen.
Maybe instead of being her guardian angel, she's Scully's shadow self, appearing out of nowhere, offering her a cigarette. Maybe it's bad advice but what advice would be better? Don't take the job? Use condoms? Run away just as fast you can and don't look back? When you're in a classic no-win scenario, "taking a moment" may be as good as it gets.
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winterfish
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Date: 2015-04-10 09:52 pm (UTC)I think both Mulder and Scully have been forced to shoulder heavy burdens because of their role in fighting the Consortium, fighting colonization. They're both strong people, in their own, complementary ways.
The title works for me.
It is a matter of taste. I like her style. It suits the story she is telling. The line isn't about the haircut itself so much as it is about the character's state of mind. Why secondhand smoke? Secondhand smoke has a different connotation than ordinary smoke. It's more specific, it comes from cigarettes, when you breath it in, it's not something that you're doing to yourself, it's not of your choosing. Someone else is doing the smoking and you're getting to breathe in their pollution. Smoking has a specific and very negative association in TXF universe because of the Cigarette Smoking Man, aka Cancer Man. "Second-hand smoke kills." Need I go on?
Cutting is something people do as a way of coping with emotional pain, feelings like sadness, rage, guilt, self-hatred, emptiness, and so on. It's also a way of taking back control when your life otherwise feels out of your control. She's cutting her hair, which is socially acceptable, rather than cutting into her skin, or burning herself, which is not, but the need is the same. She may not be trapped in a burning room, but she's trapped. The fact that it's partly because of choices she's made along the way isn't much comfort.
Smoking can also be something people use to cope. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs but it's also a drug that simultaneously calms you and makes you more alert. The mysterious smoking woman? I think she's whatever or whoever you want her to be. But I don't think she's analogous to Nurse Owen in "One Breath." For one thing, I'm pretty sure Scully has never told Mulder about Nurse Owen.
Maybe instead of being her guardian angel, she's Scully's shadow self, appearing out of nowhere, offering her a cigarette. Maybe it's bad advice but what advice would be better? Don't take the job? Use condoms? Run away just as fast you can and don't look back? When you're in a classic no-win scenario, "taking a moment" may be as good as it gets.