A poll! And a strange question

[brigdh]

Okay, I have a question for you all. There are certain scenes- or patterns, or something- that get played out over and over and over again, on TV and in movies and literature, always following the same basic setup and actions. And you don't really think much about them, or at least I didn't; if I was aware of the repetition at all, it was as sort of an unconscious concession: "yeah, that happens, and so this'll happen...".

And then you see it again just one more time, and suddenly you realize- what the hell? Real people would never act like that!

Would they?

Here's the pattern that's bugging me: you've got character A, who desperately wants to do something that is very dangerous, and character B, who is physically restraining A. Perhaps A wants to run into a burning building to save his child, and B is the policeman keeping him away from the flames. Perhaps A is trying to attack the deranged, armed villain of the story, and B is holding him back. The moment that made me go WTF was in King Kong, when Ann is trying to get to the gorilla, and Adrien Brody's character picks her up to carry her away from the danger.

Generally in this situation, A will fight with B for a few seconds, before realizing the futility and calming down. I'm sure you've seen some variation on what I'm describing. You've probably seen this played out a thousand times, in fact. It shows up everywhere, even moreso than the idea of "slap a hysterical person and they'll stop".

If you were character A, how would you react?
[Poll #662667]

Because, in case you couldn't guess, my reaction would be the last one. I can't imagine being in a frenzied state and having someone grab me not making it a thousand times worse. Restraining me would not lead to a better grasp of reality and calm; rather, the phrase "seizure of rage" comes to mind.

So, is this a case when I have weird reactions to things, and being held back actually would help most people, or is this simply a cheesy cliche that gets used again and again because no one thinks about it?

Comments

[kohakutenshi.livejournal.com]

One of the things that truly pisses me off is when I'm lightly upset and someone has the gall to say, "Calm down."

This only further pisses me off and subsequent 'calm down's make me want to chew their head.

If I was going to run into a burning building for say, my puppy, and someone tried to stop me, they'd be gravely injured. Don't they know I'd rather die than live with knowing I didn't do anything to try and stop my baby's death?

Actually, when you make that comparison, it makes me think of Hisoka and Tsuzuki in the Kyoto Arc. Hisoka didn't go, "Oh, right." and calm down. He pretty much said fuck that and jumped right in. :3

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Mmm, yes. I think that's part of why this situation bothers me. It's really arrogant and patronizing of B to take away A's ability to act on his/her own, regardless of whether it's something that's a "good idea" to do or not. And that would make me angry in addition to panicked, instead of calm.