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

[questionable537.livejournal.com]

Me in hysterics includes me giggling inanely. Most people are smart enough to back away, which allows me to do whatever my hysterical self wants to do. This includes running into a brush fire to pick up a bag of really old books, or wander off while people I know are being beat up so I can call the cops and give them the muggers' descriptions, names, and liscense plate numbers.

I've creeped people out because I seem downright cheerful in a crisis. No one has ever tried to stop me, however, so I think it's an effective way of handling things. I'm not entirely sure where to put this answer, though....and I don't know if anyone else follows the "cheerfully wander off and do what I want from an alternate angle of attack" method.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

You're the second person to say that! Giggling must be a popular reaction; I should try it some time to see if it works as well as it did for you.