tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post5292586063655435102..comments2024-02-12T17:59:33.534-06:00Comments on RAZORED ZEN: The Human StainCharles Gramlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-73888322650364859402007-02-27T15:55:00.000-06:002007-02-27T15:55:00.000-06:00Excellent point, Charles. I'm the same way about w...Excellent point, Charles. I'm the same way about watching -- or refusing to watch -- most TV shows and movies about lawyers, because of all the misinformation and/or compromises with reality the screenwriters put in their scripts in order to increase the drama of the show. I know it may be a literary necessity, but it's irritating. And then there are the things they get wrong...Aaargh!<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I make an exception for lawyer shows that are funny -- e.g., BOSTON LEGAL, which I just discovered a few months ago. I am now addicted to it, because of the humor, the great cast, and the thought-provoking storylines. And, I have to say, often the legal arguments employed by the lawyers (especially by Alan, played by James Spader) are truly ingenious and just might work in reality.Sphinx Inkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03429797402360703839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-18660108644594996422007-02-27T08:58:00.000-06:002007-02-27T08:58:00.000-06:00This is so true -- I much prefer movies and fictio...This is so true -- I much prefer movies and fiction that present things without too much explanation -- when is life ever that simple? Labels just confuse things -- and the details are the thing.Michelle's Spellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15769666862403600253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-64952727846496684212007-02-27T06:55:00.000-06:002007-02-27T06:55:00.000-06:00I studied Phyc, and actually have a degree in it;)...I studied Phyc, and actually have a degree in it;)....nobody knows this about me, the thing is it is hard for writers to define things they don't know about.(Check my blog if you wanna...not advertising, I wrote about Skizo...just a thingie I made up the other day called:our words) When I did my writing course the Dr. said that you should never write about something you don't know....and this I think to be true in all aspects of life(speak if you know about it).<BR/>Well my piece of cheese shared, I enjoyed the post:)Drizelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746480963316566816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-73388397043952851232007-02-26T16:14:00.000-06:002007-02-26T16:14:00.000-06:00Charles, your last paragraph is so true! Great po...Charles, your last paragraph is so true! Great post and thoughts, of course. How about post-traumatic stress syndrome? That seems like a nice catch-all. Chris Rock does ask, in one of his routines, "What ever happened to <I>crazy</I>? Given the number of issues students lay claim to to gain extra time on tests, it does make me wonder about the labels and their representations. Another confusion is between psychotic and psychopathic, between "having spells" and going on "murderous rampages."Erik Donald Francehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332500850365598564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-83174033668402755212007-02-26T15:45:00.000-06:002007-02-26T15:45:00.000-06:00That's a good point NolaSteve. I've done the same...That's a good point NolaSteve. I've done the same thing as you have with books filled with errors of detail, but I'm relatively more forgiving when a writer gets a detail of setting wrong as opposed to a detail of character.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-21879896211751371962007-02-26T15:02:00.000-06:002007-02-26T15:02:00.000-06:00I think you are experiencing the TMK (too much kno...I think you are experiencing the TMK (too much knowledge) syndrome. Many writers seem to treat specific details with a casual indifference. It doesn’t seem to make a difference to some readers, but gun experts will shriek in horror at some sloppy detail. They seem to feel that there is an artistic license to achieve an effect regardless of reality. I’ve put down many a book over sloppy detailsnolastevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03799820024833804721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-46344435637489111422007-02-26T14:45:00.000-06:002007-02-26T14:45:00.000-06:00Yes, the terms psychopath and sociopath, which had...Yes, the terms psychopath and sociopath, which had useful meanings once upon a time, have become virtually unusuable because so many idiot filmakers confused them with psychotic.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-85380640559603337472007-02-26T14:40:00.000-06:002007-02-26T14:40:00.000-06:00Thank you for that one. I *hate* when writers fuck...Thank you for that one. I *hate* when writers fuck up, glass over or totally make up psychological disorders. It's lazy writing, pure and simple.<BR/><BR/>It's a cop-out. "Why'd the villain do that?" "Cause he's crazy, stupid." <BR/><BR/>Like when I hear that a guy broke up with his girl because 'she was crazy', my first thought is that somebody didn't look deep enough. Fine for dating, unfor-freaking-giveable in fiction.<BR/><BR/>The writer was either too lazy to find a proper motivation for the villain, too lazy to do a little tiny bit of extra reading if it *must* be psychological disorder, too lazy to do the rewrites once they saw they were wrong, or (filmakers especially) too damned arrogant to care.<BR/><BR/>And that it's invariably the villain makes it worse, not better. <BR/><BR/>Another peeve: mislabelling and overusing 'psychopath' and 'sociopath'.Steve Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.com