I'm not totally sure how to pose this question, and it might seem kinda weird in retrospect, but this is something I've casually thought about for a long time. Have you ever felt sorry for a certain character in a movie where you thought you were the only one who did in context of the film, other than the person themselves...and kinda subsequently got annoyed that no one else did? I guess the reason I'm asking is that, even though it's obviously fiction, movies and TV shows do kinda portray real life thinking to a point. Like, the writers could've been using examples from their own life (or lives of friends and anyone else they knew), and they try to make it relatable to a wide audience more often than not. I guess I've always tended to root for the underdog at certain times - almost everyone has their good points anyway, lol.

The two examples where I've most often thought this was (a) when people who were kinda stereotyped as nerds/dorks who got teased and didn't really have anyone who would be their friend; or (b) girls whom, for whatever reason, guys in the movie rejected - either by not going out with them or just not giving them a chance in general compared to other women.

The former could be someone like 1955 George McFly in BTTF (thankfully Marty helped him out in the second timeline, though). For the latter, I'm thinking of someone like Stacy from Wayne's World. Even though I've always loved that movie and those guys were cool to me, the one thing about Wayne that bugged me was how he rejected Stacy. Although we don't know what happened before, I always thought she seemed so sweet and cute, and it's like come on dude, give her another chance.

A good example of both at once would be Samantha from Sixteen Candles.

Yes...I have felt this way before. I have even felt bad for the villain character sometimes. It's like....kind of how you feel whenever the "silly rabbit" never gets to eat the Trix cereal. It's like....for the love of God, let the rabbit eat some Trix...what would it hurt? I've felt sympathy of some sort for those sort of characters in movies. I'll have to think of some examples soon.

^Yeah, like even if they did something wrong, against the law or just otherwise objectionable, if the reason they did to begin with it is understandable (i.e. robbing a bank to feed their starving family) I think it's normal to feel some sympathy for them. Not for their actions of course, but for them personally.


Really though, I've often found myself feeling sorry for girls/women in movies that the main characters don't hang out with or date (or if they do, they dump them). Because it's like I wish I could be in their place - like if it were me, I'd give them a chance.

^Yeah, like even if they did something wrong, against the law or just otherwise objectionable, if the reason they did to begin with it is understandable (i.e. robbing a bank to feed their starving family) I think it's normal to feel some sympathy for them. Not for their actions of course, but for them personally.


Really though, I've often found myself feeling sorry for girls/women in movies that the main characters don't hang out with or date (or if they do, they dump them). Because it's like I wish I could be in their place - like if it were me, I'd give them a chance.



I know you would....that's because you are quite charming! ;)

I had the opposite affect after watching 28 Weeks Later


****SPOILER***


So this jerk is all attentive to his wife and even tries to beat off the infected/zombies with poker but once they breach the house his wife is in a closet and he is in a bathroom...there are infected between them. The man gets scared and runs to save himself leaving his wife to be attacked.  The wife survives the attack but is infected and when face to face with the man who left her for dead she forgives him and then kisses him.... now she kinda gets revenge because he in turn is infected because of the saliva they exchange but I was mad because I really wanted her to go off. As a women this scene offended my  feminist sensibilities because now not only did her husband leave her to die... she forgives him and still ends up dying (rather violently I might add) at his hands... where is her vengence?

I had the opposite affect after watching 28 Weeks Later


****SPOILER***


So this jerk is all attentive to his wife and even tries to beat off the infected/zombies with poker but once they breach the house his wife is in a closet and he is in a bathroom...there are infected between them. The man gets scared and runs to save himself leaving his wife to be attacked.  The wife survives the attack but is infected and when face to face with the man who left her for dead she forgives him and then kisses him.... now she kinda gets revenge because he in turn is infected because of the saliva they exchange but I was mad because I really wanted her to go off. As a women this scene offended my  feminist sensibilities because now not only did her husband leave her to die... she forgives him and still ends up dying (rather violently I might add) at his hands... where is her vengence?


I didn't see it, but I can see how that would be annoying. Of course no one wants to die, but if the choice came down to the two of them, if I loved someone enough (like a family member) I would sacrifice myself for them.

Psycho

"Norman Bates."

People don't seem to understand why "Psycho" remains so shocking.  Hitchcock made sure Norman Bates developed as a nice but nervous young man early in the film.  When he's dealing with Vivian Leigh's luggage a sharing a sandwich with her, he's kind of a cute, awkward guy who has trouble relating to women, but he tries.  It's endearing in a way.  But then he goes back up to the gothic house, and you hear mother scolding and tormenting him, and that's the chill of the heart.  Later the pathology becomes horrifically disturbing culminating in transvestite murders and the mummified corpse of mother...but the shy boy side of Norman Bates you see early on gives the evil Norman Bates a deep element of pathos, which is required for me to find a character truly scary.