[ SECRET POST #2254 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2254 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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15. http://i.imgur.com/Kvb5F08.png?1
[family guy (?), warning for cartoon rape]


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 058 secrets from Secret Submission Post #322.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

oversensitive much?

and no, that's not what they were saying

[(Anonymous)]

NAYRT

Actually, I'm pretty sure that they were saying that having a character make a major life decision on the basis of the unanticipated actions of an actor rather than the character's own motivations or characterization makes for shitty storytelling.

[intrigueing]

Um, I wasn't? It's just that whenever TV shows decide to write pregnancies, it's almost always not very good at all. It's not that it's inherently a bad idea, but it is realistically a huge drain on the character's available time, and a lot of TV writers can't write mothers of young babies realistically. They always portray them as leaving their baby behind for vast amounts of the plot or as having a perfectly normal routine where they get to engage in epic interpersonal drama/hang out with their friends/work late and hang around after work/have plenty of free time on their hands, with just a couple token "oh the baby kept me up all night" lines tossed in here and there.

[intrigueing]

Also, the actress' and character's motivations might be totally at odds with each other, which would make the decision itself contrived or kind of wtf.

[kallanda_lee]

Exactly. It might make sense for an actress to have a child in that point in life, while it feels wrong and out of the blue for the character.

[(Anonymous)]

I liked the way they handled it on In Plain Sight, except for going with 'whoops sex' instead of 'contraceptives failure'. (The latter would be a reasonable explanation for just about any of the cases being discussed here; percentages aside, it does happen, and all it takes is a throwaway line.)

Anyway, Mary was *never* shown as the sort of person who'd want to be a parent, and it felt like the viewer was with her as she explored both of her genuinely in-character options; adoption, because placing people in new, safe living situations is what she does for a living, and keeping the baby, because ultimately she has too many control issues with people in her immediate family to give up that control of her child.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

On a totally intellectual level I am happy to know at least one show has had a character who was never eager to be a mother, but does her best anyway.

Mostly I feel this way because of something my mother has said about her attitude to babies - she was never the sort of woman who would go crazy cooing over every baby that came along, though she never considered not having any.

It tend to believe that sort of not-baby-crazy attitude could mean a potentially more level-headed parent in the long run.

[dazzledfirestar]

This. Exactly. I kind of feel like if a character doesn't exhibit all this "OOOH BABY!" behavior, everyone assumes they have no interest in ever ever ever having a family, which seems just as unrealistic to me as all the options that have been discussed.

Personally, I was never a baby person. I wasn't particularly fond of other people's kids. I'm still not. But I love my son and despite his surprise appearance (condom breakage + no-pill-is-100%-effective-even-if-you-take-it-properly = BABY!) and some serious anxiety about becoming a parent, we're a happy family.

I think saying that a character has to absolutely state for the record one way or another if they want kids or if they think they can handle having a child is silly on a whole lot of levels. People can and do change their mind and saying no now doesn't mean no in five years.

[(Anonymous)]

If you're ever interested in checking out In Plain Sight, I'd highly encourage you do so; not just for the sake of the baby storyline, but it was a smart, original, ridiculously entertaining show that I miss dearly.

[elephantinegrace]

If I ever see the words "babies" and "plenty of free time on their hands" in the same paragraph again, I might actually cry.

[habilelapin]

(Laughs) Free time, after having a baby? What madness is that?

[(Anonymous)]

really? I had a baby and she was pretty portable for awhile. I think it was actually when she got older that I lost my free time. They sleep a lot so I just dragged her with me wherever I went. Granted, it wasn't to the bar, but I was never into that scene anyway. Only one of my friends hated having a baby around, and he moved across the country soon after anyway.

[dazzledfirestar]

^ this. New babies tend to travel pretty well. Once they hit toddler age, then your free time goes out the window.

[(Anonymous)]

But on the other hand, some newborns have colic, which consumes most of your life for 3-4 months.

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't think Charmed did too badly when it came to Chris, though the whole first magical pregnancy with Wyatt and 'amazing baby' was annoying. Chris started off a hot 22 year old with a cool storyline and as a baby had hardly any screen time so he kind of 'fit in' rather then had stories revolving around his baby self.