more thoughts on the Bullshit Reversal, and some case studies

[hradzka]

Earlier, I talked about the Bullshit Reversal (better known as Refusing the Call). This occurs when the hero is presented with the opportunity to do what we know he's going to do because we bought our ticket to see him do it, except the hero initially says no and a variable amount of additional dialogue is required to talk him into it

Comments

[nrrrdy_grrrl]

I remember way back when Ben Affleck still had self-respect (I swear that really happened!) and then "Reindeer Games" came out.

I laughed and laughed and nobody else did and I was like, "Wait, that's a real movie?"

That was the version of the bullshit reversal that I became aware of- the bad boy with thew good heart wants to give up his life of crime for the girl he loves and either there "just one more job" he's going to pull before he retires or bad guys force him to pull "just one more job" OR (my personal favorite) our bad boy has ALREADY given up his life of crime a while ago and is living a Joe Six Pack Ordinary life but bad guys force him out of retirement to pull "just one more job".

[sinanju]

I don't know if you've read of the Perry Mason novels, but I enjoy them for several reasons. For one, they're set in the forties or fifties--and the past is a different country. They're interesting just for a glimpse into a world very different from ours, socially as well as technologically