The Most Uncomfortable Scenes in Film

Last week I took advantage of my Netflix subscription to rent Mozart and the Whale, about two Aspies who fall for one another and end up leading this extraordinarily complicated relationship.  One problem I had with this movie is the uncomfortable misunderstandings.  The hardest element of many movies is when something is bound to happen that will be either a total misunderstanding of someone's intentions or when a protagonist finally is forced to tell the truth and is not greeted warmly.  I cringe sometimes at these.

One instance in that movie involved Isabel, the AS girl, and her aversion to metal clanging.  Donald, the AS guy, doesn't think of this and goes to show her the ring toss, which involves the noise.  I started to coil up knowing there would be a misunderstanding of some sort, as he threw these and she started to scream while coiling up on the ground.  Another popular example is from Avatar, when Jake reveals his true mission (the one he now opposes) to the Na'vi tribe.  I knew this wasn't going to go well for the sake of the plot, and I almost wanted to plug my ears as the tribe leaders reacted by casting him away, as they felt betrayed.  It's like I am connecting real life with cinema life, at least in the human elements.  Most of my favorite movies don't have these moments.

I have a problem with scenes of uncomfortable misunderstandings or revelations because I just hate them myself and try to avoid them by twisting my own words.  I am a person who generally holds a strong disdain for confrontation.  I have a fear that these are confrontational and don't want to see someone go through it...or at least I just want to know the effects without seeing it go down.  This does not mean it isn't necessary...if we write these scenes out of every movie I'm sure it would be a total train wreck by the climax.

The irony of it all is that if I was a screenwriter, I would likely include these sorts of scenes in the story if it called for it.  Never saying I could write a great screenplay, but this is just a what-if since I would love to be published for something during my lifetime.  I'll still keep watching movies, of course, but I don't think I won't cringe at these sorts of scenes.

Somehow I'm Not a Big Gamer

Wow, I went 18 days between updates.  I was so preoccupied, and I don't want to let this die before it gets started.

I like video games where I control my own universe.  I guess that's part of my appeal to The Sims, for instance.  I can start my own family.  Then I use the cheats to make them rich and give them a dream house.  I had a house with a family, and a house with just adults, and even started a love triangle.  I think I should start writing television pilots.

I used to want to build really powerful and invincible sports teams as a kid.  I would play Madden a lot back in the day, and I always gave the team members (well, the skill players) quotas for stats.  I totally orchestrated the games and would get pissed when the AI would trip me up.  For instance, I required my QB to go over 600 yards one day because he was the record setting start in his prime.  I wanted my running backs to especially get their rushing yards...2,000 in two seasons!  Crazy!  I was rigid about these stats, and it was not just Madden.  Basketball and baseball had the same style of quotas.  It was pretty embarrassing to see some of my tantrums in the day when something went wrong.  However, I learned to temper that and just started building good teams the right way...well, somewhat.  I don't really play that game much anymore, but when I have I do like to work with a team from scratch and build them into a dynasty, but I don't have to win the Super Bowl all the time.  It tells a better story this way.

However, I'm not big into video games really because I like the control that alternate universe more than I actually can.  The theory that I have is actually very simple...because of limited interests, I go through phases with certain games in particular and then I just quit.  I never got into games like the next game.  Really, the whole point of the entry was talking about the weird things I did with games which turned me into a non-gamer.  I don't have the control in games like Call of Duty or World of Warcraft (which I never understood the obsession over these anyway), so I can't really talk games or play much.  My interests are elsewhere.

Or I like the simple role players: Sonic the Hedgehog, Gex, and Crash Bandicoot will always be favorites.  I think I like the classic animation of Sonic, the one-liners of Gex, and just about everything wish Crash.  Then again, I do love the Tekken series and the original arcade version of Wrestlemania.  I have a PS2 and have no desire right now to upgrade to a next generation console.

That last part isn't all that 'autistic' because others like those games.  As it is, I don't think many autistics are gamers and I can't find research to support it either way.