In Barbara S. Morris’ essay, Why George is so Funny, she describes how George is very manipulative. This is shown in his efforts to survive in the work world, as well as in his everyday life. A prime example of George’s manipulative nature is shown in “The Ticket”. George manipulates all of his friends to pay for Susan’s dry cleaning bill even though technically she was his date and he should be responsible for paying for it. He says Kramer should have to pay because he threw up on her, and Jerry should have to pay because it was his milk. When George sees Susan again, he tries to avoid giving her the money that she rightfully deserves. However, she asks for it and he gives her the money. In the same episode, George feels like he and Jerry should manipulate NBC into paying them at least fifty or sixty thousand for the television show when clearly it was not worth that much at all, and they had not even written any of the script yet.
Another manipulative character that comes to mind is Joey from Friends. Joey is the stereotypical young single man who manipulates women into having sex with his witty pick-up lines such as, “How you doin’?”, and his attractive appearance. Although Joey and George are very different characters with different roles, they still share this manipulative nature that is portrayed through their interactions with the other characters.
Here is a good video on Joey's classic pick-up line: http://youtube.com/watch?v=afzH-38sJ1A&feature=related
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Catherine, nice examples to support your point about George. Thanks.
Can you explain a bit further, however, how Joey, through his pick-up lines and appearance, manipulates women? Any specific examples from FRIENDS that you can share? And do you think the YouTube compilation you included shows this? Thanks!
A good example of Joey's manipulative character is when Joey needs a roommate to live with him and a beautiful ballerina comes to the apartment to see if she would like to live there. Joey sweet talks her into finally deciding to live there because she is beautiful and would be nice to look at. The whole time she lives there he is trying to find ways to get with her. In the YOUTUBE video clip, Joey talks about “looking a woman up and down, and saying How you doin’?” Sometimes this kind of talk could be degrading to a woman and manipulative if your only intentions are sex. I believe it is manipulative if a man tries to sleep with a girl before he ever really knows her.
Post a Comment