# Embarrassment for Fictional Characters **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551 "2005-03-21T13:57:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/21 "2005-03-21T17:37:08Z")
I’m middle-aged and I still have that reaction. Whenever I know a character in a film or TV show is about to do something humiliating, I can’t watch. I have to turn it off, change the channel, or leave the room. It’s actually a physical reaction and I find it extremely uncomfortable. I have much less of a problem researching serial killers, for instance, which sometimes requires reading about crime scenes and MOs in great detail. I’ve had to turn off “I Love Lucy” more times than I’ve had to put down a book on a killer. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/22 "2005-03-21T18:32:33Z")
Okay, this once happened to me during **The Flintstones**! It was when Fred was a new dad and, instead of showing stag films at the lodge, he showed home movies of Pebbles. Now you may squirm in embarrassment at me feeling embarrassed for a cartoon man. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/23 "2005-03-21T19:35:03Z")
Yeah, but what about Wilma getting ready to show films of Pebbles at her bridge club? I can relate and I have sometimes felt embarassment for TV/Movie characters but it has been less so as I matured and developed a little self confidence. I like to think I haven’t lost my empathy which is why I don’t find the star wars kid to be particularly hilarious and probably why I liked _Napoleon Dynamite_ as much as I did. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/24 "2005-03-21T19:39:01Z")
I get that, too. It was particularly bad when I was watching _Bridget Jones Diary_. There’s a part when she’s on stage, introducing a speaker, and she can’t figure out how to turn the microphone on, then launches into a horribly embarrassing speech at the top of her lungs to compensate for the lack of a mic. It doesn’t make me leave the room, but it does make me cringe. ---
**Author:** ![Spikesbud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Spikesbud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spikesbud)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/25 "2005-03-21T20:04:37Z")
This is why I was never able to love Lucy. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/26 "2005-03-21T20:09:12Z")
I used to be this way more than I am now. I think the problem is overidentifying with characters, and I’m working on identifying with _everyone_ less. On the plus side, we’re a sensitive, empathic bunch, no? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/27 "2005-03-21T20:15:08Z")
Um, I meant “empathetic” bunch - I don’t actually think that we’re magically feeling everyone else’s emotions. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/28 "2005-03-21T20:16:32Z")
And how about the scene in _Real Genius_ where Mitch’s phone call home to his mother begging to leave college was taped and played in the cafeteria? I almost walked out of the theatre. I think like featherlou said, the fact that we get uncomfortable when we see a fictional character being humiliated is a sign that we are caring empathic people. Those of you who don’t squirm during these scenes are, of course, heartless bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/29 "2005-03-21T20:36:36Z")
I’m in with the squirmers and cringers. The one that comes immediately to mind for me, since I ALWAYS fast forward through it, is the part in _Major League_ where Tom Berenger follows Rene Russo home… except it’s actually not her place, but a formal engagement with her fiancee and his family. I get how embarrassing/silly/downright idiotic things are _supposed_ to be funny, I guess, but not only do they not do it for me, they go all the way past funny and into aversion. Bad TV sitcoms are the WORST, but offenders abound. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/30 "2005-03-21T21:45:08Z")
I’m far too empathetic sometimes, even beyond embarassing situations into more intense situations, like death. I hate death in movies, though if it’s a villain getting his comeuppance then I can deal with that. Like slasher flicks, for example, I hate because they usually involve innocent people (no matter how obnoxious they are) getting killed. Even if the mood is cheesy and the acting is terrible, my overactive imagination expands on the situation to make it seem more believeable and devastating. Even if the movie isn’t scary, my mind makes it scary. I even sometimes do this if the mood isn’t supposed to be disturbing or frightening. But yeah, I hate the embarassing situations too, though it doesn’t usually make me uncomfortable enough to leave the room or anything. One exception is Meet the Parents, which has many scenes I can’t stand. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/31 "2005-03-21T21:53:03Z")
Total cringer here. I don’t leave the room, but I’ll often ending up covering my ears and closing my eyes (or sometimes just ‘mute’) if it’s really bad. I remember one show–it was a kids show, and while I was young I wasn’t quite _that_ young it seems–where a man was being forced to serenade women with bad poetry (“Your hair reminds me of purple slime”–mute, MUTE!!!) and I couldn’t bear to watch it. I’m sure my parents have wondered why I sometimes make weird noises during shows–it’s usually because of stuff like this. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/32 "2005-03-21T22:09:04Z")
> [@Spikesbud](#): > > This is why I was never able to love Lucy. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/33 "2005-03-21T23:30:01Z")
I don’t leave the room or turn red, but like many other previous posters, I feel embarassed too when the protagonist of a movie puts himself in an embarrassing situation. These probably are the kind of scenes I dislike watching the most in movies (sad events, violence, sex… I’ ve no issue with). ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/34 "2005-03-21T23:38:29Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Oh, Ben Affleck’s big idea that he thinks will save his relationship and his friendship at the end of Chasing Amy but ends up dooming both – you can tell what he’s going to say, and you can’t help but cringe or scream at the TV for him to not say it. That part is hard to watch. Yeah, what he said. (As a complete aside, I’m sorta wondering why **BBVL** and I haven’t yet really gotten to know one another - we seem to have an awful lot in common.) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/35 "2005-03-22T04:45:26Z")
Yow—I thought I was the only one. :eek: Yeah, cringing, changing the channel…blocking my ears, occasionally. Fictional gore, death, and killing don’t usually bother me, unless it’s a drippingly likeable and sympathetic character that something’s happening to. ---
**Author:** ![Emilee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@Emilee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilee)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/36 "2005-03-22T06:51:59Z")
I too am a cringer, particularly if the embarassing action is something I’ve done myself. I HATED Along Came Polly, because as a self-identified dork and a bit of a square, I identified too much with everything. Too bad that’s the movie they chose to play over and over again on the way home from Australia. I also hated Meet the Parents, and I hate most romantic comedies that involve “comic misunderstandings.” Misunderstandings are almost never comic. Fortunately my sister and my fiance are the same way, so we can all cringe together. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/37 "2005-03-22T07:26:46Z")
I used to do that. My sister still does it. My boyfriend, oddly enough, does it sometimes, and he’s one of those “tough guys”. I had to make myself stop doing it. I tell myself “don’t change the channel, don’t leave or anything. They’re just fictional characters. They’re not really hurting inside. You’ll miss good stuff if you quit now…” ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/38 "2005-03-22T15:13:45Z")
> [@Yumblie](#): > > I’m far too empathetic sometimes, even beyond embarassing situations into more intense situations, like death. I hate death in movies, though if it’s a villain getting his comeuppance then I can deal with that. Like slasher flicks, for example, I hate because they usually involve innocent people (no matter how obnoxious they are) getting killed. Even if the mood is cheesy and the acting is terrible, my overactive imagination expands on the situation to make it seem more believeable and devastating. Even if the movie isn’t scary, my mind makes it scary. I even sometimes do this if the mood isn’t supposed to be disturbing or frightening. I do that too. In horror movies, I imagine what it would _really_ be like to be in such a situation and how horrible it would be. And even when it’s done for black humor, I can’t stop emphasizing with the victim… ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/39 "2005-03-22T15:38:04Z")
I don’t squirm or anything but I do feel uncomfortable. Failing or bombing on stage really makes me uncomfortable. One of the more painful scenes is in the movie **Magic**. There’s a scene where Corky (Anthony Hopkins) is on stage as a magician for the first time. He’s in a night club and people are either totally ignoring him or laughing at him. This makes him nervous and he bungles up the card tricks. I felt like saying, “Just get off stage! Go quickly and never look back!” But he just sits there looking horrified and embarassed. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551/40 "2005-03-22T15:43:02Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Yow—I thought I was the only one. :eek: Yeah, cringing, changing the channel…blocking my ears, occasionally. Fictional gore, death, and killing don’t usually bother me, unless it’s a drippingly likeable and sympathetic character that something’s happening to. I’ve always found that fictional gore/death is far more disturbing to me when it’s something that can happen or is likely to happen in real life. Like a group of men ganging up on some guy and kicking the shit out of him. Or a woman being raped. The worst gory scene I can think of was in the second _Silence of the Lambs_ movie when Hannibal Lecter feeds the guy his own brain. It was repulsive to me, mostly because I know that, from discussing it with my cousin who has a mass in her brain, brain surgery is often performed that way (not by feeding the patient his brain of course, but by removing the skull cap while the person is conscious and then keeping the person awake and talking during surgery), so it’s conceivable for something so gross as that scene to happen. I was so freaked out I could scarcely watch the rest of the movie, and I was whimpering all through that scene. I don’t know why I stayed - I wish I had left and waited for my friends in the lobby. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassment-for-fictional-characters/295551.md?page=3)