[QUOTE=Excalibre]
<snip>He plays into viewers’ prejudices, and it’s a great way to sell books and TV shows, even if it’s not an effective approach to fix psychological problems. Gee, Phil, you mean, you think I should exercise self-discipline? <snip>and they like the fantasy of the easy solution, and that’s what Dr. Phil markets. Of course Dr. Phil pushes people to “take responsibility” and “stop playing the victim” - because those empty-headed slogans are incredibly popular, due to the way they’ve been pushed (for political reasons) by media organizations. <snip>
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Deciding to stop playing the victim and take responsibility for yourself and your life is far from being an easy fix. It is “common sense” (I don’t personally like that term - I prefer “good judgement”), and it actually does fix a lot of common problems, but that doesn’t make it the easy way out.
I see things almost exactly the reverse of you, Excalibre. I think people have been brainwashed into a victim, it’s not my fault, blame your parents mentality, not a good judgement, change the way you do things if what you’re doing isn’t working mentality. In a way I think you’re right - most of the people who have perpetual victims complaining to them probably think the things Dr. Phil says at some point with regard to the perpetual victims. I just don’t agree that the perpectual victims think them about themselves.
If people think that reading Dr. Phil’s books or watching Dr. Phil’s show will fix their problems, though, I agree with you that that isn’t anywhere near a complete solution to solve peoples’ problems.
[QUOTE=Lightnin’] “Today is a good day to Pit Dr. Phil” - Ancient Klingon Proverb
Just this morning, I read that Dr. Phil is willing to blame the Virginia Tech shootings on video games. You know, without a shred of evidence that the shooter had ever actually even played anything more violent than Tetris.
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Yeah, I read that, too. His reasoning for video games being the trigger for mentally unstable kids to fly off the handle does make a modicum of sense – but then the same can be said of, say, gangsta rap, or a violent movie, or – hell, the news, so singling out video games, especially when there is absolutely zero evidence that video games had anything at all to do with the incident, is just being a dumbass attention whore.
The Golden Asshat award for that bit of dumbassery though goes to Jack Thompson, who was spouting this shit before they even figured out who the shooter was, so he’s got the “doctor” beat by a day.
'Course, you expect that from Thompson. Phil, not so much.
But video games are so easy to use. I am pretty sure that this guy played violent video games. I base this on the fact that he is male under 30 and living in the US. I suspect that the number of men under 30 who don’t play violent video games is pretty small. When I was in college 15 or so years ago all of my male acquaintances played video games and if anything video games are more popular now.
[QUOTE=gazpacho]
But video games are so easy to use. I am pretty sure that this guy played violent video games. I base this on the fact that he is male under 30 and living in the US. I suspect that the number of men under 30 who don’t play violent video games is pretty small. When I was in college 15 or so years ago all of my male acquaintances played video games and if anything video games are more popular now.
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I heard Charles Whitman spent hours locked in his dorm room playing Doom.
At Columbine it was a combination of Doom and scenes from Basketball Diaries, Tarantino films, and Third Reich games and videos that supposedly drove them over the edge. I know for a fact that Tarantino films resurrected Travolta’s career and made Countin’ Flowers on the Wall a hit again, so it’s certainly possible.
Last night on Anderson Cooper they played an interview taped last year twixt (my future husband) AC and Evan Ramsey , who killed one and injured two students at his Alaska high school. Ramsey said he did it because other students made his life hell by calling him names like retard, spaz, and braindead, and with a straight face and a retarded, spazzy, braindead voice he also blamed Doom. Full transcript here:
Guns don’t kill people. People don’t kill people. DOOM kills people. (Some people would tell you that violent people are drawn to violent entertainment, but nope… violent entertainment turns people into murderers, just like in the 1950s it turned them into showtune singers and characters from bad Biblical epics.)
Speaking of the Bible, Hitler, and Dr. Phil, it occurs the same works in earning converts for all three.
*Until now you have wandered in darkness and done many stupid thoughtless things.
*It’s not all your fault. You’ve been misled by those you trusted.
*I have the answers. They’re simple: part of them you already knew on some level, and the rest I’ll tell you now.
*All your past misdeeds are forgiven you if you’ll repent them here and follow my words.
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster]
People who can’t afford any kind of dealings with a shrink get at least some benefit from him and his freebie advice.
[/QUOTE]
Indeed. Just as people who can’t afford a marriage counselor (or decay-preventive dentifrice) can get quality advice from Jerry Springer.
Look, what’s really objectionable about Doctor Phil is not his simplistic snap diagnoses/therapies but the content of them. He thinks every problem can be solved by conformity to conventional moral standards, and that’s a lie; in many cases even the attempt will do more harm than good.
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip]
Indeed. Just as people who can’t afford a marriage counselor (or decay-preventive dentifrice) can get quality advice from Jerry Springer.
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[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
Look, what’s really objectionable about Doctor Phil is not his simplistic snap diagnoses/therapies but the content of them. He thinks every problem can be solved by conformity to conventional moral standards, and that’s a lie; in many cases even the attempt will do more harm than good.
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Like what? This is a serious question. I’ve never seen him give any advice more specific than “don’t be an asshole” about how someone should lead their life – no expectations about job (other than that the able-bodied should probably consider having one), sexual preference, politics, etc.
I hate Dr. Phil for the same reason I hate Loveline. I dislike any institution that enforces the idea that you are not complete without someone in your life, or calls anything dysfunctional that is simply a preference.
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[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster]
He does neither.
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So … that’s not Dr. Phil shilling Match.com?
Is it his evil clone?
[QUOTE=Orual]
So … that’s not Dr. Phil shilling Match.com?
[/QUOTE]
He says and writes that it’s not only acceptable to not need a mate, but tells people how to live a happy life without one.
He shills Match.com for people who want to find a mate. Have you heard him say anthing along the lines of ‘your life can’t possibly be fulfilled unless you use Match.com?’ No? Thought not. Then you have no point.
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip]
Indeed. Just as people who can’t afford a marriage counselor (or decay-preventive dentifrice) can get quality advice from Jerry Springer.
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Fah. Not the same thing at all.
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Aww, I made the same point as Vinyl Turnip (“I feel like the whole show is just exploiting the suffering of people who can’t afford care.”), but I didn’t get so much as a “Fah.” I’m so hurt! What would Dr. Phil tell me to do? “You don’t need clam chowder to act real sassy-like.” Hmm… I guess I could be more sassy!
The random Dr. Phil phrase generator is the best thing ever!
[QUOTE=twickster]
Like what? This is a serious question. I’ve never seen him give any advice more specific than “don’t be an asshole” about how someone should lead their life – no expectations about job (other than that the able-bodied should probably consider having one), sexual preference, politics, etc.
[/QUOTE]
He’s the guy everyone loves to hate…for no good reason.
[QUOTE=jakeline]
Aww, I made the same point as Vinyl Turnip (“I feel like the whole show is just exploiting the suffering of people who can’t afford care.”), but I didn’t get so much as a “Fah.”
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Don’t fret; gotta work your way up the ladder. Me and QG, we go way back.
Had our ups and downs, but thanks to Dr. Phil’s guidance, I think we have a real future ahead of us.
[QUOTE=Kalhoun]
He’s the guy everyone loves to hate…for no good reason.
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That he jumped onto his stupid video game hobby horse in the immediate aftermath of a horrifying and totally unrelated tragedy is a really, really good reason.
He annoyed me with the whole diet thing. He’s no diet expert, and he’s sure no lightweight himself to be giving out diet advice. That wouldn’t be so bad, but then he puts out a line of diet bars and diet books.
He brings his son in, and his son is now a diet expert for young people.