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Bram, Katie, and others
posted by write2topcatSTAFFMOD on জানুয়ারি 15, 2018 at 2:36 PM
I love this show and hope it continues for several more seasons at least. There is so much they can do with this story, so many ways it can go.
I've been binging on Colony's first two seasons recently. I noticed how often Katie and Bram (among other characters) exhibit devious and defiant attitudes, lying to Will and getting themselves and their family deeper and deeper into trouble. Of course the premise of this show, evil aliens taking over the world and killing off humans, completely justifies the idea of resisting and fighting against the existing authority structure. But watching Katie and Bram in several sequences got me thinking about what I see as a trend in TV programming generally.
A majority of television programming showcases and promotes characters who exhibit and display irresponsible actions and attitudes of defiance and contempt for traditional authority figures and structures.
These characters may be spouses, children, police officers...anyone. Their attitudes are defiant, emotional, and self-righteous. Their rash and inconsiderate actions frequently have devastating consequences for others. Yet these characters typically reject responsibility for their actions. They may equivocate ("well look at what THEY did") when they are presented with the ramifications of their actions.
Frequently they simply reference the depth of their emotions as some kind of rationale or justification for their actions. Their anger, or their heartbreak and subsequent depression or rage, are offered as justification. For example, "Well I'm sorry, but when he said 'blah' I felt like I was being patronized".
These 'emotional justifications' typically go largely unchallenged by other characters in the show, as though they represent acceptable rationales or justifications for the irresponsible, defiant, behavior.
Why didn't you obey the law? Why did you lie to your parents? Why did you lash out? How could you do those things?
Their answer is "feeling based", and forcefully expressed with an excessive display of emotion. Often these feelings based justifications are simply unchallenged by the other characters, even though no real justification was offered to explain why they broke the law, lied, etc. The other characters just listen to the self-indulgent emotional discharge as though trying to understand it, rather than pointing out that their feelings didn't justify their actions.
Sometimes the immature character is challenged with the results of their actions and decisions "because of what you did, hundreds of people died". But the immature characters are usually given the last word.
"Well, I didn't know that would happen. I was just so angry after such and such happened..."
My point is that modern TV shows use this trope consistently, justifying irresponsible and reckless actions, contempt for traditional authority, contempt for traditional values, and so on with highly emotive rhetoric. Often there is not even any attempt to address the charges leveled at the character, they simply become very emotional and act as if this justifies them.
I see this so often that I am inclined to believe this meme is being promoted, i.e. that viewers are being conditioned to reject traditional culture, values, and authority systems.
Anyway, as I said, in this show I can't really criticize these characters for their actions too much. Sure, they screwed things up big time for Will's efforts to keep them safe, and made his life a lot harder (as when Will risked his life many times over while searching for and rescuing Charley). But given that the aliens are going to kill them all anyway I can't criticize them very much for rebelling the way they do against the authorities.
But sometimes I am very critical. For example when Bram finally made it home after having been stuck in that detention center for so long he blamed his parents for not getting him out sooner. But what irritated me more than that was that neither Will nor Katie put him in his place at that moment. Instead of being apologetic or attempting to comfort him at that moment, one of them should have said something like:
**"Bram, you not only put yourself in that situation, you intentionally ignored your parents' instructions to stay with and help look after your younger siblings. Instead you snuck away and ran off with your science teacher to explore a rebel tunnel, an action you knew to be against the law. We used our influence to keep you from being killed by being sent to the "factory", and we tried to have you released from that detention center. We were lucky to keep you from being killed. And now, in spite of these facts, you blame us for the hard times you suffered in the detention center?
Son, there is a limit to the amount and types of trouble you get yourself into which we can get you out of. Instead of blaming us for the mess you created, why don't you take responsibility for it? Stop justifying what you did, and stop blaming others for it."**
That would have been nice. But it seems you never hear that sort of sentiment expressed in television shows anymore.
Bram complains frequently in Season 2 that his parents don't trust him and won't let him go on missions with them. In fact they trust him entirely too much. He frequently disobeys their instructions to him as soon as they turn their backs on him. He intentionally lies straight faced to them. He abandons his younger siblings to run off on his own. And he makes rash decisions which place him in danger and in need of someone to save him. And then he complains when his parents are unable to get him out of the trouble he makes for them and himself.
I wish Will would force Bram to take responsibility, without equivocating, for his irresponsible and rash decisions. When Will asked Bram if he was involved in the Red Hand massacre of families in the Green Zone, Bram finally had something to say, but it wasn't an admission of his part in the killings. He nearly shouted out that the aliens had killed everyone in the labor camp. That's an example of the equivocation I mentioned. 'Look what they did; it was worse'.
His excuse was something like "well I was upset because the aliens killed a bunch of people", and he expects this to serve as an excuse for his part in the Green Zone massacre.
And in fact he even lied about his part in that. When asked if he shot the man who defended himself with a shotgun Bram told his dad that he wanted to shoot him but he just couldn't do it. In fact, he shot that man three times in the chest, dipped his hand in the man's blood, and left a bloody hand print on the back door.
Bram is much more like his mother than like his dad.
Still, he thinks it is unfair that they won't let him go out with them on 'missions'.
Reply by drjekel_mrhyde
on ফেব্রুয়ারি 7, 2018 at 1:54 AM
I wish they would kill both of them off in season 3
Reply by write2topcat
on ফেব্রুয়ারি 7, 2018 at 6:30 AM
LOL. Yeah I hear ya.
But they won't. The writers need them too much. Katie and Bram are their favorite foils for creating crises for Will.
Reply by chrisjdel
on এপ্রিল 16, 2018 at 5:21 PM
Anti-authority sentiment in popular culture might have something to do with the erosion of democracy and the fact that what used to be our government now works almost exclusively for the rich and powerful. They're getting so corrupt they don't even have the decency to do their dirty dealing in back rooms anymore, out of sight. It's all out in the open. The one thing a free society absolutely can't afford to lose is the belief of most citizens that the system is just, that its institutions and officials are basically "the good guys", with bad apples being the exception.
Once that starts to change ... well then breaking the law and defying that system is no longer necessarily a bad thing. If this trend continues and people give up on the possibility of reform you get a revolution. What do you expect? Corrupt cronies and a rich man's system should be defied. And our popular entertainment tends to reflect the prevailing mood of its audience. Colony is the perfect example of a story that strikes a nerve, because it's an exaggerated version of what people perceive is happening out here in the real world. We are becoming more controlled by a corrupt central authority that can't be trusted. Less free than we were before.
Reply by write2topcat
on এপ্রিল 17, 2018 at 4:51 AM
It isn't anti-authority sentiment which is eroding our system of government. It is the corrupt system, which is more transparent now than ever before, which is fueling the selective, anti-government sentiment. And why is our government so corrupt? The global elitists have immense influence over politicians, over the news and entertainment media, and the entire economy. (The Club of Rome, a group of the most wealthy and influential people in the world, published a pamphlet stating it's goal of creating a non-elected, strong, central, world government back in the 90's, I don't recall the year right now. Some of the popular themes of our times are creations promoted by this group, and affiliated organizations.) One might imagine it would be difficult to control such large organizations and the content they produce. But when you control the hiring and promotion of employees of these news and entertainment corporations, and if you can strongly influence and rig elections, buy off or intimidate politicians, and so on, it is very doable.
Our popular entertainment isn't simply a reflection of the mood of the people, just as our 'news media' isn't a factual and accurate reporting of events. Both of these industries are owned in total by that cartel of global interests. Fake news, fake polls, and promotion of certain memes, themes, attitudes, opinions, etc. are used to shape beliefs and attitudes, especially among the younger generation.
The global elitists don't mind the popular anger against the government in the US. They have great influence over what the people believe. The major impediment to their goal of a world government is a sovereign USA. Toppling this government, or finding another way to get rid of Constitution, would allow them the opportunity to replace our form of government with one more easily manipulated to join a federation of countries forming a world government.
I agree that we are becoming more controlled by a corrupt central authority that cannot be trusted. But the visible government isn't the group ultimately pulling the strings, as corrupt as it is. Our government (in the US) routinely oversteps the constitutional limitations to its power. It is up to the people and states to nullify the unconstitutional laws and actions of the federal government. If the people refuse to support the actions of the elitists and their surrogates, they cannot go forward. But we as a society are dependent for our information upon a system which is controlled by the very elites who seek dictatorial rule. I am an older man and I am discouraged by the present cultural currents. The people can't seem to be bothered to think for themselves, or to fight to retain their liberty.
Reply by ScorpionQ2
on মে 31, 2018 at 10:39 AM
SPOILERS BELOW
I was so surprised they killed off the little boy
- it should have been Bram or Katie.
Reply by write2topcat
on জুন 4, 2018 at 9:50 PM
Ever notice how every time Katie starts feeling self righteous, things go sideways for the Bowmans? She decides her righteous ideals are more important that being truthful with her husband and gets her whole family into danger. They were fine hiding out in the mountains, but Katie couldn't stand it. She made everyone go in search of this resistance block. Now that crazy commander is holding them hostage, refusing to believe they don't work for the occupation. Katie got them into this mess as well.
Reply by Kathy
on জুলাই 11, 2018 at 10:07 PM
I hadn't really noticed that Katy was a loose canon and something of a liability til she claimed that she would fight because everyone's family is as important as hers, I don't really remember where she said it. And then she seemed to give herself a check when they made it to Seattle and she saw her family maimed or dead. Was her idea of the resistance (going behind Will's collaborator's back in Season 1) really the best way? You have to be smarter about these moves, not just full of piss and vinegar to get the hosts/IGA.
Reply by write2topcat
on জুলাই 12, 2018 at 1:13 AM
Agreed. They had Katy always making emotional decisions without thinking them through. It seems TV writers often write characters that way. It's as though as long as the character is highly emotional about something they are considered to be justified or right, something like that. I doubt that in real life a woman like Katy would have ignored the danger to her family until one of them wound up dead because of her actions. She is an intelligent woman and would have considered the ramifications of what she was up to before exposing them all to danger. But in the show she didn't consider that. Once they hit Seattle she seemed to swing to the safety side. I guess the loss of Charlie made her put the children's safety as the highest priority, though she still cares about what happens to others.
Now she and Will have discovered more about the plans of the raps or aliens or whatever they are. Will is on a target list. It turns out there is no real safe path, keeping their heads down and working won't keep them free from harm. Now they are forced to do something.
But before they hit Seattle I was getting sick of Katy despite the justness of the cause she supports.
Reply by Kathy
on জুলাই 12, 2018 at 9:07 PM
I can see Bram moving away from his parents, thinking that he knows better and hoping to join the girlfriends family with Gracie in tow. Maybe this reckless emotionalism that you pointed out will get Bram or Gracie killed. We'll have to see if the writers are up to the task of showing the shortcomings of emotionally charged rhetoric to justify frantic and ill-thought , irresponsible actions.
Reply by write2topcat
on জুলাই 12, 2018 at 9:47 PM
Yeah Bram seems to like that family. And he is at that young brash age where some guys think they have it all figured out better than their parents. I doubt Bram or Gracie will die, at least not anytime soon. I think that would crush the Bowmans, send Will over the deep end if that happened so soon after Charlie died. But you never know. With television, anything can happen