A Quote
One of the better parts of the film when Annie says:
“You'll never know the fear of losing someone like you when you're someone like me”.
I mean it’s a good insight into her pathological insecurity but it’s not a particularly relatable concept.
shareI find it relatable. You don't have to take "someone like me" literally, as in you have to be a psycho super fan/stalker. Anyone who has ever felt less than and found solace in the works of great artists could probably relate
shareI find solace in the works of many great artists, but I can’t relate because I tend not to hold them prisoner and therefore don’t find myself worrying about ‘losing’ them.
When Peter Finch says "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" in Network, do you not find that relatable because you tend not to be a burnt-out news anchor from the 70s?
The quote is relatable in the same way that song lyrics are relatable, by removing them from their context and relating to the feeling that the words themselves invoke
Yes but I don’t myself in positions where I fear losing a great artist because I don’t capture them or find myself possessing them in any way.
shareWell it doesn't have to be a great artist
It's not like Paul Sheldon is actually a great artist in the movie. He's a writer of popular Romance novels, those always suck
But to Annie he's great, and his works are very important to her. "Someone like you" could be anybody in your life who you greatly respect, admire, or more broadly anybody you have ever been afraid of losing because of how much they have added to your life
Beyond that, the relatability of the quote doesn't even need to apply to people It's the FEELING behind the quote. The fear and dread that Annie is feeling in that moment can apply to losing ANYTHING that means a lot to them
Well it doesn't have to be a great artist
You used the analogy of a great artist, and it doesn’t work for me. I don’t imprison great artists nor anyone else.
It's not like Paul Sheldon is actually a great artist in the movie. He's a writer of popular Romance novels, those always suck.
But to Annie he's great, and his works are very important to her.
Yes but she’s trying to keep him. That’s what I can’t relate to, I don’t try to keep people, and I certainly don’t imprison them.
"Someone like you" could be anybody in your life who you greatly respect, admire, or more broadly anybody you have ever been afraid of losing because of how much they have added to your life
Well that takes an enormous amount of low self esteem and insecurity on the part of the ‘loser’ which I can’t relate to.
Beyond that, the relatability of the quote doesn't even need to apply to people It's the FEELING behind the quote. The fear and dread that Annie is feeling in that moment can apply to losing ANYTHING that means a lot to them
Too broad. ‘Someone like me’ means an insecure socially low status nobody, and ‘someone like you’ means a rich, famous, successful celeb with many fans. I just don’t have those kinds of relationships in my life, and certainly not to the point that I possessed them in any way, so I don’t share Annie’s special ‘fear’. share
I don't think I've explained myself well enough, because you are fundamentally misunderstanding my point
Let me put this another way: Stephen King wrote the novel that this is based on. Obviously, this story is a metaphor for the obsessive fandom that he witnessed as a writer
We can be sure of two things: that Stephen King was never literally in the same situation as Paul Sheldon and that he wrote a very memorable character in Annie Wilkes
How did he write about a situation that he had never literally been in? Through imagination. Transforming his own personal experiences into fictional stories (which is the opposite process of what I am describing: relating fictional stories to personal experiences using imagination)
How did he write a memorable character in Annie Wilkes? In his own words:
"Writers must be fair and remember even bad guys (most of them, anyway) see themselves as good—they are the heroes of their own lives. Giving them a fair chance as characters can create some interesting shades of gray—and shades of gray are also a part of life."
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Another quote to illustrate my point. This is Aaron Sorkin's advice on writing bad guys:
"[Y]ou have to have empathy. You can’t judge the character,” he said. “Even outright antagonists like [Jack] Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men, you really want to write them like they’re making their case to God [about] why they should be allowed into heaven."
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I know this is from a writer's POV, not a consumer's, but I approach art that I consume in sort of the same way. There is no point in getting all serious about judging a fictional character's morality because it's not like they really exist. Instead, I try to find what is relatable about them. And by relatable I don't mean that they are like me, I mean that if I try to use my imagination I can understand what they are feeling and why, even if I do not condone it
On the contrary, I think you’ve misunderstood my point.
I said of Annie’s quote that it’s a good insight into her pathological insecurity but it’s not a particularly relatable concept.
I understand what she’s saying perfectly, I can even empathise with her in that moment using my imagination, but what she’s describing is the fear of losing a high-status successful celebrity type if you’re an insecure low-status nobody, and that’s not something I can relate to.
Why? Because I don’t have such relationships in my life, and I don’t try to ‘keep’ people.
I get why Annie experiences that, and I can empathise with her in that moment, but it’s not something that reflects my life.
I have sometimes considered and even worried (needlessly) that stars of my favorite shows may die and I'll never get to see a real ending to the shows.
Its selfish and a strange thing to think about. But some actors are up there in age and makes you wonder.