Ok, again, the conversation leads down the same line--how everything can be explained away with some
hindsight psychology. Some rationalization. How we have failed to understand the characters.
After reading this post, which is remarkably similar to many others we've had questioning things the show is doing, I had the following thought: A GOOD show is a show that within its 1/2 hour or 1 hour or whatever can FULLY CAPTURE the characters insides, outsides...everything. It can do this in one episode, two, or it may take months. It is where things make sense..the rhythm makes sense. It doesn't have to be perfect. Occasional liberties have to be taken.
Having said that, when you are seeing that don't make sense and have to rely on someone who works on the show to explain it, then there is a problem with the show. There is something that is not translating to on-screen. We are lucky that Adi has been so good about explaining things from her perspective, and addressing our criticisms.🤗
"Idle viewing", whatever that means, is what TV is for. It is there to also get you to think, to accept, to question, etc. Take ART, or LITERATURE, or MUSIC. Any form of expression. You develop a reaction to it, a feel of it, an opinion, a learning that is of your own creation. You do not just accept an "official" explanation of it.
There is NO manual at the bottom of the TV screen, or next to a painting, explaining characters--we use our standards, experiences, values in judging them. Viewers do NOT and should NOT need someone to explain the "official" psychology of a character. If it is not coming through on the screen in the character's words, actions, expressions, then something is WRONG.
As I mentioned, one of the things about TV is that it gets you to think, to question. And that is completely valid, because if I'm questioning it, then there are many others (including those at kitty parties😆) to whom the same or similar questions/thoughts occurred. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the comment on idle viewership. But I have to ask, how is my questioning a form of IDLE VIEWERSHIP? Idle viewership is when you accept everything you see and say of course it has a reason, of course it's right, it's genius! Is it idle because I do not understand or accept the "official" version
I could be wrong here, but I think, when viewers question a character's goodness, it is active involvement in the show. So when I say Naku is a liar, she is. Not because I'm ignoring her psychology or her background. It is because, at the end of the day, lying is something most people try to understand on some level (maybe it's because she is scared, hell I'm scared of losing things too), but will NEVER forgive, especially if taken too far and especially when too many chances have come and gone to redeem yourself with the truth. That is why I am so shocked at how we repeatedly excuse Naku's behavior. Poor girl, boo hoo, came from the slums. You can only rely on that excuse for so long. Arre, it would be a field day for defense attorneys if we judged people completely by the excuses or explanations.
And that is how I feel about Naku. I could say, psychology tells me that because of her impoverished background and Mommie Dearest making decisions, she has NO CLUE about what is RIGHT and WRONG, LYING or NOT LYING, she suffers from DECISION PARALYSIS. Let me throw some more psychological terms in there: she has PTSD because of More, poor self-esteem, passive-aggressive issues (sometimes sherni/sometimes not)...I could go on. Hence, we can't blame her. We have to understand and still respect her. Are you serious???? A woman who can judge Anna's actions (how do I know Anna didn't have a tough life, explaining his need for power?), everybody's actions (inclding the drinking, the gussa), and has that insightful gut feeling about people we all talk about, YET SHE DOES NOT KNOW RIGHT OR WRONG? If she can tell that Anna is bad, Subbhu is good, DP seems good...well she does know what is good and bad. And, we are all scared of losing the ones and things we love, but at some point she should have mustered up the courage to say the truth.
Perhaps I am missing the boat here, but I really feel strongly about how the show has handled the Naku character.
