Thursday, May 24, 2007
You Want An Update? Let Me Solve Your Problem:
Actually, I do have something to ramble about. Sorry, guys.
I have noticed a tendency of Mr Phil to make generalisations when dealing with people's specific circumstances. I do think that, by and large, people can actually be manipulated very easily, because we all do essentially think in the same way. This is only a generalisation, though and when dealing with a specific person and engage them as an individual, I'm almost offended by how he deals with them by almost exclusively throwing cliches at them. That ain't how psychiatry works, buddy. Yes, this is TV, so you don't have much time to get the point across and, you know, learn about the person you're trying to help, but damnit, you're giving your viewers the wrong impression that you are in fact being helpful and when it comes to audiences, daytime TV viewers can be pretty easily persuaded. It may seem that you've made a huge difference once the ad break rears its persuasive head (no, seriously, those silly ads they have showing during the day? Those are actually damned effective, apparently), but that ain't the case - these people are probably going to walk away and realise that what the nice man said very slowly, in his educated drawl...(how's that for a paradox?) doesn't fit their own circumstances at all that effectively: i.e: They're stubborn, lazy, anti-social, or just plain got some air time without looking like a complete n00b (or did they?).
Nobody can learn about somebody and give them guidance about their relationships, long-term or otherwise, in the empty space between ad breaks. It may work for Judge Judy, but damnit, when you're using the techniques below, it damn well shouldn't take too long.
1) Height advantage (still applies if it's assisted by terrain)
2) Legal clout
3) Yelling a lot
To be honest, I'm not sure I'm qualified to rant on about a subject that, with the very occasional exception, know nothing about. Sure, I can claim to have studied crowd manipulation/control in my own time, but I have never sat through an episode of Dr Phil, or, for that matter, Oprah or Judge Judy. For what it's worth (and I'm hoping it's worth something), I know little about psychiatry or psychology when applied to the individual.
I have noticed a tendency of Mr Phil to make generalisations when dealing with people's specific circumstances. I do think that, by and large, people can actually be manipulated very easily, because we all do essentially think in the same way. This is only a generalisation, though and when dealing with a specific person and engage them as an individual, I'm almost offended by how he deals with them by almost exclusively throwing cliches at them. That ain't how psychiatry works, buddy. Yes, this is TV, so you don't have much time to get the point across and, you know, learn about the person you're trying to help, but damnit, you're giving your viewers the wrong impression that you are in fact being helpful and when it comes to audiences, daytime TV viewers can be pretty easily persuaded. It may seem that you've made a huge difference once the ad break rears its persuasive head (no, seriously, those silly ads they have showing during the day? Those are actually damned effective, apparently), but that ain't the case - these people are probably going to walk away and realise that what the nice man said very slowly, in his educated drawl...(how's that for a paradox?) doesn't fit their own circumstances at all that effectively: i.e: They're stubborn, lazy, anti-social, or just plain got some air time without looking like a complete n00b (or did they?).
Nobody can learn about somebody and give them guidance about their relationships, long-term or otherwise, in the empty space between ad breaks. It may work for Judge Judy, but damnit, when you're using the techniques below, it damn well shouldn't take too long.
1) Height advantage (still applies if it's assisted by terrain)
2) Legal clout
3) Yelling a lot
To be honest, I'm not sure I'm qualified to rant on about a subject that, with the very occasional exception, know nothing about. Sure, I can claim to have studied crowd manipulation/control in my own time, but I have never sat through an episode of Dr Phil, or, for that matter, Oprah or Judge Judy. For what it's worth (and I'm hoping it's worth something), I know little about psychiatry or psychology when applied to the individual.
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