Does anybody like Jordan Catalano?

General discussion about the nineteen episodes of "My So-Called Life". Note: Our episode guide can be found here.
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worldsapart
Between Names
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Re: Can you say "emotional abuse"

Post by worldsapart » Jun 27th 2000, 8:47 pm

The life of a teenage girl is inherently emotionally abusive...what I mean is, as far as relationships and boys go, just about any guy is going to make you hurt at some point and time (yes, I am sure there are those lucky ones that don't, BUT). For example, for the entire length of high school, I had a crush on the SAME guy. As I got to know him, he sometimes seemed to be attracted to me as well. We would be very close for periods of time, but then, when it was convenient to him (like, let's say, a prettier girl paid attention to him, or something like that), he would almost completely ignore me. It's a bit more complicated than that, as most things are, but you get the general idea. Anyway, some might consider it emotional abuse- I know that some of my friends did at the time. BUT it wasn't. It wasn't intentional, he was just being a teenage male. And just so you know, 6 years after I met him, we're still just friends, but we ARE friends.

Sooo, in saying all that...I think that Jordan is just being normal, or as "normal" as a guy with his background can be. He has trouble relating to Angela, and therefore trouble dealing with her emotions. Both he and Rayanne regret the whole betrayal incident, plus, don't forget that Angela and Jordan had actually broken up when that happened. I also think that Angela makes Jordan nervous sometimes. Remember when they were supposed to have their date, and Jordan kept hanging around playing his guitar, almost like he was afraid to face her. Maybe he thinks she will think he is stupid. Along those lines, think about the whole making out in the boiler room and taking her to the house to have sex....it's like those are the parts of the whole relationship process that he has mastered. Those are the parts he's good at. If he can't do the conversation part well, he WANTS to do the other part well, and when Angela "ruins" that part for him, and tries to focus back on the conversation, it upsets him to the point of being irrational. Does that make sense? Once again, I haven't been home from work long and I'm not thinking real clearly. =)

Sorry I haven't been around in a while! I hope you guys aren't tired of this topic because I'm curious to hear more of what you guys have to say about this. This is an excellent discussion topic!

BTW, I just ordered the DVD, so I should have it in a week or so. Yay!!

Tracey

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Re: Can you say "emotional abuse"

Post by Guest » Jul 7th 2000, 11:36 pm

I just have to say, LIFE is emotional abuse. You can't say it's abnormal, that any "abuse" Jordan did to Angela was unacceptable, unheard of. You can't categorize it like you would physical abuse; it's not that simple.
-Alee

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Re: abused

Post by Guest » Jul 7th 2000, 11:44 pm

You know, a while back when we had that whole Brian or Jordan discussion, I felt like everyone was so opposed to Jordan. But now it's nice to see that they don't truly think he's a horrible person or anything. And for those who do, you seem to have no proof for many of the things you accuse him of; you've just assumed...or fabricated. And it's not fair to do that. Anyway, there are so many things that show how much Jordan truly cares for Angela, it's just ridiculous; I'm not gonna try and think of them all to list.
-Alee

SarahHall82
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Re: abused

Post by SarahHall82 » Jul 9th 2000, 1:01 pm

I have a feeling that most of the guys don't like Jordan because they see him as one of these guys who all the girls like for material reasons and would much rather see a cool girl like Angela go for the unpopular boy- Brian who they can relate to more. Truth is, that just doesn't happen, most girls are attracted to the moody, good looking and mysterious guys who they may not even have spoken to, but are friends with the 'normal' guys.A mutual MSCL male friend of mine would certainly have liked to see Angela with Brian because in his mind he WAS Brian.
I personally lusted after this boy for about 2 years who was soooooo Jordan, I spoke to him about once but couldn't really get over him and move onto someone who I would obviously be more happy with because......well I don't know why, I suppose I felt I had to ease his pain, he was a loner in the 'popular' crowd you see and I felt that he needed 'saving'. I haven't seen him for months but I know that if I did see him those feelings would come back.
It's sometimes easier to go for the unattainable rather than the attainable because the chase, althoug harsh is more interesting. I certainly know that when my 'normal' male friends are attracted to me it's very hard to face facts and talk to them about it, and I can see that Angela, not being especially close to Brian wouldn't have done that, she would have got all flustered and probably annoyed with him at trying to cover it up so deciding to not bother until it had got too far was the best decision.
This message has kind of lost the message I was trying to convey, but basically as in life we don't face up to reality as we should because the fantasy world is usually better- too much Ally McBeal for me I think !!!
Sarah :-)

NIGHTJESSI
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Re: Does anybody like Jordan Catalano?

Post by NIGHTJESSI » Jan 13th 2002, 12:56 pm

Goodness gracious! I hope I don't get kicked off this forum for resurrecting so many old discussions.

I don't think Jordan was a creep at all. Yes, at times he shut Angela out, but I think that was more his fear of her being so different from him and in his mind, her being out of his league. Sure, he could get the blonde beauties like Cynthia Hargrove, but it was much harder to get someone like Angela who had more substance to her.

He definitely screwed (certainly no pun intended) up big time in Betrayal, but he was really affected by what Angela was doing with Corey. Granted, it's not excusable but it's understandable given his frame of mind as well as Rayanne's connection to Angela. And after that moment, he truly realizes what he's lost and does everything he can to win her back.

Is Jordan perfect? No. But he's much more than he appears to be on the surface. He might come off as the dumb guy who is emotionally aloof, but when it all comes down to it, he really does have that sensitive side that he does show to Angela and usually only Angela because she takes him to a place where he has never been.

"When you drink from the cup of life, chug." ~ Citibank billboard

Joanna
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Re: Does anybody like Jordan Catalano?

Post by Joanna » Jan 13th 2002, 4:18 pm

Jordan is harmless because he had no brain and that's what makes him a not-very-nice-to-know-boy. He means no harm to Angela but will always end up hurting her because he has no understanding (unlike Brain) ---- like most 15 year old girls, most of us have fallen for Jordan's type at some point in our lives because men/boys like him are lovable rogues---- as we get older we realise that people like Brian, whom we have never really noticed before, are the real caring and intelligent men that interest us......Jordan should be kept firmly as a young-love for teenagers.....I do so wish they had ended the series with 'Angela and Brian' maybe having a hug or a kiss as Angela finally realised what was in her grasp?? By Angela getting in Jordan's car at the end implies that Angela should make friends with Rayanne as well as she has seemingly forgiven Jordan - but us girls will always blame the girls and never the men in our lives (my apologies - I am not speaking for everyone --- merely analysing the characters!!!!!)

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