First & Last Names

General discussion about the nineteen episodes of "My So-Called Life". Note: Our episode guide can be found here.
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First & Last Names

Post by Guest » Mar 9th 2002, 4:29 pm

This show was fine, but two things: 1) Am I the only one who noticed that every time any character was referred to on the show, it was ALWAYS by their first AND last names???The whole duration of the show it was, "Oh, hi, Jordan Catalano!" "I'm going to see Rayanne Graf.""I love Jordan Catalano." "Mom, Rayanne Graff is so my best friend." "I don't want to get into this whole conversation about what happened between you and Jordan Catalano." I mean, how many of you refer to your best friend and boyfriend by their first and last names? YOU DON'T!
You just assume people know who you're talking about. "Mom, Ricky Vasquez is at the door." Whatever.#2) If I ever talked to my folks the way Angela talked to her folks,I would have been knocked into next week.

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by NIGHTJESSI » Mar 9th 2002, 5:25 pm

Now that you mention it, the first-and-last name thing is not much like reality. Then again, it wasn't so noticeable to me that it took away from the action. Maybe I'm just so biased because I love the show, but I think the first-and-last-name thing is just another reason why MSCL stands out from many of the other TV shows out there. The show simply has its own style.

As for Angela and the way she treated her parents, it was a bit more laidback than most parent-child relationships, but I have actually seen some households where the parents, for whatever reason, just sass the kids right back or even are indifferent to the attitude.

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by K-man » Mar 11th 2002, 9:57 am

Hey Anonymous,
Get an original thought. This bitch you just spun is practically verbatim from Jump-The-Shark.com. Some 'Life'-basher already made this entire (lame) point on that board. Using first and last names is just another interesting way the writers distinguished the show from all the other trash on TV. Why don't you mention the way Ricky [Vasquez] used the girls bathroom while your'e at it??? Get over yourself...Angela didn't need to be "knocked into next week" as you say for her dialogue with her parents. At least they communicated.

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by Joanna » Mar 11th 2002, 7:51 pm

Perhaps they did it just to give us something to think about - but personally IMHO I think that they did it for impact - to show the strength of individual characters in their own right - I also think that the main reason they did it was because each character related to another character in their own way depending on their relationship/friendship and each wanted to keep that connection strictly to themselves and to draw a divide between people and friendships (for example, 'this is my friend and that is yours' - I will refer to them via their surname to show you that I know this person on a different level to you). It is just a way of segmenting the characters but keeping them all relative to each other - it may not be true to reality but in this case it works. It is like Angela said in one episode something like 'it's so weird when people you know in entirely different ways are together' How do you act?' I think she is stood with Ricky and Rayanne at this time (in the corridor) and Brian comes over to discuss his extra credit mousey experiment. She can't speak to him the way she normally does because this would show the other two a side of her they don't see in their friendship with her. We ALL act differently with different people - like mixing work friends with college friends for example - they'll both know you in entirely different ways - hence the need for the constant use of surnames to distinguish the character relationships within MSCL...something Angela often feels the need to do as she is often the focal point for the network of characters. The world is a stage as it was once said! I think I make a valid opinion here - even if I do say so myself - so I think that surnames were needed to draw an subconcious line between characters - like the boiler room and the certain lines in school that certain people can't cross....Avercinia for example in 'Self-Esteem' (or however you spell her name!!!) I think the word for the use of surnames could be referred to as 'definition' (defining one character to another depending on the particular relationship they share).

As for the parent communication thing - I think Angela speaks to her parents better than most angst ridden teenagers - at least she does speak to them and she seems really close to them when they need to be. I think parents expect to be spoken to a bit off-hand sometimes - we've all been teenagers and know how hard it can be. I think she spoke to them just fine and this was portrayed in the show as realistic. I actually thought she was nice to them - I always think its strange how parents think you must talk to them in a certain way yet they think they can talk to you any which way they like - Angela was turning into an adult and she had to stand up for herself - any parent that would have knocked their child about for speaking like Angela as it were clearly has no respect for their's child's up bringing or the need to rebel in your teens to truely find out who you are and hey, also find out that not everything your parents say is acually right, right?

JOanna x

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by K-man » Mar 12th 2002, 10:45 am

I think Joanna makes excellent points. She refers to "Dancing in the Dark" where Angela Says," What I like dread is when people who know you in completely different ways end up in the same area. And you have to develop, this like, combination you, on the spot." "COMBINATION YOU"...That's beautiful! How many times have we all had to come up with a combination you?... How uncomfortable is that?
I actually admired Angela's relationship with her parents. She was way more open and sincere with them than I could ever have hoped to be at that age. Communication was pretty much non-existent with the folks when I was 15.

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by Colene » Mar 12th 2002, 11:56 am

I agree...I never wanted to volunteer anything to my parents. They were lucky to even have me at home!

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by Joanna » Mar 12th 2002, 7:37 pm

Thanks K-man ;0)

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by chosephine » Mar 13th 2002, 9:58 pm

I always found the whole first and last name thing kind of funny but I think of it as MSCL-speak. I think that every (good) show on television exists in it's own little world complete with catch phrases, trademark dialogue and it's own unique pacing. As long as it's consistent, it's fine.

Also, I always found it interesting that everyone on MSCL was referred to by their first and last name except for Tino. (Did he even have a last name?) I wonder what that says about him? Hmm...

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by K-man » Mar 14th 2002, 9:55 am

Is my memory slipping or was Ricky usually referred to only by his first name? It seems to me that everyone just called him 'Ricky'. Except of course for Mr. Katimski who called him 'Enrique'. (hope i spelled that right.) Please respond.

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by NIGHTJESSI » Mar 14th 2002, 12:19 pm

K-man, Rickie was a case where he was sometimes Rickie but other times he was Rickie Vasquez, if my memory serves me correctly.

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by dTheater » Mar 15th 2002, 1:19 am

I can see why you posted this anonymously.

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by Colene » Mar 15th 2002, 5:55 am

I think there are a few cases where Rayanne called Rickie strictly be his last name..

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Re: First & Last Names

Post by Joanna » Mar 15th 2002, 2:49 pm

Totally! She definitely did that alot - like Brian called Angela 'Chase' alot.....and Sharon called Brian 'Krakow' alot.....can't say anyone ever refers to me by my surname but I think it works v.well in this show.....being in the UK I always assumed that the surname thing was an American high-school trait!


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