The Power of the Pen/Pencil

[Summoned]

I suspect this will end up being more than a little tangled, but a couple of things started to run together in my mind, and I just thought everyone should be forced to confront for a moment the laborings of an unsound mind.

Anyway, when I was watching "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" the other day, I noticed that there are some moderately interesting things going on with pens and pencils in the episode, with two scenes in particular standing out. Patty on the phone with Tony Poole doodles with a pencil while talking in a voice that Angela describes as "totally different". The other scene that struck me was when Delia and Rickie have their moment at Katimski's, where Delia bluntly asks Rickie if he is gay. Prior to answering the question, Rickie has been twirling a pencil in his hand, but at the moment he answers her question, and first admits directly that he is gay, he puts the pencil down.

Which is all well and good, but put it in context with Brian writing The Letter, and we seem to have a mechanism wherein anything written is false, or lacks the genuine (echoes of Vic's characterization of the class's creative writing before his arrival). I don't think that this holds up in every instance, but in this one episode there are elements of a structure.

And the one other moment with a pen that I remember standing out is in "Betrayal" when Mr. Catalano tries to return the pen from his mouth to Angela, conflating the two modes of discourse that are key for their relationship. Which is kind of cool, IMHO, but I also started thinking about Say Anything and John Cusack getting a pen for his heart.

Just a few things that keep me up during the day.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Semi-related, but did you also notice how many people on the show are left-handed?

Brian (when he is writing Jordan's letter to Angela on the back of the Our Town poster)

Mr. Katimski ("What does Odysseus want?" after he gives up coffee)

Rickie (signing up for drama club - this one I'm not 100% sure about, so can anyone else confirm or deny?)

[Natasha (candygirl)]

And the one other moment with a pen that I remember standing out is in "Betrayal" when Mr. Catalano tries to return the pen from his mouth to Angela, conflating the two modes of discourse that are key for their relationship. Which is kind of cool, IMHO, but I also started thinking about Say Anything and John Cusack getting a pen for his heart.

Kickboxing, sport of the future.



Seriously, that is a great MSCL/Say Anything connection.