everyone pretended they didn't know each other

[tigerlilly711]

I felt like all the characters were interwoven and all hungout at some point. But I felt like they all acted like they didnt know each other at all. Like Jordan Catalano kept calling Brian, Brain even though he had been to his house and stuff. Sharon had like spent the weekend with Rickie but when Delia Fisher asked about him she said she didnt know anything about him. It just seems really weird. Any thoughts?

[nkatsa]

i actually thought the way it actually happened made it more realistic. on a lot of tv shows two characters will share two scenes and a kiss, and all of a sudden they're calling each other the love of their life. puhhhleeeaze.

i think the characters are being more honest here in saying that just because sharon has been in the same place as rickie a couple of times doesn't mean she can presume to know him or what he's about. they all know of each other, but in a show where there's so much focus on their desire to forge real connections with someone, it would be presumptious to assume they really know each other based on something so small. Especially when they seem to be from such different walks of life- ie. sharon and rickie, brian and jordan... I think that what's interesting is seeing the ways REAL connections start to be forged in unlikely places and how or why that happens... like the relationships slowly building between Brian and Rickie, Sharon and Rayanne, maybe even Patty and Rayanne.

I think it's like Angela once reflected on...
"Did I know Jordan Catalano? That question, like, got to me. We had had seven conversations, one really bad kiss... and one amazing one. But did I like, know him?"
like in real life, getting to know someoen is not just a matter of sharing screenspace.

[Nostradamus]

I concur; there seems to be some conscious and/or unconscious self censoring going on here: Graham and Hallie pretend their relationship is purely platonic, Angela can't believe that Brian is attracted to her, Rayanne downplays her night with Brian, then exaggerates it later. To some extent, the characters even dismiss their knowledge of themselves: Graham claims to be content working for the print shop, the students water down their pre-Racine Lit entries, etc.

I think in most of these cases they would have been better off admitting the truth, but there was always the threat, real or perceived, of some consequence or awkwardness which held it in check.

[Megs]

Rayanne downplays her night with Brian, then exaggerates it later.

When did she exaggerate it? I am having a brain fart and can't remember.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I think Nostradamus is referring to when Rayanne says, "I slept with him once." Once again, Rayanne putting an interesting spin on things!

[Nostradamus]

I think Nostradamus is referring to when Rayanne says, "I slept with him once." Once again, Rayanne putting an interesting spin on things!

Yup, in So-Called Angels, with Sharon at the teen helpline. I don't think Sharon bought it, though.

[Kheldy]

It sure was great of Rayanne to use such a simple fact to mean so much more, and although Sharon may not have bought it we all knew it was true! Made me laugh anyway

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I felt like all the characters were interwoven and all hungout at some point. But I felt like they all acted like they didnt know each other at all. Like Jordan Catalano kept calling Brian, Brain even though he had been to his house and stuff. Sharon had like spent the weekend with Rickie but when Delia Fisher asked about him she said she didnt know anything about him. It just seems really weird. Any thoughts?

I think that the reason why they acted like they didn't know each other is that many of them really didn't know each other.

Although Jordan did park his car in front of Brian's house once, he thought it was Angela's house (remember when Brian came out of the house, Jordan asked, "Why are you here?" and Brian replied, "I live here."). At that point, I doubt that Jordan knew Brian's name. If Jordan bothered to go to class (like English, which they had together), he would have heard the teachers calling out Brian's name repeatedly. Since we have seen that Jordan did not have what we would call an exemplary attendance record (Bueller?), it's not surprising that Jordan mistakenly calls Brian "Brain." Brian never corrects him, which is why Jordan continues to call him "Brain" even after they begin to be friends near the end of the series.

Sharon spent the weekend at Angela's house, but that doesn't mean she spent a lot of time with Rickie. Considering how many people were at the house that weekend (Rayanne, Rickie, Sharon, Brian, Angela, and Danielle) and Sharon's relationship with each of them (she has known Angela, Brian, and Danielle most of her life, and she is friends with Rayanne but hasn't admitted it yet), it's not difficult to imagine that she didn't spend much time getting Rickie that weekend. Prior to that weekend, she has not spent any time alone with Rickie - she sees him as Rayanne and Angela's friend. I don't think it's because Sharon and Rickie dislike each other, but because, as Sharon says, she knows nothing about him. Given the right situation, it's possible that Sharon and Rickie could become friends. Similar to the relationship between Jordan and Brian, Sharon and Rickie move in different social groups so they have very limited interaction.

There is an interesting essay you might want to read called [url=http://www.mscl.com/angelasworld/geomet ... layout=low]the geometry of Angela's world[url] - it's another way of explaining the karass that Patty and Amber acknowledge they are all a part of. There are all sorts of connections between the members of this group, some of them stronger than others. It's too simple to say that Angela is the spoke in this wheel. If you have ever seen the "six degrees of sex" diagrams in Maxim (or Stuff?) magazine, you'll know what I'm talking about - there is overlap between relationships, links between people, etc. We view these characters as people in Angela's universe, but not all of them have close relationships with each other. I like that MSCL portrays this honestly, rather than going the 90210 "you're my new best friend" route.

[TomSpeed]

Although it's not a perfect solar system, many of the characters do seem to orbit around Angela. As I've mentioned before, MSCL seems to mirror The Heart is a Lonley Hunter. Both stories share a central figure who brings many different people into relationships with each other. However, they all know each other in different ways and varying degrees. Sharon doesn't know Rickie very well. She only knows him through Angela. I agree that levels of knowledge the characters of MSCL have about each other seem to be very realistic.

[TomSpeed]

I think Nostradamus is referring to when Rayanne says, "I slept with him once." Once again, Rayanne putting an interesting spin on things!

Yes, I didn't make the connection between the two incidents. Rayanne DID sleep with Brian once during the "Halloween" episode.

[inhirnamy]

When Jordan called Brian, "Brain", I think it's so symbolic of the way Jordan see's Brian. He sees Brian as an incredibly smart, maybe nerdy guy. A "Brain"