Friday, May 30, 2008

McCain - Badass Dialog

If I'm writing a screenplay and wanting to come up with good dialog - who do I choose: the McCain character or the Obama character?

Here's one vote for McCain (w/ a few gblack edits):

JG: What do you think motivates Iran?

JM: I don’t try to divine people’s motives. I look at their actions and what they say. I don’t pretend to be an expert on the state of their emotions. I do know what their nation’s stated purpose is, I do know they continue in the development of nuclear weapons, and I know that they continue to support terrorists who are bent on the destruction of the state of Israel. You’ll have to ask someone who engages in this psycho stuff to talk about their emotions.


Cheers erupt from my section of the audience.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

isn't it important--nay, vital--to understand a person's/nation's motives? that statement seems like he wasn't really thinking when he responded to the question. i understand the importance of not getting wrapped up in too much over-thinking and second-guessing, but don't you always need to know WHY something is being said or done?

Greg said...

no.

i think it's important to know what nations/people WANT, but totally inconsequential to know WHY THEY WANT WHAT THEY WANT.

take your girlfriend - she wants flowers on valentines day. you should know this and get her flowers. but to try to discern WHY she wants flowers from an emotional standpoint? gimme a break, we all know it's fruitless. maybe because her daddy didn't show her enough affection, maybe so she can show off to girlfriends, maybe she needs to see you validate your love, maybe she likes being doted upon...and it's all probably a mix of these things anyway. it's all unknowable - that's the point, so to try and discern it like a psychotherapist is a waste of time and ultimately futile exercise