Why can't the nation handle the truth?

[Janx]

A common trope of Jack Bauer and other shows is that the Nation can't handle the truth. That another scandal would destroy America's faith in government.

This seems preposterous. I think a more plausible response is "let's vote those jerks out of office" than "OMG, the government is made up of jerks, it's the end of civilization as we know it!"

When did this kind of thinking start? Is there any historical evidence to support its validity?

Ford pardoned Nixon under this premise. But I have to wonder, would America feel better seeing a crook get prosecuted than seeing a crook walk free or learning that he walked free?

I think it would be more damaging to learn about shady back room deals that never face consequences, than to learn about somebody's bad behavior and seeing them punished. The latter would restore my faith in a system that corrects itself.

As always, avoid talking about actual politics. I'm interested in the concept and the thinking behind it, not in any comparison to some current situation.

 

[delericho]

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it."

Agent K, Men in Black.

 

[Kzach]

I was just thinking about a similar trope, that of characters withholding vital plot information from their friends because... well... because it's vital plot information! Drama must be had if it's NOT told because it'd pop and fizzle if it was told. It always bugged me because people just aren't like that and will blab about anything to each other. And in a particular sci-fi series I had thought to myself, "Oh, this character now has vital plot information so of course she won't share it with any of her friends," and then they went and had her share it the very next episode.

If you don't have established tropes, how on earth can you excite audiences by switching things up and going against them?

 

[Janx]

I was just thinking about a similar trope, that of characters withholding vital plot information from their friends because... well... because it's vital plot information! Drama must be had if it's NOT told because it'd pop and fizzle if it was told. It always bugged me because people just aren't like that and will blab about anything to each other. And in a particular sci-fi series I had thought to myself, "Oh, this character now has vital plot information so of course she won't share it with any of her friends," and then they went and had her share it the very next episode.

If you don't have established tropes, how on earth can you excite audiences by switching things up and going against them?

Yeah, the "my friends can't handle the truth" also gets old. I tend to surround myself with people who I trust and can handle statements like "I'm actually an Alien CIA operative and last year I found out your father was really an ex-KGB Jovian Spy bent on destroying New Mexico and he died during my attempt to apprehend him. I'm sorry."

I suspect more spies break the news to their family than live a double-life that makes them look like a Cheaters suspect.

I suspect that aliens don't exist because there's too many underpaid government workers involved who would blab to somebody about what they actually do for a living.

 

[delericho]

I was just thinking about a similar trope, that of characters withholding vital plot information from their friends because... well... because it's vital plot information! Drama must be had if it's NOT told because it'd pop and fizzle if it was told.

Yeah, I detest that, and it seems to occur far too often in TV-land. This alone almost destroyed "Lost" for me.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I tend to surround myself with people who I trust and can handle statements like "I'm actually an Alien CIA operative and last year I found out your father was really an ex-KGB Jovian Spy bent on destroying New Mexico and he died during my attempt to apprehend him. I'm sorry."

I'm surrounded by friends whom I trust, one of whom actually is an Alien CIA operative who last year found out his father was really an ex-KGB Jovian Spy bent on destroying New Mexico and who died during his attempt to apprehend him.

I was skeptical at first...

 

[Style]

I suspect that aliens don't exist because there's too many underpaid government workers involved who would blab to somebody about what they actually do for a living.

That was my thinking also. And then a friend who is an underpaid government worker blabbed to me about exactly that. Whether he was telling the truth or not is another matter, but the context was extremely peculiar and it seemed unlikely he was trying to do anything other than unburden himself. So now I don't know what to think. Although I am trying to decide whether tinfoil counts as a valid fashion accessory under any circumstances.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I was just thinking about a similar trope, that of characters withholding vital plot information from their friends because... well... because it's vital plot information! Drama must be had if it's NOT told because it'd pop and fizzle if it was told. It always bugged me because people just aren't like that and will blab about anything to each other. And in a particular sci-fi series I had thought to myself, "Oh, this character now has vital plot information so of course she won't share it with any of her friends," and then they went and had her share it the very next episode.

If you don't have established tropes, how on earth can you excite audiences by switching things up and going against them?

This was probably my biggest annoyance in the wheel of time series. People witholding vital plot information which would have cut most of the books in half. Hmmpfh.

 

[Umbran]

This was probably my biggest annoyance in the wheel of time series. People witholding vital plot information which would have cut most of the books in half. Hmmpfh.

It isn't a sci-fi/fantasy issue either. It's general. Plots that exist merely because the characters cannot manage to have a simple conversation like mature adults are fairly commonplace.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It's not just an issue with adult conversations, either. How many movies would be only 15 minutes long if someone just called the cops, or turned around at the first signs of trouble?

(Search YouTube for Eddie Murphy's standup on haunted houses.)