Why Do All the Conversation Seem So Melodramatic

[Agony_Boothb]

It's especially odd from Burnham, who had a Vulcan upbringing after all.

Actually it's not. Burnham may have been raised on Vulcan but she is still human and was raised by human parents for 11 years of her life. Being raised on Vulcan was bad for Burnham, because she could never achieve the level of emotional supression that vulcans do. This led to Burnham having difficulty regulating her emotions and she never fully dealt with the trauma of her parents death, which is why she behaved the way she did at the battle of the binary stars.

Emotional suppression is BAD for humans and leads to all sorts psychological issues.

 

[at Quark's]

That's in our real world, yes. Perhaps the Vulcans in the magical ST universe have found some way that doesn't.

Also: by nature, Vulcans have even stronger emotions. So what makes that suppressing those wouldn't be equally bad, or even worse, for them? We already know that trying to do so during Pon Farr can be lethal. Suppressing repressed memories (real or fake) is also more dangerous to them than to us, according to Flashback (VOY).

 

[Agony_Boothb]

By nature, Vulcans have even stronger emotions. So what makes that suppressing those wouldn't be equally bad, or even worse, for them? We already know that trying to do so during Pon Farr can be lethal.

Vulcans have been practicing emotional supression for thousands of years with multitude of techniques that work for them. You cannot expect a human child to be able to adhere to that.

Also Vulcans aren't real. The psychological effects of emotional suppression on humans is well documented and very real.

 

[at Quark's]

Power and self-interest corrupts, which is also a very well documented and real effect in lots of psychological studies. Yet Star Trek humanity has largely overcome that kind of egotism - except for some 'evil individuals' of course, otherwise we would have no story. Picard even believes humanity has become 'more evolved'. If I accept that, I can also accept Vulcan mental discipline rubbing off on humans, realistic or not.

 

[BillJ]

So this whole show why does it seem like whenever anyone has conversations they are emotional, flattering, complementing, misty eyed etc. The closest I can come to explaining it as everyone seems to have a proverbial continuous lump in their throat. It's hilarious really but also annoying. Has anyone else noticed this?

Just the way the writers want to be. Some folks seem to like it. It doesn’t work for me.

 

[Jayson1]

Or perhaps your experience is different due to who you are and how you interact with others.

Which brings up I think a good point. Maybe if some of the characters were very open with their emotions yet some of the others weren't then you would have a better show. It's funny that despite the hows racially and sexual diverse the show is it lacks it in diverse personalities.

The show does have some good to sold characters but I would love to see what would happened if you tossed in a Odo or Quark or KIra or Worf type to contrast with them and then see the drama that would come from that. Right now the characters are never really challenged and when they bring in someone like the President they basically roll over and make her a Burnham fan instantly. It's the Voyager problem all over. The create The Maquis and then they blend in way to fast but at lest Voyager still had enough conflicting types that they still were able to get better drama than Discovery is.

To me they need to remember the value Lorca brought to the show in season 1 before we found out he was a cartoon character. A deeply conflicted man suffering from PSD was interesting. I liked the security chief who was a asshole and was killed to early. I really wish they would make Jett Reno a regular because her being sarcastic is way more fun to watch than people emotionally bonding over yelling and trauma sand.

 

[nic3636]

I thought this was way more over the top in S3. It’s definitely there in S4 but kept at a more reasonable level. Take Burnham as an example, in S3 she was always on the verge of tears over every little thing but it didn’t seem to happen as much in S4.

 

[FederationHistorian]

Because her Vulcan upbringing was bullshit. It layered over trauma and suppressed emotions in an unhealthy way. Her upbringing was not healthy.

So, in other words, she should be slowly turning away from Vulcan philosophy and look towards Romulan philosophy instead?

Personally I've had no problem with Burnham's development over the four seasons as she grows beyond her Vulcan upbringing (especially as flashbacks early in the series show her behaving even more Vulcan). I think each of the showrunners has generally gotten Burnham right.

The trouble is that every other character seems to have been on a journey to the same place, with every one of them now as sensitive as they are considerate, and painfully earnest. I've been watching Legends of Tomorrow at the same time, and those characters are just as much of a loving family as the Discovery crew, but they're so much more interesting to watch and so much more relatable because they can joke around and argue with each other. There's a joy in how they play off each other and a spark to their dialogue that just isn't there in Discovery in season 4.

Oh, I could've used Picard as an example instead. The characters in that are way way more interesting than Disco's s4 cast to me, to the point where I enjoy every episode just because I get to watch them interact. They're holding their show together, while Disco's characters have been holding theirs back.

Obviously this is all my own opinion, I'm just saying that anyone who has a problem with Disco's dialogue lately isn't alone.

And who do you think would be good candidates to be the opposite of being sensitive, considerate and painfully earnest among the crew?

Which brings up I think a good point. Maybe if some of the characters were very open with their emotions yet some of the others weren't then you would have a better show. It's funny that despite the hows racially and sexual diverse the show is it lacks it in diverse personalities.

The show does have some good to sold characters but I would love to see what would happened if you tossed in a Odo or Quark or KIra or Worf type to contrast with them and then see the drama that would come from that. Right now the characters are never really challenged and when they bring in someone like the President they basically roll over and make her a Burnham fan instantly. It's the Voyager problem all over. The create The Maquis and then they blend in way to fast but at lest Voyager still had enough conflicting types that they still were able to get better drama than Discovery is.

To me they need to remember the value Lorca brought to the show in season 1 before we found out he was a cartoon character. A deeply conflicted man suffering from PSD was interesting. I liked the security chief who was a asshole and was killed to early. I really wish they would make Jett Reno a regular because her being sarcastic is way more fun to watch than people emotionally bonding over yelling and trauma sand.

The crew is in the 32nd century. They should be running into people and interacting with people that have more diverse personalities than theirs and handle trauma differently from them.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

And who do you think would be good candidates to be the opposite of being sensitive, considerate and painfully earnest among the crew?

I don't know if I'd want any of them to be the opposite, but I think there's room for all of them to develop a bit of range. Burnham could find times where she has to be a stern commander. Saru could get a bit of his s2 cockiness and frustration back "Am I the only one who bothered to learn a foreign language?". Stamets and Reno could return to their fun rivalry, and his stubborness could lead to him butting heads with people over things. Detmer's been described as macho, so let her be that and give her more to do. Maybe Adira could pull a Jadzia Dax and find a more mischievous side emerging from her previous hosts.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Power and self-interest corrupts, which is also a very well documented and real effect in lots of psychological studies. Yet Star Trek humanity has largely overcome that kind of egotism - except for some 'evil individuals' of course, otherwise we would have no story. Picard even believes humanity has become 'more evolved'. If I accept that, I can also accept Vulcan mental discipline rubbing off on humans, realistic or not.

I don't think they're really comparable at all. You're talking about a cultural and behavioural shift vs something that has a inherent biological component. Given that Vulcan brains and brain chemistry is completely different to humans, Burnham could at best immitate the mental disciplines vulcans have but it's clear that it's not something that she achieved.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

People in general ldon't act like that everyday and in every conversation. If it was one characte fine but it's nearly every single one. It's a sign of poor writing. The writer doesn't know how to give each character their own personality. I mean really it's so obvious. Lol

It isn't 'constant'.

It isn't in 'every conversation'.

It isn't 'nearly every single one'.

You carry your own dislike of the show into your viewing experience before you even start an episode and judge thusly through your prejudices.

It isn't a sign of poor writing. It's a sign of poor critical faculties on your part. Especially as you're just parroting the same old canard that's 'constantly' bouncing around the forum.

 

[Ragitsu]

I thought I was losing my mind concerning the dialogue/accompanying acting...and then I found this thread. It is good to know that there are others who share this feeling.

 

[fireproof78]

I don't think they're really comparable at all. You're talking about a cultural and behavioural shift vs something that has a inherent biological component. Given that Vulcan brains and brain chemistry is completely different to humans, Burnham could at best immitate the mental disciplines vulcans have but it's clear that it's not something that she achieved.

Nor should she be expected to do so.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

I wonder if the humans on Disco seem weird and phony to some folks for the same reason Worf weirds out other Klingons: they seem to have drank their cultural kool-ade and don't feel natural in their behavior. Worf holds so strongly to his ideals of what a Klingon is 'supposed' to act like that regular Klingons don't quite know what to do with him. It feels like many if the Disco characters are trying very hard to live out a set of standards about how to be an evolved human, and they don't come off as natural as a result. Pike was a notable departure from this, as he held himself to a high standard, but could still pull off acting like a regular person and not a paragon of virtue. Which is actually weird in itself, because he actually is a paragon of virtue and not at all a regular guy.

 

[Dukhat]

People in general ldon't act like that everyday and in every conversation. If it was one characte fine but it's nearly every single one. It's a sign of poor writing. The writer doesn't know how to give each character their own personality. I mean really it's so obvious. Lol

Ending every post with 'lol' doesn't even remotely hide what you're trying to do here.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Ending every post with 'lol' doesn't even remotely hide what you're trying to do here.

It's a conversation and I find the way the characters talk in the episodes funny. They gush all the time. It's hilarious. Lol

 

[Dukhat]

Noted. Thanks for posting your opinion, and I’m glad there has been some meaningful conversation despite it.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Noted. Thanks for posting your opinion, and I’m glad there has been some meaningful conversation despite it.

Lol.

 

[Dukhat]

Lol.

I see your Lol and raise you a

 

[TRON JA307020]

I see your Lol and raise you a

Your insults thrown at me deserve the LOLs. You can't seen to understand that some of us don't like the overly melodramatic speech that everyone spouts off in the show. I will say this the bad writing of STD really makes me appreciate older trek more than ever.