tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859940184293909528.post5852184730346485728..comments2023-04-28T04:20:05.766-07:00Comments on WRITER on WRITING: Patting the DogVirtual Strangerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01040333093180694172noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859940184293909528.post-43886993652059451352012-08-18T10:33:05.839-07:002012-08-18T10:33:05.839-07:00Well written.
I will pass the phrase on. Pat the ...Well written.<br /><br />I will pass the phrase on. Pat the Dog. I know...DON'T. <br /><br />Thanks.J_Jammerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05395735564874093237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859940184293909528.post-76387023648355525672012-06-20T12:15:22.928-07:002012-06-20T12:15:22.928-07:00A friend of mine also pointed out that "pet t...A friend of mine also pointed out that "pet the dog" is on <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PetTheDog" rel="nofollow">TV Tropes</a>, pretty much exactly as I describe it here. So apparently I'm not that original. Although they don't give any credit to Benny Hill, which was a large part of my motivation in bringing it up... :)<br /><br />However, TV Tropes also says that "patting the dog" is synonymous with "save the cat," and that's just wrong. They're almost polar opposites.Virtual Strangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01040333093180694172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859940184293909528.post-83786170148587711282012-06-17T13:24:23.684-07:002012-06-17T13:24:23.684-07:00If memory serves (I haven't seen Enter the Dra...If memory serves (I haven't seen <i>Enter the Dragon</i> in years, and to be honest I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing beginning to end in one sitting), Saxon's character saves the cat pretty late in the story. He's already pretty firmly established as a good guy and Lee's ally. By this point he's not saving the cat as part of character construction, he's just doing it... well, to save the cat. As another famous story analyst once said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ;)<br /><br />A similar moment happens in Frank Miller's <i>Batman: Year One</i> when Batman is pinned down by a trigger-happy SWAT team and still takes a moment to rescue a cat that's been trapped in the building with him. It's more than halfway through the series, so it's not a character-building shortcut (or an attempt at one), just a moment of the character acting as we know he would.Virtual Strangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01040333093180694172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1859940184293909528.post-6720435452556838062012-06-15T00:01:24.029-07:002012-06-15T00:01:24.029-07:00This just helped me sort out something AI was work...This just helped me sort out something AI was working on.<br /><br />BTW, the example of saving the cat that popped into my head was from Enter the Dragon, when John Saxon's character literally saved a cat from a guillotine. that comes fairly late in the story. I think it works but am curious about your thoughts.Matthew Baughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09138985206277627972noreply@blogger.com