Wikipedia states “Advice is a form of relating personal opinions, belief systems, personal values and recommendations about certain situations relayed in some context to another person, group or party often offered as a guide to action and/or conduct. Advice is believed to be theoretical, and is often considered taboo as well as helpful.
Many people consider unrequested advise to be paternalistic and patronizing and are thus offended. Like the sequence of events which unfolds in FRIENDS sitcom -
David: (to Chandler) Well, Phoebe's still pretty hung up on that Mike, uh?
Chandler: I wouldn't read too much into it.
David: Still you know, a girl calls you by your ex-boyfriend's name, that-that's not a good thing, right?
Chandler: David, let me stop you there 'cause I think I see where this is going. I'm not very good at giving advice. So if you want advice, go to Ross, Monica, or ... Joey, if the thing you wanna advice about is pizza toppings or burning sensation when you pee.
David: Sorry, I just ... I wish there was something I could do, you know? Well, you know Phoebe ...
Chandler: Seriously, we're gonna do this?
David: I'm sorry, uh ... I just wish I could make her forget about Mike already, you know ... Why did Phoebe and Mike break up?
Chandler: Oh, because his penis was too big. (he notices that David is not amused) Oh, I'm sorry, that's the kind of thing I do. (pause) They broke up because Mike didn't want to get married. Hey, what if you just let Phoebe know you'd be open to marriage?
David: That's great! That's great! I-I'll propose to her!
Chandler: What?
David: Well, I was probably going to do it at some point.
Chandler: I didn't mean now ...
David: Why not? It's brilliant! (talking to an imaginary Mike) Goodbye Mike, we'll see you at the wedding, fella! (pause) well, we probably won't invite you to the wedding ... (to Chandler) Thank you, Chandler. Sincerely.
Chandler: Well, you're welcome! Glad I could help.
David: (after a while) How do you think I should propose?
Chandler: David, I'm pretending to read here!!
Monica: Wow! That Mike thing was interesting! I don't know what's gonna happen with Phoebe and David.
Chandler: (smiling cheekily) I do! Want a hint? huh? "I do" (Monica looks confused, so Chandler repeats) "I do".
Monica: Ok, I'm sensing that this is some kind of word play, because you are pink with barely controlled glee.
Chandler: David is going to propose to Phoebe.
Monica: What? (looks very shocked) Why?
Chandler: Be-cause, we were talking about ways that he could beat Mike and I told him that Phoebe wanted to get married.
Monica: Chandler, we have talked about this. You are not supposed to give people advice! Now couldn't you just have made some sort of inappropriate joke?
Chandler: I did ! A penis one! Look, just so I know, what was so wrong about what I said?
Monica: They've only been going out for a few weeks and Phoebe is completely hung up on Mike! She'll say "No", David's heart will be broken, it will be too hard for them to recover from and then Phoebe will end up alone again .
Chandler: Man, that's some bad advice!
Mike: Hello?
Monica: Ok, Mike, enough is enough, now you love Phoebe and she loves you, so you need to get over your whole "I never want to get married"
thing and step up!
Mike: Who is this?
Monica: This is Monica! I'm Phoebe's friend. Listen, Phoebe is back with David and he's going to propose to her, and she is going to say "yes" but I
know she really wants to be with you!
Mike: (sounds shocked and sits down) He ... he's gonna propose?
Monica: I ... I'm sorry, did you say something? I can't hear through all this damned hair! (Tries to move her huge hair away from the phone, in
vain)
Mike: Look, if Phoebe wants to marry David, she should, I'm not gonna stand in the way of that and neither should you.
Monica: You don't tell me what to do! I tell you what to do! Just call her. She's at the Paradise Hotel in Barbados. And while I've got you, you've
got curly hair. What do you do in humidity? (Mike hangs up the phone) Damnit!
(Chandler walks in)
Monica: (sarcastically) Well, I hope you're happy!
Chandler: (pretending not to sense the tone) Oooh! I hope you're happy too, honey!
Monica: Phoebe is going to say "Yes" to David. See, that's what happens when you meddle in people's lives!
Chandler: Phoebe is going to say "yes"? That's, that's great!
Monica: No it's not, b'cause she's still in love with Mike!
Chandler: And there's not chance that will work?
Monica: No, I called him. It's not gonna happen.
Chandler: (pointing at her) Oooooooh! Meddler! Meddler!
Monica: Well, if you hadn't meddled to start with, I wouldn't have had to go in there and meddle myself. Now, no matter how much we meddle, we will never be able to un-meddle the thing that you meddled up—in the first place!
So now what does someone who is considered an agony aunt do, when they realize that they aren’t good at giving advice?
Guess its better to refrain from giving unsolicited advice and let the other person know, so that they can take a more informed decision rather than misinterpreting your noble intentions..
Like Chandler who says : I'm not so good with the advice... Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?”
5 comments:
I sincerely do hope that you picked the transcript from somewhere, and not typed the whole thing...
With friends, even transcripts can make us understand the situation and the expression and bring a smile for sure...Great pick to explain the point through...And the final punch line is awesome...Chandler really cracks me up...:)
Oh yes, i did google a lot to get this particular script coz i didnt know in which episode these scenes were... and yeah, i know YOU are Chandler in the making... :)
Oh yes, i did google a lot to get this particular script coz i didnt know in which episode these scenes were... and yeah, i know YOU are Chandler in the making... :)
:)) I certainly wish...
:)) I certainly wish...
Post a Comment