Moments that made you go "WHAT?!!!!"

[stefan]

I'm not so sure about this.  The only evidence I can remember is

[spoiler]Barnabas challenging Jeremiah to a duel[/spoiler]

(I'm not sure if a spoiler warning is needed on something so well-known, but better safe than sorry.)
On that he had had intense provocation, and his response was one with which everybody in that time would have been familiar.  And he'd had days and days to worry about the whole business and let it build up inside him before being presented with the actual, shocking fact.

Can't get any more stressful than that. He also worshipped both Jeremiah and Josette. How painful it must have been for him. Great scene and very human, believable and very understandable.

trying to turn a waitress into Josette

Gosh, I'm slow.  Years and years, and finally a chance remark causes light to dawn on Marblehead - i.e. I made the connection to one of my favorite poems, Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae by Ernest Dowson.  Non sum etc. translates to "I am not what I was under the reign of the good Cynara".  The poet talks about drinking and womanizing all over the place to try to forget Cynara, but none of it was any good - each verse ends with "I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion."  I read that the Dowson's inspiration for Cynara was a waitress at a cheap diner.  Maggie in her early days.

I love this blurb and quote and your comparison to Maggie in her "early days" . Thank you!

[MagnusTrask]

Barn was the first to react, if not actually overreact (can one say killing Carl rather than choosing some other alternative? - initially wanting to kill David without even being sure that David even really knew anything? - wanting to kill Maggie rather than trust that Dr. Hoffman had submerged her memories? - the list goes on and on...) 

Those fall under 'paranoia' more so than being 'overdramatic' or a 'drama queen' to me.

Exactly.    And "drama queen" may be more of a characterization made by an observer of a person, than anything real existing within that person.     I always wonder when I hear that expression whether there's real suffering going on for that person, which is being dismissed by the observer.   Real life has to have a certain amount of genuine, not feigned drama to it, because it's life.    When we suffer, we act as if it matters.

Maybe I just haven't met these "drama queens"--- and to put it mildly, I don't get out much.   So maybe I'm just lucky.    But I also consider it possible that whenever I mention my medical problems someplace, even just a little bit, even obliquely, someone somewhere is saying "drama queen" or some equivalent, in her/his head.     That's just my take on the world, from my experiences.    I don't see any sign of that yet in people on this board.   I'm speaking in general. 

This is a great big tangent, sorry.

Egalitarianism and the "drama queen" thing aren't mutually exclusive....I think I was responding to a completely separate point, there.   But come to think of it, they probably wouldn't co-exist.,, unless someone were militantly egalitarian to "prove" something, like people who join Communist and Socialist parties, and repeat slogans mindlessly, to feel superior, I think.

[Brandon Collins]

I don't think Barnabas was a drama queen at all. If he was a drama queen, then Julia was definitely his drama king! Everyone: Hands blocking mouths and gasp now! One.......two.......THREE!!!

[Zahir]

Oh yeah--Julia was at least a much a drama king/queen as Barnabas.  Easily.  Probably more.  No, definitely more.  Way more.  Yup.

[Sunny_Collins]

I agree with Magnus! IMHO, we live in a society that discourages open suffering such as crying or fear. publicly people are expected to keep their emotions to themselves. Now I realize this isn't true for everyone everywhere, but I've heard parents tell their children not to cry when they get hurt, and adults whenever they show sadness often apologize for the natural reaction of tears. The message is, suffering is to be borne in private among family and very close friends, and anything other than this behavior anywhere else is generally frowned upon. If people don't conform to this unspoken rule of society, they're labeled dramatic or seeking attention.

that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of compassionate people, quite the contrary, but I'm simply speaking of the general public and everyday life. I'm not saying there aren't people who behave in a flamboyant and overreactive manner at times, for there definitely are those types of people as well.

Sorry this got a bit OT, I just thought I would add my opinion to the discussion, not that it's worth much...

Another "What?" moment for me: After Jeremiah's death, Angelique summons him back as a ghost. He proceeds to haunt her, obviously realizing what she is, and not only does he haunt her, but he goes to Barnabas and accuses him of stealing Josette from him and that he wants her back.

But Jeremiah never truly loved Josette when he was alive, and you would think upon his death, Angelique would no longer have power over him. He should have then told Barnabas of her malicious intent and the motives behind his and Josette's sudden ill-fated marriage.

[MagnusTrask]

Thanks very much for backing me up on that, Sunny!    I tend to feel as if I'm out there all on my own, with a lot of the things I seem to be observing in life, and in people.

Many Doctor Who fans will complain about any "companion" (co-star, generally female) who screams or shows fear even once.    With one of them, the character was branded "just another screaming companion" when she only screamed once in her entire year on the program.     When I hear things like that, I want to pick up the critic out of his comfy easy chair in front of the TV, and plop him down into a life-threatening situation for a few minutes, to get a different perspective.

Jeremiah did get his brains and priorities scrambled a bit after death, didn't he?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'm getting the feeling that some have the impression that saying Barnabas is "something of a drama queen" is a bad thing or some sort of a putdown. That's most certainly not how I've meant it, and it's not a bad thing. Well, for him I suppose it can be at times whenever he has to live with and/or deal with the aftermath of his rash decisions. But in terms of story, it's far from a bad thing. In fact, it's one of the the things that make Barnabas so fascinating and DS such fun to watch. And I think both Zahir and I have tried to make sincere efforts to make that clear.

Interestingly, I came across two different Darma Queen surveys online and I've posted a topic about them over on the current Calendar Events / Announcements board. Hopefully people will take the surveys and share their results. Some of the questions in the surveys are actually a hoot and a half! 

[Zahir]

I've been in theatre most of my life, and the concept of a "drama queen" is very familiar to me.  I'm a little bit of one myself.  Such folks don't simply react to an event, or to trauma, but take up a pose and/or attitude for dramatic effect.  Drama Queens come in all ranges and styles--from those who simply have loads of flair to their lives, to those to turn every typo into a scene from Tennessee Williams (I used to work for one of those).

But that is of course a different thing from the whole idolization of stoicism and distrust of emotion we've inheirited from the Victorian Age.  That, while sometimes useful, is often unhealthy.  And I firmly believe that in our current age it is coupled with somthing much, much worse--a sense of isolation stemming from a lack of process and shared ritual in our lives.  I think as a people we seem to be losing our ability to empathize.  We focus so much on being ourselves as individuals we sometimes lose track of ourselves as members of a family, a community, a nation, a species, etc.  And too often we are amazingly impatient with others' troubles while demanding absolute understanding and forgiveness for our own.  This frankly has come to permeate, among other things, politics as well as personal relationships.

Ours is a strange, neurotic time.

[MagnusTrask]

Can't argue with that.    I'm glad I'm not the only one putting it in strong terms.   I wouldn't put blame on a lack of shared rituals, though... a lot of people find ritual empty and hollow, something just sort of obligatory.    I'm sure there's more to say but I have to knock of for tonight/today.

[BuzzH]

those to turn every typo into a scene from Tennessee Williams (I used to work for one of those).

Hey, I currently DO work for one of those!  Jesus I hate that woman!!!  

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'm glad I'm not the only one putting it in strong terms.

A possible reason that you and I seem to disagree over the Barnabas/drama queen issue would seem to be that we're coming to it from opposing viewpoints, There's a world of difference between someone who experiences and/or has very real problems and issues but who's told that they're imaginary and insignificant and, thus, they're accused of being a drama queen and someone whose behavior is drama queenish because they often jump to the worst possible scenario based on little or no concrete info and/or they decide upon the most drastic course of action when a far less drastic alternative exists and might prove to be far more effective. The former is tragic and there's absolutely no excuse for anyone to treat someone that way. However, the latter truly is over-dramatizing a situation and can be completely avoidable. Barn as drama queen tends to fall into the latter category. Though as I said, it certainly can propel the DS storylines into dramatic and enjoyable directions that they would otherwise never go into if Barn always behaved rationally. Frankly, if Barn's behavior was always rational, the storylines involving him would be exceedingly dull. 

[Gothick]

The character's most famous line was variations on "You have BETRAYED me!!" and people don't think he was a drama queen???

*shrugs*  chacun a son gout!

G.

[Barnabas'sBride]

No. I think he was a paranoid vampire. If I were a vampire, I'd probably be paranoid, too. In that situation, he probably figured he could never be too careful. And with what he was hiding, that makes sense - if one person found out that could've been the end of him.

[IluvBarnabas]

I agree Barnabas was very paranoid and and too overdramatic at times but considering all the hell he went through I think calling him a drama queen is going a bit too far. Before the curse he was a very stable man, after the curse he was anything but. When he became human again he was able to recapture some of his sanity if not all.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

No. I think he was a paranoid vampire.

Then how does one explain Barnabas' penchant to over-dramatize when he wasn't a vampire?  Or is one to assume that he was simply generally paranoid? 

Though as I said, paranoia and drama queenish tendencies can and often do go hand in hand. I mean, just look at some of the situations presented in the tests I've posted the links to. For example, seeing someone you're dating with a person of the opposite sex and immediately assuming they're having a sexual relationship with that other person behind your back?