Glad the hands-on-the-neck scene wasn't cut out...

by kristi

March 22, 1999

 

... otherwise, I might have missed one of the most amazing body language transformations I've ever seen.





It's also IMO an illustration of how potent the "connection" theme is with Manny. Who knows what was going on in Danny's mind when he put his hands on her neck and began to twist. I don't think he was thinking of Carmen, as some posters suggested last week. He seemed out of touch with reality for a few moments though, Michelle's outburst "It doesn't matter what I do!" breaking that trance. What I found really fascinating was how the connotation of their body language changed at that moment. There was never a break-off of their connection through their hands, yet the meaning somehow changed, subtly, from something uncomfortable and threatening to... I can't quite put my finger on it, it was like they NEEDED that connection this time, to communicate with each other (notice in the 2nd picture that Michelle has her hand OVER Danny's, not the other way around), with Michelle begging him to understand her fear of Carmen, the extent of his mother's hatred ("It's not going to end!"), and Danny (on his knees) begging her to trust him, to place her fate in his hands ("It doesn't matter what you've done or what you haven't done, I can protect you. Don't you know that?"). And the whole time this exchange was going on, there was always a physical connection (a hand on an arm, or just hands joining again) to go with the REAL, spiritual connection between the two, making their struggle for trust look even more desperate. Who breaks off this connection that began with his hands on her neck? Michelle, yes, but not out of fear of that physical threat that spooked a lot of viewers. Out of her own failure to trust him, out of her own CHOICE not to trust him. And as if she knew she had disappointed him again and wanted to make up for it, she then turned around (after walking away) and let him know that she was glad nothing had happened to him, prompting a really sad smile from Danny.


That, or I'm completely misreading everything.


It's just that there was so much more to that scene than just the spooky beginning IMO and while I understand the reasons for the controversy, I also feel that the focus of many discussions surrounding this episode (mostly elsewhere) went awry. They seem to have remained on the periphery, instead of getting into the heart of the matter. I don't think I got there but I do know for sure, having now watched it for myself, that this wasn't just some kinky stuff thrown in to excite or incite viewers. There was too much energy and intensity running throughout this scene for the spooky part to be, well, as thoughtless as some made it out to be. And personally, I'm glad TPTB didn't edit it out for fear of controversy. It deserved to be included and have its meaning explored.

 

 

March 30, 1999
Forwarding my reply-post on the Mediadomain board to someone who argued that "the constant threat of violence is there, just under the surface" with Manny referring to this controversial episode. I've posted my rambling thoughts about it on this board a while ago but arguing with the opposite side made me dig deeper and actually crystallized them. They became clearer as I wrote that post. This is why we need opposing views in debates.


What was interesting in that scene however (and I do believe the hands-on-the-neck part was carefully planned -- I do *not* think we were not supposed to fear for Michelle's life at that point, even for a fraction of a second) and which I haven't seen many people discuss was Michelle's reaction (not just the discomfort), and what came *after* the HOTN part. She was at first puzzled, then had a look of discomfort on her (obviously suffocating at some point), then put her hand on him to tug at his (not two, but one -- she wasn't trying to force his hands apart out of fear, she was trying to remove them out of discomfort, there's a difference) while growing agitated, not by what he was doing to her, but by what he was saying ("I had no idea you were so scared [of my mother]."). IOW, she was completely oblivious to the threat that the omniscient viewers (we know he plans to kill her) reacted to. And the entire atmosphere changed, even though Danny never removed his hand away, the moment Michelle voiced out loud her fear of his mother ("She hates me, Danny, she hates me, it doesn't matter what I do!"). It changed from an atmosphere ripe with death threat to one heavy with desperation, with two people begging each other for trust. And all this time, they never broke away from the physical connection that began with the HOTN, they actually kept seeking it out, as if they needed it to communicate to the other what they couldn't voice out loud. Michelle did break off the connection, but not out of a physical fear -- out of her own failure to make him see her point and also to trust him. Michelle does feel threatened constantly -- but not by Danny, otherwise she wouldn't have been so oblivious to what was going on. His mother, the world he lives in, yes, but not Danny himself. There's a difference.

kristi