Enlightened : Terrible main character

The main character is exceptionally unrelatable in every way.

She has the demeanor and quirks of an awkward 15 year old teenager struggling through high school. And I don't mean awkward/interesting Andy Kaufman-ish personality, I mean real-life psychotic serial killer at the verge of going postal awkward.

Had my hopes high here.

Amy has a GOOD HEART and would probably NEVER intentionally hurt someone.

Her MAIN problem seems to be a form of ADULT DEFICIT HYPERACTIVE ATTENTION DISORDER

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Adults with ADHD may have difficulty following directions, remembering information, concentrating, organizing tasks or completing work within time limits. If these difficulties are not managed appropriately, they can cause associated behavioral, emotional, social, vocational and academic problems.

Adult ADHD Statistics
ADHD afflicts approximately 3% to 10% of school-aged children and an estimated 60% of those will maintain the disorder into adulthood.

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which also helps to explain the reason why she can never seem to stay FOCUSED upon doing what she's told to do at work.

Instead of doing what she's suppose to do she's searching for another job

like the one she wanted at the HOMELESS SHELTER that didn't pay enough to pay her REHAB bill

or she's doing RESEARCH and finding out how the company VIOLATES enviromental laws

and meanwhile her workload backs up

and her boss gets pissed

and then he gets accused of sexually harrassing her at the bar

after she also tries to fix him up with the other girl at the bar.

Personally I find the show EXTREMELY FUNNY.

She also WALKS to WORK in the RAIN, or takes the BUS for about a week, because she doesn't have the FOCUS required to pick up a phone and call a MECHANIC to come fix her car.

She also keeps pestering her mother to let her use her car, but her mother also keeps saying NO, because she's also not INSURED to let her use it. And her mother also reminds her about the other accident that she had.

But regardless of what her mother tells her Amy's brain is so scattered that she doesN't process what she's been told about how her mother doesn't want to be SUED and lose her home if Amy has another accident again.

Anyhow, instead of Amy being a *psycho serial killer* what it looks like is she's probably someone who has an ATTENTION DISORDER.

After she got out of REHAB, she also told her mother she didn't need her MEDS anymore, but something also tells me she still does need them so she can stay FOCUSED upon whatever it is that should take PRIORITY in her life.

Maybe then she could also FIX her own life and stop running around trying to FIX the LIVES of everyone else???




GO AMY!!!

BURN IT DOWN !!!

To be honest, it looks much more like Hysteria, aka Histrionic personality disorder.

In any case, trying to help others when your life is shattered into pieces tend to be an excuse to seek attention, seek help and/or find self-worth in having the people you know respect you again.

The first 15 minutes of the pilot plus the fact she came back to the same workplace gives more weight to the Histrionic diagnosis.

These kind of personalities tend to be overly dramatic, superficial, irritating and boring when you understand them. In the end, whatever she says or does, you just end up thinking: "she's just a sad person who refuses to acknowledge it and get help".

In other words, once you understand the main character in this show, you understand she has no depth.

All in all, it's an unconventional character and an interesting concept overall, a 6 is a fair score.

You might be right about Amy being COMORBID

or having MORE than just ONE DISORDER at a time

due to the way in which DISORDERS also tend to CLUSTER together.

And when she dresses up to go to the BAR that was definitely also an ATTENTION SEEKING outfit that she's wearing (which was also a part of the reason why her boss comes on to her the way he does).

As for her HELPING OTHERS

this is also a form of AVOIDANCE

or a way to AVOID dealing with her own MESSED UP LIFE

because as long as she is BUSY putting out FIRES for everyone else

like her former hubby

then AMY also doesn't need to FACE herself or look at her OWN GOOFY life

or PUT out her own FIRES.

In other words she gets to remain in an UNENLIGHTENED state

which is probably also a good thing for us the VIEWER

who would also be watching a BORING show otherwise

if AMY does ever GET WELL???



Anyhow, I also disagree with what you say about Amy having NO DEPTH.

GO AMY!!!

BURN IT DOWN!!!

The way you write is quite histrionic, too. Maybe you find the character relatable which is the main hook of a show.

The only thing I could relate to is probably the reason why most people got attracted to the show in the first place: Her situation.

But then, instead of developing an interesting subject on mental illness, society, family, self-discovery, empathy, the show just presents her as an idiot who is "just crazy" and uses that to develop inconsequential situations in order to make fun of her.

That is lazy writing, thus boring, thus the reason why Mad Men is an 8.8 show and Enlightened is a 6.8 show.

For me, the question is what truly motivates Amy. Yes, she wants to do good - expose corruption and empower people. But is that her only end? Does she want glory for herself for doing so? She's all "Power to the people," but I think she wants to lead those people, have them look up to her. She certainly isn't content to be amongst those doing lowly data entry jobs in the basement. My guess is most of us has worked with someone like Amy, someone who overestimates his/her skills and feels his/her perception is vital to the company's running.

I think this is a terrific show. Yes, Amy is somewhat of a caricature, but the situations and characters she encounters are believable. The show is well acted and the writing is sharp.

Your question is a good one HESTER!

What's interesting is the way we also see AMY inside a BATHROOM STALL the first time we meet her being called A FREAK by her co workers.

Then she goes on her RAMPAGE against her BOSS before ending up in REHAB.

Then she comes back again, ends up inside another bathroom again, only this time the other girl in the bathroom stall hears AMY calling her a CIRCUS FREAK on her CELL PHONE.

So whereas AMY didn't appreciate being CALLED a FREAK

Amy also calls her co workers FREAKS

which places AMY into a position where she looks like a HYPOCRITE to want to HELP FREAKS that she says she doesn't wish to work with or be around???

Because she feels SUPERIOR to them

even though she has NO IDEA what exactly it is they do

and doesn't even DO the WORK that she's suppose to be doing???

Because she's too busy doing RESEARCH to try to SAVE the ENVIRONMENT and the rest of the WORLD from the COMPANY that she works for???

So what does she do if and when she WINS the WAR she wages against this company???

She ends up JOBLESS and HOMELESS like the other HOMELESS people that she wanted to HELP at the HOMELESS SHELTER???

And she'll also be IN DEBT as well due to that other $25,000 that she still owes for her stay in HAWAII where she went swimming with the SEA TURTLES???

Like you, I also agree this is a WONDERFUL SHOW!!!

The many kinds of TWIST and TURNS that it takes you on are definitely INSIGHTFUL and WELL WRITTEN regardless of what some other posters around here may have to say.

GO AMY!!!

BURN IT DOWN !!!

you're very invested in the fact that she's trying to save the environment "instead of taking care of herself." But she took it seriously. Everything else is flawed, but it takes a freak to do something outside the expected behavior of the coworkers, right?

plus she was going to be layed off anyways. Two quotes come to mind,

"If you want a project to work, stick to the crazy person"
and
"when (s)he fails, (s)he does so by daring greatly."

Are you not letting yourself be blinded by psychology ideology, where fitting in is more important than to care for a bigger picture?

Your name suits you very well, small petty matias.

What does the name mean ch-c-carter ???

Anyone ever hear of the PLADIANS?

Met a woman a few weeks ago who was talking about them, but apparently the STAR SYSTEM they come from isn't OLD enough to support life there yet???

Anyhow the woman who mentioned them also seemed like she might be a NEW AGE HIPPY type or something?

Wonder if SANDY heard of them?

Or maybe she is one???

The pleiadians?

PLEIADIANS - SPIRITUAL WISDOM FROM THE PLEIADIAN REALM
www.pleiadians.net/

PLEIADIANS-PLEIADIAN REALM-WE COME FROM THE PLEIADES, YET, WE EXIST WITHIN ANOTHER DIMENSION. WE ARE THE PLEIADIANS. WE ARE
Who are the pleiadians? - Awakening to who you are - pLeIAdian ReaLm

http://www.pleiadians.net/WHO_ARE_THEY_/who_are_they_.html

http://www.pleiadians.net/pLeIAdian_ReaLm/pleiadian_realm.html

Apparently they also claim to be OUTSIDE of LINEAR TIME which is also how they can live in a place or Star System that isn't old enough to support life yet???

LOVE your post here, very well said!

HATE his/her post and writing "STYLE." HATE all the complete GARBAGE psychoBABBLE spewing left and right all over this board and the user review section PASSING as analysis.

You people are the TRULY insane products of a TRULY insane, upside down, backwards, and TOTALLY *beep* up country, which is why you think the insane people are normal and the normal person who reacts to YOUR (type of) insanity with PROPER AND NECCESSARY rage and outrage is insane! Which is also why most of you, or at least most people who "think" like most of you, think the US is the greatest country on earth, the greatest in history, by god the greatest country even IMAGINABLE! Which is also why you think that concern for others, concern for justice, concern for the preservation and health of people and the planet is SELFISH and SELF CENTERED! You SMOKE *beep* CRACK!

And, since most of you are such GUNG HO supporters of killing of your "enemies" (you know, poor people of color who have never done a *beep* thing to you or us but whom dare to live upon the resources your beloved feudal lords cast lustful glances at in the ever growing desire for profit, which they'll share NONE of with you as you PAY the costs of stealing them, for them!) you CERTAINLY deserve to be killed since you are ACTUAL enemies of humanity!

It IS in FACT 100% the fault of people like you and attitudes like yours that the vast majority of the world lives in poverty and oppression when they're not busy being slaves or being killed by your ignorance, indifference and, or, enthusiasm and overt complicity, for what is destroying us all. It IS in FACT the reason we have virtually no rights left in this country. Freedom is speech is GONE. Freedom of assembly is GONE. Right to redress is GONE. Freedom of the press is GONE. Habeas is GONE. Rights to privacy are GONE. Free elections are GONE. Freedom of thought is GONE. Rights to due process are GONE. Rights to life (not the language subverting pseudo religious anti abortion "right to life," but the actual right to life, as in life, liberty and pursuit of happiness kind of life, you know, the right not to be killed by your government for political or secret reasons without due cause and process) are *beep* GONE!

Ah, but the freedom to die a docile, compliant slave, a serf, an indentured servant or a discarded peasant have returned and been permanetized in all their glory, THANKS to YOU!!!!

The fact that the shock doctrine and disaster capitalism, with its concomitant police state violence, torture and feudalism that you've actively or passively supported and or allowed around the world is FINALLY coming home to roost as you're being nailed into your 3rd world coffin is something that is SO RICHLY DESERVED by you and should be celebrated. But the problem is that you're taking the ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS who DON'T DESERVE what you've wrought down with you!

Tell us how you really feel, Captain Brokenbrainz.

What's more important: human rights or a baby shower? Who's crazy, the woman who is too absent minded to fix her car or the woman who sees her walking in the rain and keeps driving?

Excellent point about how the woman named JANICE would chose to PICK ON and BULLY Amy the way she was doing in the place where she waits in line to get her coffee.

She knows Amy's recently been released from a REHAB SETTING.

So why does she TORMENT HER MENTALLY the way she does

by letting Amy know she saw her walking in the rain

and then refusing to give her a ride or get another coffee for her to help warm her up

when she stands there in front of her still SOAKING WET from having been in the RAIN???

There's absolutely NO EXCUSE for the way JANICE MISTREATS Amy in the scene.

She was being just as HEARTLESS as that other woman was being to HELEN in the GROCERY STORE

who kept BRAGGING about her family and showing Helen photos of them on her CELL PHONE.

It's as if both that woman and JANICE were BRAIN DEAD for not being able to see the DISTRESS either AMY or HELEN were in

or in the case of JANICE

it seems she does REALIZE Amy is STRESSED OUT

but still chose to ABUSE her anyhow

as if Janice also GETS HER KICKS from doing so???

And that's also what places Janice into the BULLY CATEGORY.

1. Human rights.

2. Neither are crazy.

xina,

Aren't you are posting your reply back to the POSTER named matias-pequeno who said Amy has a HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY DISORDER?

There seems to be some confusion on the part of someone here who you were complimenting when you said WELL SAID.

Quite well stated, but the incessant caps were taxing, to say the least. Good response though. I know people like Amy and they're all well-intentioned, kind individuals, who simply cannot function in the same way that most others do in daily life. So much attention is given to the immediate, that many other areas are forced to suffer. They can come off as absent-minded, arrogant, and at times obnoxious, but that is rarely, if ever their intent.

Adults with ADHD may have difficulty following directions, remembering information, concentrating, organizing tasks or completing work within time limits. If these difficulties are not managed appropriately, they can cause associated behavioral, emotional, social, vocational and academic problems.

Adult ADHD Statistics
ADHD afflicts approximately 3% to 10% of school-aged children and an estimated 60% of those will maintain the disorder into adulthood.

___________________________________

Used to be called "dumb".

I love Amy, I can relate to her on so many levels.

I managed 3 episodes. I know this show is about a flawed individual, while at the same time trying to present some real world issues, but in order to get the message across the main character needs to be at least a little bit likeable - and for me, she's just not. I wanted to slap the woman she's so completely idiotic! There are much better things to watch as far as I'm concerned. Shame, because I really like Laura Dern and appreciate her acting .. Just not this character.

Amy is annoying and pretty soulless, but is she any worse than the executives who are planning to gut Cogentiva. Seems like Amy is the right person to put the powers-that-be in their place.

Amy is annoying as hell, and has other bad traits as well, but I would never use the word "soulless" to describe her, in fact, quite the opposite. Her passionate soul is the driving force behind the series.

I am not sure if her passion is fake or if it is real. It could be she uses the fake passion to get what she wants.

I think her passion is real, but at times very misguided, and at times fake and manipulative. For example, what is her real reason for wanting to bring Abadon down? Is it becuase she was ostrasized and ridiculed by the higher ups at Abadon, who act like the cool, popular kids in high school? Or is it because she is deeply passionate about human rights issues and the environment?

I agree that she can be really phoney in trying to get what she wants.

Yep, exactly. That is why the show is so good. It pulls you in different directions.

That's actually one of my favorite things about this show. She so closely resembles so many of the New Age/Hippy/ Self-Help crowd I've known for years.
She is possessed of this underlying arrogant belief that she is ENLIGHTENED, and that the rest of the world is in the dark, and that it's her job to cure them all, while in actuallity, she's a bigger wreck that anyone she knows, and she's oblivious to their lack of need for her.
It's very realistic

I tend to agree with the original OP, although I don't see her as being close to going off the psychotic deep end. My problem is more that too often it seems like either the writer (Mike White) or the actress (Laura Dern) chooses to portray her too broadly. I like the idea that she's on a new path because of her enlightenment, and whether it's real or not, fine, let that be part of the process. Enlightenment isn't just going on retreats and I'm glad the show is about more than that.

However, why does the main character have to constantly act like such a naive little girl at this point? I can understand some of it given the fact that she like a lot of corporate America is content to live in a bubble. But does she have to sound so stupid while doing it? It's especially annoying coming from Laura Dern, who just doesn't look like someone who would be that naive at this point to be constantly saying "Oh my god" and "Awesome", and being completely oblivious to obvious things. The example that comes to mind is her going to the reporter and expecting all of her information to immediately become a front-page story, without having to dig a little deeper. Or thinking that she can just blow off work without any repercussions?

I get what geeoffingeorgia is saying about her being like the typical new age self-help crowd, but that just seems obvious at this point and not enough to carry a series. And not all self-help is bad self-help or singing Kumbaya by the fire. Let's focus on her real enlightenment and see where it takes her. The show seems to be striving for that, but at the same time there's a desire to have this comedic element that in my opinion, detracts from it.

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Let's focus on her real enlightenment and see where it takes her

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So far her ENLIGHTENMENT seems to be taking her in a direction where she's gained some FOLLOWERS to her cause like (Tyler and Dougie).

If the rest of the employees in the basement find out they're also about to be FIRED, then one could also see them joining Amy in her mission to take down those who have JOBS in the TOP positions at ABADDON.

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Let's focus on her real enlightenment and see where it takes her.

The show seems to be striving for that, but at the same time there's a desire to have this comedic element that in my opinion, detracts from it.

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After seeing the PREVIEWS last Sunday for this Sunday

one fears her ENLIGHTENMENT will end with her right back to running the HEALTH and Beauty Department again

and being willing to TURN a BLIND EYE to the way in which ADADDON pollutes the ENVIRONMENT and sells it's other POISONED PRODUCTS to consumers.

And how comedic would that be to see Amy willing to SELL OUT her principles and take the HIGHER PAYING SALARY that we see Darth Vader offering to her???

Surely that kind of a situation would also leave most of us disgusted with her

and with her with her entire CRUSADE or mission to change her world

when she's willing to go back to acting as if she's UNENLIGHTENED again about what goes on at Abaddon???

agree with what you said there. the actress and the character she is playing, are two completely different things. i honestly think that a different actress could've maybe save this show. i am not saying she is a bad actress, but she DOESN'T FIT THE CHARACTER.
that woman is written as this completely losen screw, a nutty character who's too naive for her own good, almost RETARTED, and uses stupid phrases and completely dumb words like "awsome". ok. now, the actress has the looks and face for a drama, maybe even tragedy movie flicks, that does not belong here! BAD CASTING. also i think it's bad writing, but that's a matter for interpertation.

Really agree with this. I think some of the assessments, esp. ADHD, might fit her. But what is noticeable to me is how poor her boundaries are. This is why most people are annoyed by Amy and try to avoid her - she is always butting in about things that don't concern her (throwing away her ex's stash, e.g.). She turns a pretty mellow afternoon into a very public, uncomfortable scene. And then she goes along with his using cocaine back at the motel after all. This is self- destructive behavior at its best. Her strong need to "save" him from himself results in unhappiness for him, her and everyone else.

My friends and I often discuss how important boundaries are in normal, healthy relationships. Nine times out of ten, when a problem in our lives comes up, it turns out to be one of those pesky boundary issues. The people in Amy's life are constantly trying to put up boundaries around her and she is constantly ignoring them or trying to break them down. She's annoying, all right.

I'm just curious; if you find her character "exceptionally unrelatable in every way" what sort of TV characters do you find "relatable"? Examples if you don't mind. I find this character to be the most interesting character on any TV series in recent memory.

So she acts like a teenager? Your point being?

Thinking she's a "terrible main character" is such the typical, simple-minded view. You're probably too simple to understand that characters in TV shows don't have to be completely relatable.

i agree. which is why i couldn't bare watching it anymore.
i wanted to like it, but that woman is in no way watchable.

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i agree. which is why i couldn't bare watching it anymore.
i wanted to like it, but that woman is in no way watchable.

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You mean "bear watching it" not "bare watching it".

and that's a reason to not like the show? Your post says to me, you're the characters in the office calling her crazy, the ones who clearly wish she'd go away. Perhaps those are the characters you'd rather watch. For me, I enjoy them all This show has made me worship Laura Dern and Mike White!


"I was made to understand there were grilled cheese sandwiches here"

I appreciate the fact that the lead character is complicated not entirely likable, though far from unlikable. As for your "serial killer" perception of her, in my view she is much more of a threat to herself than others.

(woosh) way to totally miss the point of the show. jeez

Lol I know right.

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by matias-pequeno Sat Dec 29 2012 10:43:53
IMDb member since April 2010

The main character is exceptionally unrelatable in every way.

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I never understood the logic that a main character has to be relatable. Yes, this is taught in a lot of creative of courses; but I've personally always been much more intrigued with stories about people who aren't necessary likable. Jaime Lannister is not someone I can relate to; neither is Travis Bickle, Tony Montana, Omar Little, etc.

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