Is There a Doctor in the House? (zoid post)

POSTED BY: zoid
UPDATED: Thursday, June 10, 2004 17:26
VIEWED: 12630
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HARDWARE

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 10:37 AM

Since this whole shebang of a thread started talking about Simon and River's parents, let's get back to the heart of the matter.

I don't think that the Tams are infatuated with money. I think they already have money. They certainly shouldn't expect their children to enrich their lives that way. But their behavior doesn't indicate that they expect their children to enrich their lives with meaningful relationships either. I believe what motivates the Tams is position.

When young Simon is asking his father for a dedicated source box his father responds by bargaining the item with Simon becoming a brilliant doctor. Later when Simon is brought to the police headquarters his father is furious with him for not only making him leave a social function but also for making him enter the police headquarters, something that is entered into his permanent record. Given this penchant for social and political influence isn't it slightly possible the Tams bargained River away to the Feds? Perhaps they knew, or suspected what the "academy" River was sold on attending was really about. Maybe not even firm knowledge, but hints and allegations, hushed whispers about the Alliance's dirty little secrets.

Given this very eastern monomaniacal fixation on position, the foundation of which is proper thought and behavior, is it any wonder Simon is socially retarded? After all Simon isn't some slack roughneck child on a rim planet. He's a well-bred young man who aspires to be a doctor. No time wasted on social functions or dating. Certainly no time for idle time with peers, hanging out in parks or necking with the girls in his class. He was a prisoner of the ultimate soccer parents. Every spare minute of his day was probably planned and orchestrated to gain the maximum social advantage, the best scholastic position to assault the final admittance test to medical school.

All of this social repression has stunted Simon in his relationships with the fairer sex. As Mal said; "He'd have to relax for ten seconds to get his play." This strict formality is also reflected in his relationship with Kaylee. He says that when he is stiff and formal with her he is showing respect. Respect is something he doesn't seem to get a lot of from Serenity's crew. Or maybe he just doesn't speak their language yet, they're giving him respect by inviting him into their inner circle but he is still looking for that stiff formality.

So, there is one area where Simon is retarded, delayed in the strictest sense of the word. But all that effort produced a truly gifted doctor. In his element there is no hesitation, no uncertainty. His life is lived as if he existed in an operating theatre. There is a protocal and a procedure for behavior in a operating theatre and without his script, a guidebook for how to handle a given situation he flounders a little. He is as quick, decisive and efficient in healing injuries as Jayne is in dealing them out but outside this mileau he is a little lost. Does this make Simon a child?

I'm going to fall back on Heinlein's definition of a citizen. "A citizen makes the safety of the body politic his or her own personal responsibility". This is exactly what Simon does in rescuing River. It is the moral equivalent of Mal and Zoe fighting for the Independents during the war. Simon's personal Serenity valley is in Safe when he knows he can't win the fight, but he can die, and accepts that. Mal and Zoe show up and are Big Damn Heroes but Simon didn't know they were going to ride in.

This seems to be an action that Jayne can't wrap his head around. Looking at things this way, it seems Jayne is the boy and Simon is the man.

Now, as to whether or not Simon will ever relax, I think Kaylee should arm herself with a bottle of high proof spirits and use it to have her way with him. I.E. clobber him with it and then ravish him while he is unconscious.

The more I get to know people the more I like my dogs.

ECGORDON

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 11:31 AM

I agree with Hardware. Simon is a lot like Rodney Dangerfield. He don't get no respect, but that needs to change.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

ZOID

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 5:53 PM

Hardware:

Excellent post, if you don't mind my saying so. All the joshing aside, my intent with the thread was to examine how Simon's early environment has shaped him. I think you've done that admirably.

As to River, it has occurred to me (and I've posted the opinion/speculation elsewhere) that she is in fact a genetically engineered human, either surgically implanted into Regan Tam's womb, or placed into the Tam household as an infant. She was always going to be reclaimed by Alliance/BlueSun, and so the Tams wouldn't invest much in her emotionally, nor 'rescue' her from her proper masters.

If true (and I'm certainly not willing to risk gambling on it), this would open some thought-provoking relationship channels vis-a-vis Simon. She's already proposed marriage and child-rearing in one of the deleted scenes.

Simon is, as you said in more incisive phrasing, a 'medico-geek'. But is he a child, or does that make him a child, as you asked? No. But it doesn't make him a man either. As I said, River tells him that the patient in post-op on Ariel is going to die; he says no. She says they're going to kill him; he says no they're not. They turn the corner, and we hear the patient's EKG monitor go into alarm for cardiac failure (I could hear it, and I'm nearly deaf thanks to Judas Priest). Does Simon spring immediately into action? Nope. River has to prod him again, before he moves to save the man. He is indecisive, even in his metier. He figuratively denies his profession three times before the alarm crows, er, sounds.

This is even more telling for a doctor, and one who has stated that he was stationed in the ER of a major metropolis. Between that hesitancy and his outright shirking of his Hippocratic oath (which I assume they still have 500 years hence) when Kaylee is wounded, we have more proof that while he is not a child, he is not a man yet either. He seems not to understand that a man's word is his bond, and that the oath he has taken as a doctor is not mutable based on circumstances.

Still, for those who may be asking the simple question, "So, what are you driving at? Do you like Simon or not?", I will give a simple answer: Yes, I like him. I trust that he will grow up and become an honorable man because Mal trusts him, and if anything is true in Firefly, then Mal's judgement of character must be likewise true. In Mal I trust. Mal likes his crew -- with reasonable reservations -- and so do I.

On an unrelated note, I will not repeat the social gaffe of marking threads with 'zoid post'. In retrospect, it was a bad idea, regardless how innocent my intentions ("I don't give half-a-hump whether you're innocent or not..."). My apologies to any I may have offended (especially Whoodahn), and I will not try to defend myself. It won't happen again.

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"I knew a man once. History will never recall him, or what he gave to make us free. That's the way he wanted it. But as long as I live I'll remember, and he'll never truly die."

- River, from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

RUE

Friday, June 4, 2004 2:37 AM

I REALLY wish I had the time to read this.
Maybe tomorrow.

SKYDANCE

Friday, June 4, 2004 5:23 PM

Interesting thread. I liked Delia's turn of phrase with this line:

"the word I would choose for him is almost 'asexual.'"

The word, however, is 'Intellectual'.

Rewind a bit.

Simon isn't the son of Money; he's the son of Power. His father is Influential, probably Political ... even if that's not his job. A "doctor" who sits on a certification board or runs an arm of a hospital has a political influence on those around him. He makes things happen with deals, reputation, and by gathering followers who support his agenda. If Simon's father is a Politician, it's even more obvious.

A man playing that kind of game is always playing it, 24/7. Every mistake you make will come back to haunt you, every hand you shake is an opportunity, every word spoken at dinner is a gambit in some game, and even being seen at a table from across the room is a tool.

While it is likely that he loves his son and daughter, he is preoccupied with the constant battle against his peers. Given this situation, he doesn't have time for some foolishness about River sending secret messages from inside the "prison" of the ultimate (most prestigious, very "feather-in-a-cap") schooling any Alliance member can attend. Simon's family gains reputation from having a daughter in this school! Simon's going to challenge that bargaining chip ... based on some fantasy about coded messages??!? Ha!

So, we get a Son who only receives approval when he does something his Father can show off to others. Simon is very smart; he excels in school. These two things are a classic mix of human nature, and lead to someone who pours all his effort into achieving the peak of the most intellectual profession out there: he is not just a Doctor, but a Surgeon, working at The Best Hospital.

"But what about girls?" I hear you saying.

There's something you must realize about this situation. When you're a kid, pushed by your parents to absorb knowledge and excel in school, it can go one of two ways. One is, you can't do it, and you rebel. A human being needs a sense of self-worth, and if you're constantly failing, a fight-or-flight response is evoked.

The other way it can go, though, is that you succeed. Simon does. The moment when his father gives him the Cortex link is a very special moment for him: it's a sign of love from his father, and he got that sign of love by succeeding in school. All of his effort goes into that, and it rewards him.

Occassionally, girls are a distraction. He's been out of touch with his peers for so long, however, that he has no skills for dealing with girls by the time that happens. Any attempt at contact goes badly ("failure"), so he retreats from that part of his life and burrows more completely into the successful part of his life (intellectual pursuit).

Sorry. This is going on a very long time. Bear with me just a moment more.

What you're left with is someone who is extremely good at the things he's practiced, but who (1) doesn't know the first thing about women, and (2) doesn't even have any practice at talking to anyone less intelligent than himself. Kaylee is less intelligent than Simon. (That's one big way in which the characters are different from the actors.)

Furthermore, he doesn't even have the skills that a normal teenager would have developed. He hasn't practiced. So, he's making teenager-level mistakes when dealing with an adult.

That, my friends, is a four star turn-off. How many women out there want to teach a child how to be your boyfriend? At some point, it gets old. Not the first week, no, and if he's really cute, maybe not the first month. They've been together a pretty long while, though, and he's still making the childish mistakes. I can totally feel for Kaylee's frustration.

Simon's got the ultimate luck going for him, though: he and Kaylee are locked together on that ship, and he's going to have a lot of weeks to keep practicing, and get better at this. He just needs time.

ZOID

Friday, June 4, 2004 5:52 PM

Skydance:

Very insightful. Brava, (female, I hope?)! I would merely add that the only things about love Simon has learned have been through his relationship with River, never his parents. Respect for authority, an understanding of power and status, an appreciation of the finer things in life, ya-da, ya-da, sure... But what about love? If Simon's weak attempts at romantic behavior are indicative of familial behavior, then Gabriel and Regan Tam have a very stiff and formal (non-existent?) relationship when it comes to marital love. It is crucially important to a child's development that his parents show her/him a proper picture of mature love. Simon's what? 26 years old? And this is what he's learned from his parental example? Does Gabriel ever talk to Regan, touch her intimately, kiss her with genuine affection? Not based on the evidence of Simon's social interactions with Kaylee or any other member of the crew. Sheesh!

I still say the quickest way to normalize Simon is for Kaylee to jump his overly proper bones. Hell, even a good kissin' oughtta loosen his tongue and unstiffen that upper lip...

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"I knew a man once. History will never recall him, or what he gave to make us free. That's the way he wanted it. But as long as I live I'll remember, and he'll never truly die."

- River, from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

SKYDANCE

Friday, June 4, 2004 7:05 PM

Oh, agreed on the point about River.

Now, this "brava" thingie ... are you questioning if I am female? No, no -- not a bit of it. I'm something of an intellectual, however, having lived the confusion of "success with books / failure with people." My story is rather different from Simon's though. I wasn't pushed by my family at all.

However, at the venerable age of 40, I've gathered an insight or two into lives outside my own, and it's easy to see the places Simon's development differed from my own. Coincidentally, we share a strong conviction about doing what is "right" -- or, perhaps it's not coincidental, and is actually a side-effect of the process of learning to connect with the rest of society on an individual basis. Got any developmental psychologists in the audience who have heard such a theory before?

ZOID

Friday, June 4, 2004 7:51 PM

Skydance:

My apologies, sir. I always click on the poster's name to see if they've left any data about themselves on their Profile page. I did this on yours, and found nothing; but remembering someone with a screen name similar(?) to yours saying they were a female... Well, let's just say I obviously misremembered. Sorry, again.

Very lucid posts, though.

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"I knew a man once. History will never recall him, or what he gave to make us free. That's the way he wanted it. But as long as I live I'll remember, and he'll never truly die."

- River, from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

PURPLEBELLY

Friday, June 4, 2004 9:01 PM

A Doctor in the House? Simon is a Companion, of course. So much becomes clear, now.

HELL'S KITTEN

Friday, June 4, 2004 11:43 PM

Wow. Okay. So, I’m really thinking that I shouldn’t bother jumping into this thread because you’ve all said so much and I hate repeating things. But I’m foolish and tired, so I’m clearly going to anyway.

So.

I have to first say that I agree with Zoid and Gunhand about Simon being “not quite right,” and I agree that there are plenty of people who can just know when they see it. There is something slightly odd about that boy.... What makes it worse is the fact that I can very much relate to him. At times, I can be just like him, which is kinda embarrassing to admit, but I apparently have no fear of embarrassment. (And I’m a girl, by the way. So that means either I’m a bit of a tom-boy or he’s a bit of a nancy-boy.) I would like to be able to expand upon why or how I think I understand the boy, but more often than not, it’s more abstract association than concrete evidence. I’m not at all sure anything I have to say would come out in any coherent or meaningful way. For me, that sorta discussion is better for a sit-down than a type-off.

There is not one thing about Simon that I find attractive. Nada. He’d only seem like a brother to me. And it’s not cuz he’s not attractive... I guess his features aren’t too hard to look upon... it’s just... one of those things... yeah, he’s “not quite right.” I can understand why there are a lot of Simon fangirls, though, cuz he does have some admirable qualities. Just none of those qualities are attractive to me in anything other than a “oh, that’s nice” kinda way.

As for the Simon & Kaylee thing... she is way too good for him. She deserves the best, and he is clearly not it. Not now, anyway.

Moving right along. I consider myself to be a fairly well educated chick – independent and doing well in a traditionally male-dominated industry – who appreciates being able to hold a conversation with a kind, sentient guy and having, maybe, some connection on an intellectual level...blah, blah, blah. But, for some reason – call me crazy – I would take Jayne over any of the rest of the guys. In. A. Heartbeat. And you can take “take” to mean anything you can think of at this moment. (For the record, Wash would be second, followed by Mal... then moving right along to Kaylee... heh... Book doesn’t even register on my radar.)

There are so many things I could say about Jayne.... That character is obviously (and admittedly) one of Mr.J’s (in)famous anti-heroes. Every show that aired – when re: Jayne’s character – made a point of emphasizing to the audience that he’s a not-so-good guy; he can’t be trusted; he’s only in it for the money; yada, yada, yada. Now, I’m no film student or expert on anything related... but... isn’t that classic misdirection? Or maybe I’m thinking of the term for the “making the character so bad that the 180 makes for a more effectual impact” thing? Anyway, Spike is the first / best example that comes to mind in the Whedon’verse. There are so many subtle things about Jayne throughout the shows (and in the scripts, drafts, etc.) that leads me to believe that he woulda been the Spike of the Firefly ‘verse. I doubt anyone, save Mr.J, could convince me otherwise.

Now for the female crew.... I love Zoe and Kaylee. It’s too hard for me to pick a favorite between those two because they both possess such different qualities, most of which I admire and respect. I hope to be just like them when I grow up.

River: While she’s had some good lines now and again, she’s nothing more than a device. The closest she’s come to being an actual character was in OIS. Unfortunately, that was the end of it all, so she remains an unrealized plot potential.

Inara. I have no idea. I like her well enough, I guess, but I’ve always been intimidated by good looking women. What can I say? I’m shallow and quite possibly, subconsciously, traumatized because of who-knows-what happened in my childhood. We’ll probably never know and I’m certain I don’t care. There’s also something about her career that puts me a little on guard – how could you ever be sure she

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