Kenny Coyote
Telly Talk Star
Did you notice how JR was always trying to get his parents' approval, especially Jock's approval? Nothing he did ever seemed to be enough to get it. You could tell it was something he wanted badly. I don't know how many episodes had a scene where JR would say something to his parents such as: "I was hoping just this once you'd proud of me."
He was their firstborn child and then they had Gary and Bobby. Gary became Miss Ellie's favorite and then Bobby became Jock's favorite. Imagine the resentment that would create. When JR was their only child he had all their attention and love and then both of his brothers surpassed him in gaining the love of his parents. That's not supposed to happen. Having a new brother or sister isn't supposed to diminish the amount you get loved.
Favoritism puts a child in an impossible position. "What do I do to get them to love me as much as they used to? Is there anything I can do to get them do love me just as much as my brothers"?
The parents - the one source that is supposed to provide equal, unconditional love - undercut the child's self-esteem. It's a betrayal from the two people that the child should never have had to fear betrayal from.
As adults we have a hard enough time trying to figure out how to gain someone's love but for a child, it's completely overwhelming. How is a child supposed to figure out why Mama loves Gary the most and Daddy loves Bobby the most?
At some point JR decides: "If I'm ever going to gain Daddy's love, I'm going to have to do what he does and be even better at it then he is"!
At that point JR decides whatever will get him ahead in the oil business, whatever will give him the competitive edge on his competition, is what he will do. Ethics become irrelevant because as long as the outcome is that he becomes more successful than Jock ever became in the oil business, then he there is no way he can be ignored or neglected ever again. His worth will be undeniable.
JR becomes the man he needs to become at work. He learns how to manipulate people's emotions. He masters the art of gaining every competitive edge there is to be gained.
Somewhere along the way, he can no longer separate who he is at work and who he is in his private life. He's become so convincing at becoming whatever his business requires him to be that he can't remember how to turn it off when he goes home. He's convinced everyone, and now himself, that he is who he pretends to be. Honesty, vulnerability and a conscience are liabilities....aren't they?
The two personas merge into one as his business persona devours all that is left of the man he used to be, the one they didn't like anyway. There is no separation anymore between the two - they have become one and the same.
He was their firstborn child and then they had Gary and Bobby. Gary became Miss Ellie's favorite and then Bobby became Jock's favorite. Imagine the resentment that would create. When JR was their only child he had all their attention and love and then both of his brothers surpassed him in gaining the love of his parents. That's not supposed to happen. Having a new brother or sister isn't supposed to diminish the amount you get loved.
Favoritism puts a child in an impossible position. "What do I do to get them to love me as much as they used to? Is there anything I can do to get them do love me just as much as my brothers"?
The parents - the one source that is supposed to provide equal, unconditional love - undercut the child's self-esteem. It's a betrayal from the two people that the child should never have had to fear betrayal from.
As adults we have a hard enough time trying to figure out how to gain someone's love but for a child, it's completely overwhelming. How is a child supposed to figure out why Mama loves Gary the most and Daddy loves Bobby the most?
At some point JR decides: "If I'm ever going to gain Daddy's love, I'm going to have to do what he does and be even better at it then he is"!
At that point JR decides whatever will get him ahead in the oil business, whatever will give him the competitive edge on his competition, is what he will do. Ethics become irrelevant because as long as the outcome is that he becomes more successful than Jock ever became in the oil business, then he there is no way he can be ignored or neglected ever again. His worth will be undeniable.
JR becomes the man he needs to become at work. He learns how to manipulate people's emotions. He masters the art of gaining every competitive edge there is to be gained.
Somewhere along the way, he can no longer separate who he is at work and who he is in his private life. He's become so convincing at becoming whatever his business requires him to be that he can't remember how to turn it off when he goes home. He's convinced everyone, and now himself, that he is who he pretends to be. Honesty, vulnerability and a conscience are liabilities....aren't they?
The two personas merge into one as his business persona devours all that is left of the man he used to be, the one they didn't like anyway. There is no separation anymore between the two - they have become one and the same.
