Arrested Development and Philosophy_ They've Made a Huge Mistake - Kristopher G. Phillips [7]
Gob: “They’re Laughing with Me, Michael, They’re Laughing with Me.”
What do we know about Gob? He is in his mid- to late-thirties. He’s never been in a serious relationship. He’s been blackballed from the professional organization of his chosen trade (which he founded), the Magicians’ Alliance. He has no stable income or home. Yet, Gob sees himself as a superstar. Despite the fact that his illusions end in failure more often than not, despite the fact that he can’t find work and is considered a joke within his profession, and despite the fact that his family openly ridicules his trade, Gob sees himself as a master illusionist. His professional identity is tied up in a self-conception that has no basis in reality. There are many, many signs that would cue a normally functioning human being into the fact that Gob is a terrible magician. He regularly kills his live props (and then returns them from whence they came), his fireballs never trigger (but still, where did the lighter fluid come from?), and bystanders with no experience in magic can figure out how his illusions work. Yet Gob never sways in his deep, ungrounded belief that he is an excellent illusionist.
When he is made figurehead president of the Bluth Company (and we’re fine with that), he immediately begins to self-identify as an expensive suit-wearing CEO (C’mon!), despite the fact that he does no real work for the company. And Gob’s self-deception is not restricted to his professional life. He fancies himself a philanderer but rarely manages to actually “seal the deal.” Just consider his marriage, which remained unconsummated for months, despite his repeated claims to the contrary. Gob has every reason to see his life as a failure. Yet he appears to be one of the happiest members of the Bluth family. He is confident and vivacious, certain he is always in the know, even though every adult member of his family repeatedly and successfully deceives him. In fact, the only times Gob appears to be unhappy are in the rare moments when he sees himself clearly for what he is (like when he wakes up in the hospital, having failed in an illusion and having been stabbed with a shiv. He made a huge mistake). But for times like that, Gob has a steady supply of forget-me-nows.
Lindsay: “You Call Yourself an Environmentalist, Why Don’t You Go Club a Few Beavers?”
A stereotypical privileged daughter, Lindsay has not pursued a career. Instead, she devotes herself to maintaining her appearance and is a crusader for social justice. Unfortunately, Lindsay couldn’t care less about any of the causes she spends her time championing. She wastes food at a benefit for world hunger,11 opposes the war in Iraq because her hairdresser is being called to active duty (leaving her in need of a stylist), and is uncertain about what exactly she is supposed to be doing with the wetlands. “Dry them?” she guesses.12
Lindsay sees herself as a good mother, yet fails to recognize that her daughter is flunking out of school. Believing it to be an award, she has Maeby’s expulsion letter from the “new age feel-goodery” Openings framed. She also considers herself to be a good daughter, but only visits her father in prison three times, with each visit motivated by the frustrated desire for leers and cat calls from the inmates (in her distorted version of reality, this would be the ultimate self-esteem boost). Lindsay brags about being employed while everyone else loafs