Zetti Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Emotional blackmail IMHO is when someone feels pressured into a relationship or situation that they dont actually feel very comfortable with and I cant recall if Belle or even Aden for that matter was placed in that position, that is what I mean by emotional blackmail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Kevin- Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 It is interesting how people can look at the same things and see them very differently. A bit like that old story about the road accident witnesses viewing from different street corners. I think you hit the nail on the head here. It's all about whether you like them/it or not. Sometimes I feel like we're all watching different shows. The people who posted above me couldn't see the blackmailing Red Ranger accused him of, while I can see it perfectly. Belle was vulnerable and confused and Aden took advantage of that. She wasn't sure what to do; she needed Angelo for the investegation of the development site, but at the same time, she loved another man. She walks into her room and Aden practically ambushes her with the "You know you feel the same way. You know this is right". Of course she isn't going to turn him down when he puts it like that. If he'd said "I think you feel the same way. I think this is right" it would have another situation completely. When a person is already confused about her feelings towards a person, if this person then shows up and in a very clever way convinces her that he's the one for her, then she's going to agree, failing to see what he's doing to her. I call that emotional blackmail I can see it to valli actually. Emotional blackmail can happen without Belle actually knowing it is happening . Aden took advantage of her state of mind at the time when she was in a very confused and vulnerable state when all the stuff was going on with the development site.he even kissed her the night in the car when she was clearly distressed about the whole development thing. Whenever Belle was confused Aden always just said " this is right" and stuff like "you and me are meant to be" That is EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Kevin- Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Emotional Blackmail definition : persuasion using sympathy or guilt: the stirring up of uncomfortable feelings in somebody, especially sympathy or guilt, in order to persuade that person to do something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cicerid Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 I can see it to valli actually. Emotional blackmail can happen without Belle actually knowing it is happening . Aden took advantage of her state of mind at the time when she was in a very confused and vulnerable state when all the stuff was going on with the development site.he even kissed her the night in the car when she was clearly distressed about the whole development thing. Whenever Belle was confused Aden always just said " this is right" and stuff like "you and me are meant to be" That is EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL Sexyluc, I know you don't like Belle and Aden, either individually or as a couple and I respect your reasons why, but don't you objectively think that from the first day Aden was out of the clinic and he and Belle met by chance on the beach it was pretty obvious that Belle was so not over him? I don't believe Belle did anything she did not want to do. As I stated earlier, she just woke up to her true feelings. With regards to the kiss in the car, Aden did it to prevent them getting busted by the security guard. I'm not denying he probably enjoyed it, but his action was a spur of the moment decision to deal with a potentially critical situation. And we mustn't forget Belle kissed him back. The feelings between them have always been mutual. So I think you can accuse Aden of many things but not of forcing Belle to love him back (not sure whether this post should have gone in the Belle, Aden or Adelle thread ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetti Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Aden cant force Belle to love him when he can IMO barely comprehend the fact that Belle does love him, at first he couldnt now he can and thats what makes me feel good about him and Belle as a couple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doola Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Emotional Blackmail definition : persuasion using sympathy or guilt: the stirring up of uncomfortable feelings in somebody, especially sympathy or guilt, in order to persuade that person to do something If you wanted to turn this argument on its head and look at it another way, it could quite as easily be said that Belle only ever felt both guilt and sympathy for Angelo once his ill-timed hospitalization for the hit on the head occurred. Although this was not conscious persuasion or 'blackmail' exercised by Angelo, it most certainly persuaded Belle not to come clean with Angelo right from the beginning of her and Aden's reunion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ranger 1 Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Given that I was the one that brought up the phrase "emotional blackmail", I think I should probably give my own perspective on the scene I mentioned.As someone said, we all view these scenes differently depending on how we view the characters.The way I see it, Belle says to Aden "I love you but nothing else can happen between us until I've finished with Angelo."He then reminds her of all that he's been through recently and how much he needs her support and makes her feel bad for pushing him away so she carries on seeing him even though she knows it's the wrong thing to do.I call that emotional blackmail.But that's just the way I viewed the scene and other people evidently saw it differently. Broadly speaking, I don't think Belle did anything she didn't want to.But I do think that the way Aden behaved towards her was, possibly unconsciously, rather manipulative and caused her to do things she knew were wrong, even though they were what she wanted to do.When he came to see her in her bedroom, she said "No" to him at least once and told him she'd chosen Angelo and he basically ignored her.I was accused once of implying that Aden raped Belle which isn't what I believe.But I do wonder sometimes how long it would have taken Aden to get the message if Belle had stuck to her principles and kept saying "No".As with many of Aden's actions during that period, the only reason he got away with it was because he was right and Belle did still have feelings for him.If he'd misread things and she really hadn't wanted to be with him, his behaviour would have been rather unnerving. And just to prove that I can be balanced, I don't think there was anything underhand about the kiss in the car, that was just them reacting to a certain situation.It caused a few problems in retrospect since it left her feeling confused and probably encouraged him to keep pursuing her at a time when he seemed ready to move on.But I don't think it was the same thing. Just as I don't think Belle not breaking up with Angelo because she felt guilty about being in bed with another man while he was being hit over the head really qualifies as emotional blackmail.It just qualifies as...guilt.And given that she came up with a new excuse for not telling Angelo every episode, first saying she'd do it when he was out of hospital, then when he was back on his feet, then when she didn't need a friendly policeman on tap anymore, I do wonder whether she'd actually have been brave enough to be honest with him even if it hadn't happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 (edited) Just as I don't think Belle not breaking up with Angelo because she felt guilty about being in bed with another man while he was being hit over the head really qualifies as emotional blackmail.It just qualifies as...guilt.And given that she came up with a new excuse for not telling Angelo every episode, first saying she'd do it when he was out of hospital, then when he was back on his feet, then when she didn't need a friendly policeman on tap anymore, I do wonder whether she'd actually have been brave enough to be honest with him even if it hadn't happened. I think "brave" is the wrong word to use in this case. I think Belle was feeling so "battered" emotionally that she didn't have the strength to face up to telling him or his reaction to being told. Once again if you're anti-Belle this could be seen as cowardice or worse. If you're pro-Belle this could be viewed with sympathy at her being "battered" by events and not thinking clearly. If you're neither ............... Edited January 3, 2009 by john003au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doola Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 And given that she came up with a new excuse for not telling Angelo every episode, first saying she'd do it when he was out of hospital, then when he was back on his feet, then when she didn't need a friendly policeman on tap anymore, I do wonder whether she'd actually have been brave enough to be honest with him even if it hadn't happened. This, I actually totally agree with you on, and it really irked me when it aired when Belle used the excuse that she still needed Angelo to help with the development stuff as a reason not to come clean with him. That was the lowest of the low there, and I do agree that it was basically using Angelo for her own gain. The first couple of times she backed out of telling him I could overlook, basically because breaking up with someone is never easy, and we've all delayed doing something that we know is going to hurt someone else (I know I have), so I could relate to Belle's reluctance and yes, cowardice in doing that. Broadly speaking, I don't think Belle did anything she didn't want to.But I do think that the way Aden behaved towards her was, possibly unconsciously, rather manipulative and caused her to do things she knew were wrong, even though they were what she wanted to do.When he came to see her in her bedroom, she said "No" to him at least once and told him she'd chosen Angelo and he basically ignored her.I was accused once of implying that Aden raped Belle which isn't what I believe.But I do wonder sometimes how long it would have taken Aden to get the message if Belle had stuck to her principles and kept saying "No".As with many of Aden's actions during that period, the only reason he got away with it was because he was right and Belle did still have feelings for him.If he'd misread things and she really hadn't wanted to be with him, his behaviour would have been rather unnerving. Now to the bit where I disagree with you! For me, that scene in the bedroom was Aden trying to straighten out the mess they were in, and figure out Belle's true feelings for him for once and for all. At this point, Belle had told him that she still loved him (after the courtcase). He had heard her teary admission to wishing Aden had told her he wanted her back before she had slept with Angelo. And just before that, she admitted to protecting him from the developers threat. I think it was pretty clear to Aden at this stage that she still had feelings for him, and the scene in the bedroom was just his way of making her confront her true feelings. I think the way in which he went about it was pretty much keeping in character with Aden, in that he fights for what he believes in. Belle did make a few half-hearted attempts at a rebuttal, but I don't think for an instant that Aden forced her hand in any way. I would like to think that had she rebuffed him strongly, he would have accepted her decision, but thats all hearsay I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelle2008 Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 I reckon Belle has done alot of growing since she first arrived in the bay. I think that people like certain characters because they can relate in some way and thats why we like them (thats what I think anyway...) I love Belle I dont know why but I just do! Why do you guys like Belle (please if you dont like Belle dont tell me a thousand reasons why u hate her I already know the reason there are pages and pages disucssing why people hate her, I want to know the good stuff). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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