The Beating Scene *Spoilers*
Remember the scene where Book beats the crap out of that punk who was harassing Daniel and the others? Why do you think that old man was so upset by what he saw?
What we have here is a failure to give a *beep*
The beating drew what Eli felt was unnecessary attention and was behaviour that was a little too bold and brassy, but the key thing is that John was violent. I'd guess that the beating really went against any sort of "turn the other cheek", pacifist ethos.
"don't think...feeeeel"
james-clayton.blogspot.com/
Well yeah, I knew that. I guess I should have been more clear as to which old man I was referring to and that was the old guy in the hat and glasses. The one who was talking to the police right after Book and Eli left the scene.
What we have here is a failure to give a *beep*
(My response, copied from the "Nudity" thread)
Well the only real thing he mentioned was that it was bad for the town's tourism which he depends on as a shop owner. We might assume that maybe he didn't see what the bullies had been doing before hand and therefore thought it was completely unjustified. I think the real reason might just be that he was a plot device so that Book could be found after the man talked to the cops- his anger did seem a bit much.
Yeah, it is mainly to move the plot along and act as a discovery device allerting the corrupt coppers to Book's hiding place as SoulsDescend says.
It's also true that by being violent, the 'authenticism' of the whole Amish tourist experience is ruined which is why it upsets the old man who complains. People don't like things not behaving as they expect them to, especially when they make money of them...
"don't think...feeeeel"
james-clayton.blogspot.com/
In the original script, the annoyed old man says they'll take the boy to hospital then says to Rachel - "You're Rachel Lapp, aren't you?".
Later on there is a scene with the bad cops poring over a map with a local Sheriff who says one of his men put it together after he "spoke to the doctor at the hospital."
So it seems the old guy talking to the cops at the scene is just a way to cut all this out.
his anger did seem a bit muchThere's a reason for this. As the script explains it:
The kid never knew what hit him or where it came from, he
hits the road surface already unconscious. A second youth
grabs Book from behind. A mistake. Book is smashing into
him, spatters of blood from his nose flying in all directions.
He's hitting too hard, too often. It's Schaeffer he's hitting. share
It also showed that not only was Book violent as a cop. But he experiences violence as a human being. He's a city man. Whereas he's now out of his jurisdiction and things are different. Not to sound rude, but he ain't in Kansas no more!
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