cracking under pressure theme
Someone is put under so much stress that they can't handle it and, typically, start acting irrationally.
Examples
Dave Bailey was relieved of duty for snapping on the bridge in tos1x02 "The Corbomite Maneuver".
35 total · 3 choice · 9 major · 22 minor
| Story | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| ds97x08 | choice | Nadia Larkin and her men were at their wits end after five months on the front lines battling the Jem'Hadar; Vargas snapped while Julian treated his arm wound |
| tftc1989e3x12 | choice | Charles was under immense pressure to come up with a "scoop", and in particular a murder story, for his old newspaper where he had provisionally been hired back. When he failed at every turn he nearly went back to the bottle. Charles later strangled his lover in a desperate attempt to get a scoop. The viewer is left to ponder if Charles went completely insane and had been committed to an insane asylum. |
| tos1x02 | choice | Dave Bailey :: Bailey in confrontation with Balok; especially during Sulu's countdown |
| ahh1x15 | major | The stress from being hounded as a suspect for his wife's tragic accident caused Andrew to become gradually more erratic, make mistakes at work, and finally go completely insane. |
| blackmirror3x01 | major | Lacie finally cracked and started yelling at the airport and went into a downwards spiral from there. |
| ds95x02 | major | everyone was cracking a bit under pressure in their own peculiar way |
| movie: Full Metal Jacket (1987) | major | the first half of the film culminates in Pyle's suicide due to stress |
| movie: Modern Times (1936) | major | the Tramp finally went nuts due to excessive stress working in the factory |
| movie: The Blair Witch Project (1999) | major | chased by a witch and lost in the woods, all three people eventually lost their composures |
| movie: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) | major | Colonel Saito was under such pressure to finish the bridge on time that he very nearly lost it. In a notable scene, some of Saito's underlings dropped their jaws when they entered his lodgings and saw him threatening Colonel Nicholson with a carving knife. Colonel Saito would have had to commit ritual suicide should he fail to complete the bridge on time. |