Reader question:

Please explain “shouting match” in this passage:

Be fair, and don’t be afraid to be assertive. If it’s an especially heated hearing, you may have to step in to make sure both sides get a chance to be heard and you may have to break in if things degenerate into a shouting match.

My comments:

A shouting match is an Olympic competition in which players holler at the top of their voice, with the one who shouts the loudest declared the winner and awarded the gold medal.

I’m kidding. No such contest exists – not at the Olympic level at any rate – but you get an idea, literally, of what a shouting match will be like.

Metaphorically speaking, as is the case in our example, a hearing can descend into a shouting match, i.e. a loud quarrel.

A hearing is, in the court of law, an act of a judge listening to a case. It is an opportunity for the accused and the accuser to present their case (argument).

The judge also acts as a mediator in a way, making sure that both parties keep their composure, lest arguments turn into loud quarrels.

Or, yes, a shouting match.

If a hearing turns into a shouting match, then, of course, chaos ensues. Everybody loses their cool. Tempers flare. Verbal grenades explode. All we hear is screeching voices. People begin to cover their ears. In other words, things are out of control.

Got the idea?

All right, here are media examples of “shouting match” or “screaming match”, which is even more hysterical:

1. Sean Hannity and Dan Bongino got into a screaming match with Geraldo Rivera on Monday night over the death of a 22-year-old at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

Pierce Kennedy Corcoran was killed in a head-on car crash with Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo. Francisco-Eduardo was charged with criminally negligent homicide and driving without a license or insurance, and he was turned over to ICE, according to Fox News.

Corcoran’s parents were on Hannity’s show. Bongino and Rivera’s appearance on the show followed the parents.

“Their son is dead. Or the people that also aid and abet these people with their sanctuary cities and sanctuary states, criminal aliens in our custody that are not handed over to ICE. You always say it’s about both parties, it’s not,” Hannity stated. “It’s about one party now that refuses to protect the American people, and I didn’t mention drugs and I didn’t mention human trafficking.”

Rivera answered, “I love you brother, but you are looking at that family, the Corcoran family and what they’ve suffered. There are no words that I can offer that can give them any solace, any relief. I ache for them. I’m so sorry.”

“I would feel equally upset and pained by their tragedy were the killer Irish or Italian or Puerto Rican or Jewish, or old or young. I think that to use these tragedies to try to make a political point is not useful at this point,” he continued.

“Geraldo stop it! He’s a dead 22-year-old kid. Stop! Wait a minute! We have a dead police officer who has a 5-month-old kid. It’s not using, it’s about whether this government is going to protect them,” Hannity yelled.

“It is grotesquely unfair — it is grotesquely unfair to use these anecdotes to make a political argument!” Rivera retaliated before being cut off by Hannity.

- Hannity, Bongino Get Into Intense Screaming Match With Rivera Over Illegal Immigration, DailyCaller.com, January 07, 2019.

2. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday that it will allow the microphones of each participant to be muted during some portions of this week’s final debate.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump will spar on Thursday night during their second debate, set for 9 p.m. EST at Belmont University in Nashville, moderated by NBC News’ Kristen Welker. The decision is likely to anger the president, who backed out of what was their second scheduled meetup after being treated for coronavirus and refusing to participate in a virtual debate against Biden.

When asked about the change, Trump confirmed that he would participate. “I just think it’s very unfair,” he added.

Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s campaign communications director, called the decision an “attempt to provide an advantage to their favored candidate.”

However, in a statement announcing the decision, the commission wrote, “We realize, after discussions with both campaigns, that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today.”

“One may think they go too far, and one may think they do not go far enough,” it continued. “We are comfortable that these actions strike the right balance and that they are in the interest of the American people, for whom these debates are held.”

The first presidential debate on Sept. 29, moderated by Fox News veteran Chris Wallace, devolved into a shouting match, with Trump frequently interrupting Biden.

- Commission to mute Trump, Biden mics during next debate, TheGrio.com, October 20, 2020.

3. Fatal Attraction may have been a box office smash and an Oscar-nominated film, but that doesn’t mean that it was easy on the set. A psychological thriller, this label didn’t just apply to what was happening in front of the camera.

The filmmakers and cast were always on edge behind the scenes, clashing with each other over the smallest details. When Glenn Close didn’t like the direction that the ending was going, she got into a shouting match.

What is ‘Fatal Attraction’ about?

Fatal Attraction could best be described as an erotic thriller about Michael Douglas’s Alex Dan Gallagher and his love triangle between two women, played by Anne Archer and Glenn Close. What starts as an affair with Close’s Alex Forrest quickly becomes something far more intense.

When Gallagher attempts to end his affair, Forrest has an all-out meltdown. What ensues is a film that goes beyond the standard trappings of a thriller and dives deep into the character.

From James Dearden’s script to Adrian Lyne’s direction and the performances throughout, Fatal Attraction was one of the most successful films of 1987 from both a critical standpoint and a financial one.

Much of this praise has to do with the performances. From Douglas’s performance as an embattled husband who struggles with his infidelity to Close’s maniacal turn as his extra-marital romantic partner, the film made bigger stars out of already successful actors and stars out of those who were lesser-known. One of the film’s most memorable moments, however, is its climax.

Glenn Close is the star of ‘Fatal Attraction’

The film posits Close’s Alex as a psychotic woman who cannot fathom life without a man like Douglas. She inserts herself not only into his work life, where they first met but into his personal life.

When Douglas wants to call things off, she takes a turn for the worse and spends the rest of the movie playing manipulative games, hoping that he will leave his family and spend his life with her. Nailing the ending, however, was a chore.

The film ends with Alex wielding a knife at Dan’s house and trying to kill his wife so that he’ll spend the rest of his life with her. An argument ensues that culminates with Dan dunking her in the bath. Presuming Alex dead, he starts to struggle with her until his wife shoots her, and the movie ends with their embrace. The ending is a classic, although Close (rightfully) had issues with it at the time of filming.

The ending of ‘Fatal Attraction’

With such an intense plot, it’s not surprising that a cast full of actors would lack patience during filming. However, sometimes this tension boiled over.

Douglas famously lost his cool when one scene took too long to film. However, when it came to the ending,

Close hated the turn her character took and saw it as a cop-out. When Douglas defended it, Close and he got into a shouting match. Close recalled this. They spoke about this with The Hollywood Reporter:

Said Douglas: “I had a big talk to her about the theater, and how you play the show to out-of-town audiences, and then you adjust. The argument was, ‘It may not be the best for your character, but it’s best for the movie.’”

Close rejected that out of hand: “I remember screaming at Michael, ‘How would you feel if they did this to your character?’ He said, ‘Babe, I’m a whore.’ [Finally] I called William Hurt, and he said, ‘You’ve made your point. Now it’s your responsibility to buck up and just do it.’ “

Eventually, Close got some of what she wanted in the ending but ultimately failed to see the point. Audiences, on the other hand, loved it.

‘Fatal Attraction’: Glenn Close Hated The Ending So Much She Got Into A Shouting Match, FashionModelSecret.com, December 12, 2020.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：張欣 編輯：Helen）