Attention to Detail

[hoosier]

mlm828 said:

inuvik said:

Maybe it's because he is walking with a dog? I've never walked a dog but that might interfere with your normal walking style.

I've noticed the same gait when he's not walking with Hank, so I don't think it's because he's with the dog. The screencaps just happen to be of him walking with Hank because they (kind of) show what I was talking about.

I have also noticed that he seems to plod as he walks, heavy-footed and deliberate. I can't say I have noticed him doing it in any other thing I have seen him in so I would see this as a Dunbarism unless anyone knows differently!

When Jim is angry and in pursuit of someone, he seems to almost forget he can't see and just takes off after whoever. I can recall at least two instances--as he follows Christie into the apartment after the dinner party at Clay's and when he heads towards the locker room after Marty in RTT. I get a kick each time I see that cop flatten against the wall as Jim storms down the hall!
I guess his anger overrides any sense of caution he would otherwise consider!

[carl1951]

A boxer does not plod when they walk, have to be quick and sure of foot. It has to be part of the act or because of the dog.

Later, Carl

[bjobsessed]

There is another time when his is pretty upset. It's in Galloway's office in UOTR I think. He's telling Galloway that he's not going to do anything about Titus being framed for the murder's and Terry's shooting. He gets worked up about that and the shooting at the bank/Terry and says "We gotta be done here right?" and storms out with Hank. I'd have to watch it again to know if he walks with a gait there or not.

[housemouse]

carl1951 said:

A boxer does not plod when they walk, have to be quick and sure of foot. It has to be part of the act or because of the dog.

Later, Carl

Ahh yes, that is true of a boxer. But keep in mind Dunbar (and RE for that matter) is also a martial artist. Martial artists are trained to "center" and "root". They are certainly "sure of foot" but they are very aware of their bodies and feel the earth with each step. In The Pilot we found out that he studies Judo and possibly Aikido (although when I asked RE he said he has not studied Aikido, just judo and Gracie Jujitsu - I knew he had studied Gracie Jujitsu - that choke in Under the Gun was a sure giveaway - but I digress). Those are both styles that involve a lot of throwing, when doing throws it is especially important to be rooted, so this plodding walk could be the result of his training as a martial artist.

I just adopted myself a little cockapoo and when I walk her, aside from the fact that I am almost always sprinting to keep up (yes, I know bad, bad, bad, but it keeps me in shape), my gait is pretty much the same.

[hoosier]

I noticed this 'plodding' when he came into the squad in RTT. He had just let Hank go on ahead and then he ran into Marty's open desk drawer. He sure seemed to be putting his feet down squarely!

Also, in MB when Karen had to hurry with oncoming traffic, Jim just lengthened his stride but didn't even try to run, which ,I think, would have been hard for him anyway.

I walk my dog every day, sometimes twice. She was an adult dog when she came to our house and I feel lucky we were able to teach her to sit and stay. Heeling, a whole 'nother ball of wax! Instead of a leash, I use a horse lead, made of rope, and she wanders in front of me, stopping occasionally to sniff something questionable or smell the roses, while I catch my breath!

[Forensic Paws]

I've got several dogs, ranging in size from teeny to giant (70 kilos ) and I don't think I've ever plodded or sway while walking them. Though, having said THAT much, I walk them all with a regular leash and collar, not a stiff Guide Dog harness, which could lead to a slight reliance on the support of the harness/dog? I don't know.

But yes, I've also noticed it when he's walking solo. Close your eyes and walk around. I find if I do this (or am walking in the dark) I tend to sway a little, probably to compensate for not being able to see so well.

[hoosier]

Another thing I noticed which is related to the head tilt business is how often Jim holds his head down almost like he is looking at the floor. I have read that often blind people have to be told to hold their heads more erect and not let them droop. Since you are not 'looking' at anything you probably don't even notice that you are doing it.

And several times I have seen him lead with his chin as he is trying to zero in on someone when they are talking.

As to walking with Hank-- the dog is also pulling you as they guide you so I think you would tend to lean that direction plus we don't know just how long Jim and Hank have been a team. And when you are in close proximity to a dog there is that tendency to step on each other's toes. I have stepped on Petee's when she decides to practically hug my leg and she has stepped on mine. The guide dog is like a half-step ahead, but you always have to be aware of the fact that their feet are right there. Look what happened when Jim and Christie got their feet tangled at dance class!

Maybe I chose the wrong word when I said that Jim seemed to 'plod'. Heavy-footed might have been closer to what I noticed. Or maybe he was preoccupied on those occasions--as when he was crossing the street before he was mowed over by that hit and run bike messenger is a case in point or when he came into the squad and ran into Marty's desk, which happened the very same morning. Sheesh! ::)Since he has to consider every step (is the surface even,are there any obstacles?), would his stride or gait ever be as free and smooth as it was when he could see? He has only been blind a year. Watching as he mapped the squad room his second day back, each step was carefully placed and deliberate and when he fell, he went back and retraced his route since he had to be certain that he had it right.

[greenbeing]

I just wonder if, especially since the two times Jim's been angry or in a hurry to chase Marty his gait has seemed "normal," if perhaps a blind person is taught to walk a little more evenly? I'm quite sure I don't walk straight, putting one foot in front of the other, tending to veer one direction or the other. I have enough trouble reading and walking, but at least peripheral vision alerts me to really big objects. Perhaps if you walk more flat-footed, more carefully, you'll walk straighter? Without a horizon to keep as a visual, I'm sure I'd be bouncing on the walls (literally), like a pinball--ping, ping, there goes GB, bouncing around again.

--GB

[shmeep]

hoosier said:

Or maybe he was preoccupied on those occasions--as when he was crossing the street before he was mowed over by that hit and run bike messenger is a case in point or when he came into the squad and ran into Marty's desk, which happened the very same morning. Sheesh!

Those were two different days. One happened at the beginning of Four Feet Under and the other happened at the beginning of Rub a Tub Tub.

Edited to add: Couldn't resist a nitpick here. I mean, look at the name of the thread!

[greenbeing]

hoosier said:

Another thing I noticed which is related to the head tilt business is how often Jim holds his head down almost like he is looking at the floor. I have read that often blind people have to be told to hold their heads more erect and not let them droop. Since you are not 'looking' at anything you probably don't even notice that you are doing it.

One little thing I noticed about characters dealing with Jim and the head tilt, is how Terry and Nick Dyson, when they're really trying to appeal to Jim's better nature and get something from him, how they lean way down and look up at him.

Here's a screencap from right before Nick leans in to try to make eye contact. It was the closest I could find, but should jog the memory.



And here's where Terry is trying to appeal to Jim.



Terry was doing it in the Pilot, also, but there wasn't a good ready-made screencap to go with it. Just think of the lovely scene in the locker room.

I rather like the affect, as eye contact is so ingrained in our society, and it shows how desperately these two are trying to get Jim to help, and maybe to absolve their guilty consciences, how they're desperately trying to connect with him.

--GB

[hoosier]

admin said:

hoosier said:

Or maybe he was preoccupied on those occasions--as when he was crossing the street before he was mowed over by that hit and run bike messenger is a case in point or when he came into the squad and ran into Marty's desk, which happened the very same morning. Sheesh!

Those were two different days. One happened at the beginning of Four Feet Under and the other happened at the beginning of Rub a Tub Tub.

Edited to add: Couldn't resist a nitpick here. I mean, look at the name of the thread!

So right, my bad

[hoosier]

Two instances when Jim seems to forget he is blind, both of which are in Doggone -first, when he is chasing after the bad guys who stole Hank , but for that misplaced can he might have caught them , and ,second, when he launches himself over the table at Johnny. Of course he just followed the sound of his voice but it still rates a wow every time.

Also in Doggone,when he leaves the coffee shop on Elizabeth to meet Debbie Diament, he doesn't look down, but seems to be feeling with his foot as he takes the step, holding onto the doorframe.