The alpha male
This entry was posted on 2/6/2008 11:50 AM and is filed under General.
A couple of days ago, I discovered a feature of our Comcast Internet service. The channel A&E has some of their shows saved in the system and I watched a sampling of their lifestyle category shows. One of them is Flip This House, which is apparently in its third season and features various professional flippers, one company for each episode. If you aren't familiar with flipping, it's when you buy a house that is a cheap disaster, fix it methodically based on what adds value and curb appeal in your marketplace, then attempt to sell it as quickly as possible. If you start incurring mortgage payments, you lose your profit very quickly. I've only seen four episodes, but it's San Antonio that really catches my eye.
Armando Montelongo owns a business that supposedly flips 300 houses a year. The opening sequence claims he "came from nothing" five years ago and built this business with his family. In episode 30, he buys a house nearly sight unseen and discovers it to be a real horror. I thought the episode was almost a case study of a functional alpha male. He has great qualities and good relationships as well as significant weaknesses. My husband and I were really impressed by how he and his wife work together. She (on camera, at least) effortlessly buffers his weaknesses and allows him to feel completely self-sufficient, which he isn't in the least. It was particularly telling when his wife forced him to go to a therapist, who, while not seeming particularly dynamic or comfortable in front of the camera, did help him, though he completely denied it.
The show also allows him to make mistakes, perhaps for comic relief, but they are very alpha male mistakes. This guy has to let out his agression physically, occasionally with disastrous results. He's also a very fast decision maker, and if the decision is a mistake there are lots of people to solve problems for him.
I found it very interesting as a writer who often writes alpha males. You could definitely build romance novels by watching the interactions between Armando and wife Veronica alone.
Writers, take a look!
