The Social Anxiety Scene in Top Gun Maverick

Social Anxiety comes for Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick when the golden bell rings at a popular Navy bar. It doesn’t matter how fast you can fly, sooner or later, Social Anxiety Disorder will catch you.

There are plenty of reasons why we should all love Top Gun: Maverick. The hyper sonic speed of fighter jets, the call back scenes from the original Top Gun movie in 1986, and the authenticity of being a Navy Aviator. Not to mention, it was another brilliant performance by the legendary Tom Cruise again. The story of Top Gun: Maverick ties nicely with the original film made over 35 years ago, while incorporating a really suspenseful modern-day plot. And it’s always cool to learn the call-signs of the new pilots (Bob made my day).

Fighter Jets can’t outrun Social Anxiety Disorder

Although Tom Cruise’s newest aviation thriller is filled with action, speed, and suspense, we’ve got to look at one of the scenes that doesn’t have any of that. It’s the one scene that would be a juggernaut of a trigger for people with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). If you’re flying through life too fast and don’t know what SAD is, click here to find out. If you’re good to go, then check out the one major SAD scene below.

Social Anxiety Scene in Top Gun: Maverick

Social Anxiety Disorder can always catch up to you, regardless of how fast you’re flying. Tom Cruise’s Maverick triggers a huge Red Face moment when he is at the Naval bar and the bell rings. Twice!

Usually going to the bar isn’t considered a big deal. You have a drink, watch a game, see your friends, and go home. But in Maverick’s case (played by Tom Cruise), there was a serious social anxiety problem going on at that bar. The owner of the bar (who was also the bar tender), Penny, has a bell hanging behind the counter which she seemingly uses to punish patrons who don’t abide by the rules. Well Penny decided to punish Maverick as she rung the bell for everyone inside the bar to hear. This was a specific ring which indicated that all drinks were on the house at Mav’s expense. This put all eyes on Mav as the patrons celebrated the fact that he had to pay for everyone’s drink.

A few minutes later, Mav decided it was time for him to leave and gave Penny his credit card. After Penny tried to charge the card, she came back and notified Mav that his card was declined. So now you probably can guess what happened next, right? Penny rings the bell a second time which again leads to all eyes on Mav. Only this time, everyone in the bar was watching and laughing as Mav was picked up and literally thrown out of the bar by three of his students (unbeknownst to them at the time).

It was a tough day for Maverick at the Naval bar that day. He was put on blast by Penny not once, but twice. And on top of all that, he still owed her a large debt for all those drinks he couldn’t pay for.

First SAD Trigger

The first time the bell was rung on Maverick, everyone was looking at him and celebrated that their drinks were free. If Maverick (Tom Cruise) had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), this would be a problem. All those eyes on a person who suffers from Social Anxiety Disorder is a huge trigger in developing the awful Red Face of SAD. Maverick would get a rush of heat to his face, followed by bright red blushing, and ending with profuse sweating. This is extremely uncomfortable and really difficult to hide, especially when everyone is looking at you.

Second SAD Trigger

The second time Penny rang the bell on Maverick, things only got worse for the SAD sufferer. This time, the problem is a compilation of two things:

1. Mav’s credit card was declined right in front of his love interest, Penny
2. All eyes are on him as he is getting thrown out of the bar

Imagine having your credit card declined at a store or restaurant. That is an uncomfortable, awkward situation to be in. Now imagine it gets declines while you’re with your romantic interest. That is much more embarrassing, especially if you’re trying to make a good impression. Maverick’s card getting declined is an impression on Penny that he wishes he could erase. It’s embarrassing and would cause a huge Red Face reaction if he had Social Anxiety Disorder.

Now imagine that after your love interest see’s that your card was declined, she and everyone else watches you as you get thrown out of the bar and onto the floor. Again, now all eyes are on you and people are laughing at your broke ass being evicted for not paying a bill. Super embarrassing and Red Face would be triggered immediately once that second bell rings. There is no hiding it. All Mav could do if he developed Red Face at that time is endure the humiliation.

Top Gun: Maverick definitely revealed a major Social Anxiety trigger. Having all eyes on you as an embarrassing event is going on leads to the dreaded Red Face. This in turn converts to utter humiliation. Let’s just be thankful that Tom Cruise or his character, Maverick, suffer from SAD.