Oh, this made me think of a Twilight Zone episode, "Uncle Simon," where I came to a similar conclusion about the main character, Barbara. She's lived for decades with her cruel, verbally abusive uncle (played by Cedric Hardwicke, best remembered as Pharaoh Seti in the Ten Commandments). Why does she live with him? Because he's rich and she wants to inherit his money. So she takes care of him, year after year. She goes nowhere and does nothing else.
I thought the question he snarkily asks her at one point was telling. Something along the lines of, "Did you build anything today? Create anything? Make anything?"
Of course not. She has no ambition, no drive, no dreams. She wants only one thing: her rich uncle's money. When he dies, she triumphantly shouts,
"I have sowed! And now I intend to *reap*!"
But Uncle Simon has a nasty surprise for her: upon his death, his lawyer reveals the robot Uncle Simon built in his secret laboratory. The robot is imbued with Simon's personality. It, too, insults Barbara. And mistreats her. But she is obligated by the terms of the will to take care of the robot, and is not allowed to redecorate the house. This is enforced by weekly visits from a university official -- the university will receive all of Simon's money if Barbara violates the terms of his will.
She is not the victim, although she sees herself as one. She could have lived her own life, built something for herself. Barbara could have created her own works, if she had it in her. But instead she chose passivity and greed and entitlement. The narrator makes it quite clear she's not "good" in the closing lines: "... [Barbara] discovered belatedly that all bad things don't come to an end, and that once a bed is made, it's quite necessary that you sleep in it ..."
Shelby, as described in your post, reminds me of a mentality I've tried to steer certain friends away from. If her story were a cautionary tale, like "Uncle Simon," I would love to recommend it. But I gather that's not the direction the movie went in. Which is too bad, because it sounds like the movie *could* have gone there, but lacked the conviction (or insight) to do so. Thanks for the review!
Good Evening Kristin! This is my very first comment on one of your articles. I enjoy your YouTube "Nonsense-Free Editor" stuff very much, and am glad to be here!
Full disclosure to lead off--I don't have Netflix, so I'm not down with their programming. I don't have a wired house, nor do I have updated TVs which are plugged into the Internet. I already shell out enough to the Comcast extortionist racketeers here in Philly for the unwatchable crud they throw in our face (thank God for DVDs)--they don't even give us TCM with basic cable anymore. Seeing jive like this makes me happy that I stayed away from the whole streaming thing. Self-pity is repugnant, and, granted, my impression of this pack of self-indulgent twentysomethings with their nonsensical, highfalutin names ("Forbes" and "Cyrus"--someone give me a bucket to puke, please!), trying to rock this bizarre post-hipster, knock-off Monkees impersonator vibe. Do I have this right? Some schmuck's girl (who's apparently really into him, his treating her like dirt notwithstanding) goes into his bedroom decked out in lingerie to lure him into a night of passion, and he's more interested in whacking off to some other chick on the computer? That's one of the stories of this band of gallant heroes in this theatrical marvel? Why's the girl still with him of all people? Why was a guy who acted like that of interest to ANY girl at all? Totally disgusting. But from what I understand, these Gen Z, Zoomers, or whatever the hell they call themselves are into all manner of idiocy, so I'm not surprised. Just seeing the whole gang gathered around that table is eerie enough--what a strange group of faces!
Good Grief! I already knew the entertainment industry was starved of ideas--this is further proof. More evidence that indie writers need to mount a Reconquista of the traditional publishing world, and re-establish literacy as a cornerstone of civilization. Otherwise, these "Forbes" people and others with far-out names and fashions they dug out of dumpsters like the protagonists of this strange flick will come to conquer the world! Man!
Good article, Kristin. Best of luck, by the way, on your new career path, after your stint working for Uncle Sam! Keep those videos and great advice for we rogue writers roving the backroads of the world with our cocktail napkin manuscripts and deathless, crackpot ideas that simply will not leave us in peace! We need as much help as possible!
The mark of an interesting review is that you don't need to watch the movie to appreciate it. Well done.
Thanks! It was a challenge, as there’s so much to talk about in the movie. But I refrained for those who haven’t seen it, which I recommend you do 🤗
Oh, this made me think of a Twilight Zone episode, "Uncle Simon," where I came to a similar conclusion about the main character, Barbara. She's lived for decades with her cruel, verbally abusive uncle (played by Cedric Hardwicke, best remembered as Pharaoh Seti in the Ten Commandments). Why does she live with him? Because he's rich and she wants to inherit his money. So she takes care of him, year after year. She goes nowhere and does nothing else.
I thought the question he snarkily asks her at one point was telling. Something along the lines of, "Did you build anything today? Create anything? Make anything?"
Of course not. She has no ambition, no drive, no dreams. She wants only one thing: her rich uncle's money. When he dies, she triumphantly shouts,
"I have sowed! And now I intend to *reap*!"
But Uncle Simon has a nasty surprise for her: upon his death, his lawyer reveals the robot Uncle Simon built in his secret laboratory. The robot is imbued with Simon's personality. It, too, insults Barbara. And mistreats her. But she is obligated by the terms of the will to take care of the robot, and is not allowed to redecorate the house. This is enforced by weekly visits from a university official -- the university will receive all of Simon's money if Barbara violates the terms of his will.
She is not the victim, although she sees herself as one. She could have lived her own life, built something for herself. Barbara could have created her own works, if she had it in her. But instead she chose passivity and greed and entitlement. The narrator makes it quite clear she's not "good" in the closing lines: "... [Barbara] discovered belatedly that all bad things don't come to an end, and that once a bed is made, it's quite necessary that you sleep in it ..."
Shelby, as described in your post, reminds me of a mentality I've tried to steer certain friends away from. If her story were a cautionary tale, like "Uncle Simon," I would love to recommend it. But I gather that's not the direction the movie went in. Which is too bad, because it sounds like the movie *could* have gone there, but lacked the conviction (or insight) to do so. Thanks for the review!
Reading this lead me to watch the movie! It was great! Cheers
Good Evening Kristin! This is my very first comment on one of your articles. I enjoy your YouTube "Nonsense-Free Editor" stuff very much, and am glad to be here!
Full disclosure to lead off--I don't have Netflix, so I'm not down with their programming. I don't have a wired house, nor do I have updated TVs which are plugged into the Internet. I already shell out enough to the Comcast extortionist racketeers here in Philly for the unwatchable crud they throw in our face (thank God for DVDs)--they don't even give us TCM with basic cable anymore. Seeing jive like this makes me happy that I stayed away from the whole streaming thing. Self-pity is repugnant, and, granted, my impression of this pack of self-indulgent twentysomethings with their nonsensical, highfalutin names ("Forbes" and "Cyrus"--someone give me a bucket to puke, please!), trying to rock this bizarre post-hipster, knock-off Monkees impersonator vibe. Do I have this right? Some schmuck's girl (who's apparently really into him, his treating her like dirt notwithstanding) goes into his bedroom decked out in lingerie to lure him into a night of passion, and he's more interested in whacking off to some other chick on the computer? That's one of the stories of this band of gallant heroes in this theatrical marvel? Why's the girl still with him of all people? Why was a guy who acted like that of interest to ANY girl at all? Totally disgusting. But from what I understand, these Gen Z, Zoomers, or whatever the hell they call themselves are into all manner of idiocy, so I'm not surprised. Just seeing the whole gang gathered around that table is eerie enough--what a strange group of faces!
Good Grief! I already knew the entertainment industry was starved of ideas--this is further proof. More evidence that indie writers need to mount a Reconquista of the traditional publishing world, and re-establish literacy as a cornerstone of civilization. Otherwise, these "Forbes" people and others with far-out names and fashions they dug out of dumpsters like the protagonists of this strange flick will come to conquer the world! Man!
Good article, Kristin. Best of luck, by the way, on your new career path, after your stint working for Uncle Sam! Keep those videos and great advice for we rogue writers roving the backroads of the world with our cocktail napkin manuscripts and deathless, crackpot ideas that simply will not leave us in peace! We need as much help as possible!