Post by pitbulllady on Dec 18, 2008 19:29:26 GMT -5
We all know that the Scream Extractor was Waternoose's idea, as was the idea of kidnapping human children and using them to test the machine-he actually says this in the movie. We know that Waternoose and Sullivan were old friends who apparently went "way back", and that Sullivan considered Waternoose to be "like a father"-HE says this in the movie. It can certainly be inferred, based upon the way Waternoose speaks to Randall, that Randall, unlike Sullivan, is NOT his favorite employee, far from it. Waternoose would, however, require someone who had the expertise, mechanically and technically, to design and build a prototype Scream Extractor for him, preferably someone already on the payroll, to avoid a suspicious paper trail that might tip someone in Acounting off that something illegal, or at least unethical, was going on. It would also be helpful if this individual was easily manipulated-naive, as it were-and had motivation to build the machine beyond merely wanting to help his people by designing a machine that would make obtaining electricity easier, cheaper and more reliable. Someone with Randall's skills, determination, youthful ambition and drive-and his blatant insecurities-would be the perfect choice. Even better, if this individual had no close contacts outside of work-no close family or friends, there would be no nosy outsiders snooping around wanting to know where their beloved So-And-So was if worse came to worse, and this individual wound up having to be thrown into the Human World(or otherwise disposed of)for revealing too much about the project. THAT is all the more reason to believe that Randall had no immediate family, at least not living nearby, or if so, he was more or less estranged from them for whatever reasons. If he had no close friends, there'd be far less risk of him blabbing to someone.
Randall would have been, in that sense, both highly useful and disposable.
As for Randall's perspective, we know from Roz's statement in the movie that the CDA had suspected that something of this nature had been going on in the factory for at least two years, so that meant that for the last two years of his life up to the events of the movie, Randall had been directly involved with the machine. Since he still had to work his normal 8-hour work shifts, to bring home his paycheck and avoid raising suspicions, that meant that whatever time he WASN'T officially working(as a Scarer), he would have been working on that machine in some capacity. That would mean nights(or, if he was working third or second shift, days), weekends, holidays-when everyone else got to go home and rest, or play, or go off on vacation. Randall would have been down there in that dungeon-like refinery, working on that machine. Whatever relationships he DID have, if any, would have been horribly strained, not only by the fact that he was never around anymore, but because of his deteriorating emotional state, all work and no play to the power of ten. This would have been bad enough if Randall had been able to TALK to anyone, but given the extreme secrecy of the Scream Extractor project, that would have been impossible, and it does not require much imagination to figure out what fate would have been metted out to Randall if he'd spilled the beans about what he'd been doing. It also would have been bad enough if he'd had to deal with biological relatives, or just friends, but IF he actually had a "significant other"-a wife or girl-friend, or fiance'-just imagine this: what's a gal going to think if her man starts coming home later and later at night, more and more nights a week, eventually not coming home at all on some nights? What's she going to conclude if he does not spend time with her even on weekends or company holidays, AND he refuses to divulge where he's been or what he's been up to, and on top of that, seems increasingly agitated and angry and "distant" when he IS home, as if he's got something way more important on his mind that being with her? There IS actually a deleted scene on the DVD, a rough animation, in which Randall DOES have a girl friend, and she actually shows up at work to give him the third degree about his actions and behavior, and he's basically trying to appease her without giving away too much, while she's bee-atchin' and moanin' about being "bored" because he never pays her any attention or takes her anywhere anymore. While I most definitely sympathize with Randall, I can honestly say that I can relate to HER a whole lot, too, and understand how she'd feel. After all, if Randall had been MY man, and was brushing me off like that, I'd be seriously PO'd, and of course, I would naturally conclude that the reason behind all this just HAD to be another woman! Randall would have been forced to let go of someone whom he might have really loved, just let her be hurt and let her leave him, believing that he was having an affair, knowing that to try to hang on would mean eventually telling her too much, and that would put not only his life in danger, but HERS, as well, since I doubt Waternoose would let it slide if he found out that someone else knew about the project, thanks to Randall's slip-up. While the whole thing with Randall actually having a girl friend was eventually dropped, it's not an unreasonable back-story at all. AND, while no mention was made, deleted scene or not, of Randall having any children, again, that would make for a real "capper" on his emotional state if he had to more or less leave his own son or daughter for their own good. I've often speculated that there was some connection between Boo's scaly purple costume and Randall, besides mere coincidence, and that seeing this human child dressed like that was part of what really sent Randall over the proverbial edge, especially since he had no way to know what Sulley and Mike were REALLY doing with "the kid" or the real reason they had her in the factory. Again, there's no evidence that Randall had a child of his own, but it would factor in nicely with what went down.
Hope this helps!
pitbulllady
Randall would have been, in that sense, both highly useful and disposable.
As for Randall's perspective, we know from Roz's statement in the movie that the CDA had suspected that something of this nature had been going on in the factory for at least two years, so that meant that for the last two years of his life up to the events of the movie, Randall had been directly involved with the machine. Since he still had to work his normal 8-hour work shifts, to bring home his paycheck and avoid raising suspicions, that meant that whatever time he WASN'T officially working(as a Scarer), he would have been working on that machine in some capacity. That would mean nights(or, if he was working third or second shift, days), weekends, holidays-when everyone else got to go home and rest, or play, or go off on vacation. Randall would have been down there in that dungeon-like refinery, working on that machine. Whatever relationships he DID have, if any, would have been horribly strained, not only by the fact that he was never around anymore, but because of his deteriorating emotional state, all work and no play to the power of ten. This would have been bad enough if Randall had been able to TALK to anyone, but given the extreme secrecy of the Scream Extractor project, that would have been impossible, and it does not require much imagination to figure out what fate would have been metted out to Randall if he'd spilled the beans about what he'd been doing. It also would have been bad enough if he'd had to deal with biological relatives, or just friends, but IF he actually had a "significant other"-a wife or girl-friend, or fiance'-just imagine this: what's a gal going to think if her man starts coming home later and later at night, more and more nights a week, eventually not coming home at all on some nights? What's she going to conclude if he does not spend time with her even on weekends or company holidays, AND he refuses to divulge where he's been or what he's been up to, and on top of that, seems increasingly agitated and angry and "distant" when he IS home, as if he's got something way more important on his mind that being with her? There IS actually a deleted scene on the DVD, a rough animation, in which Randall DOES have a girl friend, and she actually shows up at work to give him the third degree about his actions and behavior, and he's basically trying to appease her without giving away too much, while she's bee-atchin' and moanin' about being "bored" because he never pays her any attention or takes her anywhere anymore. While I most definitely sympathize with Randall, I can honestly say that I can relate to HER a whole lot, too, and understand how she'd feel. After all, if Randall had been MY man, and was brushing me off like that, I'd be seriously PO'd, and of course, I would naturally conclude that the reason behind all this just HAD to be another woman! Randall would have been forced to let go of someone whom he might have really loved, just let her be hurt and let her leave him, believing that he was having an affair, knowing that to try to hang on would mean eventually telling her too much, and that would put not only his life in danger, but HERS, as well, since I doubt Waternoose would let it slide if he found out that someone else knew about the project, thanks to Randall's slip-up. While the whole thing with Randall actually having a girl friend was eventually dropped, it's not an unreasonable back-story at all. AND, while no mention was made, deleted scene or not, of Randall having any children, again, that would make for a real "capper" on his emotional state if he had to more or less leave his own son or daughter for their own good. I've often speculated that there was some connection between Boo's scaly purple costume and Randall, besides mere coincidence, and that seeing this human child dressed like that was part of what really sent Randall over the proverbial edge, especially since he had no way to know what Sulley and Mike were REALLY doing with "the kid" or the real reason they had her in the factory. Again, there's no evidence that Randall had a child of his own, but it would factor in nicely with what went down.
Hope this helps!
pitbulllady
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