On the Topic of Boo "Losing Her Fear" of Randall

[pitbulllady]

Actually not sure if I've mentioned this before, but no, she doesn't, contrary to what the movie tries to make us believe. Boo is just as afraid of Randall in the end of this movie as she was at the beginning. She has simply progressed(if that's not too much a contradiction in terms)from "FLIGHT" mode to "FIGHT" mode, like a cornered rat that can't run away any longer. She had channelled that fear into violence, into HATE, which is why that ending is so negative. I often find myself having to go up against men, who are really 8-year-old boys that just never grew up, mentally or emotionally, that killing a snake does not mean that they are brave or courageous. It means that they are chicken-s*** rank cowards, and are just as afraid of snakes as a person who screams like a little girl and runs away from one. They just REACT differently to fear. That is exactly what Boo did-learn that she could use violence to dissipate her fear.

What a wonderful, positive message to send to the kids, huh?

pitbulllady

[randomdrifter]

If there's one thing I've learned from anger outbursts and threats from my substance abuse clients, is that there is always something behind that anger, and very often the emotion typically fueling that rage or frustration is fear. It isn't that anger dissipates fear; it just disguises it. The situation is similar in that individuals feel cornered when their comfort and safety levels are being threatened, physically or mentally. In Boo's case, it was both. I never really took Boo's "heroic" act as something realistic, and hence, never cute, so I won't make this point from the film's perspective. Generally though, it's typical (albeit, NOT healthy or fun to be in the same room) for fear to sometimes manifest itself in the form of violent aggression, and if it's meant to keep others at bay and away from you out of fear of getting hurt, then it's working. It never resolves anything because the root of the problem isn't properly addressed when someone's defenses are up and they shut everything else out. I don't believe Boo's actions ever helped her get over her fear of Randall either. "Losing" fear, or coming to terms with the root source, is more a process than a brief moment of enlightement or an episode of bravery; a.k.a, doing something stupid and impulsive. Intimidation and acts of feigned bravery will hardly ever work against somebody who's already extremely distressed and ready to fight to the death in the name of survival. Isn't that ironic?

So no, I don't believe anything was resolved in that movie either, excluding the power shortage in Monstropolis.

[mentalguru]

There are alot of issues surrounding Boo and Randall, and yeah, I don't think she got 'over' her fear either.

Like with Sulley, there are also still things left unresolved, unsaid, and misunderstood regarding those two. Boo, may over time 'get over' her fear but that (might) only ACTUALLY happen if she was in Randall's presence for a time and he demonstrated himself as not being a threat. Boo wasn't exactly completely cornered though, Randall's attention was all on Sulley at that stage. Still, she more or less 'knew' she couldn't depend on Sulley for protection at that stage with him dangling off the edge while Randall crushed his hand, hence her probable 'lashing out'. She was scared for SULLEY'S safety at the same time too, as well as thinking her OWN safety was in jeopardy. Sulley was her protection in her view and someone she cared for.

The thing is though, the sequel is going to be based on this false assumption that Boo really did get over it whether we like it or not. Because THAT was their theme.

Kind of like they might actually make out that banishment undertaken by two citizens as 'legal'...though, this latter option would be worse of course.

It won't make ANY sense though given that we know trials exist in their world, the fact that monsters charged with it are 'household' names with the punishment being greatly feared and the fact that not that many monsters are in the human world like there would be if citizens WERE allowed to do it without anyone muttering a peep. They'd be living constantly in fear of that.

But they could still try and do it.

If Waternoose is brought in, I think Boo would be more scared of him then Randall though. Though we can't be sure of that.

But yeah, I don't think it was resolved either- though the writers think it was, like they thought that the one movie was 'complete' and all the loose ends were tied. But they weren't.

[lizardgirl]

Yup, completely and utterly agree with everything that has been said so far.

It's kind of sad as well, isn't it? I mean, think about it like this- Sulley was a Scarer as well, right? So there must be hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of human children afraid of him. But we don't see any of that, all we see is that ickle cutesy Boo is afraid of mean old Randall and so Randall is the bad guy. And then we're supposed to find the fact that she 'overcomes' her fear amusing and sweet. It's amazing how one-sided a film can be when shown through a certain point of view.

I would love to see a scene in the possible sequel where Randall and Boo meet up again. It'd be something really incredible to see the two confront each other, and I wouldn't be surprised if Randall almost had a fear of Boo himself, associating his banishment and all of the bad things that happened to him with her. For her to understand that actually Randall was just a normal guy put under a lot of pressure would be a lovely resolution.

[mentalguru]

People more or less hate Randall NOT because he SCARED Boo lizardgirl, but because he was going to experiment on her. People assume a parental stance for Boo (understandable), like Sulley did, but fail to see the situation from a regular monster's perspective who is only in regular contact with humans to scare them or perhaps not any interaction at all. We CAN'T assume that monsters view human children like we do, because they don't. They are non-sentient animals to them. WE as the audience know humans are sentient (naturally) but evidence points to the fact, well, monsters know JACK about humans except that they can be used to get energy from their screams.

However, to monsters, given the evidence we are given, human children were viewed as little more than animals with which to get energy from as well as this, (rather like snakes in alot of Western cultures, ironically), they were basically culturally considered rather disgusting as well as dangerous.

So Randall in his view was conducting more or less what he would consider to be 'animal testing'. It was clearly illegal of course, but people have to realise that the reason for the secrecy WASN'T because monsters would be up in arms about little Boo being mis-treated- it's because bringing a human into their world would have been considered dangerous to monster kind! We know that's bull, but they didn't. Randall may have been told toxicity thing was a sham, but her sentience eludes him.

Sulley thought Boo was a lesser animal too- putting the newspaper in the corner, the 'fetch' with the teddy bear. It was through increased intearction with her, outside of a bedroom and not as a scarer but as a necessary protector that he did eventually discover that humans were truely intelligent and that they weren't dangerous.

Randall never really got to learn this. He didn't really ever get a chance to see Boo in this capacity. Like Mike, Randall called Boo 'it' almost all the time if not simply 'the kid'- a clear indication he was unaware of her sentience or human's general equality with monsters. They would be cattle at best. Had he been completely aware of human's status as equals he WOULD be almost completely evil, but evidence suggests he does NOT know this. And look at Mike himself! He wanted to abandon her in the WOODS and lure her out a random door with a stick. Yet in the end, even he formed an attachment to Boo.

I agree it would be nice to see Boo and Randall interact positively. As mentioned on another thread, it would also be nice that the very person whose presence and movements REALLY soured the whole thing between Randall and Sulley, and probably played the largest factor in Sulley making that decision regarding his illegal banishment, would be the one to, perhaps even indirectly, set things right.

[pitbulllady]

Oct 8, 2009 9:12:43 GMT -5 mentalguru said:

People more or less hate Randall NOT because he SCARED Boo lizardgirl, but because he was going to experiment on her. People assume a parental stance for Boo (understandable), like Sulley did, but fail to see the situation from a regular monster's perspective who is only in regular contact with humans to scare them or perhaps not any interaction at all. We CAN'T assume that monsters view human children like we do, because they don't. They are non-sentient animals to them. WE as the audience know humans are sentient (naturally) but evidence points to the fact, well, monsters know JACK about humans except that they can be used to get energy from their screams.

However, to monsters, given the evidence we are given, human children were viewed as little more than animals with which to get energy from as well as this, (rather like snakes in alot of Western cultures, ironically), they were basically culturally considered rather disgusting as well as dangerous.

So Randall in his view was conducting more or less what he would consider to be 'animal testing'. It was clearly illegal of course, but people have to realise that the reason for the secrecy WASN'T because monsters would be up in arms about little Boo being mis-treated- it's because bringing a human into their world would have been considered dangerous to monster kind! We know that's bull, but they didn't. Randall may have been told toxicity thing was a sham, but her sentience eludes him.

Sulley thought Boo was a lesser animal too- putting the newspaper in the corner, the 'fetch' with the teddy bear. It was through increased intearction with her, outside of a bedroom and not as a scarer but as a necessary protector that he did eventually discover that humans were truely intelligent and that they weren't dangerous.

Randall never really got to learn this. He didn't really ever get a chance to see Boo in this capacity. Like Mike, Randall called Boo 'it' almost all the time if not simply 'the kid'- a clear indication he was unaware of her sentience or human's general equality with monsters. They would be cattle at best. Had he been completely aware of human's status as equals he WOULD be almost completely evil, but evidence suggests he does NOT know this. And look at Mike himself! He wanted to abandon her in the WOODS and lure her out a random door with a stick. Yet in the end, even he formed an attachment to Boo.

I agree it would be nice to see Boo and Randall interact positively. As mentioned on another thread, it would also be nice that the very person whose presence and movements REALLY soured the whole thing between Randall and Sulley, and probably played the largest factor in Sulley making that decision regarding his illegal banishment, would be the one to, perhaps even indirectly, set things right.

Part of people's hatred of Randall DOES stem from the mere fact that Boo was afraid of him, actually. We can see her fear of him long before we learn of the plot with the Scream Extractor. We KNOW that Randall is looking for her for SOME reason, but we don't know what that reason is; all we know is that Boo is terrified of him and breaks down in tears at the mere sound of his voice. We find out at Sulley and Mike's apartment that Randall is her assigned Scarer, and that she even has a borderline phobia of all closet doors due to her fear of him. A lot of people on other forums have made the assumption that Randall must have done something horrible to her already, to make her that afraid of him that even hearing his voice will make her cry, but those people obviously do not know much about toddlers at all! Toddlers can and often do develop strong, yet irrational fears, of certain people or things, for no apparent reason, and they get over those fears just as quickly. It's also possible that Boo might have already been exposed to a parent who was phobic of snakes or lizards, and seen how they reacted, and applied that learned fear toward Randall. It's very unlikely that he "tormented" her any more than any other Scarers "tormented" THEIR assigned kids, and that includes Sulley. We do not get to see any kids who are just as terrified of HIM, or of any large furry animal that reminds them of him, as Boo is of Randall, but like you said, I'd bet that there were plenty of them. Right from the start, though, as soon as we find out that Boo is scared of Randall and she's NOT afraid of Mike and Sulley or the other monsters in the factory, we're supposed to believe that Randall is bad because of this, that he must have already done something awful to this innocent little child to evoke such terror.

pitbulllady

[mentalguru]

Seriously? They do?

I more or less though she was mostly upset alot of the time. But I didn't think he did anything horrible to her beyond what most scarers would have done. She was a good screamer probably and that's why she was selected. I mean I did toy with the idea he may have even TALKED to her if he made the selection early on, rather like a person talking to a dog when things got much, but then I realised there was no real evidence for that at all.

Boo is like 2 and a half. A kid Sulley scared would freak out around HIM too.

Personally, I think Boo might have had some big fluffy animal or pet really. Probably a giant fat cat. "Kitty!" Sometimes cats are strange and they take odd notions- like a cat might scratch the eyes off of someone else who dare come near them, and yet a little kid could dress them up in stupid clothes and do ANYTHING to them and it won't do anything to them. Perhaps the odd time they'll run, but most of the time they might just sit and 'take it'.

Cats are odd.

Boo did get freaked out by Sulley eventually and he accidentally scared her, and she did react similarly, she cried when he tried to go near her afterwards and tried to run away everything, just like with Randall- she ran and cried, even when Sulley was trying to be comforting*. And basically, Randall did that to Boo on a regular basis as supossed to Sulley who did it once.

Sulley scared Boo- Boo runs away and cried.

Boo runs away and cries whenever Randall comes onto the picture. She DRAWS a pretty good picture from memory for her age- which suggest that he scares her pretty regularly. But there's really nothing to indicate, beyond when he tried to take her, that she underwent any particular special treatment.

*Sulley acted like the adult caught in an affair by his kid. Trying hard to explain, but it seemed like everything Boo viewed him to be was now shattered. And then came the shame. For some, many actually, they say it would be worse to be 'caught' like that by your kid then your partner, particulary much younger children- since you can be their whole world and it's pretty easy to shatter their perception of you. Chldren's changed perceptions and judgements can be the most damning and cut people far more then perhaps other people's, particulary if you care for the kid deeply yourself.

[pitbulllady]

Oct 9, 2009 5:54:54 GMT -5 mentalguru said:

Seriously? They do?

I more or less though she was mostly upset alot of the time. But I didn't think he did anything horrible to her beyond what most scarers would have done. She was a good screamer probably and that's why she was selected. I mean I did toy with the idea he may have even TALKED to her if he made the selection early on, rather like a person talking to a dog when things got much, but then I realised there was no real evidence for that at all.

Boo is like 2 and a half. A kid Sulley scared would freak out around HIM too.

Personally, I think Boo might have had some big fluffy animal or pet really. Probably a giant fat cat. "Kitty!" Sometimes cats are strange and they take odd notions- like a cat might scratch the eyes off of someone else who dare come near them, and yet a little kid could dress them up in stupid clothes and do ANYTHING to them and it won't do anything to them. Perhaps the odd time they'll run, but most of the time they might just sit and 'take it'.

Cats are odd.

Boo did get freaked out by Sulley eventually and he accidentally scared her, and she did react similarly, she cried when he tried to go near her afterwards and tried to run away everything, just like with Randall- she ran and cried, even when Sulley was trying to be comforting*. And basically, Randall did that to Boo on a regular basis as supossed to Sulley who did it once.

Sulley scared Boo- Boo runs away and cried.

Boo runs away and cries whenever Randall comes onto the picture. She DRAWS a pretty good picture from memory for her age- which suggest that he scares her pretty regularly. But there's really nothing to indicate, beyond when he tried to take her, that she underwent any particular special treatment.

*Sulley acted like the adult caught in an affair by his kid. Trying hard to explain, but it seemed like everything Boo viewed him to be was now shattered. And then came the shame. For some, many actually, they say it would be worse to be 'caught' like that by your kid then your partner, particulary much younger children- since you can be their whole world and it's pretty easy to shatter their perception of you. Chldren's changed perceptions and judgements can be the most damning and cut people far more then perhaps other people's, particulary if you care for the kid deeply yourself.

Yeah, but you'd be surprised how many people fail to take into account that it only took that ONE incident to make Boo scared of Sulley and cause her to react just as she did when Randall was around. They just don't see that at all, but only recall how afraid she is of Randall, and assume that he must have done something horrible to her or treated her badly beyond just scaring her. A lot of it has to do with their perception of him, perception based in no small part on the fact that he's scaly and snakey and reptilian while Sulley is furry. There's that, "he's a reptile, so he MUST have done something awful to her" thought process.

pitbulllady

[mentalguru]

I'm back!

That's odd. It's really odd. I don't understand their reasoning.

Then again you can see it for other things, a certain level of hypocrisy which can be hard to understand. For instance Randall smiles when Mike is in the scream extractor seat, when he hits Sulley with the canister, and when he's about to make Sulley fall as well as it seems, laughing when he says "Nice working with ya!" People say they KNOW Randall is being ordered most of the time- but it seems like he's... enjoying certain aspects too much?

So that must mean he's pure evil right?

But Sulley smiles when he says "Looks like you're out of a job." Mike laughs and Sulley is happy when they banish him, Mike laughs when he slams a door on Randall and calls him 'lizard boy'.

So I find that line of thought confusing. Randall isn't a saint, but Sulley isn't either, let alone Mike! And then there's Fungus- who although I DO think was a jittery coward- the fact he thinks Randall's plan is 'evil' says more about HIM then anything (especially when he shouts 'huzzah' regarding the fact he thinks Randall has the kid in question).

But nope, never figured Randall did anything particulary AWFUL to Boo. Her reaction to Sulley was too similar when he accidentally scared her. Randall was gentle with her when she set her on the seat or was not aware of her presence (bathroom), Sulley tried to comfort her etc, but Boo remained afraid despite neither of them doing anything bad to her at that moment of time in which she displayed that fear.

Boo being scared of Sulley was a tear-jerking moment in the movie. But heck, I love their realtionship. And even if it probably did factor in Sulley's decision to do, well you know, it also adds an interesting dimension to the character in question.

The story isn't really over. Sulley and Boo's realtionship was played out beautifully on some level, but was 'sullied' (agh! I used the pun again!) by the exile, also Randall's realtionship with Boo, and by extension Sulley isn't really complete yet...

[ivyandbro]

I guess that I'd have to agree with you on this one, because yes, she felt like she was cornered. The shot was showing the inside of the room, so maybe Mike was encouraging Boo to do something.