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Post by AvistheCrow on May 28, 2006 21:58:52 GMT -5
@_@ I lost sight of the thoughts there. I don't know how many of you watch those "Channel One" news broadcasts that air in the morning in some schools, but I caught the one this morning, on which they featured the problems associated with the thousands of kids growing up in foster homes across the US. pitbulllady Your entire post was amazingly eye-opening, Pitbulllady. : D Thanks so much for sharing the facts! I learned quite a bit!
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linnellisgod
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
Has become an enourmous Hunchback Fan
Posts: 86
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Post by linnellisgod on Jan 4, 2007 8:59:12 GMT -5
You guys ever had thai food? *drools*
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2013 15:48:31 GMT -5
I realize this thread was started quite a while ago, but now that MU is out, we have a bit more evidence as to why Randall is who he is...
I think the ROR fraternity, specifically Johnny, may have had the biggest overall effect on him. When we first see Randall, he's a bundle of nerves, but as the movie progresses, he seems to slowly gain confidence. I think the time he spent in the most prestigious fraternity on campus as well as his initial successes in the scare games made him realize he was capable of much more than he previously thought. Then there's the fact that Johnny appears to kick him out after the final scare game. Even though they never really treated Randall as one of them, I'd imagine he still believed that Johnny and the others were the closest thing he'd ever had to friends, and so discovering they were never his friends in the first place would probably have made him very distrustful of others. And since he came so close to the top only to lose everything, that may have driven Randall to try to recapture the success he'd found in ROR and to prove to the world that he wasn't a screw-up. Of course, many other things could have happened in the 10 years between MU and MI, but I think that memories of his time in ROR were always in the back of his mind.
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Post by pitbulllady on Nov 3, 2013 16:32:01 GMT -5
I realize this thread was started quite a while ago, but now that MU is out, we have a bit more evidence as to why Randall is who he is... I think the ROR fraternity, specifically Johnny, may have had the biggest overall effect on him. When we first see Randall, he's a bundle of nerves, but as the movie progresses, he seems to slowly gain confidence. I think the time he spent in the most prestigious fraternity on campus as well as his initial successes in the scare games made him realize he was capable of much more than he previously thought. Then there's the fact that Johnny appears to kick him out after the final scare game. Even though they never really treated Randall as one of them, I'd imagine he still believed that Johnny and the others were the closest thing he'd ever had to friends, and so discovering they were never his friends in the first place would probably have made him very distrustful of others. And since he came so close to the top only to lose everything, that may have driven Randall to try to recapture the success he'd found in ROR and to prove to the world that he wasn't a screw-up. Of course, many other things could have happened in the 10 years between MU and MI, but I think that memories of his time in ROR were always in the back of his mind. I DO think that you hit the nail on the head here. I've gotten a lot of flack from the "brilliant minds"(sarcasm mode ON) on Tumblr that I've claimed that Johnny made Randall the way he was in MI by beating him up after the Scare Games, etc., but in fact I have not claimed that. I HAVE stated basically what you just did: Randall was allowed to develop a false sense of security and confidence while in ROR, believing that they actually liked him for who he was and for his ability, but in fact they were just using him and didn't think anything of him at all. Johnny's anger at Randall, but lack of a response to Reggie Jacobs' epic screw-up in that same event speaks volumes about Johnny's real motives for allowing Randall into ROR and of what he really thought of Randall from the get-go. Honestly, I don't think being physically beaten would have hurt Randall as badly or left as deep a scar as finding out, at that moment, in front of thousands of spectators, that he'd been used and that the guys in ROR never liked him at all. Randall had probably been accustomed to being physically hurt, in as much as someone can get used to that. This is why he's so afraid of Johnny, in spite of his admiration for the ROR president. Had Johnny threatened him or overtly mistreated him from the start, instead of pretending to like him and acting as though he was accepting Randall as one of his frat brothers, it wouldn't have been so bad, but by building him up like that, allowing him to enjoy that success and start to feel like he FINALLY belonged, only to turn against him publicly following Randall's loss to Sulley, Johnny hurt him far worse than a physical blow would have. It taught Randall not to trust others, reinforced that he'd never belong anywhere, that no one was going to ever really be in his corner, so he might as well start looking out for No. 1 and stop thinking about others or helping others, because they would just turn on him eventually. That rejection, along with Mike's, and who knows how many he'd experienced prior to college and in between MU and when we see him in MI, just added to that conviction. I do think that Randall was trying to prove the others wrong about him, that he was NOT just some little nerd who didn't matter, who'd never be anybody. He's been trying to overcome and compensate for that horrible public humiliation and rejection at the Scare Games ever since. pitbulllady
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Post by pitvipersnake on Nov 3, 2013 17:44:00 GMT -5
I think Randall needed that time in ROR though because it did force him to develop more as a person. If he'd stayed friends with Mike he would have been completely overshadowed by Mike's overbearing personality and ended up an entirely different (and not necessarily better) person.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2013 18:02:51 GMT -5
I think Randall needed that time in ROR though because it did force him to develop more as a person. If he'd stayed friends with Mike he would have been completely overshadowed by Mike's overbearing personality and ended up an entirely different (and not necessarily better) person. Well, I definitely agree he would have turned out quite differently if he'd stayed friends with Mike. I don't necessarily think it would be a bad thing, though. Mike certainly has a strong personality, but he's an excellent coach and he and Sulley have a good dynamic. If the two had stayed friends, I think he would've brought out the best in Randall.
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Post by pitbulllady on Nov 3, 2013 20:02:25 GMT -5
I think Randall needed that time in ROR though because it did force him to develop more as a person. If he'd stayed friends with Mike he would have been completely overshadowed by Mike's overbearing personality and ended up an entirely different (and not necessarily better) person. Well, I definitely agree he would have turned out quite differently if he'd stayed friends with Mike. I don't necessarily think it would be a bad thing, though. Mike certainly has a strong personality, but he's an excellent coach and he and Sulley have a good dynamic. If the two had stayed friends, I think he would've brought out the best in Randall. I'm with you, topaki. IF Mike had actually BEEN a friend to Randall, had actually paid attention to him as a person, as an individual, rather than just another means of studying and achieving his(Mike's) dream, in the same way that he later did become friends with Sulley, I think that Randall would have turned out for the better! ROR was able to bring Randall in because they knew Randall had no one, and was desperate for a friend. Randall looked up to Mike so much, practically worshiping the ground Mike walked on, that I don't think that Johnny or anyone else would have convinced him to leave Mike behind, had Mike himself not already made it clear that wasn't going to be Randall's friend. Randall was a lot like Sulley in MU, but manifested that differently. Both lacked self-confidence and were really scared of what the future held. Sulley tried to compensate for that fear by acting like a jerk-a$$, while Randall displayed that fear and expressed it openly, making no effort to put on an act of confidence and toughness. Both Randall and Sulley really needed someone to recognize their innate abilities, downplay their weaknesses, and push them to bring out their best, but it was ultimately Sulley who wound up with that "coach". Randall got no one. I don't think that that all-too-brief taste of success he experienced while in ROR helped him as much as it hurt, because he discovered that it didn't matter anyway. His best wasn't good enough. It just reinforced his self-concept that he wasn't "cool", wasn't acceptable, and that those who acted like his friends were just going to take advantage of him and hurt him. No one else was going to look after his interests, so that meant HE had to, while guarding against everyone else. Randall starts out in MU as someone who puts others above himself, as we see when he waits until his new roommate arrives to let the roommate make first choice of which bed and which side of the room he wants, leaving Randall to take second-best. By the time we see him in MI, it's pretty much him against the rest of the world, and he's primarily just looking out for his own interests, just wanting to prove that he IS good enough, and he DOES matter. IF Mike and Randall had actually become friends, had Mike actually deemed Randall's advice worthy, that fight between him and Sulley never would have happened. Sulley would have reaped all the grief from that, in that HE started it. Mike probably would have still eventually been put out of the Scare Program, and perhaps that would have driven a rift between him and Randall, or maybe their friendship would have withstood that test, and the most successful Scare Team at MI would have been Mike and Randall(ironically which WAS the case in most of the MI scripts), with Randall as the top Scarer and Mike as his assistant/coach. I kinda hate to think of how Sulley would have ended up, though. That never happened, because Mike never bothered to actually be a friend to Randall, and would not have deemed ANYONE worthy of his friendship had he not more or less been forced to work with someone else. pitbulllady
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Post by pitvipersnake on Nov 4, 2013 3:44:10 GMT -5
Ok. You've convinced me. I was wrong. Although Mike would have had to start acting like a proper friend to Randall.
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Post by pitbulllady on Nov 4, 2013 13:39:01 GMT -5
Ok. You've convinced me. I was wrong. Although Mike would have had to start acting like a proper friend to Randall. Well, yeah, that is the key, right there-how Mike treated Randall. Mike at that time was so absorbed in following his dream of becoming the "greatest Scarer the world has ever known", that he scarcely noticed Randall at all. He casually brushes off Randall's worries and concerns because to Mike, it's inconceivable that anyone would be nervous or apprehensive about anything relating to college, to becoming a Scarer. He cannot empathize with Randall at all. For the most part, Mike ignores Randall, as if Randall literally WAS invisible, all the time. Mike only pays real attention to Randall when it's to Mike's benefit, like when he needs to study for a test, and there's Randall, so eager and happy to help. In that scene that turned so many people against Randall, when Mike spots him "squeezin' through" the crowd at the Scare Games sign-ups and asks him to join his team, I'm kinda reminded of the old story of the "Little Red Hen", remember that one from childhood? How the titular fowl wanted to bake some bread, and had to gather all the raw materials, starting with planting wheat, caring for the wheat plants, harvesting the wheat, having it ground into flower, and how she'd asked all the barnyard creatures to help her with these tasks, only to have them give all these excuses why they couldn't help or ignore her completely? Only then, when she'd baked the bread and the aroma of that hot, fresh-baked bread drifted throughout the barnyard, NOW all these animals wanted to eat it, but the Little Red Hen told them that since she had done all the work herself and no one had helped her when she needed it, she'd just have to eat all the bread by herself, too. Mike is a lot like those other barnyard animals; he didn't want to help Randall at all or really be a part of his life, but when MIKE really needed something, who does HE call on first to help him? Why, his roommate, of course! If you have the DVD, watch that scene in classroom on that ill-fated exam day, and watch Randall's reaction to Mike getting put out of the Scare Program by the Dean. As Randall backs up into an alcove next to the seats and changes color to "disappear", watch his face. There is such a look of anguish and sorrow on his face; he closes his eyes while shaking his head slowly, and I believe that at this point, Randall had come to the painful realization that he COULDN'T be friends with Mike. Not only was Mike uninterested, but I think Randall must have also realized that hanging around with Mike, who'd gotten himself in so much trouble, would eventually result in RANDALL being kicked out of the Scare Program, too, or jeopardize his chances of becoming a Scarer. It hurt him deeply to see what happened to Mike, and even more when he realized that at this point, he just had to let it go. pitbulllady
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Post by pitvipersnake on Nov 4, 2013 16:07:56 GMT -5
I can't get the DVD yet, it isn't released in the UK until the 11th of November. When I do get it I'll make sure I watch that scene carefully. That is probably the biggest turning point in the film when you think about it. It certainly changed the entire course of events for Sulley, Mike and Randall.
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Post by pitbulllady on Nov 4, 2013 16:42:41 GMT -5
Yeah, I do agree that the confrontation between Mike and Sulley in the class was a turning point that changed the lives of all three: Mike, Sulley, and Randall, who really had nothing to do with it in the first place other than trying to prevent it from even happening. That is just one of so many "What-If's" in this movie, little things that seem rather insignificant, but which could have shifted events drastically had they actually happened. I'm not talking about "crack" What-If's or any of that "Imagine the Monsters" mess on Tumblr, but legit things that logically could have gone either way. What if Mike HAD gone to that Rush party with Randall, instead of staying at the dorm to study? What if Mike HAD listened to Randall and just moved to another seat in the class and ignored Sulley's instigating a fight? What if Randall HAD NOT joined ROR, and joined Mike and the OK's instead? What if Sulley had actually bothered to open a book once in awhile, and managed to keep high enough grades to stay in ROR? What if Sulley HAD actually put that stolen pig IN HIS OWN DORM instead of Mike and Randall's? Better yet, what if Sulley hadn't stolen the pig at all? What if Sulley HADN'T stomped on the floor of the Scare Simulator during his Scare competition against Randall? What if Sulley's Scare "kid" in that competition had been "afraid" of "bees and snakes" instead of "lions and thunder"? What if all the OK's had played along with ROR's prank instead of getting upset about it? So many different possibilities, so many ways that things could have been different...
pitbulllady
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Post by seafoamonster on Nov 25, 2013 17:23:38 GMT -5
How do we know that Randall had no parents?
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Post by pitbulllady on Nov 25, 2013 17:53:09 GMT -5
How do we know that Randall had no parents? We don't, but it is a logical inference based on the fact that he just "disappeared" from his job one and NO ONE gave a rat's rectum that he was missing. IF he'd had a family, anyone to care about about him at all, it's highly unlikely that one of the last individuals seen with him, someone he was known to have had a "beef" with, would have gotten off without an intensive investigation, let alone having been appointed CEO of the company! It's also unlikely that the other individual last seen with Randall would have been able to put on a "company play" openly ridiculing him. What family, demanding answers about the fate of their loved one, is going to tolerate that? I also believe that if Randall had any family members, anyone who really cared about him at all, he probably would NOT have gotten involved with the Scream Extractor in the first place because he would have known that at least SOMEONE cared for him. I know because I was in a very, very similar situation many years ago, being approached by a superior and told that I had to do something illegal to keep my job or ANY job, to earn the respect of my peers. The only reason I didn't fall for it, in my desperate situation, was because I knew that even if I hit rock-bottom, I still had a family who'd stick with me, and at least one good,true friend. THEY were the reasons why I declined, and subsequently was fired and "black-listed". It makes all the difference in the world, knowing that someone loves you that much, but take that one thing away, and it's like you have nothing more to lose. Randall's behavior both in MU and MI is indicative of someone who does not have a strong father figure; either Randall's father was dead, or had left them, or IF he was there, he was a weak and ineffectual parent and played very little roles in his son's life, but in MU, Randall's behavior and speech patterns are strongly indicative of someone raised by elderly individuals, probably a female, as he uses outdated phrases and is clearly out-of-touch with what's "cool" or trendy for people of his own age group. He also seems to have been quite isolated from his own peer group, for whatever reasons. He's highly sociable and friendly and desperate for acceptance from his peers, but he does not know how to go about this. That points to him having been raised in relative isolation by an elderly female guardian, who might or might not have been a relative, or being shuffled from one home to another, never having a chance to really make friends, to fit in or learn how to interact with other kids before being "uprooted" and moved again. Now THAT could mean he was a "military kid", OR a foster child, with no permanent family. IF Randall's parents were still alive in MU, they were either dead by the time we see him in MI, or they had become totally estranged from him and really didn't care what happened to him one way or the other. There is just nothing in MI to indicate that Randall had anyone left who cared about him or for him, and he knew it. pitbulllady
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Post by seafoamonster on Nov 25, 2013 18:01:00 GMT -5
This would be a reasonable guess: His parents died in a very painful way, his great-grandma or grandma raised him. But it would be safe to say that it was his great-grandma, and she passed away, so nobody was there for him.
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Post by randallsnape7 on Feb 23, 2014 2:02:47 GMT -5
Interesting question: I would say Randall's mother. Believe it or not, someone made a fan-video on YouTube about this very thing, depicting that Randall was EXTREMELY close, and EXTREMELY dear to his mother (no father came into the picture in the actual video, so use your imagination - maybe he died, or maybe he was unfaithful, who knows?). It featured Sarah McLaughlin's "When She Loved Me" playing while we see an emotional flashback made up of black and white storyboards showing Randall as a toddler, being picked up by his mother's arms, helping his mother out in the kitchen (even getting some cake batter on his face, which his mother wipes off affectionately).
Next is a touching moment, where Randall is all alone and feeling sad, leaning against his bedroom window (supposedly the day before his departure to Monsters University). His mother gently puts a hand on his right shoulder, and Randall smiles gratefully as he continues to look out at the world outside. Randall is taken to the campus and embraced once more with love by his mother at the curbside bus stop. Fast forward to when he makes that mistake on the last Scare Games Task, and he returns crushed and heartbroken to the curbside, rolling his suitcase around as he meets his mother again, who affectionately grabs him by the cheeks and dries his tears. The visuals show silently that Randall confides in his mother that he was humiliated, and she hugs him tightly. The last scene shows that Randall's mother died, and Randall is shown crying as he pays his respects at her tombstone, near a tree.
It's a very touching video! Certainly worth viewing!
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