Author's Note
This story is the eighth installment (of eleven planned installments, probably) in my "Origins of a Writer" Series.
You can find previous parts on my page or by searching "Origins of a Writer" on the top left.
If you don't have time to read the previous parts, it's okay! Lucky for you, the actual stories aren't related, so all you really need to know before you start reading Part 8 below is the Author's Note portion of Part 1. And just because I'm so accommodating, here it is (apologies to those who are actually reading all part sin a row) ---
Believe it or not, but I wasn't always a great writer (if you're laughing at this statement, I can't hear you).
In my first year of college at UC San Diego, I took a class called 'Theatre And Film' (I think), in which we studied (watched) films that were based on stage plays. Instead of exams, we were graded on essays comparing each adapted film we studied to its original written play.
Obviously, I got an 'A' in this class (this is a verifiable fact, and I am boasting because it was my first A in college). But on a more serious note, this class (and the 'A' grade, just saying) was particularly important to me because it was the first time I wrote something I wanted to write.
Basically, when historians in the future research my life, they will find traces of Launchora's origins in this class.
So to continue celebrating Launchora's first weekend of story-publishing (i.e. June 20-22, 2014), I'm going to publish some of my college writings/essays in this multiple part series, which I would like to call "The Origins of A Writer". Yes, I just made that up and then changed the name of this story to reflect it.
---- End of Author's Note from Part 1
This essay (part 8 of the series) is the second one in the third segment of my college writing, which I wrote during a class called CAT 3 (a decent sequel to Culture, Art, Technology 2). And no I didn't get an A. I got an A-.
This essay was written (finished) on May 12, 2009, and is reproduced here word-for-word, typo-for-typo. As always - don't judge my writing, judge 19-year-old me's writing (yeah I'm 19 by this time in case you skipped a couple parts).
Spoiler Alert: This one is about one of the best man-made things made in the history of all things man has made: Toy Story!
ESSAY EIGHT
To Reality...And Beyond!
People are better off knowing the truth about their surroundings, but only as long as they get to control the when, what, and how of such information. Both films, Toy Story and Duck Amuck, have their main characters struggling to take control of their situation. While Buzz Lightyear learns to accept that being something that brings joy to a child is much better than living in one’s own false reality, Daffy Duck is the polar opposite and would rather try to fight his owner/maker and deny his reality than find out who is really in control.
Toy Story, directed by super-animator John Lasseter, deals with toys who represent different levels of awareness about who they are, and are still learning new things about themselves. We see a lot of the characters developing new human emotions as the film progresses. After Andy gets a newer, better toy in the form of Buzz, Woody experiences jealousy and insecurity, since he would no longer be Andy’s favorite toy. Rex, the dinosaur, exclaims “Great, now I have guilt!” (01h:08m:32s) after finding out that Woody wasn’t lying about saving Buzz, showing how now ‘guilt’ is added to his personality. Throughout the film, we see Woody and the Shepherdess building on love. The character of Buzz Lightyear is the newest toy in Andy’s room to be made aware of the truth about who and what he is, and at the end of the film, after accepting and having adjusted to his life as one of Andy’s toys, experiences the first human emotion (also being his first toy emotion): curiosity, when he is eager to find out what new toys Andy got (01h:13m:04s). All of these human emotions being experienced by the toys reflect upon their journey past the acceptance phase - their journey to reality...and beyond! (essay title reference!)
In most cases, how a person accepts the truth depends on the situation. In Buzz’s case, finding out that he isn’t The Buzz Lightyear makes him feel that he doesn’t have a purpose anymore. In his final attempt to hang on to his beliefs, he attempts a ‘leap of faith’. It is not easy for someone to accept that everything they’ve lived for was a lie based on just reason, and Buzz lets gravity decide it for him. It is human nature to want physical proof, especially when our faith is at stake. After finding out that Woody was right and that he is in fact a toy, Buzz says ---
“...for the first time I am thinking clearly."
What helps Buzz accept his reality IS his surroundings. The support of Woody and the other toys is what leads Buzz to love his new reality. The presence of people or toys who have been through the same circumstances, and are happy with who they are and accept Buzz for who he is, is what made Buzz’s transition easier and made him realize how being positive can lead to him defining his own purpose and even develop emotions.
In Duck Amuck, the protagonist Daffy Duck is part of an unknown and unpractical universe, knows about it, but prefers it to not do anything out of the ‘ordinary’. Animation is about limitless imagination, but not for the character who isn’t okay with unexplained changes made in the environment or to himself by his maker. He lives in a world where animals talk, but he doesn’t accept a change in scenery because it reveals the truth about his situation; that he is not in control of himself or his surroundings. Daffy is just a toy in some ways, but one who doesn’t have or want to have a nice relationship with his master - unlike the toys in Toy Story. After the first change in the background, where the castle is changed by the animator (Bugs Bunny) into a farm, Daffy gets frustrated and says “Fine, have it your way.” In this scene we see how even after being made aware that he isn’t in control of what he does, Daffy retorts to the animator by calling it ‘his way’, thereby convincing himself that only in this case he will let the animator decide what happens in the cartoon. This displays Daffy’s denial of accepting his reality and thereby trapping himself in the animated world with the false belief that he is free to do anything he wants.
At the end of Duck Amuck we find out that the animator, the one controlling Daffy and his surroundings, is the immensely popular looney tunes character Bugs Bunny. Bugs, like Woody in the case of Buzz, is trying to make Daffy aware of his surroundings, but his way of bringing the truth to Daffy is what sets the two films apart. In both films the main idea is not just whether we are better off knowing the truth about our surroundings (essay prompt reference!), but also what would be the consequences of someone finding out the truth about what they believe is their reality. In both cases the outcome of the person’s reaction to the truth depended on his circumstances and surroundings. Buzz had a supportive group of toys who lead him through this phase and taught him that --
“Being a toy is a lot better than being a space ranger because Andy thinks you are the greatest, not because you’re a space ranger, its because you’re HIS toy.” (00h:52m:30s)
Toy Story’s answer is - yes, on the long run, someone like Buzz who has the support of those around him is better off knowing the truth abut his surroundings. Daffy, on the other hand, was made aware of the truth rather harshly, leading to his frustration and subsequent denial. Therefore, Duck Amuck answers the question about accepting reality differently. It says that someone like Daffy may never be happy with knowing that he isn’t in control of his surroundings, and that even though he would be better off knowing, his denial in accepting the truth would only make him suffer and in turn hate his reality.
The messages in both films are just two of the consequences of a person being made aware of his reality. Those whose circumstances lead them to accept the truth go on to love their existence no matter how insignificant it may seem from the outside, and hence go beyond their reality to one where they choose to prefer some truths to others - as is evident in the toys from Toy Story who despite their size, make, and apparent insignificance to the world outside Andy’s room choose to make themselves significant by recognizing their strengths and using them to provide happiness to a young boy.
On the other hand, as seen in Duck Amuck, there are those who, due to their unfailing denial to accept the situation, choose to see only their weaknesses when made aware of the truth and in turn hate the reality of their existence and convince themselves to live a lie (“have it YOUR way”). In these cases, the person may feel better about themselves and hence feel better off as well, due to forced limitations to their imagination as well as deliberate ignorance.
The two main problems with knowing the truth are the person’s capacity and expectations. Over thousands of years, man’s search for truth has led his expectations to reach unattainable heights to a point where probably even the actual - and factual - truth may not be good enough. At the same time, due to the person’s existing beliefs the truth may be too much or too painful for them to handle and thus prove harmful (the green alien toy in Toy Story expecting to go to a better place or nirvana, and ending up being chewed on by Sid’s dog), as pointed out by the famous quote “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” by Jack Nicholson’s character in the film A Few Good Men (Tom Cruise movie reference!).
These two factors make the answer to the question ‘Are you better off knowing the truth about your surroundings?’ more complicated that a simple yes or no. In an ideal (and thus black and white) world, the answer would be a simple yes with no ifs or buts. However, since the ideal world is rarely like the real world and thus far from reality, in the real world the answer to this question would be more subjective. The roots to the answer would still be a yes, but the ‘yes‘ would depend on various factors such as the person’s capacity, expectations, circumstances, and surroundings, modifying the ‘Yes’ into ‘It depends’.