If you only regard “The Poor Things” (2023) as a female coming-of-age movie, then you are likely to miss the core spirit of this movie-civilization is developed through human beings’ continuous experiments and adventures. Gain growth and stability. And those so-called “poor things” are people who are unable to accept the spirit of experimentation and adventure and who set limits on themselves. In this way, even though they have the appearance of adults, they have not yet reached mental maturity. Judging from the content of the movie, those who are still guarding authoritarianism and Selfish men are usually this type of childish human being.
“Poor Thing” is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara. This is the second collaboration between Lanthimos and McNamara. The last collaboration was “The Favorite” (2018), which won a Golden Globe Award, etc. Best Screenplay Award. “Poor Things” stars Emma Stone (playing the heroine Bella Boxter), William Dafoe (playing the scientist Dr. Godwin Boxter), Mark Ruffalo (playing the evil lawyer Duncan Wedderburn), Ramy Youssef (playing the magnanimous young scientist Max McCandles) and so on.
The metaphor of the character’s name — the name already secretly tells the story
If you look carefully at these English names, you will find the mysteries and hidden symbols in them: the heroine is a beautiful woman (meaning Bella); the mad scientist is like a god (Godwin/God, of course, he is also a metaphor for God, creating people and civilization); the evil-minded lawyer appears to be a freedom-loving aristocrat, but he is a conservative who is keen on the marriage system (wed+(d)er+burn=person who wants to get married + enthusiastic, which means adhering to the dogma of marriage ); in the end, Max McCandles, who was abducted to the scientist’s house and helped to study the records, was a man who amplified warmth (Max=maximize, candles=stablely emitting light and heat).
In addition, the names of other characters also have metaphors, such as the ex-husband Alfie Blessington who ran away at the end. Alfie means ready to fight, and the surname Blessing is ironic because the general cannot provide for his family and servants. Come to blessings and happiness. When Bella was staying in France to make money, the brothel’s madam was named Swiney, which means a dirty person like a pig, because Swine means pig, and it can also be extended to mean a lecher and a nasty person. So, although Swiney was full of praise, and inspirational words, but took advantage of others.
Pictured above: This self-proclaimed liberal lawyer is actually a marriage enthusiast who adheres to patriarchal principles — wives should love and serve their husbands, and should not have relationships with other men, and should not even peek at them. Can.
Development and enjoyment from the body to the five senses — adventurous experimental spirit
Think about it, why the images in “Poor Things” are so colorful and bright, full of exaggerated color contrasts, outrageous clothing displays, and very ornate Victorian carved furniture, etc. These must all be deliberate arrangements to display the “physical senses”. For all viewers, the most intuitive sensory experience is the physical perception developed by Bella’s body — sex. However, the sensory experience that the story wants to express is not just sex, but the experience of all five senses.
One time, Bella and her scientist father were lying in bed reading storybooks. Bella asked Godwin if he was her father. Godwin told Bella, no, her parents were both great explorers who used their bodies as a source of experience and adventure. As a bargaining chip, I went to South America to climb mountains, but I paid the price with my body and never returned.
As an adoptive father, Godwin, like his friends (the fictional parents of Bella), is also an experiential adventurers who love experiments and adventures. Not only was he once his father’s experiment, but he was also always in danger, constantly doing experiments. . Because of his courage to experiment and his fearless spirit of sacrifice, Godwin’s father was the founder of a medical school, and Godwin was also an accomplished scientist.
As the daughter of an adventurer and an experimenter, Bella fully inherited the spirit of her (fictional) parents and adoptive father. She did not want to be a vase girl (the subject) who was raised at home, but decided to experience it firsthand, using her own body as the most experimental The subject and the object, try to see what kind of result you will get in the end by “investing your whole body into this world without reservation”.
Garden of Eden, apples, and snakes
The Bella we met at the beginning was an ignorant little girl who was still developing language and body coordination and lived in a very narrow world. Until Godwin discovered that the interaction between Bella and Max was different, he decided to let Max and Bella get married, and they made a pact to tie Bella, the experimental subject, and the experimental assistant together in the Garden of Eden he designed.
As a result, unfortunately, one day Bella’s “body consciousness” awakened on a white bed, and she also discovered that “apples” could help her lower body feel happy. She excitedly shared with her maid Allison the way to “be happy ever after”, but both Allison and Max were frightened by Bella’s bold move and kept stopping her. This was an indecent act that should not have been done in the Garden of Eden.
As a result, the evil and seductive snake appeared. The romantic lawyer Duncan came to Godwin’s home found an unreasonable marriage contract, and decided to meet the stupid girl. As a result, the naive and ignorant girl openly discussed sex with the lawyer and invited the lawyer to participate in sex. The evil lawyer decides to take Bella away and play with the girl before abandoning her, just like the lawyer’s past style — collecting women’s sexuality.
For Bella, this is a great opportunity to start an adventure. Good girl Bella then directly announced to Godwin that she was going to elope with Duncan. Godwin realized that the time had come and could not stop Bella, so he decided to respect Bella’s will and let her be free to experience and take risks herself. After all, experimental spirit has always been the style and tradition of the Boxter family.
From this, we can also speculate that the real God must have known that Adam and Eve were eating the forbidden fruit, but did not take the opportunity to stop it, because God knows that without experience, there is no way to understand, and it is not true surrender. This is why when Max later asked Godwin during dinner whether there would be a sexual relationship between Bella and Duncan, Godwin answered without hesitation: yes.
Experience color, sound, fragrance, and touch
So, Bella packed her bags and started traveling with Duncan. The first stop was Lisbon, a colorful city full of sunshine, grapes, wine, and food.
First of all, what we see is Bella and Duncan exploring the body and discovering how powerful the body can be in pleasure. However, Bella also sees the limit of this physical pleasure through Duncan. Bella was bored and needed more sensory stimulation and experience, so she went out alone.
She first went back to the small stall that specializes in crisp tarts to enjoy her appetite (because the self-proclaimed noble Duncan stipulated that she could only eat one at a time). After her appetite was fully satisfied, Bella walked up and down the stairs in Lisbon. She saw the beautiful city, with trams, colorful rooftops, and the seaside. Then, she also stopped under the balcony and listened quietly to classical guitar and Portuguese music. Fado, immersed in the sad and beautiful singing voice and deeply moved by it. Although she didn’t know the source of this emotion at the time, just as sad songs always show the pain of life, one day Bella will hear and experience it for herself.
Bella, who was roaming in the city, opened all her senses and experienced all kinds of colors, flavors, and fragrances. Whether they were beautiful or painful, she felt them all unconditionally. So, she vomited because she ate too much, and she also vomited in the alley. I met a quarreling couple and was frightened by the fire of anger. In the world after leaving the Garden of Eden, although there is extreme joy and beauty, there is also extreme fear and anger.
The idiot lawyer who lost his position when his laughter turned to anger
The most impressive experience in Lisbon was Bella and Duncan’s dinner and dance. When Bella and Ducan were having dinner, Bella watched the men and women dancing on the dance floor while listening to the drumming. An unknown instinct from her body urged her inexplicably, pulling her to the dance floor and encouraging her to dance solo in excitement — — A dance that only she understands and enjoys.
However, Duncan couldn’t stand the thought of Bella not having fun with him, nor seeing Bella having fun on her own, so Duncan stood up and asked Bella to cooperate with his dance. Of course, Bella is a woman who fully listens to her inner voice. Duncan’s tough style has no effect and only arouses more dissatisfaction, jealousy, and anger in himself.
Among the five sense experiences in Lisbon, the person who feels the most anger and jealousy is Duncan. Originally, he always played with and abandoned girls gracefully, because these girls always surrendered to his money and status and were almost at his mercy. Duncan, who has no respect for girls and only manipulates them, is now in trouble because Bella’s brain has not yet been imprisoned by etiquette.
Bella is different from other girls. She has no sense of etiquette and does not understand the rules of doing things, so she acts according to her inner thoughts. In Duncan’s view, she has her way of doing things and is difficult to discipline. This kind of girl who cannot be restrained makes Duncan, who can’t afford to lose, have a stronger desire to conquer (but girls are not men’s Pokémon). He mistook this possessiveness as love and kept asking Bella's Expression of love and proposal. Fortunately, Bella, who has always listened to her inner voice, could not feel love but only felt disturbed and angry. Secondly, she was still busy on the journey of experimentation and experience.
From between the legs to between the ears — the experience of reason and knowledge
Out of anger, Duncan decided to take back the freedom given to Bella and lock her in a closed environment — a ship. Thus, their journey reached the second stage: the experience of reason and knowledge.
Kidnapped to the cabin, Bella is angry and unwilling to play another intense jump with Duncan and begins to develop a different kind of adventure. The physical limitations did not stop Bella’s experience and learning. Instead, she experienced another spiritual feeling that was different from physical pleasure — the advancement of knowledge.
In the cabin’s restaurant, Bella met an old lady, Martha, and a young black man, Harry. When they first introduced themselves to each other, Bella was surprised that Martha had not danced vigorously for more than 20 years, and expressed to her that she was worried that Martha had not enjoyed pleasure for too long and that it would be a pity for her life. Martha smiled and said that she didn’t feel any pity at all, and even wisely told Bella that when she was young, she also enthusiastically enjoyed the pleasure between her legs, but as she got older, she enjoyed being between the ears even more. The pleasure of time — knowledge.
Afterwards, Martha shared books with Bella, and they read transcendentalism in the Romantic period and avant-garde philosophy in the nineteenth century; Harry also engaged in philosophical speculation with Bella and discussed reality — the existing and insurmountable injustices in society.
Beautiful and painful experiences — the truth of reality
If in Lisbon, Bella’s experience focused on the ultimate five senses, whether it was appetite, beautiful sights, or physical pleasure, then while sailing in the Mediterranean, Bella experienced the vast sea of knowledge while recognizing “free”.
Bella, who lives in the middle class, was once confined at home by her father, but that was for safety reasons. Until she could go out, Godwin released Bella to preserve her free will.
However, Duncan, who claimed to love her, did not want Bella to be free at all, let alone to study. At this time, Bella was already speaking and writing, which made Duncan completely unable to accept her words. She was even more angry with Martha and Harry who enlightened Bella with knowledge, and wanted to throw Martha into the sea. This farce further demonstrated that the power of knowledge is far greater than brute force and money. It also made Bella admire Martha even more and ignore Duncan from then on.
Although Bella is full of curiosity about knowledge, these are still words on paper, especially the concepts of freedom and equality. Harry then asked Bella if she wanted to see the real reality instead of the knowledge hothouse on paper.
The naive Bella has never seen poverty and slavery outside her class, so when Harry docks in Alexandria, he takes Bella to witness the real desolation, slavery, and despair. “If you come into contact with them, they will be robbed; if you don’t help them, they will starve to death” — this is the dilemma of fate. She can neither ignore death nor be dragged into the water. The cruelty of reality scares Bella to tears. This is the first time she has deeply experienced the pain sadness, despair, and death in the world.
Bella cried because of the pain, not only biting Harry but also biting herself, leaving a blood mark, which symbolized that in this experiment of “cruel reality and social class”, Bella finally saw the realistic experience of human suffering.
The absurd thing is that Duncan happened to win a lot at this time and saw Bella with banknotes scattered all over the floor. Without hesitation, he showed kindness and sorted out the banknotes and gave them to the poor, hoping to help them turn around. However, the absurd thing is that these banknotes are like many realities and it is difficult to reach the hands of the poor.
From stumbling to stability, from being supported to helping others
Because of endless gambling and drinking, Duncan’s wealth and freedom came to an end. He was kicked off the ship by the captain, and he and Bella lived on the streets of Paris, France (the long journey from disembarking in the port of Marseille to Paris was not explained how the two arrived). It is also Bella’s third stage of growth.
In the cold winter, the two huddled on the streets of the snowy city. Duncan kept resenting, complaining, and blaming each other. Bella, on the other hand, was based on adventure and experimentation and felt extremely positive because she was finally able to understand what it was like to be “poor” in life.
Bella in Paris is different from the little girl who had just left London (the Garden of Eden). At this time, Bella not only no longer relied on Duncan for care and support, but also began to be able to make money to help others (buying instant puffs for Duncan). Although, for the first time, she The female industry I came into contact with once was sex work that is difficult for ordinary men to accept.
Duncan, who originally said that he loved Bella deeply and would not marry her unless she was the one, scolded Bella with disgust, took away the banknotes hidden in Godwin’s coat, and left. Bella, who did not complain angrily and only viewed the world rationally with empiricism and experimental spirit, adapted to the circumstances and directly stayed in Swiney’s brothel to make a living. If you have noticed, you will find that at this stage, Bella no longer walks staggeringly, but is a new woman whose body and mind have reached harmonious development (although others still think her thoughts are weird and she is a weirdo with a brain problem).
A social experiencer who works during the day and studies at night
After becoming self-reliant, Bella became an empiric social experiencer, accumulating and organizing knowledge through all experiences of body and mind (five senses) in life. During this period, she met Toinette, a young French girl who was also a socialist. She introduced Bella to the democratic concepts of freedom and equality.
In the process of engaging in sex work, Bella met all kinds of men, including premature ejaculation, old men, smelly men, evil men (hook men), thin men, fat men, priests (the ones with the best skills ), men who wanted to see sex for their two sons. Behavior dad and more. Men of different classes and types came to Bella just for the same thing. Bella began to feel bored, so she tried to develop different kinds of fun, not only to entertain customers but also to provide herself with more experimental (experience) content.
Bella was originally a blank canvas ( tabula rasa ). Through constant experimentation, adventure, reading, and experience, she painted her life into a colorful and detailed story, intertwined with her legs and ears. All cognitions and experiences in the world are organized into a unique life system with rationality as the main tone.
After that, she went to study with Toinette, and like her adoptive father Godwin, she learned the latest medicine (the anatomy classroom was her childhood), which also laid the foundation for her to return to London to inherit her father’s business. At the same time, Toinette also led Bella to experience another sexual pleasure experience and also told Bella that she should be a woman who had been pregnant and had children. Toinette’s doubts aroused Bella’s confusion, especially her doubts about Godwin — how many lies did Godwin compile? Regarding “self”, what is the truth?
“who I am?”
Although adventure and experimentation have allowed Bella to grow in knowledge and wisdom, “who I am” has always been a mystery within a mystery. Bella then went back home and wanted to ask Godwin.
This part about the mystery of who Bella is is really interesting. It’s a circle — you are your mother and also your child — it’s really like 2014’s “Predestination” — you are your father, It’s your mother, and it’s you (“Interception” is an incomparably beautiful movie, one of the must-sees in your life).
Of course, even so, the mystery of Bella’s true identity has not yet been solved. As a result, just when Bella is about to commit to Max for life, a male stranger appears, claiming to be her legal husband Alfie Blessington, a veteran with outstanding military achievements. soldier.
Bella, who is full of adventurous spirit and must get to the bottom of any problem she encounters, decides to return to the home she shared with Alfie to understand why she wanted to end her life in the past. Finally, the answer to the mystery was revealed. The princess in the castle was not happy at all in the past. It was a harsh environment that was confining and full of domestic violence. What surprised her even more was that she didn’t expect that Victoria (Bella’s original body) had (perhaps) once been the same as Alife, who liked to use her power to tease the bottom of society.
After learning that Alfie had arranged a castration operation for herself, Bella decided to leave, and while in a hurry, she let the gun (a symbol of male power and phallus) that Alfie always held in his hand shoot a bullet directly through herself. feet. So, in the end, it was not Alfie who castrated Bella, but Bella who replaced Alfie’s brain with a well-behaved and obedient sheep brain.
The meaning of life in this world
Returning to the end of Godwin’s life, this is a beautiful moment. He lived his whole life in the way he loved, and when he died, the people he loved and cared about the most (Bella and Max) were by his side, and everyone hugged him. Together, accompany Godwin to close his eyes and go to heaven.
Godwin has been experimenting and taking risks all his life. He never gives up any opportunity to experiment. He is always full of curiosity. Even if he fails, he never gives up his experimental spirit. As a child, he was his father’s experimental subject. Although it sounds like a process of child abuse, it also cultivated Godwin’s adventurous spirit. Godwin inherited his father’s hospital and his father’s experimental spirit, constantly experimenting with various biological modifications. As a result, he transformed a less-than-perfect Bella.
Although her mind, brain, and limbs are not coordinated, and she has no social cognition, the Bella (human being) created by Godwin (God) is full of loopholes. However, Bella (human) can perfect herself through adventure, experimentation, and learning.
In Godwin’s life, the most risky experiment is definitely “giving Bella freedom and letting her travel.” However, I believe that in Godwin’s heart, he also believes that Bella has the right to decide her own life and risk her future. , so he was willing to let go and let her create herself. Therefore, Godwin, who believed in free will, let go of his inner entanglements and let Bella leave the Garden of Eden and go to the real society (the human world) to experiment with her own life. From then on, all of Bella’s adventures were self-created.
Maybe in the beginning, she had too many shortcomings, and her only asset was her beauty; maybe in the beginning, she didn’t know anything but crazy jumping (her name is so funny).
But the difference between “human beings” and other species is that humans can change through experience, cognition, and learning. So at the end of the story, Bella (human being) not only created a better version of herself but also left Godwin (father, god) in the Garden of Eden to create a better research center (human civilization). At this time, the only healthy and complete man left in the Garden of Eden is Max, who is tolerant, understands the whole body and mind of women, and respects women in his entirety. This also symbolizes that in the future world expected by God, the man the world needs is not Duncan, who is proud of money and loves to play with women, nor Alfie, who is arrogant about power and looks down on women.
God and man, free will
To put it bluntly, from a metaphorical point of view, “Poor Thing” is a “story between man and God”, and it is also a code of conduct for people on Earth — —
No matter how stumbling and imperfect we are when we land, we don’t need to care, because humans on earth are inherently imperfect. However, even if we are not perfect, as long as we are willing to continue to experience, experiment, verify, recognize, learn, take risks, learn, take risks, learn, and accumulate again on the road of life, one day, we may still not be perfect, but we will definitely prosper. . Then, after waiting for stability, there is a chance to raise a glass to celebrate. Therefore, as long as you are willing to take risks with an experimental spirit on the road of life and accumulate for a lifetime, you will definitely be able to be peaceful and have no regrets the day you close your eyes.
God has never abandoned us (driving mankind out of the Garden of Eden) but has only given us free will to choose our own life and create our path. In this way, we also create a human world where a hundred flowers bloom.
During this process, even if you look weird and ridiculous, like Godwin and Bella, you don’t need to doubt yourself, because everyone’s path is different, and everyone is still on their path to perfection, and there is no need to criticize. , there is no need to compare.
Of course, because life is essentially an adventure, there is no need to blame yourself and cry for any stumbles, failures, pitfalls, or mistakes on the road of your life. Anyway, continue to experiment, take risks, create, and get through one hurdle after another. Guan, if you go far away, you won’t care anymore.
This is why when Max told Bella that Madam Swiney only allowed her to receive 20 francs per transaction, “It’s cheap!” At this time, Bella didn’t care at all. Anyway, Swiney also taught Bella a few lessons at that time. , and Bella has now reached a certain peak in her life, and she doesn’t mind at all. Cheers!
Who is the “poor thing?”
When we see a title like “Poor Thing”, at first we will point the “poor thing” at the protagonist and think, “Could an imperfect experiment like Bella be that poor thing?”
However, returning to the English title Poor Things, we must understand that the poor thing must not be talking about Bella, because “Things” is a plural form. At this time, we will immediately think of the two self-righteous male representatives of patriarchy-Duncan and Alfie.
However, after thinking about it more carefully and coming to the deeper metaphor of the story — humanity’s Earth operation manual — I finally understood that the “ poor things” that the author, director, and screenwriter wanted to express must be those who came to On this earth, human beings are living in vain.
If we were all in the soul stage, voluntarily reincarnated, and came to the earth, we had all taken prerequisite courses, and set learning goals for coming to the earth (you can refer to the 2020 “Soul Turn Soul”), then, we landed After leaving Earth, don’t forget to explore and take risks.
Perhaps, like Bella, we will indulge in various physical desires at first, but this is just a necessary stage of human growth, so don’t worry about it. From now on, if we are willing to continue taking risks, remain curious, and continue to experience and learn, we will grow internally and gradually move away from physical enjoyment and into spiritual satisfaction.
At the same time, our consciousness will gradually tune in, gradually moving from the anxiety of lack and the desire to control others (Duncan and Alfie) to the tolerance of abundance and allowing others to develop free will (Godwin and Max). Therefore, those so-called “poor people” must not only mean Duncan and Alfie in the patriarchal society, but all people who came to the world without realizing the original purpose of life and forgot to continue experimenting, taking risks, and learning.
“Poor Things” is a very rich story with great depth. In addition to bringing sensory enjoyment to the audience, it also contains many thoughtful connotations. After watching the movie and reading the article, take a look at yourself. Do you still have the sense of adventure and the courage to continue experimenting with life?
It is better to go to the cinema and watch it again. With the understanding of this article, I believe you will see a very different “Poor Thing”.
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