This Is Not Oscars Coverage Pt. 3.

To be read as a direct continuation of Part 2; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2023/04/this-is-not-oscars-coverage-pt-2.html

It is the central premise of Everything Everywhere All At Once. That the Evelyn in the self-described; "Alpha-Universe" is a highly accomplished scientist. She is the one who discovers that it is possible to jump between all the different universes.

Alpha-Evelyn then sets up a school teaching people how to universe jump. Her star pupil is her daughter, Alpha-Joy. However exactly like River Tam in Firefly/Serenity something goes wrong in Alpha-Joy's training. Her clay pot shatters, her mind splits. She becomes Jobu Tupaki.

Alpha-Evelyn is then killed in the war that Jobu Tupaki starts in the Alpha-Universe. Leaving the people of Alpha-Universe to search all of the other universes for their own Jade Emperor (玉皇). The Evelyn who is powerful enough to defeat Jobu Tupaki.

They find her in this universe, described in the movie as the; "Home Universe." They then watch as Evelyn masters the power of the Multiverse, the Tao/Dao (道). The 960 million years that Jade Emperor spent meditating in his cave before ascending to the level of god/demigod.

One much talked about sequence in the movie shows Evelyn jumping into a universe where humans have evolved with hotdog sausages for fingers. This is intended to show Evelyn's growing mastery of the power of the Multiverse. 

All those in the Alpha-Universe are only able to jump between human universes. Evelyn is able to jump into a universe before humans came into being. An evolutionary fork in the road. Where one Ape with hotdog sausages for fingers defeated an Ape with more human-like fingers. Changing the course of human evolution.

Evelyn's mastery of the power of the Multiverse is shown to be complete when she is able to jump even further. Joining Jobu Tupaki in a universe where animal life didn't begin. Let alone evolve into human life. There both Evelyn and Jobu Tupaki manifest as rocks. 

This highlights that core element of Animist, particularly Asian Animist belief systems. That all things in the universe are imbued with this elemental life force, a; "spirit." Regardless of what physical state that elemental force is manifesting as at any given time. Rocks are just as valid and valuable as Apes, even Humans. 

In Japanese Shinto (神道), the Way of the Gods, some rock formations are considered even more valuable than humans. Mount Fuji (富士山) is considered to be the manifestation of Kuni-no-Tokotachi (国之常立神). The first generation of the Kamiyo-nanayo (神世七代), the Seven Generations of the Age of the Gods.

The people of the Alpha-Universe select and train Evelyn in the hope that she will kill Jobu Tupaki. When Evelyn refuses to kill Jobu Tupaki they turn against her and set out to kill her.

However Evelyn's mastery of the power of the Multiverse has given her an insight that even the people of the Alpha-Universe do not possess. Evelyn can see that Jobu-Tupaki is not all powerful, her own mastery of the power of the Multiverse is not complete. 

In the universe where humans have hotdogs for fingers Evelyn is shown to be in a lesbian relationship with the IRS auditor. "Deirdre Beaubeirdre" played by Jamie Lee Curtis. It follows immediately from the sequence in which Jobu Tupaki forces Evelyn to look at her through Evelyn's fingers. A reference to that lesbian oral sex sequence in The Handmaiden (2018).

It is intended to show Joy's immaturity, Jobu Tupaki's incomplete mastery of the power of the Multiverse. Joy is gay while both Evelyn and Deirdre are just miserable middle-aged women. So in her immaturity, her inexperience Jobu Tupaki is projecting Joy's solution onto Evelyn and Deirdre's problems.

Having ascended to level where she can see the universal truth. That Everything, Everywhere, Everywhen is happening All At Once Jobu Tupaki interrupted her training. Slipping into a version of that 20th Century European philosophy of Nihilism. Concluding that with life having no meaning there is no point to it. So you may as well destroy it.

Knowing this Evelyn sets out to help Jobu Tupaki complete her mastery of the power of the Multiverse. Saving Alpha-Joy by killing her Nihilism, her Jobu Tupaki persona. Something which in modern Psychology would probably be diagnosed as; "Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)."

Essentially Evelyn sets out of kill Jobu Tupaki with kindness. Something which Greek Mythology explored through The Contest Between Poseidon and Athena.

Poseidon is the very male god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. While Athena is the very female goddess of war, wisdom and handicraft. One day the humans living in a newly emerged Greek city decided they wanted a god or goddess as their patron. Prompting Poseidon and Athena to battle each other for the honour.

In his very male aggression Poseidon flung his trident into the rocks causing water to spring forth. A trick his horse Pegasus was also very good at. In her nurturing female wisdom Athena used this water spring to plant an olive tree. Which provided the residents of the city with food. Prompting them to choose Athena as their patron. 

In Greek mythology even the gods have to submit to the democratic process.

This is why the olive branch is seen as both a symbol of peace and victory. The peace which comes through victory. It is also why Greece's capital city is named; "Athens." Rather than; "Poseidonville."

At around 16:40 on 20/4/23 (UK date) it might take me more than chore day to order my thoughts. 

Edited at around 16:15 on 22/4/23 (UK date) to tidy all of the above and copy & paste;

Initially Evelyn uses her ability to jump between universes in the way the people from the Alpha-Universe have taught her to. To acquire skills needed to defeat Jobu Tupaki. So when she needs martial art fighting skills she jumps into the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon universe. Where that Evelyn has become a Wuxia (武俠) movie star.

You could almost say that Evelyn is stealing from the Evelyns in all the other universes. Something the people from the Alpha-Universe assures her she is entitled to do. Not that it's ever clear that she deprives the other Evelyns of their skills. With the exception of the Alpha-Universe you only ever see the other universes from Home-Evelyn's perspective.

However as her mastery of the power of the Multiverse grows Evelyn changes the way she uses her ability. Rather than taking from the people in the other universes she uses her ability to give them gifts. The gift of Felicity (幸福), the ability to properly express their thoughts and emotions to her. Exactly like Jade Emperor was sent by Taiyi (太一) and the Wushen (五神) to do.

In short Evelyn is suddenly able to see exactly what everyone's problem is. Then use her mastery of the power of the Multiverse to solve that problem for them.

So Evelyn is able to see that the police officer's anger comes from the fact he is suffering from back/neck pain. Which she uses her mastery of the power of the Multiverse to fix. A little reference to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). 

My Physiotherapist mother is also an NHS certified Acupuncturist. Modern medicine has scientifically proven that Acupuncture is very effective in managing chronic pain. Even if no-one really understands why.

It is also hard to tell if the police officer is a S.W.A.T officer or a riot control officer. A little reference to the Shanghai Municipal Police (上海公共租界工部局警務處). Which is widely acknowledged to have created the first, modern S.W.A.T police unit. To control often heavily armed rioters.

Evelyn is also able to see that when the old man, who is a regular customer at the laundromat, tells her he really likes the perfume she is wearing. He's not being creepy. He's really telling her that he misses his dead wife. Who used to wear the same perfume.

Loneliness and the lack of a romantic partner does seem to be the problem Evelyn encounters the most. She solves it through a rapid and widespread onslaught of matchmaking.

A reference to how matchmaking is a big part of Chinese culture. It's said that the Lantern Festival (元宵节) is one of the really big matchmaking days in China. However that could probably describe any day in China. It is the Chinese way of showing your family members that you love them. Aggressively interfering in and attempting to micromanage their lives.

Evelyn's change of approach is probably best shown in the Racacoony universe. Where she works in the Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き) restaurant. Alongside a male chef who is controlled by a Racoon hiding under his hat. That joke about Evelyn's inability to pronounce; "Ratatouille" is just so funny.

Initially Evelyn is jealous and angry about the male chef who is constantly outshining and overshadowing her. Thinking he is cheating. Taking credit for what are not his skills but the Racoon's. So she calls the animal police on them and has the Racoon taken away.

Evelyn then realises that it's not all about her. The Racoon and the male chef aren't partnering up to make her look bad. They're doing it because the Racoon is a brilliant chef. It's just that because his spirit is currently manifested in a Racoon state he's not allowed anywhere near a kitchen. While the male chef, like all husbands, is utterly useless. He can't even walk, let alone tie his own shoelaces, without the help of the Racoon.

So the union, the partnership, between the chef and Racoon makes them both better. It's also better for society. Seriously. The Chinese can't leave matchmaking alone, not even for five minutes.

Evelyn then sets out to solve the problem she has created. Chasing after the animal police to rescue the Racoon and reunite him with the chef. Initially this involves the chef carrying Evelyn on his shoulders. While Evelyn guides him like the Racoon used to do.

Then the chef gets tired. So in an absolutely huge moment Evelyn starts carrying the chef on her shoulders as they rescue the Racoon.

A massive part of Asian culture is Ancestor Veneration. The notion that you must respect and care for your elders. Both while they are alive and after their spirit transitions to a different state and dimension. Which some describe as; "death."

The Traditional Chinese Calendar is made of up a sexagenary cycle. Formed from 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches. Making the current year Yin Water (癸), Rabbit (卯). Originally every family had 10 different Heavenly Stems, the days of the week. Each one was an ancestor you venerated on that particular day.

Ancestor Veneration or; "Filial Piety" is shown using the Chinese character; "Xiao (孝)." This is literally a picture of the Chinese character; "Old (老)" being carried by the Chinese character; "Son (子)." Showing that it is the duty of the son to carry their ancestor.

The character Xiao (孝) also highlights how deeply patriarchal Asian societies are. The family line is very much carried by the son, the men. There is actually a scene in the movie showing the moments after Evelyn's birth. The Doctor breaking the bad news to her father that she is a girl. A tragedy China's now defunct One Child Policy likened to having a dead or severely disabled son.

The Xiao (孝) character is actually wholly wrong. Across almost all cultures, throughout all of human history the burden of caring for the very young and the very old has always disproportionally fallen on women rather than men. It is men who go out to work while the women stay home and have babies. It is men who become high status Doctors while women become lower status Nurses.

So while it is the duty of every Asian son to take in their parents and look after them in their old age. It is the daughter-in-law that actually does the work of looking after them.

Meaning this act of Evelyn picking the male chef up and carrying him on her shoulders is A Huge Asian Feminist Statement. Effectively replacing Xiao (孝) with a new character. In which the Daughter (兒) is carrying the Old (老).

Of course if this was Oscars coverage. Then I might mention; "The Whale" (2023). Like in Everything Everywhere All At Once this sees a father's illness forcing the end of a long period of estrangement with his daughter. However the spoiled White American daughter is too selfish and too lazy to care for her own father. So she gets a Chinese woman to do it instead.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is primarily a response to the anti-Asian, particularly anti-Chinese, racism which arose in America during the ridiculously declared Pandemic. The main message is that it is time to abandon all the hate. Let love, kindness and understanding rule the day.

Rather like Evelyn in the Racacoony universe it thinks the hatred is driven by a lack of understanding. Caused by the barriers between cultures.  

A problem it sets out to solve by giving people insight into Asian culture. Through its rather zany tutorial about different Asian nations and cultures. 

At around 16:50 on 22/4/23. I'll try and pull my thought process back in by Monday. 

Edited at around 16:50 on 26/4/23 (UK date) to tidy all of the above and copy & paste;

After Evelyn has solved everyone else's problems. They all unite behind her in the effort to kill Jobu Tupaki with kindness. Pulling Joy back from her Nihilism and Jobu Tupaki persona.

Joy's homosexuality is the main way that she has pulled away from her family. Asian, particularly Chinese, culture is dominated by Filial Piety. The flipside of that is that it's very important you have babies, particularly sons. To look after you in your old age and to continue venerating your ancestors after you die.

Not typically producing offspring homosexual relationships present a huge challenge to that cornerstone of Asian culture. Lesbianism has got to be the greatest challenge. Being all girls, no babies.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is actually set in California's Simi Valley, a commuter suburb of Los Angeles. Although you'd have to be really paying attention to notice that detail. So the location could really be taken as any major city in the State of California.

The Californian city of San Francisco is largely seen as America's; "Gay Capital." With one of the highest proportion of gay residents anywhere in the country. San Francisco has also long had one of America's largest proportions of Asian, particularly Chinese, residents. Continuing to include many first generation immigrants. 

Immigrants from Europe traditionally head for New York City's famous Ellis Island on the East Coast. While immigrants for Asia traditionally head for San Francisco on the West Coast. Even if their stories are not as widely known and told in America's story of being a nation of immigrants.

With homosexuality being such a huge challenge to traditional Asian culture and identity. San Francisco's gay residents and its Asian residents must be two communities which spend much of their time being utterly baffled by each other.

So alongside Joy's homosexuality, the subtle references to lesbianism in Killing Eve and The Handmaiden (2018). Everything Everywhere All At Once also includes a lot of overt, in-your-face, references to male homosexuality. Really the very extreme side of male homosexuality.

So during various fight scenes things like police batons suddenly turn in to very large, but otherwise anatomically correct, penis-realistic dildos. These rapid changes of an object's physical state further underlining that idea central to Animist, particularly Asian, belief systems. That Everything, Everywhere and Everywhen all exist and have always existed, All At Once It is simply their state which changes.

The IRS staff are presented with a trophy in the shape of a giant buttplug. As reward whenever they've conducted a particularly invasive and painful audit. While one of the senior managers at the IRS has a secret BDSM sex dungeon hidden in his office. Evelyn finds him particularly difficult to matchmake for.

These very in-your-face references to the more extreme side of male homosexuality are all the sort of thing that first generation Chinese immigrants would be exposed to in San Francisco. Really on a daily basis, but particularly during Gay Pride Month and festival.

Having now done some really Not Suitable For Work (NSFW) research on the topic. The "Pet Play" BDSM fetish in which one or more gay male sexual partners pretend to be domestic animals must be really hard to explain to first generation Chinese immigrants. Almost as hard to explain as a man being in a relationship with a Racoon.

So Everything Everywhere All At Once's references to homosexuality stand as an issue in their own right. It is almost the climax of the movie when the very traditional Chinese, very homophobic Alpha-Gong Gong joins the effort to save Joy by killing Jobu Tupaki with kindness.

Unusually the movie is directed by a duo, known as; "The Daniels." Daniel Kwan (關家永), who is of Taiwanese and Hong Kong Chinese heritage and Daniel Scheinert, who is White.

As far as I can tell Daniel Scheinert is gay while Daniel Kwan is married to and has a son with a woman, Kirsten Lepore. However as I think a lot of people who watched the Oscars, myself included, would have done. It is easy to mistake them for a gay couple.

So this stark contrast between US gay culture and traditional Chinese culture is certainly something which must have come up through the course of their professional relationship. Daniel Scheinert does seem to be in danger of proving that it's creepy when a White man is a little bit too into Asian culture. Even when it's a gay White man. Although I think he might be able to use the; "Forced Learning" defence.

However the homosexuality issue also serves as something of a jumping off point. For all the culture clashes between generations. The universal feeling that as they grow children are pulling away from their parents and families.

So most of the scenes involving Home-Joy, rather than her Jobu Tupaki persona, seem to involve her car. Getting a driving license and first car being a rite-of-passage which most US teenagers go through at 16. The new found freedom it gives them and all the extra worry it causes their parents. 

Likewise Home-Joy's transition into Jobu Tupaki is shown to take place in a bar. Another rite-of-passage Americans go through at 21. While American teenagers view getting tattoos as another rite-of-passage. In Asia it's often seen as the mark of a criminal.

Jobu Tupaki's Nihilism, her desire to destroy everything as it has no meaning, is given a physical form. Although it's much talked about this black, Donut-shaped object is not actually revealed until mid-way through the movie.

This physical representation of Jobu Tupaki's Nihilism is a reference to claims that the Universe is Torus or Donut shaped. As with the Multiverse explanation this is a claim which has been made at various times in, more recent, history.

Very basically. The dominant theory is that the Universe came into being as the result of an explosion; The Big Bang. As this explosion rapidly expanded it cooled down from a temperature hot enough to create an almost infinite number of Suns.

Due to the very vast size of the Universe. Along with the, comparitively, slow Speed of Light. We are able to see back in time. Close to what we think was The Big Bang, the moment the Universe came it existence.

What you would expect to see then is areas of the Universe which, being further back in time, are much hotter than the area we all live in. However you don't see that. Casting doubt on the credibility of The Big Bang Theory.

An explanation for that inconsistency is that we're not actually able to see that much of the Universe. 

We know that the Earth is definitely round. Through manned space flight we've been able to look down on all of planet Earth and see that it is round. With the International Space Station (ISS) and China's Heavenly Palace (天宫) Space Station we have humans up there constantly. Confirming that the Earth is still, very much, round. 

However here on Earth it appears to us that the Earth is flat. An illusion caused by our flawed perspective. The fact that we can't actually see enough of the Earth to see that it is round.

Similarly although we currently view that Universe as flat that might only be because we cannot see all of the Universe. It might be a completely different shape. It might be in these unseen parts of the Universe that you get these much hotter areas.

Over the years various shapes of the Universe have been suggested. Within Geometry you have this particularly interesting shape; The Torus. 

A Torus has one circle which is horizontal, like a donut. Rotating within the tube of that circle you have another circle which is vertical. As the inner circle rotates it causes the outer circle to expand, as the Big Bang Theory dictates that the Universe must do. Eventually this causes the outer circle to appear as a sphere or globe. Not that you'd be able to see that from within the Torus.

Basically some maths nerds have spent their entire lives working on this really elegant mathematical model. Now they just want to be included in the conversation, any conversation. A situation which is, arguably, similar to the decision to declare the Pandemic.

Fortunately. You don't need to understand any of that to get the joke. You just need to know that some people believe that the Universe is donut shaped. Amongst all the other nerds (gay men) those people (lesbians) are considered weird and silly.

So when Jobu Tupaki finally pulls back her curtains to expose her 'donut' to Evelyn and invites her to eat it. That's yet another reference to lesbian oral sex. Something, which to a gay man like Daniel Scheinert, must seem like a fate worse than death. It's another example of Jobu Tupaki's incomplete mastery of the power of the Multiverse. Attempting to project Joy's solution onto Evelyn misery.

Jobu Tupaki actually describes the physical representation of her Nihilism as a; "Bagel." A baked, rather than fried, good which is the same shape as a donut. Specifically it is an; "Everything Bagel." An American food trend in which the indecisive put every available topping on the same (bread) bagel.

Discovering that Everything, Everywhere, Everywhen is happening All At Once Jobu Tupaki concluded that nothing has any meaning. So she got bored and decided to put everything in all of the universes onto a bagel. The concentration of everything on this Torus seems likely to cause the cooling and implosion of the Multiverse. Although that's not a formal scientific theory I've ever come across.

Jobu Tupaki's "Everything Bagel" is really representative of the vapid Social-Media hashtag culture. Which seems to see a new food trend every week. Things like; "Cronuts," "Cruffins" and "Pumpkin Spice Lattes."

It is particularly a reference to; "Bubble Tea." Invented in Taiwan in the 1980's Bubble Tea is milk tea served with tapioca balls. The inclusion of various shades of sugar syrups and toppings has seen it grow into a very "Instagramable" food trend. One which is very representative of Asian-American culture.

Sometimes known simply as; "Boba," rather like the; "Boba Fett" character in the Star Wars franchise. Bubble Tea has also given rise to the insult; "Boba Liberal." The sort of person who signals their virtue and support for Asian-Americans through their love of Bubble Tea.

These days the hashtag; "#BubbleTea," "#BobaTea" or; "#Boba" is normally seen alongside the hashtag; "#StopAAPIHate" (Asian-American, Pacific-Islander Hate). Typically beneath a picture of a vapid Social-Media influencer flashing a Peace Sign whilst wearing a Biden/Harris facemask.

Given that it is an attempt to tackle the anti-Asian, particularly anti-Chinese, racism and violence that arose in America during the Pandemic. You might think that Everything Everywhere All At Once is supportive of the US Democrats Stop AAPI astroturf campaign.

However the movie takes viewers, particularly American ones, on a zany tour through many different Asian countries and cultures. Often highlighting the vast differences between them. This also shows that Asians are a really vast and diverse group. Which cannot be lumped together in one hashtag or party political campaign.

To me that really underlines that US Democrats care no more about Asian-Americans than the Benihana Corportation does. Lumping Japanese, Chinese, Korean and even New Zealand Maori together in a bloc on an electoral map to be coloured in crayon. Nothing more than a theatrical trick to separate idiots from their money.

There is a key shot in which Jobu Tupaki slips under some police tape. That is pure Black Lives Matter. The physicality of her performance also shows why Stephanie Hsu (许玮伦) was Oscar nominated.  

In the scene where everyone joins with Evelyn to pull Joy back from her Nihilism and Jobu Tupaki persona. Many of the clothes and general visual palate are in that Day-Glo and Neon associated with Rave culture. While the black Everything Bagel spins, record-like, in the background.

At this point, along with various other points in the movie. The pill-like disc of the Everything Bagel is a reference to recreational drugs. Particularly Opioids.

This is another, almost universal area of tension between generations, parents and their children. 

Islam famously forbids the use of alcohol as it impairs the ability to communicate with God, pray. However Islam only explicitly forbids the use of alcohol. Meaning there is an almost constant argument between Muslim parents and children the World over. About whether the ban also extends to recreational drugs which are comparable to alcohol, such as Marijuana. 

America's current Opioid Epidemic seems to be an example of a nation collectively embracing Nihilism as its ideology. With a great many people seeming to conclude that life has no meaning. So they may as well just destroy themselves.

Although no-one seems to understand why. That aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Acupuncture, is very effective at managing chronic pain. 

Certainly much more effective that than overprescribing of Opioids. Even if it's not as profitable. 

 

 

 

To be continued in Part 4.

17:30 on 26/4/23 (UK date). 

Edited at around 13:20 on 28/4/23 (UK date) to do one final tidy up. I'd like to confess to being very hungover.