Ok wait I need to talk about the purpose of the cat in obsession because I haven't seen anyone talking about this.
(cw: animal death + neglect but I'm not including images) (also general tw for literally everything in obsession)
So in the opening scene we learn Bears feelings for Nikki. Which makes sense, the entire movie revolves around his unrequited love for Nikki, so of course we see it first. We also learn about some of his friends and the dynamic in the group. Which are also very important to know since so much of this movie is about the social horror.
In the second scene, we see Bear going home and finding his cat, Sandy, dead. He finds the sleeping pills she got into, places them back in the cabinet, cleans up the scene, and cries. This is the scene with the title drop, indicating the importance of this scene: Bear, sitting on the edge of his bed, sobbing over the loss of his cat.
At first I thought this was more because it set the mood, the closest comparison I can think of is the title drop scene in midsommar which follows a very similar structure. It shows you that this movie will not be gentle, and it will be violent and uncomfortable, so even if it's a slow burn there's a part of you that knows things will have to escalate to or past the amount of horror in the first scene.
I do still believe this, however after watching the full movie and sitting with my thoughts for a bit, I realized that there's even more to this scene and to the cats death as a plot device throughout the film.
The cat is a parallel to Nikki, and not only reveals Bears character far before he even makes the wish but also puts his hypocrisy on full display throughout the movie.
When Bear gets home and finds his cat dead, he's completely heartbroken. However when he finds the pills on the kitchen floor, among spilled cat food and empty cat food cans, he sounds almost angry, vocally questioning how the cat got the pills, before placing them back in the cabinet where they belong.
What is the likelihood that a cat would be able to get into the bathroom, open the cabinet, and get the medication? Even if the cabinet doesn't close completely, the cat wouldn't have taken the pills to the kitchen, and wouldn't have been able to open the child proof lid. It feels more likely that the pills were left out in the kitchen somewhere with the cap removed, most likely a careless mistake by Bear. Similar to the careless mistake he makes with his wish. In both of these instances, Bear is taking things that directly tell him what will happen if proper precautions aren't taken (as the shop employee says the box for the one wish willow is covered in warnings) (the pill bottle literally says do not eat on the bottom also? Which is interesting) and not treating them with the proper care, leading to someone else getting hurt.
And still, he blames the victim for it. Throughout the movie he continuously scolds Nikki for how she's acting. When he finds the pills, he clearly blames the cat for getting into them. While it's understandable why he's upset in either of these situations, he refuses to take any responsibility. The cat died because he was careless and neglectful. Nikki is acting this way because he was careless. It is in the nature of a cat to eat when it's hungry, and it's in the nature of whatever entity this is created by the wish to act the way it is. Bear has the ability to make choices, and to take accountability, but he just doesn't.
And then, he garners sympathy from others. He tells Sarah his cat died- not how she died, just that she died, gaining sympathy. Throughout the movie, he also receives sympathy from Sarah for how Nikki is acting. In both of these he doesn't give the full story, if he told her that the cat died because he left the sleeping pills out, she might have scolded him for being so careless. If he told her about the wish, she might have done the same. Maybe she would still sympathize with him a little since both of these were mistakes, but both were still a result of neglect, and he can't handle being told that.
Then there's literally every other appearance of the cat. Near immediately, Nikki drags the cats body back inside to make a sort of memorial shrine. Because why wouldn't Bear like this? In the movie, haven't we been shown that Bear likes being around something that is just a husk of something he really loved? If the cats body is here, then the cat is here. If Nikki acts like she loves Bear, she loves Bear. It doesn't matter if Bear knows Nikki isn't actually there, so why should it matter if he knows the cat isn't?
Finally, keeping it short and simple for the sandwich because no part of this is a topic I want to talk much about, but if Bear is not only ok with but actively enjoys desecrating the empty body that once belonged to Nikki, then why wouldn't he not only tolerate, but enjoy desecrating the body of his cat.
Something about the bastardization of the story time and time again proves that nobody in power really cares about the people who would resonate with King’s Carrie White. A girl so ugly and repulsive she’s been removed from her own story. The societal need for women and girls to be constantly perceived as attractive is what fuels a fair amount of her torment in the book, but that person isn’t even allowed to exist on the screen. We cannot empathize with her; it isn’t allowed. It’s fascinating to me.
Carrie stood among stolidly, a frog among swans. She was a chunky girl with pimples on her neck and back and buttocks, her wet hair completely without color.
i got tipsy off of ONE (1) white whine mango smoothie at a barcade and began thinking that all my friends looked really easy to pick up all of the sudden
theartofmadeline
pixelskylines
areudirty
dailybridgerton
turnnoffyourmind
