The world has changed. After verifying that my husband did in fact get his paycheck, I wanted to do something that would allow us to escape this difficult reality (for a little while). We made the drive to our local Thai food joint — Chao Doi in Northwest Pasadena. We each ordered something that would hit the spot for us. We were greeted with the sign that said everyone, including Grubhub, needed to wait outside the restaurant. The man let us inside to order; though, I think we all felt uncomfortable sitting inside.
We drove right back home with our great smelling food; I came in and turned my phone off and left it downstairs. (I am so tired of calls about things I have to do, right away. I am tired of the feeling of having my “fire extinguisher” out.)
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
My daughter asking if we could get Disney Plus last December was a fortunate event. A good friend told us about Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made. I thought to myself, today is the day. Lets watch it!
It’s a fun story about a 5th grade boy who has a detective agency with a partner, an (imaginary) polar bear. He takes his line of work very seriously; everyone around him kind of laughs at him, especially the adults. As the movie continues, the lines are blurred between fantasy and reality.
One aspect I liked was that the movie tackled the idea of alternate reality. What is real, and what is imagined? What “frame” do we hold that impacts how we see the world, and what frame do other’s hold? Every person has a “frame.” Being 40+, I have learned this is most definitely the case.
What is a frame?
How would I describe it? Say you order Chinese take-out food on a rainy night. You get home and discover they forgot your favorite dish—orange chicken. You could have a number of responses:
- That worker purposely forgot my favorite dish. They don’t like me. (self-loathing)
- They just want to cheat me out of my money.
- That restaurant just wanted me to be miserable. I went out on a rainy night, and they screwed it up!
- They probably just put my orange chicken in someone else’s order. They just made a mistake.
- The guy probably didn’t hear me order it. He made an honest mistake.
None of these are wrong responses. But, we do need to sit with our feelings and try and see things from another person’s perspective. Often our initial response comes out of feeling triggered one way or the other. This immediate response is often harsher than is warranted.
So, all this to say, Timmy Failure had a frame he saw life through, as did other characters. The movie had a strong message that we should never be afraid to question our frame. And we should make sure self-loathing does not drive our frame.
If you are looking for a good movie during your time of quarantine, see Timmy Failure. Be safe and be well!