Inch Thick, Knee Deep

The seed of this film was planted when I observed a young child torturing a gorgeous beetle while waiting in line for a ride at Disneyland. I intervened, putting the beetle in a nearby bush. It’s normal for a child that age to be egocentric and not fully comprehend that they are causing pain. I wondered if there were any adults who acted that way and realized that unfortunately there are many people who hurt other living beings without awareness and even worse, some that justify their actions and even take pleasure in it. Quinn started to jostle around in my brain like a nightmarish day dream. Did she lack empathy altogether? Or did she have her own personal, deeply embedded “Why?” This took me on a deep dive reading about Erotomania.

Everyone tells themselves stories. Narratives about our day-to-day lives are how we navigate the world. We have delusional feelings that our imagined conversations and assumptions about other people’s motivations are truth. Expectation and assumption are the cause of every fight I’ve ever had with my partner. These stories we tell ourselves can be the root cause of broken relationships, prejudices, and our unhealthy, unloving view of ourselves. Quinn is this kind of delusion at its worst and Adrienne is unfortunate enough to experience the fallout of Quinn’s internal narrative.

As we navigate our own “Once Upon A Time…”, “What did they mean by that?”, “They did that because I’m unlovable” etc. may we begin to see things as they truly are (assuming some universal truth actually exists.) May we have enough empathy to realize what feels true for us doesn’t exist in someone else. May we be kind to each other anyway.
“And they all lived happily ever after…”.