Therapist Reacts to THE IRON GIANT

Alan: This episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform to build a beautiful online presence. Like yours truly. Jono: The Iron Giant is a story of how to bypass the programing of your genetics, bypass the programing of what people believe you are or expect of you, and choose who you want to be. The Iron Giant: I am not a gun. Alan: This is a masterpiece. One of the greatest films ever made. Full stop. Hogarth: Wow... Jono: Maybe you've been traumatized, and so you have turne

d into someone who traumatizes others. Maybe you've been traumatized and you feel weak and powerless. Maybe you've made choices in the past that you deeply regret. Today represents a clean start. The Iron Giant: I Superman Alan: Every choice from now on, you can choose to be Superman. Alan: Hello and welcome to Cinema Therapy. I'm Alan Seawright, a professional filmmaker who needs therapy. And I'm Jonathan Decker, licensed therapist who loves movies. What are we doing today? Alan: I would like t

o weep buckets of tears. Jono: Okay... Alan: Shiny metallic tears. Jono: All right. We're going to be filthy rich. Alan: But... Jono: Shiny metallic... Iron Giant? Alan: That's the one. Jono: Oh, boy. Alan: He solved my puzzle. Jono: Oh, I don't know if I'm ready for this. I do love this movie, though. Alan: No one was ready for this movie. No one was ready for it when I came out. I don't think we're ready for it now. Jono: And it's insanely rewatchable. Alan: It's so good. I probably watched th

is movie 10 or 15 times, and every time... it's the scene from Ted Lasso. Jono: What do you want me to look at? Alan: Choosing who you want to be in the face of programing or, you know, expectations from other people? Um... Are you a gun? Jono: I am not. I passed the test. Hogarth: Mad Magazine - very funny. The spirit - very cool. Jono: Terrible movie, though. Hogarth: Boy's Life - eh. Alan: Brad Bird was developing an animated spirit movie before this. That's why. Hogarth: He's famous now. But

he started off just like you. Crash landed on Earth, didn't know what he was doing, but he only uses his powers for good, never for evil. Remember that. Oh, that's Atomo the Metal Menace. He's not the hero. He's the villain. He's not like you. You're a good guy. Like Superman. The Iron Giant: Super...man. Jono: So Brad Bird knocks this out of the park. Does the Incredibles after this, he does Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. I mean, he's so skilled. One of the things I love about this movie

is because it didn't set the box office on fire, Jono: it didn't spawn a Renaissance... Alan: Clones. Jono: Yeah. And so its animation style is unique to it. I can't think of any other movie that looks and feels like this movie. Alan: Yeah, it has a CG robot, hand-painted backgrounds, hand-drawn characters, Alan: ...occasional CG stuff mixed in with the rest of it. Jono: Yeah. Alan: It is a really, really innovative thing, and a whole lot of it was done because they had a super compressed time f

rame to do this and way fewer people. So they did this entire movie in two and a half years. Alan: Generally takes Disney or Pixar four years. Jono: Yeah. Alan: And they had about a third of the budget of a typical Disney or Pixar movie. Alan: And you would never guess it... Jono: No. Alan: ...watching this. Jono: No. Alan: You would never think that. Jono: Little thesis statement right here, though. You are who you choose to be. You're the hero. He o-- Superman only uses his powers for good. It

's no secret that I love Superman, so the fact that they take such inspiration from the character of Superman means a lot to me. Alan: Have you seen our Cinema Therapy website? It was so easy to build and customize using Squarespace. Jono: Squarespace has so many templates to choose from with a wide variety of styles and formats. Alan: They have built-in tools, like video blocks, and extensions for lots of platforms, and I had to look up what video blocks are, because I was picturing just wood b

locks, but with videos on them. It's different from that. Jono: So our website can be a hub to link to all of our other stuff YouTube, Patreon, upcoming events, our merch and popcorn stores, and more. Alan: So once we found a template that worked really well as a starting point, Fluid Engine... Jono: Which is the design system for Squarespace. Alan: That's right, Jono, made it easy to customize. Jono: We added our own colors, fonts, and personal touches to make it our own unique brand and style.

Alan: Almost as stylish as that turtleneck and goatee combo that Dean was rocking. Jono: And almost as stylish as the Iron Giant's retro sci fi look. All of Squarespace's resources, like transfer domains, pre-built layouts, customizable templates, and the Squarespace Help Center make it quick and simple to build a website. Alan: So whether you need to build a website for your junkyard turned art gallery... Jono: Or your cute little diner... Alan: Or if you need to share your side of the story a

bout your friend who is a giant robot and definitely not a weapon of mass destruction. Jono: Squarespace has a template that will work for you, and you won't have to spend months building a website. Alan: Or crashing your boat into a lighthouse monster. Jono: That too. But would that take months? Why would you say... Alan: Check out Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch, go to Squarespace.com/CinemaTherapy and use code CINEMATHERAPY to save 10% off your first purchase

of a website or domain. Squarespace. It's... square. Jono: We interrupt this feature to bring you Bambi. Alan: During the design and scriptwriting phase apparently they went back and forth on which animal. And they didn't want to do a deer because of Bambi, and then they eventually settled on a deer because it's like, yeah, what's cuter than a little deer? Jono: Well, what else would people be out hunting? Hogarth: Well, I guess he decided... [gunshot goes off] Hunter: It's the monster. Hogarth

: Oh, no. Hogarth: It's... dead. Jono: The Giant's just learning... Hogarth: Don't do that! Jono: ...about life? The Iron Giant: Why? Hogarth: It's dead. Understand? They shot it with that gun. Hogarth: Hey. What's wrong? Jono: Oh. Forshadowing. Hogarth: Yes. Guns kill. The Iron Giant: Guns kill. Alan: The one criticism I've seen of this is... There are a lot of people that think the political message of "guns kill" is a bit... Either it's wrong or it's heavy handed or whatever. Alan: Um, do you

know the back story behind this? Jono: Mm-mmm. Alan: Brad Bird's sister was killed in an act of gun violence about 8 or 10 years before they made this movie. Jono: Wow. Alan: You know, she was married and her husband had a bad day, and he had access to a gun. Jono: Yeah. Alan: And so that's why this movie is what it is. Jono: Not to get political, but like... that is what guns do. It's the purpose of a gun. Alan: That is. Jono: You could you could say, Well, they can be used defensively and the

y can be used for protection. Absolutely. With the intention to kill. Like, that's what a gun does. Alan: That's what a gun does. Yeah. Jono: So it's not even a political statement. It's like saying "blenders blend". Alan: Right. Jono: Hoses water. Guns kill. That's what a gun is designed to do. Alan: Guns fire bullets through flesh. That's what they do. Jono: Yeah. You know, I love when you see his eyes start to narrow and turn red. Like there's programing there, right? Of what he does when he

perceives a threat, when he sees other weapons as he becomes a weapon. And tellingly, Hogarth shakes him out of it, that... It's this connection to something beautiful and something decent that that shakes him out of it. I live where there are deer everywhere. There's something being signaled here that this giant can do this to the deer slowly. And the deer doesn't just take off running, because that's what deer do, that the deer senses his gentle nature, that that's what's being signaled withou

t saying it in the animation. And I think that's beautiful because deer are cowards. We should shoot them all. Excuse me... Bambi: Mother... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Mother! Alan: It's interesting that you bring up. We get foreshadowing of his, you know, later stuff. But before that, we get to see sadness from his eyes. And what I find absolutely fascinating about this character design, Alan: which they absolutely nailed, by the way. Jono: Yeah. Alan: Like, it looks like a 50s Buick turned in

to a giant robot in the coolest possible way. Alan: The head can't emote, right? It's a big metal can. Jono: Yeah. Alan: The only thing it can do is the jaw can go up and down and the mouth can open. Jono: But you can't smile with the jaw or frown with the jaw. Alan: But he can because of the way they have it articulated. The real key to performance is in the eyes, right? The window to the soul is the eyes. The way they articulate his eyes is fantastic because they're just circles. They can't do

anything. But then there are the two lids and they can slit in and rotate and do whatever. Alan: So we get to see him being sad because his eyelids slit down a little bit and then rotate out. Jono: Yeah. Alan: Because it gives you that sort of... sad look. Jono: Crestfallen sad look. Yeah. Alan: Yeah. The animation team for the giant in this movie worked miracles with a clunky piece of metal. Alan: See? And here we go. Sad again. I need to see it from the eyes. Hogarth: ...you feel bad about th

e deer, but it's not your fault. Things die. It's part of life. It's bad to kill, but it's not bad to die. The Iron Giant: You die? Hogarth: Well... Yes, someday. The Iron Giant: I die? Hogarth: I don't know. You're made of metal, but you have feelings. And you think about things and that means you have a soul. And souls don't die. The Iron Giant: Soul? Hogarth: Mom says it's something inside of all good things. And that it goes on forever and ever. The Iron Giant: Souls don't die. Alan: And tha

t you need this scene because, you know, not long after this... We need this scene to establish... and I mean, it's punching us in the face... He definitely has a soul. Jono: Yeah, because it's inside of all good things. Psychologically, the concept of a soul, because there's a theological version, and there's lots of different takes on that, that the soul never dies. And if that's a literal thing or whatever, but psychologically, you look at your soul... I see that as your goodness. And if you

die, your goodness still continues outward. Right? Alan: Every ripple that you've made in your life will continue. Jono: Yeah. We think of Robin Williams and the lives he continues to touch. Right? Alan: Dude, I'm already going to cry about Iron Giant. Why are you bringing Robin Williams into this? Jono: Because I'm a sadist. Oh, no tears please. It's a waste of good suffering. Jono: I love the line, It's bad to kill, but it's not bad to die. Alan: Yeah. Jono: There's a movie called My Dog Skip,

which is based on a book which kind of came and went, but it's about a boy and his dog, but his brother comes home from war, and a lot of people give him a hard time because he left. He was discharged. He didn't want to finish. And people are calling him a coward. And he tells his little brother, They don't understand the toll that it takes on you. He says, It's not the dying, it's the killing. That he was willing to die for his country, that he was willing to die for the cause, but... Alan: Wa

sn't willing to kill. Yeah. Jono: But taking life is what was wrecking him. And that's not to say like, there are people who, heroically, to defend another, have taken a person's life. Jono: The thing is that you don't see in the action movies, in real life - that's hard. Alan: Yeah. Jono: Even if it was done with honor, even if it was done because there was no other choice, and it was this person or the innocent person that this person is threatening. Like, it still takes a toll. And this movie

explores all of these weighty concepts in a way that's digestible for families. Jono: And that's the difference between a family film and a kids film. Alan: Right. Jono: Is a family film is appropriate for children and presents the ideas in a way that they they get it, but it's not dumbing it down, it's not watering it down. Jono: And it's equally engrossing for adults. Alan: Yep. Hogarth: Thruster to base. I'm going in. Only one creature could create so much destruction. The hideous, people-ea

ting killing machine. Atomo! Atomo! The Iron Giant: No Atomo. Alan: Seafood. The Iron Giant: I Superman. Hogarth: Okay, Superman. Take this! Stupid gun. The Iron Giant: [gasps] Hogarth: Hey. What's wrong? As I was saying. Take this! What happened? What's that...? Dean: Shh. Stay down and follow me. Jono: I love how they animate the giant as coming to himself and being scared like, What happened? Alan: Yeah. Dean: I said get back, I mean it! The Iron Giant: No... Stop. Why? Hogarth: It was an acc

ident. He's our friend. Dean: He's a piece of hardware, Hogarth. Why do you think the army was here? He's a weapon, a big gun that walks, The Iron Giant: I-I'm not gun. Dean: Yeah, what's that, huh?! You almost did that to Hogarth! The Iron Giant: No. Hogarth: Come back! Dean: Hogarth. Jono: I know it seems like damning praise to say this and Groot are Vin Diesel's best performances. It's not. Somehow he's niched into something that he does excellent. Alan: Better than anybody else ever has. The

re have been plenty of monosyllabic animated characters before. None of them have made me cry like that. Jono: Like, genuine pathos in the smallest little bits of dialog and the vocalizations. It's not even the words he makes, it's the little panic noises he makes when he comes to. And he's, Did I hurt anybody? Alan: He's doing a ton of work, and obviously he's helped by the animators. Like the way the giant turns and runs away like this, the way he's kind of hunched down into his shoulders and

is bouncing. It looks like a little kid running away. Jono: Now, psychologically, we have our programing. We have what's in us genetically. It's called nature. We have nurture, which is how we're socialized, how we're brought up, how we're treated, and how we respond to that. And then we have choice. And it's hard sometimes to believe in choice because we very much feel triggered, and then we react, right? And we do things and we say things to protect ourselves. And then later we calm down and k

ind of come to and we assess the damage, and we feel fear and sadness and grief and guilt over what I said or did has hurt somebody, when in the moment it was just, I was reacting to a perceived threat, or to these emotions inside me. The Iron Giant is a story of how to bypass the programing of your genetics, bypass the programing of what people believe you are or expect of you, and choose who you want to be. Alan: And the fact that there's an ongoing philosophical debate about whether choice is

even real. Jono: Yeah. Alan: Do we have choice or are we just... Alan: Are our choices the combination of our nature and our nurture? And... Jono: Yeah. Alan: ...we really don't have any freedom to make different choices. I personally refuse to accept that. I think that we have the ability to choose, Alan: and seeing it portrayed in such a marvelous way... Jono: Yeah. Alan: It is affirming, not just in what I believe, but in what... Jono: Yeah. Alan: ...feels and seems and, in my opinion, must

be true. And maybe that's nature combined with nurture just programing me to believe that. But... Jono: Well, you know what happens though, even if that's the case, the nurture side of being exposed to the idea of choice, and that I can be something different than what I feel or others expect of me, or what I've seen or had done to me. Even if we don't have choice... Alan: It reprograms the no choices that you have to be kinder to be more caring. Jono: Yeah. Then just the idea of choice and bein

g exposed to it can nudge us in a different direction. So either way we get to the same place. How do we even know he's right? Oh, he's right. Jono: But of course, later the military shows up and we saw what giant was going to do with a toy gun. When they show up with tanks and actual guns... Alan: It gets real, real crazy, real fast. Jono: And I love, just from a design standpoint, how he looks when he goes full weapon, is like 50s sci-fi nightmare. Alan: It is. Jono: It's so cool. Alan: Brilli

ant. It's like they distilled the design language of 50s sci-fi Alan: into this thing in a way that, you know, because the rest of the world feels very believable. Jono: Yeah. Alan: There's like real 3D renders of, like, actual military hardware from the 50s. Those are, like, real Air Force fighter jets and stuff. Alan: And then there's this thing, and it's just... It feels plausible but also fantastical. It's... Jono: Yeah. Alan: Oh, man, such, such good work from this whole team. Jono: So Hoga

rth reminds him, You are who you choose to be. The military expects you to be a weapon, so they're treating you like a threat, and now you're acting like a threat. Defensively, but they're still going to see you that way, right? It reminds me of Martin Luther King, and it reminds me of Gandhi. When the whole philosophy of, if we're fighting each other, it's easy for the world to pick sides. Jono: If we lay down arms, the world's going to see who the villain is. Alan: Right. Jono: Right? And so H

ogarth is encouraging him to do this, and he does. And giant acts heroically, saves some kids. And... [siren blaring] Hogarth: Oh, no. The Iron Giant: Hmm. Hogarth: It's a missile. When it comes down... Everyone will die. Woman: There it is! Jono: 'Cause the idiot agent called an airstrike on the location of the giant, Jono: ...which is in town with the people. Alan: Yeah. Annie: Shouldn't we get to a shelter? Dean: It wouldn't matter. The Iron Giant: I fix. Alan: "I fix". Hogarth: Giant? The Ir

on Giant: Hogarth. You stay. I go. Alan: Oh. Here it comes. The Iron Giant: No following. Hogarth: I love you. [the heroic and mournful score] Alan: Score is doing so much work right now. Hogarth's Voice: You are who you choose to be. The Iron Giant: Superman. Alan: Hmm. I'm gonna need a whole box of these. So, uh, I miss Michael Kamen, composer of this movie and Die Hard. Jono: And Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Alan: And Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and a million other fantastic scores. He d

id all the orchestration for the Symphony and Metallica album. Jono: Yeah, it's a great album. S&M. Yeah. Alan: Great album. I mean, the performance and the animation, everything is great, Alan: but what is really selling that scene is the score. Jono: Mm-hmm. Alan: Because it's heroic and it's sad and it's... It's who I would choose to be... ...if I could fly and ram myself into nuclear missiles. Jono: It's such a wild thing to say as you're crying your eyes out here. Alan: I do just have o

ne note about the the animation. It's a really subtle little tiny bit of performance that really, really sells what's happening. And his... ...joy... ...in sacrifice. Jono: Yeah. Alan: Is right at the end, he closes his eyes, and then he tilts his head back just by a couple of degrees, and it looks like he's smiling. Jono: Yeah, he's happy to, not only to give his life for this boy who he loves, but, I'm not a monster after all. Alan: I'm Superman. Jono: Yeah. Alan: [sniffs] Jono: You are who yo

u choose to be. I don't have a lot of commentary other than that is the entire backbone of good therapy, is... Maybe you've been traumatized, and so you have turned into someone who traumatizes others. Maybe you've been traumatized, and you feel weak and powerless. Maybe you've made choices in the past that you deeply regret and feel shame or guilt over. You know, there's a million maybes that I could rattle off here. Today represents a clean start. Not that the past doesn't exist, not that the

consequences don't continue. But you can literally start right now and say, Who do I want to be? Alan: Every choice from now on. Jono: Yeah. Alan: You can choose to be Superman. Jono: Yeah. And that is incredible. And it's delivered in such a way that when we watch it with our kids, our kids get it. And they walk around wanting to be giant or they want to be Superman. But the point is, they want to be decent. That's the reason you pick Superman as the inspiration, because he's this paragon of vi

rtue and decency, right, and of kindness and goodness. Alan: Has nothing to do with corporate synergy and Warner Bros. Owning DC. Jono: Oh my gosh, I hate you so much. All right. Well, let's finish this damn thing then. So, until next time... Alan: So my mom says I need more stimulation, but I'm stimulated enough as it is. And if they would just do the stupid homework, they could move up a grade and get pounded too. Is there any more coffee? Jono: Superman. Alan: Gosh dang it... Internet Dads: A

nd... watch movies. Alan: He just said Superman. What the [beep]? Jono: Thanks to all of our Patrons who get exclusive content, sketch comedy, director's cuts, and so much more. Folks like... Alan: Eevi. Jono: Saly Entislia. Ent... Alan: Entislia. Jono: Entislia. Wow. Alan: Lucy Schwartz. I got an easy one. Jono: Brandon Chambers. Alan: Taylor Gibson. Thanks, Patrons. You get to watch a lot more of me crying.