I walked into a movie theater to see
Everything Everywhere All At Once expecting a genre bending multiverse
movie infused with many interlocking layers of philosophical
and cultural meaning And I was not disappointed What I was not expecting however was
to witness one of the most challenging and subversive representations of masculinity
that I’ve ever seen in any genre In order to explain what I mean
we’ll need to shift the focus away from the film’s protagonist,
played by the incredible Michelle Yeoh and over to the character of her husband
played by actor Ke Huy Quan Ke became famous as a child actor
in the 1980s for the roles as Short Round in the Temple of Doom
and Data in The Goonies Despite that early success, he
couldn’t find many opportunities for a young Asian American actor in Hollywood So he eventually quit acting altogether In his triumphant return to the big
screen, after nearly two decades he's brought to life a truly extraordinary
example of empathetic manhood If you were to only watch the first half
of Everything Everywhere All At Once the idea that Waymond Wang could be
an avatar for positive masculinity would seem a little strange Evelyn: Sometimes I wonder how he would
have survived without me When we first meet Waymond,
in his original incarnation he appears to be sweet, almost childlike,
but ultimately naive Evelyn: She puts a lean on our laundromat
and you know what your father does? Evelyn: He brings her cookies! A goofy, silly, bumbling father whose
marriage is in the process of failing Evelyn: No more google eyes! He’s timid, conflict averse, and perfectly
content to let his wife run their business Waymond: We'll talk later? These traits are often associated with a
range of familiar subordinate male archetypes in Hollywood media In interviews, directing duo Daniel Kwan
and Daniel Scheinert referred to collectively as Daniels have
said they wanted to turn a “beta male” character into a hero Daniel Scheinert: We needed someone who
was convincingly sweet, kind of beta male, Daniel Scheinert: who you'd almost laugh
at and dismiss That in and of itself isn’t unusual, most
movie heroes begin their journey as someone decidedly un-super,
who then grows in power over time Mary Jane: Wow! Waymond is different What’s remarkable is that the filmmakers
managed to turn him into a hero without giving him his own character arc Waymond: Evelyn? Waymond: What's going on? He doesn’t gain any new powers,
or skills, or learn to fight Waymond: Everyone stay calm! I think
it's time for a family discussion All the other characters evolve in
transformative ways over the course of the film,
as you’d expect but Waymond doesn’t change He is essentially the same character
at the end of the movie that he was at the very beginning On a fundamental storytelling level
that shouldn’t really work. Incredibly, the Daniels manage to make
Waymond, and his empathic worldview the anchor point around which everything
else in the movie ultimately bends Before we explore how they pulled off that
impressive narrative trick, it’s important to note that the entire concept of alpha
and beta males as related to human men is pure pseudoscience nonsense Dolittle: The strongest male is called
the alpha male Dolittle: The alpha male is the big
boss, he wants everybody to know Dolittle: he's the boss male. You have
to be him. The boss of all the males! The very idea that animal behavior can be
neatly mapped on to the complexities of human society is absurd Sheldon: When I fail to open this jar
and you succeed Sheldon: it will establish you as
the alpha male Still, the erroneous myth persists and
is perpetuated in popular culture Gray: Who's the alpha? Owen: You're looking at him kid Sheldon: That's not surprising, this is
something I long ago came to peace Sheldon: with in my role as the beta male So let’s talk very briefly about how terms
like “beta male” are typically used because I think that’s what the
Daniels are attempting to subvert in the character of Waymond Marty: That's him In fiction we expect this type of
character to be a pushover, a doormat a man who lets other more
dominant men walk all over him Goyle: Watch where you're going Longbottom Classmate: I have a question Classmate: My wife says I'm a pushover but
what if deep down inside Classmate: I'm really just a nice guy? If there’s a wife involved the guy usually
falls into the old Henpecked Husband trope Mrs. Daffy: Haul your anchor lose of that
chair and get busy with the house chores wherein a long-suffering man submits to the
demands of a controlling overbearing wife Madeline: Could you just not breathe? This subordinate put-upon man is
often a comedic figure and he’s been around for
as long as Hollywood itself. When men, like Waymond,
are presented as too nice, too vulnerable, Classmate: Don't even think about it or too accommodating it’s framed as a significant obstacle to
him being taken seriously as a real man This media pattern has been
especially common in stereotypical depictions of the meek
often de-sexualized Asian man Jock: You Know karate?
Takashi: no Jock: Good Male characters who refuse to fight,
or refuse to fight back are nearly always mocked as weak,
effeminate, or cowardly Dave: Do something, stand up
for yourself! Hit him back Dave: Link, hit him back.
Where are you going? Leonard: I'm going to assert my
dominance face-to-face Of course subordinate male characters only
exist in relation to the equally fictional myth of the “alpha man" Waymond: Wow, what a fast elevator! In Everything Everywhere All At Once our original Waymond is juxtaposed with
another version of himself from another universe Alpha Waymond: I told you
to stay low and out of sight! Alpha Waymond: I'm not your husband,
at least not the one you know Alpha Waymond: I'm another version of him
from another life path, another universe Alpha Waymond: This is where I am
from - The Alphaverse Alpha Waymond is shown to be assertive,
demanding, and aggressive Initially the audience is just as enamored
with this new Waymond as Evelyn appears to be Alpha Waymond: Every rejection, every
disappointment has lead you here It turns out however that Alpha Waymond
isn’t exactly all he’s cracked up to be He’s controlling, impatient, quick to
violence, and distrustful of others He builds Evelyn up, tells her she’s the most
important person in the whole multiverse then abandons her the moment
she doesn’t live up to his expectations Alpha Waymond: I'm sorry Evelyn.
I need to go Evelyn: What? Alpha Waymond: I need to find the right
Evelyn. And this one... Alpha Waymond: is not the one Evelyn: No no. Wait! Let me try again! Evelyn: Alpha Waymond? Alpha Waymond is just using Evelyn as indeed all the Alphas are in their attempt
to "Make the Alphaverse Great Again" Alpha Waymond: This is the
Alphaverse mission Alpha Waymond: to take us back to
how it's supposed to be If Everything Everywhere all at Once were
a normal movie with normal character acs, our original Waymond would essentially turn
into Alpha Waymond by the end of the story He’d learn to temper his sensitivity with
an unhealthy dose of aggression thus transforming from the sweet naive guy
who won’t even kill a bug to a domineering dude who takes out a room
full of security guards to protect his wife He might even be given a cathartic
“finally grew a spine” moment where he loudly demands a divorce Stu: Because whatever this is
ain't working for me! Stu: Let's do this! This type of hypermasculine transformation
is a supertrope in storytelling This is how pop culture
reinforces the myth that the correct way to be a man is
to be aggressive, intimidating and most importantly to dominate others It’s not an exaggeration to say
some that kind of power fantasy underpins the origin story of
most male heroes in media But Everything Everywhere all at Once
is anything but a typical movie As the story progresses the audience
experiences an epiphany Evelyn: My silly husband Evelyn: probably making things worse We realize our initial impression of
Waymond was completely wrong Deirdre: Okay, you can let her go We share this realization with Evelyn as she suddenly sees her
“silly husband” in a new light Waymond isn’t actually
passive or submissive He’s been quietly proactive
throughout the movie Waymond: Everything is going to be okay Constantly striving to smooth things over with
the tax auditor in order to save their laundromat Evelyn: Oh, tomorrow is better- Waymond: Ah ah thank you thank you.
6pm. Thank you so much! Deirdre: Thank you for the cookies He’s not getting what he wants out of his
marriage so he’s taking steps to change it The divorce was his idea after all part of his desperate plan
to salvage their relationship Waymond: I wanted to star off
the new year on a new foot And he does all of that while
also expressing vulnerability and attempting to balance his needs
with the feelings of others In short, he knows what he wants
and he never stops trying to get it he just doesn’t do it in a domineering way Waymond: I know you're all fighting
because you're scare and confused Waymond: I'm confused too Waymond’s worldview is articulated in this powerful
speech about 2/3rds of the way through the film Waymond: The only thing I do know is that
we have to be kind His words echo those of Sonmi 451
from Cloud Atlas Sonmi 451: And by each crime
and every kindness Sonmi 451: we birth our future Waymond: Please be kind Waymond: especially when we don't
know what's going on If you heard it in the real world
Waymond’s plea to “be kind” could come across as... Waymond: Be kind ...a little cliché or
at best unrealistic Evelyn: It's too late Waymond So I think it’s useful to break down exactly
what he means when he says “be kind” For him kindness is not
putting on blinders ignoring the negative, or being fake nice Waymond: Think about it, unless it's an
emergency, whenever I try to talk to you Waymond: you always get pulled away Waymond manifests kindness through
patience, communication, and empathy Waymond: Ah, sorry, my wife confuses
her hobbies for businesses Waymond: An honest mistake And the movie presents all of those traits
as useful pragmatic skills This brings us to Business Waymond a version of the character from a
divergent timeline where he and Evelyn never got married. This Waymond defends
original Waymond’s perspective without of course knowing that’s what he’s
doing since he’s unaware of the multiverse Business Waymond: You think I'm weak,
don't you? He’s speaking directly to the audience,
as much as he is to Evelyn when admonishing us for our previous
assumptions about him Business Waymond: When I choose to see
the good side of things Business Waymond: I'm not being naive Business Waymond: It is strategic
and necessary Business Waymond: It's how I've learned
to survive through everything In reality, he’s not naive He understands the oppressive
nature of the world but chooses to fight back
in his own way... Waymond: Can't we just stop fighting! ...with empathy joy and hope Business Waymond: This is how I fight It’s interesting to note that although
Business Waymond should be considered the pinnacle of success,
we don’t envy him Business Waymond: In another life... Business Waymond: I would have
really liked... Business Waymond: just doing laundry and
taxes with you Instead we pity him for what he never had laundry and taxes with Evelyn as his
wife in a distant universe Waymond is the anti-cynic,
the antidote to nihilism and his worldview is represented in the film
through the visual motif of googly eyes When Evelyn finally adopts his perspective she affixes a third googly eye
to her forehead This marks the moment where the Daniels
flip the action movie genre on its head Waymond’s worldview runs counter
to the underlying message in almost all action movies the reductive notion that violence
can solve all conflicts regardless of the circumstances Waymond: Evelyn! Evelyn please, no more! Waymond understands that the way to
ultimately win against a stronger oppressive force is to create a situation where the foot-soldiers
of the powerful refuse to keep fighting you Waymond: What are you doing? Evelyn: I'm learning to fight like you As noted eloquently in the book The Dawn of
Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow “Revolutions are rarely won in open combat. When revolutionaries win, it’s usually because the
bulk of those sent to crush them refuse to shoot, or just go home.” And this is precisely what happens in
Everything Everywhere all at Once Evelyn uses her new found
multiversal power to learn why each of her
opponents is hurting inside and then she gives them what’s missing After which, one by one, they all
lose interest in trying to fight her Violence doesn’t solve this conflict,
it can’t because the enemy is a cynical nihilistic
bagel devouring love and meaning and everything else Empathy is what solves it.
As it must Notice that even though he’s pivotal
to the film’s resolution Waymond’s masculinity doesn’t require
him to become an action guy He doesn’t need to take center stage
or fix the problem himself Waymond is content to inspire his wife and then stand back and support her
while she wins the day It’s particularly important that this
depiction of transcendent masculinity is embodied by an asian man As Chris Kranadi pointed out in his Stale
article about Waymond’s character “It’s a rare depiction of an Asian male lead that
not only rejects and deconstructs Hollywood’s stereotypes of them but also serves as a necessary
evolution for Asian representation in cinema.” At the beginning of this video I said that
Waymond doesn’t have a character arc well it turns out that by the
time the credits roll it’s us the audience who’ve been
given a character arc Over the course of the film, our
perspective has shifted so dramatically that we’ve come to understand Waymond and more importantly to embrace
his revolutionary worldview. This shift in perspective also
reframes the social expectations Hollywood so often places on masculinity Like kindness, empathy can occasionally
feel naive or ethereal just a pretty, empty word
with little to reinforce it Especially in difficult times like ours I’d argue though that what Waymond
advocates is actionable empathy It’s empathy that you don’t wait around for it’s the kind of radical empathy that we can use to fundamentally
change our reality Jonathan: Thanks for watching. In other
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