Transcription
Do you remember when we were kids and we were told that you can do whatever you put your mind to? Your parents or your teachers, they would say, "Who do you want to be when you grow up?" Some people would say, "I want to be a vet." And other people said, "I want to be a marine biologist." By the way, why did everyone in their mother wanted to be a marine biologist? I heard that like everywhere. At some point in time, marine biologist was in like high demand.
I guess for me, it was an astronaut. I I know it's like basic, but genuinely I thought space was so cool. I realized it's not that easy to actually become one. Hello. I would like to apply for the astron. As I got older, I realized that um it's very hard to become an astronaut.
And I think one character that really resonates with that is Rodney Coverbottom from the movie Robots. Now, if you don't know what the movie Robots is, that is a problem cuz this is an amazing movie, okay? But the movie takes place in an alternate robot dimension where there is a main character named Rodney and he is from a low-income family with a dream to become an inventor. When he becomes an adult, he goes to the big city to pursue his dreams, but realizes that it is not what he expected it to be.
In America, in particular, we're told growing up that you can do anything you put your mind to if you work hard. If you work hard, you'll get a nice position and the compensation to reflect it. Uh, I think a lot of us are feeling it right now, though, that that is not the case. The American dream is a lot less attainable than we thought it would be. And it surprised me the parallels that I saw with robots and modern-day workforce and a bunch of other things. So, we are going to talk about robots and how it reveals the lie of the American dream.
We start off with Rodney, a little boy with a dream to become an inventor. And this is tied to his idol who is Big Weld. He is a CEO of Big Weld Industries, innovative uh figure in the entire world. His whole slogan is you can shine no matter what you're made of. Essentially saying like I will listen to all of your ideas no matter what background you're in. And that that was the whole notion Big World had. He was the connector between people who don't have access and the industry. So he does that when Rodney becomes an adult. He goes to the big city basically robot version of New York City. He goes to Big Weld Industries presenting one of his inventions that he made ready to show Big Weld with an open mind only to be uh swiftly kicked out immediately. Actually, he is rejected. Not just rejected, he is mocked for even thinking he could even try to get into the industry. It's it's such a blow. was such a culture shock for him. This is not what he expected. This is not what was advertised.
I think a big factor as to why he was so quickly rejected is because of his background. And I don't think that's talked about enough in our current modern-day society either. It's already hard to get your foot in the door for everyone. But if you are low income or you're in in a marginalized group, it is a whole lot harder for you to make it through. Uh, there's a lot of resistance that you'll get. there's more doubt from the outside world that you are actually valuable that you can deliver on such a big dream. I think this definitely reflects why Rodney was rejected so harshly. I'm sure if he walked in with a fancy shiny suit and outfit, they might have listened to him like a little bit more.
Rodney is able to see the reality of the world, the reality of big world corporations as it is today. And one glaring thing is that Big Weld is gone. And in his place is a guy named uh Ratchet. He basically heed the whole up. That's like the best way I could put that. Ratchet has a mission not just to promote unaffordable shiny products to people. He wants to completely eliminate affordable and reusable parts for the everyday people. In the robot world, these aren't just parts. These are basic. It's basically their healthcare. It's it's their ability to keep going. These parts are very necessary. And Ratchet's whole thing is you either upgrade or you're going to the chop shop, which is uh basically a way of uh deleting them. They will not exist anymore. So, like it's almost like they're not they're not worthy of living if they can't afford the expensive new upgrade.
And this kind of shook me because I've seen this in our real world now. A lot of our everyday products that we use are becoming less and less reusable and affordable. That includes our phones, our cars, our clothes. That's why old iPhones start to just shut down out of nowhere because they want you to buy the upgrade. They want you to buy the iPhone 26000. I saw a video I I don't remember who it was unfortunately, but it was a mechanic and he basically broke down how newer models of cars are being made to where they're more difficult to repair. So his example was he accidentally like broke a door handle on one of his client's cars and he was not able to order the door handle by itself. He had to order the entire door because the manufacturer connected the door handle to very important vital parts of the entire door. So if one tiny piece breaks, you have no choice but to replace the entire system. And that's made by design. Companies know this. They are trying to to they're really trying to milk the everyday person for all we've got. I'm not going to lie. It's kind of crazy.
We later meet Ratchet's mom, who's kind of like the mastermind behind this whole thing. And it's so ironic because his mom is everything that you would consider an out mode. She she seems to be in the very group that Ratchet is trying to eradicate. And it's crazy. It shows that, you know, Ratchet in his past was low income. He was in out mode before. That's his background. It started to make me think if Ratchet and all the Ratchets in our world might be on a mission of self-hate. I think Ratchet's mission to destroy Outmodes is because these are the people who remind him of who he used to be, of his origins, of being an out mode. It's it's almost a projection of his hatred for himself when he was an out mode. He probably thought that he wasn't worthy. he wasn't valuable when he was an out mode and he's probably bringing that belief now that he's not one. He thinks that that is that should apply to all out modes out. That's just my theory. Uh, you know, take it or leave it. Uh, but I could possibly see how Ratchets in our real world could relate to him.
So Ratchet is stopping the production of affordable reusable parts. So the only option for people to take is to have the expensive ones that they'd probably need to like pull out like a whole loan to get or something crazy like Rodney is seeing this. This is a threat to his family and his friends cuz they can't afford those fancy things either and they need it to survive. Rodney goes on a mission to find out what is happening. And the most glaring question of them all, where is Big Weld? We go through a fun series of obstacles that he goes through.
When Rodney finally meets Big Well, he realizes that he is not who he expected Big Weld to be. Um, Big Weld's a sellout. Basically, turns out that you can shine no matter what you're made of mission um doesn't make a lot of money. So, the higherups that may be decided to bribe him, to silence him and his mission, but still use his likeness and his name for the profits of the company. Big Weld clearly doesn't seem happy with it, but he seems very compliant with it. He doesn't really want to do anything about it. He doesn't want to help Rodney. It seems like he's quite, you know, ashamed of his decision, but, you know, his choice was made, I guess. Big Weld accepted the payment and went silent. Yeah, that's not good.
This is where Rodney is realizing his hero isn't who he thought he would be. He's also disappointed because his very friends who are affected by this don't really want to do anything either. There's so many people that don't agree with it, but are very complicit in it. Is that the right word? Yeah, complic. Yeah, I'm using the right word. They're passive. They don't they don't like it, but but they sure as heck don't want to do anything about it. And it's very disappointing for Rodney. And this is something that I sat with a little bit longer during the rewatch because it's something that I think a lot of us probably feel right now. There's so many crazy things happening. And it feels like it's out of your control. Like the higherups, the powers that be that could change it easily aren't doing it. the people and the companies that we thought we could rely on, we realize as we get older, they're not reliable at all. There's a lot of gemy things going on and it's just hard to see it happening. It makes you feel like like what can I do though? It's it's you feel so hopeless. It's something that could definitely feel for for Rodney.
And he almost goes home. But what makes him turn around is his friends support. They come back and they say like, "We want to support your cause." is and it's because of Rodney's initial ambition and want to change is what influences the people around him to come together and give him that support, give him that last minute push to do something to let him know that he isn't alone in this. This launches a whole fight battle with Ratchet and his terrible bad guys and the good guys end up winning. Big Weld is able to take control of the company again. And it wraps up in a cute little bow when Big Weld tells Rodney, "I want to be like you when I grow up."
This hit me. This hit me hard. I don't know about you guys, but I realized that as the new generation of adults coming up, we are the new people to look up to. We are the new heroes and we we have to work towards that. And I personally would feel a lot of impostor syndrome, especially as I've entered the workforce, just kind of feeling like, you know, a shock to feel like, wow, like I am now the adult. As I get older, I'm like, oh my gosh, I looked at people my age and thought they were so like everything. And now that I'm that age, I'm like, I feel like a baby. Yes, I have a very adult job, but when I get home, I have a sweet treat and I get in my jammies. Like, this ain't no way I'm an adult right now. But for me, it's also pretty nice. I I like that I'm able to become someone that kids could look up to in the future.
So, by the end of the movie, Rodney is a hero. He fought against a very powerful corporation and won for the greater good of the common people. It's amazing. Big world ends up promoting him. He gets like a fancy job. He finally becomes the inventor he always wanted to be. But something I realized towards the end of this movie is that I felt like Rodney was already a hero way before the ending, before he got the fancy title of being an inventor of Big Weld Industries. Rodney becomes a hero halfway through the movie when he starts repairing the people in his community, when he starts showing up for his friends and his family, being vocal about their rights to affordable parts. And I could see later in the movie when he felt so ashamed to tell his dad that he didn't become an inventor. Couldn't help but feel in my heart like, "No, Rodney, you're already him. You're already someone to be proud of. It's just because he did something very important that so many people are scared to do." He showed up. That's what makes Rodney so admirable is his ability to stand up and to show up. And it's not him doing the grand battle or him becoming a huge successful inventor. It's him doing what he can with the community right next to him with his friends and his family. For me, that's what makes Rodney a hero. That's where he already becomes the person that he dreams to be. At least that's what I took from the story.
So, if you're someone where you're still working towards your ideal job position or your income and your lifestyle and you haven't made it yet or the state of the world has affected your ability to get there, I really encourage you to take into the lens of the robots movie and look at more importantly how you're showing up. How you're showing up for the community around you, for your family, your friends, fighting for your values and what you believe is right. even in a small way matters. And if you are doing that or you're working towards that, I want you to know that you are already enough. You are already someone to be proud of.
If you've made it to the end of this video, thank you so much for watching. I am so over the moon right now with the feedback I've been getting with my latest videos. My channel reached a few fun uh milestones with like subscriber and like counts, all that crazy stuff. But more importantly, it's just all of the comments and perspectives I've read under my videos. And this is everything I could have asked for. U so I really appreciate you all for watching and providing your perspective on these random topics that I bring up. It means so much to me. I never could have imagined that I could reach so many people. Oh my gosh, my microphone died. Okay. So, if you like this video, like, subscribe, but more importantly, comment, and I'll see you in the next video. Okay.