In a cinematic landscape flooded with superheroes, their sidekicks, and their villains, the contrast between Evelyn Quan and her husband Waymond Wang was one of the most profound I’ve seen in a long time. Her strong willed, stubborn, neurotic, and ambitious nature makes her more kind and laid-back husband look incompetent as she struggles to maintain her failing business.
It’s very interesting to watch her sink deeper into her midlife crisis. When she’s not fighting with her daughter, she spends her days organizing receipts, tending to flirtatious and entitled customers, an overly critical father, and a relentless IRS agent. Her life dissatisfaction leaves her pondering a choice she made as a young woman when she decided to run away and build a life with her boyfriend in America instead of staying in China with her parents. The question of ‘what if?’ is answered when we find out that in every other universe she was a raging success. A famous chef in one and a famous martial artist/actress in another. In these universes, she has what a lot of people would consider everything. Fame, glory, money, and respect. But one thing she’s missing in all of them is her husband and her daughter Joy.
However, out of all the Evelyn’s, it was the one who was an anonymous businesswoman, struggling to file her taxes that was trusted to save the universe from complete and total destruction.
During a time when it seems everyone is working to be famous in some capacity, this was an interesting plot point. When confronted with the fact that she was the chosen one, Evelyn’s surprise and curiosity at why her other more successful versions of herself couldn’t complete the task, reflected why so many people want to be famous so badly. Because fame implies a level of intelligence, talent, and inherent importance that is not owed to the average person.
Being famous means finding recognition in a world that has been quick to dismiss you. It means being loved by a world that has up until this point seen you as unlovable. It means a chance to have your ego edified and boosted in ways it hasn’t gotten a chance to before.
But fame, and the audience that bestows it, is and always has been a cruel mistress. You’re only able to stay in its good graces and receive its favors so long as you follow its terms and conditions. Step outside the lines and you could find yourself facing backlash from the people who’ve built you.
Emma Chamberlain is a great case study for this. Now a renowned public figure attending glamorous social events with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, she began her career as a high school dropout making Youtube videos in her room. Her relatable persona of a makeup free face, bed head, and laid back style earned her a loyal audience that allowed her to build such a successful career. Her most recent venture has been a podcast that seems to harken back to her Youtube roots which you would think would earn her praise. But it only seems to have drawn attention to the fact that she is no longer the relatable girl she once was.
To which anyone with two eyes would say, duh.
It’s very interesting to watch the public demand celebrities to appeal to them in an relatable way and even more interesting to watch them try. If they underplay it, they’re accused of being elitist and out of touch and if they overplay it they’re accused of pandering and also being out of touch. The interesting thing is that the lives these people live are inherently unrelatable. No matter what kind of performance they put on for you, regardless of what politics they say they hold, their realities will remain out of reach for the average American.
Although people say a part of the reason why it's so important for celebrities and wealthy people to maintain a relatable appeal is to show us that they are managing their power responsibly (despite the fact many of these people are only pretending to do so when the cameras are rolling), it also has to do with ego. Seeing a wildly successful person hold similar experiences, values and opinions that you do is a great way to see the idea that one day you could be them too. In a time when so many powerless people are looking to feel special this idea is a very important one.
In the pursuit of feeling like we matter, in wanting to be admired and envied by all who see us we can become narcissistic and desperate doing anything and everything to gain the attention of anyone. Tik Toks featuring people pulling disruptive pranks at grocery stores and staging outrageous and realistic looking skits are becoming more common. All at the expense of service workers and people trying to just go about their regular lives.
Everything Everywhere uses a very complex and convoluted metaphor to pose a dichotomy between two different ideas: that life is inconsequential and meaningless and life is beautiful and worth fighting for. I think that many people find themselves wrestling these ideas in very similar ways. I think people believe that by gaining hundreds of thousands of followers they will be able to escape the idea that we will live inconsequential lives that will be inconsequential to the direction and movement of history. That we are specks of dust in an indifferent universe and nothing more. So here we are, all on different social media platforms trying to scream into the ether as loud as possible to let the world know that we are here, we exist, we will not be forgotten. We will not allow time to erase us from its sands. While we run towards purpose and relevance, we run away from ourselves.
When we hear stories about sinister or washed-up Hollywood stars possessing character or personality deficiencies we shake our heads in wonder blame the industry. But these celebrities weren’t always celebrities. Those glittery lights can attract people who are sometimes running from the dark. In outsourcing our desire for attention and love to other people we believe that we have unlocked a shortcut and cheat code to self fulfillment. But giving someone the power to love you also gives them the power to hate you. Now, your self esteem, self worth and livelihood is tied to what someone else thinks of you. Whether they hate you or like you could have disastrous effects on your self perception and even your career.
Our demons are often ones of our own making so it wasn’t lost on me that it was Evelyn's daughter, a living breathing biological piece of her, that served as the villain in the film. Despite the fractured state of their relationship when told her only option to save the universe was to destroy her child, Evelyn said no. During her journey to save her, she was forced to come face to face with her own overbearing and self absorbed nature. A nature that told her she was the only one who had all the answers and how that prevented her from connecting with those around her. In the end, she saves the universe by seeing people. Seeing her daughter's pain, seeing her husband's kindness, seeing her IRS agent’s humanity. In doing so, the film states that you don’t have to be big to be a part of something bigger. You just have to get your head out of your everything bagel.
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