Obsession

Okay finally writing this days after seeing the movie so I might be talking crazy Rewatching this had me looking at Bear and Nikki as archetypes instead of characters. We know essentially nothing about either of them outside of the events that take place during the movie. Though not wholistic, they still feel incredibly realistic as people. I think it’s an interesting contrast of the most common dysfunctional ways men and women behave in relationships. Bear as the male believes he is in love with Nikki. Yet he knows nothing about her. They’re essentially just coworkers, and he’s fixated on the shadows in his head that are cast from surface level interactions. Even after Wish Nikki is in control, Bear is with her for a length of time believing they are in love. But the whole time, she’s a husk of a person. There’s nothing to be in love with. There’s a moment where they’re having sex that really made me start thinking about this, Bear is on top of her and she’s straight faced pretending to moan. He doesn’t care enough to realize that she’s faking it. It’s just a perfect depiction of the selfish way in which men often approach their relationships with women. It’s hardly about who she is and more about wanting to have something beautiful. Similarly, Wish Nikki (through no fault of her own) becomes entirely fixated on Bear. She lives and breathes for him. His attention is her lifeblood. What he thinks and feels about her determines her worth as a human and value in the world. This is the female dysfunction archetype. She doesn’t (in this case is incapable of) love him, she loves being seen as something valuable or sought after. When this woman’s boyfriend pulls away or has a microshift in energy, she begins to spiral as his attitude towards her extends beyond the confines of their relationship and is inextricable to her worth as a person. She’ll freak out and make a scene to get a reaction from him. When he screams back or comforts her, she’ll know he still cares Certainly not to say either of these relationship archetypes are exclusive to either gender but I think by and large they ring pretty true. I think a lot of relationships are founded on this selfish veneer of love, granted in most cases it’s turned down to a 1 or 2. Maybe I’m way off, just interesting to think about