The scene where
I find the largest blending of the two worlds is Scene Seven, when Odessa and
John meet with Elliot and Yaz at the diner. John, also known as Fountainhead,
is predominantly from the Cyberworld along with Odessa “Haikumom,” and this is
the first time we meet them in the “real” world and see them interact with the “real”
people, Elliot and Yaz. In this moment, we learn that Odessa abandoned her sick
children, leading to the death of her daughter. Elliot shares that she
“couldn’t stick to something simple like [give water to Elliot and Mary Lou]”
and that she just “had to have her thing,” which is assumed to be drugs. When
asked for money to buy flowers for Aunt Ginny’s funeral, she prompts Elliot and
Yaz to go find her computer and pawn it.
Keeping with the motif of
dissonance, this scene demonstrates how broken Odessa truly is and how much she
struggles in her everyday life. Running the chatroom, we only see a front of
how “put together” she is, supporting and leading her group of recovering
addicts by spouting off haikus and words of encouragement. Hudes includes this
particular moment because it demonstrates that no matter how content,
insightful, and encouraging someone might be on the Internet, the real world is
an entirely different place. John and Odessa partake in a cordial and
professional conversation until Elliot and Yaz interfere, establishing that the
chatroom is simply an alternate universe of sorts, and that reality will always
take precedence over a façade. We finally see Odessa for who she actually is,
breaking the illusion and creating dissonance over what is a warped perception
and what is the stark truth.
I came to this same conclusion. Haikumom is not at all what she seems to be online. The real person, Odessa, was a mess. She allowed one of her children to die. And this scene shows that she is still not quite together, even if she appears so online. She won't give money to buy flowers for the woman who raised her son. Even with John sitting there, the real world still dominates and we see the week side of Odessa.
ReplyDeleteI think that the moment you chose shows a powerful collision of the two worlds. I also like how you connect this moment with the motif of dissonance, not only within Odessa but also between worlds. The tension between how Odessa acts on the Internet and how she acts in real life shows the dissonance between the “virtual” and “real” worlds. There is not only dissonance concerning characters but pertaining to realities and their conventions.
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