Changing Batteries

A friend, Sandesh, recommended this short animated film last night. He forwarded me the link on you tube which said, `Changing Batteries : The saddest story 3D Animation. I am not sure if I would personally term it as `the saddest'. Allow me to explain towards the end of my review.

It begins with blue skies and an old woman sitting by her table in her quaint little house with two photo frames of her family. The door bell rings and she opens the door to a huge package. She looks around for the sender, unable to see anyone in view, laboriously drags the box in, a note on the box comes with these words, `Sorry Mum, couldn’t make it back again this year. Here is something for you. John’.

She sighs despairingly and opens the box to an emerging robot. She turns on the robot and immediately, though, nonchalantly hands him the broom, while going back to her rocking chair to watch him do his work. He does all the work in and around the house, including watering the plants outside. When his work is done, he sits on the stairs outside, turns back to look at her and then both of them watch the day go by.

The next scene shows the lady seated at her chair, but falls asleep while sitting and the robot, seeing her asleep, swiftly grabs a blanket and spreads it, covering her.

It is 8 o’clock when the old woman wakes up and sees the robot watching television, unable to contain his excitement for a circus advertisement that is coming to town. She smiles fondly at him.

They have their meals together, and while eating his food, the robot messes up his mouth like a child would and the old woman reaches out to wipe and clean his face without a thought. Here we notice the bond and the comfort they feel with each other. Soon after that, his battery dies, and he is non-functional. She gets up hurriedly, runs to the drawer to get the new battery and replaces the old one with it. As soon as it is replaced, he comes alive and places his hands on his new heart, and both smile at each other.

One day, the old woman is back from the market with her groceries and as she walks up the steps of her front door, the robot takes her hat, goes inside the house and brings her back a cup of hot tea. She is seated at her chair outside, coughing, accepts her cup of hot tea, and at the same time takes out a drink for him from her shopping bag. He is excited that she bought it for him. They are both warmly ecstatic in each other’s company.

The next scene shows her coughing badly but it is the 5th, the day of the circus, so the robot goes into the house and brings back the calendar to show her. She immediately digs into her pocket and brings out two tickets for the circus. He is exuberant. She asks him to bring her hat from inside, as they should be leaving soon, but after he goes in and gets it for her, he notices she is not moving. He goes into the house again and gets her a battery and places it in her pocket. She doesn’t come alive. He tries a different battery and it still doesn’t work. He shakes her and tries to wake her but she doesn’t budge. Then he doesn’t know what to do and just hugs her, while continuing to sit next to her.
He remains without her until his battery dies and it ends with them being united beyond the living.

`Changing Batteries’ is a final year project for four students, Cassandra Ng, the director, Bahareh Darvish, Lim Shu Gi and Hon Jaihui, produced in the Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Basing on the theme, `Change’, they had an honorable mention at the BANG awards, nominated for the best animation and visual effects awards in the Delta category, top ten shortlisted prize for effort in DigiCone, Malaysia, top ten best films in the Viddsee (Malaysia Short Films) in the year 2016, and finally winner of Best Robot-Human Interaction for Robot Film Festival 2014.

Based on the races and cultures in Malaysia, I would presume this is in line with the `home alone’ elderly parents mainly in the Malaysian Chinese society, who are often abandoned. Most in rural settings have no social interactions and are left to die alone by their children who are busy tending their own lives in cities with work and families.

And in urban settings, a recent survey from the top university in Malaysia found that one in every ten elderly experience abuse and neglect, few at home and some of them in the hospitals, who are ill and left to die with no contact with any family members.

The youth would say it is not their responsibility to take care of their aged parents, as their parents chose to conceive them on the basis of their wishes and wants or needs, not that of the childrens’. And this qualifies them not to have any responsibility or duty to take care of them. Why should it be a moral requirement?

I write this as a 52 year old with two nieces with whom I have a great relationship. I neither assert nor will ever demand they take care of me during my last years should I be bed-ridden. If they are there, it will be a boon for me just to be in their presence, but if not, I should know how to provide for myself, like I think every responsible adult should, parent or grand-parent.

However, having said this, I was attending to my bed-ridden sick mother around the clock, neglecting all else, until her death day, without questioning why I am forced to do it or why I cannot just abandon her and lead my own life.

Do we see these old people as floccinaucinihilipilification, deeming them to be worthless, because they do not contribute financially, economically or physically in any form to us or to society in general? Further, do we only perceive them as a waste of our time, a burden we cannot wait to get rid of or a duty we are forced to comply with?

I would like to speak of a generation and a changing society attached to social media, who make their illusions real and discard reality with a click of their fingers. They strive in competitions to glorify their status or positions in work, society and lifestyle and displaying all of that to mark their importance in their `ignis fatuus’. The simulation in happiness and exhibiting it to others to make-believe they are perfect in every way is more important to them than the comfort of their aged parents who are of no value or significance to them anymore. And through these displays and quick spread of news, factual or not, the increase in common psychological and emotional disorders like bipolar, depression, stress and panic attacks, schizophrenia, multiple personalities and few other mental issues easily set in to destroy the reality they should be living in.

So one questions, how would they care for their aged parents when they themselves are in a situation which need tendering for? Being self obsessed, selfish and always seeking attention, the youth today will not be able to distinguish the difference between any kind of morality.

Unfortunately the present situation is witnessing parents taking care of their children and grand children, not the other way around.

At this juncture, I would like to point out that many people would disagree with the above, stating that every generation has their own complications and just because the `social media generation' has certain issues displayed openly, it does not necessarily mean they will neglect their elders. I agree with that too, but this is just an excerpt from a macro thesis of what, how, why or when and the reasoning behind or the explanation that is needed to support my view, which might further clarify the entire meaning of it but definitely under a separate topic of perhaps `today's youth', which I might attempt to scribe soon.

I did mention in the beginning that I am not sure if I am saddened by this film. But I do think that we have missed out on a very important and fundamental concept and subject when we speak of caring for the elderly. We speak of moral responsibility, of duty, of obligation and of paying back what was given to us. But we don’t speak of love, of family, of togetherness. These are subjects that should touch us as humans.

Would I not want to care for my parents if I love them? Did I not learn any family values? Did I not receive any emotional support from them during my endeavors? Were we not happy as a family when we were together? Do we not have any good memories of our togetherness? Do I not love being with them? Do I not want to be with them till the last day of their lives? Am I not grateful for their presence in my life?

I totally agree that we are extremely occupied with our lives, busy with our studies, work, our own families, and further involved with our goals and dreams, building a future for ourselves and our children. But aren’t our parents a part of our lives too? Do we forget our priorities sometimes or do we forget where those priorities lie?

Nevertheless, when one takes responsibility of caring for an elderly parent, it is important for all siblings to take turns, in whatever way possible, and share the togetherness. It only becomes a burden when it is on one person’s shoulders. Again, this too is questionable with different scenarios being presented.

There is always much to discuss about this, both on a personal level and in society in general and there will be arguments to support or discard but the theme for this short film is `change’, and even though it is meant to portray the relationship development between the two characters over time, it should also create an awareness of change in our thoughts and perceptions about abandoning our elderly parents or anyone else in similar situations, whether or not, connected to us.

Thank you Sandesh, for this wonderful share. I hope those who are reading this will watch the animation which is a beautiful produce and excellently attaches depth with no mention of it. It also aptly brings a robot in to show us somewhere along the way, we and robots have exchanged roles. Concise, deep and thought provoking, I hope this film will enlighten us on the fact that everything in our lives ripple. Thus, let me end with this message.

May we always remind ourselves that tomorrow, it will be our turn to be those elderly parents, therefore if we create a change today, I would like to think we will also reap the benefits, one way or the other.