25 March 2001, Friday PAY IT FORWARD¡­think of an idea to change the world, and put it into action. Trevor McKinney, a 7th-grader, son of a single parent Arlene McKinney (Helen Hunt), changes his world and the people around him with an idea¡­Eugene Simonet, the teacher, throws this idea to his social studies class, and challenges them to think it ¡®possible¡¯ to change the world. Trevor conjures the idea of ¡®Pay It Forward¡¯, brings a bum home, gave him money to buy clothes and lets him sleep in the garage. This man's life is changed by the boy¡¯s kindness¡­the kindness spreads, and spreads. Meanwhile, Trevor thought he had failed and targets Mr Simonet next. He attempts to bring Eugene and his mother together, half in fear that his natural alcoholic father may return, and half hoping Eugene would replace him. Arlene is faced with a man in fear! A man whose past haunts him, emotionally and physically. He sought for familiarity and stability in his life, never got involved with girls and never questioned beyond what he knows and what he has, even though they are bad. He withdraws himself before he even stood out. He used big words to hide his simplicity, quietness to hide his silence. He fears being somewhere he¡¯s never been before and panics when confronted with his fears. Arlene confronts him one night in his apartment, barged in demanding, ¡°Do you look down on me? Coz I don¡¯t talk like you do or read the stuff you read¡­don¡¯t talk to me like that! He says ¡®But I always talk like that, words are all I have.¡¯ Why, why, because you think your face looks like shit? I don¡¯t care about your burns, Eugene, if they are what they are¡­whatever happened to you, you look good to me!! Eugene confessed, ¡®I¡¯ve never been here before¡­¡¯ and starts being defensive, ¡®You don¡¯t see me! MY life is familiar. My life is manageable and everyday, there¡¯s a thing I do¡­it¡¯s all I ever know. With THAT, I¡¯m ok¡­without it, I¡¯m lost.¡¯ Arlene asks if all he WANTS in life is his god-damned manageable routine and she doesn¡¯t believe it. She kisses him and he pulls away. She said she¡¯s tried her best and he says it¡¯s not about her. Yes it is, she says, something is being offered to you here but you don¡¯t want it, maybe you¡¯re afraid to get rejected but I can¡¯t reject you, you¡¯re too quick for me. Eugene protects himself with his routine, that which he ever knew safe. Choosing loneliness and familiarity over love and change, he buries himself in his insecurities. Trevor sees him more than he sees himself. He makes him see beyond duty, to listen to his heart and follow it. The next thing he did was to appear at Arlene¡¯s house and makes love to her. It was more than baring himself and his burns to her, it was a shedding of the past, a reconciliation of desire and change, a redemption of a man given to his fears and insecurities. Almost as if to test his love for her and his ability to change, Arlene¡¯s alcoholic husband returns. Arlene looks for Eugene to explain why she¡¯s taking the alcoholic man back. Eugene was provoked to remember his past, why abused women, like Arlene and his own mother, would keep abuse a secret, and what good it does to the children and Trevor. He poured out his story of how his alcoholic father would get down on his knees in tears, begged his mother to take him back, and how she always took him back. Eugene left home when he was 13. He came back 3 years later and tries to bring his mother away. His father hits him semi-conscious and sets him ablaze. Eugene remembers the look in his eyes till today, that look of immense satisfaction of burning up his son. He breaks down¡­Arlene is sorry for him and Eugene blows up¡­he tells her not to be sorry for him, he begged her to just prevent that from happening to Trevor. She promises it won¡¯t happen to Trevor. Eugene pointed out ¡®All he has to do is NOT love Trevor!¡¯ and walks up his apartment. Arlene knew she¡¯s made a mistake by then, the beauty of hindsight confronts the impossibility of reversing a decision. The next time her alcoholic husband became violent with her, she chases him out of the house. Her fears that he may never forgive her again stopped her from initiating reconciliation with him. It¡¯s hard for some people who are so used to things the way they are, even if they are bad to change. And they kind of give up, when they do, everybody kinda loses. Eugene swears to Arlene that he doesn¡¯t want to be one of those people he¡¯s talking about, or become one. I don¡¯t want to spend another second of wasted air without you. Please don¡¯t let me stay trapped in this forever. I don¡¯t want to spend another second without you. That moment of intense desire and romantic passion was juxtaposed with Trevor¡¯s poignant death. He died for what he believed in, even if it means doing it on a second chance, even if it means that it seems overly idealistic and it only happens on an utopia, that by paying it forward, he can fix a person¡¯s life¡­he just wants to see if he can change the world!! It¡¯s like a big chance to fix something that¡¯s not like your bike, you can fix a person. Because people can¡¯t always see what they need¡­A remarkable young man who¡¯s learnt how to overcome fear and rejection to achieve what he¡¯s dreamt of. Fear is not ONE person¡¯s responsibility, it¡¯s everybody else¡¯s. All of us have a duty towards the next person, to help them overcome their weaknesses and fears, and this world will indeed, change!!