How you doing?Auto Focus · 2002 — Chapter 15 of 16 · 2'23" · B1
Bob Visits His Son, Explained: take it for granted
Bob drops in on his son and the small talk, all "How you doing?" and "What's up?", never covers the distance between them. The son passes on what his mother really thinks, and when the talk turns to the colour orange, it is less a conversation than an escape.
What happens
Bob visits his son at work, and the two make polite small talk that never really closes the gap between them. Bob brings up his divorce, says he wanted his son to hear it from him, and listens as the boy reports what his mother thinks of John. Talk drifts to the colour orange, and Bob ends with a vague promise to make some changes.
Listen for
take it for grantedhear about it the wrong wayWhat have you been up to?a real drag
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Phrase of the scene
take it for granted
treat something as if it is always there and need no attention
鲍勃跟父亲聊到橙色，说 You take it for granted, right?，借颜色引出「你对身边的东西从不上心」的感慨。
We take clean water for granted until it's gone.
Also in this scene
- hear about it the wrong way
learn about something in a distorted way from others
- What have you been up to?
你最近在忙什么、过得怎么样
- a real drag
真够烦人的、很扫兴的人或事
Everything marked in this scene
20 notes across 42 lines
What's up?What have you been up to?Nothing much.Patti and I are, uh... getting a divorce.She's busting my balls.She's busting my balls.Well, really, I don't want to get into it.learn about something in a distorted way from others
I just didn't want you to hear about it the wrong way.I tried to call your, uh, your mom.She never says anything bad about you.I was thinking about orange the other day.treat something as if it is always there and need no attention
You take it for granted, right?But that's it. Just tell me, what is orange?That is my point right there. You take it for, uh, you take it for granted.Yeah, finally. He can be a real drag.Mom thinks he's a creep.Mom thinks he's a creep.We'll see.We'll see. Got to make some changes.Bob Visits His Son, explained
What's really going on
Almost nothing is said directly, which is exactly the point. Bob's visit is full of questions that are really delays: how are you, what's up, what have you been up to. He mentions the divorce only to manage it, "I just didn't want you to hear about it the wrong way," and then drops the subject when it gets close. The son is more honest than the father in small ways, saying his mother never says anything bad about him and that "Mom thinks he's a creep." Bob's answer to all of it is the puzzle about the colour orange, a joke that also buys him distance: what is orange, really? You take it for granted, and never think about it, which is precisely how he treats his own family. The scene ends on a promise to change, offered the way he offers everything, lightly.
Theme
Family conflictFather and son talk in polite questions and answers, and every real subject is stepped around rather than named.
LonelinessBob fills the silence with a lecture about the colour orange, using ideas to avoid the person in front of him.
What you'll learn
- Name habits with take it for granted
- Deliver news before the wrong way
- Close a topic with get into it
I just didn't want you to hear about it the wrong way.His reason for bringing up the divorce himself: not honesty exactly, but control over how the news reaches his son.
The color orange. But what is it, really?A sudden turn into abstraction, and a way of changing the subject when the conversation gets too close.
She never says anything bad about you.A small gift from the son: reassurance about his mother, offered without being asked.
Mom thinks he's a creep.A blunt aside about John, the one moment the son says plainly what the family really thinks.
We'll see. Got to make some changes.A vague promise at the doorway, more a way of ending the conversation than a plan.
Questions about this scene
Why does Bob visit his son?
He wants to tell him about the divorce in person, so the boy hears it from him rather than secondhand. The visit is awkward precisely because the reason for it is hard to say out loud.
Why does Bob talk about the colour orange?
It lets him avoid the actual subject. The philosophical riff fills the silence and keeps the conversation on safe ground, away from the divorce and the family's opinion of John.
What does the son say about John Carpenter?
He passes on his mother's view, that she thinks John is a creep. It is an early hint that others see through the friend Bob keeps defending.
Does Bob's promise to change mean anything?
The line "Got to make some changes" is left open. He says it to close the visit, and the film lets the audience decide how serious he really is.
Auto Focus · 16 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 16lower the boomBob and Carpenter's Falling Out
Chapter 1a career-killerLenny Pitches Bob a Sitcom
Chapter 2get the messageAnne Confronts Bob About the Magazines
Chapter 3always been my thingBob Meets the VTR Salesman
Chapter 4copaceticBob and John's Party Night
Chapter 5light years ahead ofBob Crane's New Video Camera
Chapter 6clear enough for youBob Catches John on Tape
Chapter 7pull a stunt like thisThe Demo Fails Spectacularly
Chapter 8what went downJohn Carpenter Repairs Bob's VTR
Chapter 9go around onceBob's Wife Accepts an Open Marriage
Chapter 10dead airBob's Party and Career Blowup
Chapter 11Run it by meJohn's Wild Idea and Bob's Big Call
Chapter 12word gets aroundLenny Warns Bob About a Scandal
Chapter 13a complete professionalBob Goes Too Far on Live TV
Chapter 14get in circulationBob Asks His Agent for Work
Watching · Chapter 15take it for grantedBob Visits His Son
Chapter 16lower the boomBob and Carpenter's Falling OutChapter 15 of 16 · about 2 min to go