Quote:
Originally Posted by antgirl1
Ever since this morning, I've wondered this about Wilt.
Part of Wilt, as PBL says, is like a Father-Figure. Maybe Jordan was thinking of his father at the time that Wilt was created, so maybe Wilt was partically created as Jordan's own father, and another part is the basketball coach Jordan wanted, and maybe the "helper friend" we came to know.
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All that pretty much falls into place with what Nina said herself in the movie-many children have a
conscious reason for creating an Imaginary Friend, but also an
SUBconscious one. She gave a specific example of her creating Eduardo to protect her from the bullies and gang-bangers in her neighborhood, but while he did do that, he fulfilled many other roles, too, that turned out to be even more important. He was a playmate, a gentle babysitter for her baby brother, and most of all, through his cowardice and childlike nature, he inadvertently taught HER to be brave and stick up for herself, so she could ultimately become a tough, no-nonsense police officer. In Jordan's case, he wanted someone to show him how to become a better basketball player, but his actual NEED went way beyond simply needing someone who could teach him how to play basketball. He also needed someone who could help him develop his own self-confidence and build his own self-esteem, and to teach him to, in Jordan's own words, "
become a better PERSON". That would mean teaching him things like manners, respect and humility, among others. Traditionally the task of teaching such things to young boys fell upon the father, or if he was not present, an uncle or other close male relative, so given that Wilt became the primary male role model in Jordan's life at that point, it can be reasonably assumed that Jordan's real father was not present. Either his father was deceased, or in the case of Mac and Terrence, had simply abandoned his family, or perhaps he had a job which required him to be absent from the home most of the time, like active duty military, or in the South Carolina Low Country, a commercial fisherman/shrimper. Whatever the case was, Jordan had a strong subconscious NEED for an adult male mentor/role model, i.e., a father figure, and that's where Wilt came into the picture. So much of Wilt's behavior reflects that of a father, from that slightly-condescending manner in which he tries to explain to Goo why a
badger version of Mr. Herriman won't do in "Bus the Two of Us", to his blatantly fatherly "Alpha" stance in "The Bloo Superdude and The Potato Of Power"-now who among you HASN'T ever had a parent, especially your dad, tell you, "BECAUSE I
SAID SO" when you asked why you had to do, or couldn't do, something? You don't usually hear that from your peers, just from adults in charge. I believe that IF the writers were to really show more of Wilt in upcoming episodes, and let his character development really progress naturally, he will become even more "parental", as his inhibitions and hang-ups about disappointing others or going against the grain start to vanish, finally. Even though it was seen through Bloo's interpretation in "TBSDTPOP", and we just got a glimpse in "Nightmare On Wilson Way", I think what we saw there was the REAL Wilt, the Wilt that Jordan and his brother and neighborhood would have known "back in the day", before that game with Foul Larry.
pitbulllady