My Old Theory / FAQ

[The Huntsman]

(This Article Was Written In 2004)

Hey folks. I created this Theory / FAQ back before the first season had even ended, and I last updated it shortly before “Frankie My Dear” had aired. Now, I think that this Theory / FAQ is highly flawed; I’m just a country boy from the mountains of West Virginia, and I’m not what one would call “educated”, so I tried to make myself out to be more “educated” when I wrote this, which is why I sound like a pretentious stiff. However, I wanted to post this to spark some discussion.

What do you think the answers to some of the questions in my Theory / FAQ are? Do you have any theories of your own about the show, or about Imaginary Friends? I’m curious to hear what you guys think; back on TVTome, all I did was talk about myself, and my own articles, but I want to hear what your theories are. So, feel free to read this three year old article, and post with your own thoughts on some of the subjects that it carries.

Disclaimer: Since this article is three years old, many other episodes of the series have been made since I wrote this article. So, many of my theories may be completely wrong, while others may seem obvious. So, be gentle, as it’s a very old article and I worked with what information I had. I am not claiming that my answers are "right" or "correct", as I wrote those answers years ago. I've only posted this article for the sake of sparking some discussion.

How do Imaginary Friends continue to exist?

According to data, although data is hard to come across, it appears that the reason Fosters was created was to allow Imaginary Friends to be adopted into a new loving family. If Imaginary Friends could exist without a family, they would not go to try to be adopted, and of course, if they could exist without a family, then the world would have been overrun with Imaginary Friends. It appears that it doesn't matter who cares about the Imaginary Friend, as long as they do care and love them. In the case of Fosters, it appears that since everyone at the home cares for each other (for the most part) it seems that they are able to exist without ever vanishing.

Of course, the purpose of Fosters is to allow a new family to adopt an imaginary friend, because in the case of real life, for example, it is considered nicer to adopt a dog than buy one, so in the case of Fosters, well, most people would prefer their child adopt a friend rather than create one on their own (and it allows their parents to approve of the friend their child gets.) As long as the family loves and cares for their Imaginary Friend then it would appear that they would be able to exist.

Imaginary Friends are defined by their title. If they are no longer considered friends with anyone, and no one cares about them, then they would no longer be thought of, and thus, it seems, they would vanish into the non existent. Of course, there are several flaws in my theory. Scribbles managed to exist despite the fact that no one loved them, but then again, Scribbles were not forgotten, and in fact, were still remembered by many of the residence in Fosters. It appears that in some cases, even if an Imaginary friend isn't liked, it can still exist as long as people remember it, it seems that The Duchess is similar in that aspect.

To sum up my theory, it seems that as long as an Imaginary Friend is remembered, it will remain existent in this world. Even if its original owner forgets all about it, it just needs someone else to remember it. However, it seems that friends are generally happier and more dedicated to those who actually love and treat them in respect. Some friends do not desire love, although that is probably based on the owners who created them. It seems that imaginary friends will forever be similar to the children who created them, but they can continue to exist by being remembered by other beings who hopefully love them.

Why do Imaginary Friends look and act the way they do?

Imaginary Friends are often created by the minds of children. While there is no evidence to claim that adults cannot create Imaginary Friends, it seems that in most cases, it is a child who creates and generally cares for Imaginary Friends. Children are influenced by many things, and that is why many Imaginary Friends look quite bizarre. There is no guideline as to what an Imaginary Friend can or cannot look like, and it appears that the child who creates them can usually decide what their friend looks like.

Imaginary Friends are influenced by the circumstances they are created in. The time period and the interests of the time they are created in can greatly change the way they would have been created. For example, wilt appears to of been created in the late seventies was starting to get very popular, and people thought that bizarre objects were cool, and the more bizarre it looked, the better it was. However, their external appearance doesn't appear to have a direct effect on their personality. Although in some cases their personality and appearance matches, it doesn't appear in every case. For example, Berry looks sweet, and could behave sweet, but she had a vile jealousy in her that caused her to do wicked things when the circumstances called for it.

Friends can also be created for certain purposes, although that can sometimes backfire. Eduardo seems to of been created by a very frightened child who wanted a protector, but since Imaginary Friends are often granted similar or overshadowed portions of their creators personality, it seems to of backfired and thus, created Eduardo's particularly troubling case. After all, children are not perfect, and thus would be unable to create the perfect friend. It also is impossible to have a perfect friend because it appears that things usually turn out wrong.

This would explain why so many people prefer to adopt friends rather than allow their child to create friends. This would also explain why, even though throughout both the Funny Bunny adoption spree and the Adopt a Thought Saturday, that there are so many friends left in fosters. It doesn't often show how many friends are being put into the home each day, but evidence indicates that the rate of entry for Imaginary Friends is greater than the rate of exit.

Can Imaginary Friends change?

While it does appear that Imaginary Friends are very similar to humans, it is unknown if they can actually try to change their interests. There is little to show that an Imaginary Friend has ever went to a school, but it has been shown that Imaginary Friends can learn different games, and can read, due to the fact that Bloo checked out so many books to try to break records. Coco also had several jobs in Store Wars, however, this does not indicate that she was qualified for those jobs. It is uncertain regarding her abilities, but it seems unlikely that she would be hired unless she would have been able to perform the tasks required.

Imaginary Friends do appear to change in how they feel about people, and they do appear to change their emotions when good or bad things occur. They are very much like humans, but it still just isn't shown if they can actually change their personality, like some people are able to do, although it usually doesn't turn successful even for humans. It appears that as long as an Imaginary Friend has people to help him out and who will care for them, that they would, undoubtedly, be able to change. The only evidence I have found to support this so far was how Frankie managed to help Herriman stop flipping out about dogs, for a short period of time, at least. Mr. Herriman was created in an age gone by, which explains his dull personality, but even he can be quite fun when his creator asks him to be.

Does Frankie enjoy her job and does she like Mr. Herriman?

It appears that she loves her job and has always had an interest in helping her grandmother run the home, as she often spent time there in her youth, according to The Trouble with Scribbles. Frankie cares about the friends, she cooks their food, and cleans up after them as well. The friends appear to try to help Frankie out as well by cleaning up after themselves, but that may just be due to Herriman's rules. While it does appear that Frankie doesn't like Herriman bossing her around, it does seem that without many of Herriman's rules, Frankie's job would be much harder, for Imaginary Friends would be much messier, and be harder to care for.

Frankie may have complications with Mr. Herriman, but they both care about each other. Mr. Herriman was created an age gone by though, and he cannot help but be the way he is. However, Mr. Herriman can be nicer when his creator asks him to be, and he doesn't try to always cause Frankie's job to be harder. He just believes that Frankie should take her job more seriously, because in his time period, well, the manager of the facility usually had full power over the workers, and it seems that he still feels that way in some aspects.

Frankie enjoys showing new friends around the house, and she enjoys getting complements because it appears that many Imaginary Friends are not perfectly polite. Frankie has a deep love for the internet, and is probably her only major source of chatting with other people her age. She also seems quite adept at web creation and graphics, and is certainly the most technology adept resident at Fosters. Regardless of if she doesn't enjoy doing certain things, she appears to put in 110% percent in everything she does, and she would gladly give up her personal freedom to be able to help her grandmother and all of the friends at Fosters.

Can Imaginary Friends die and can they age?

Although death hasn't really been proven, they can be destroyed. For example, many of the food like Imaginary Friends are either eaten, or at least were attempted to be eaten. Imaginary Friends appear to be able to feel pain, both emotionally and physically, and they do seem to try their best to avoid pain. The Pizza friend that Terrence ate in Seeing Red was screaming when he was being eaten, which indicates that even though a slice of pizza would have no nervous system, that Imaginary Friends are able to feel pain without a nervous system.

From the research I've done, it appears that Imaginary Friends do not directly age. Scribbles remained scribbles, regardless of how long they were in there, and Mr. Herriman appears to be the same as he always looked. Since Imaginary Friends are created by thought, and since the children who created them probably intended for them to stay the way they want them to look, then it seems that Imaginary Friends would not be able to age.

It would appear that while an Imaginary Friend cannot age physically, the longer he is alive, the more out of tune they become. For example, Mr. Herriman was once acting like many other people, but since he has been alive for so long, and since it's very hard for an Imaginary Friend to change, he has become a troubling factor at Fosters. While his rhetoric and his working style has remained the same for quite some time, the other denizens of Fosters are more modern, and thus, have complications working with him.

So, to sum things up, Imaginary Friends can die in the sense that they can be destroyed. They do not appear to be able to age physically, although the evidence that supports that is quite flimsy. Imaginary Friends appear to be able to learn new skills, but their personalities appear to reflect the time period they were created in, which in time, can cause them to have conflicts with other friends and/or people.

(This is continued on the next post, due to the post limitations)

[The Huntsman]

What human traits do Imaginary Friends have?

Imaginary Friends have many of the same characteristics that humans have. As shown in many aspects, they have love, fear, anger, jealousy, envy, and just about every other feeling there is. They also eat meals, use the rest room, brush their teeth and socialize with other friends around the house. While it seems that this changes depending on which Imaginary Friend is being looked at, well, they are usually similar to their creator and that determines their personalities.

The friends also appear to follow the same pattern as humans due to the fact that anger and jealousy are usually dominant over some of the other feelings, in exception to a few like Wilt who is always doing the right thing, unless the situation really deemed that he did otherwise. But, for the most part, it appears that Imaginary Friends are in some aspects, more human than human, although other aspects are unknown. While Imaginary Friends can fall in love, it is unknown if they could ever, dare I say, reproduce, and many other aspects of human traits have yet to be seen in the Imaginary Friends.

Imaginary Friends also have the capability to operate vehicles, as Bloo and Wilt effectively drove Madame Foster’s car in one of the episodes. While Bloo didn't seem to watch the road that much, they didn't have any major crashes, except running through a couple of fences. Also, in that same episode, Coco was expressing her love for a lamp, which indicates that they can indeed fall in love with other Imaginary Friends and/or people objects, which may have an important factors in the upcoming episode "Frankie my Dear..." Although I know Berry fell in love with Bloo, well, a lamp is different than an Imaginary Friend, so it opens up other possibilities.

Imaginary Friends have many of the same characteristics as Humans, as I have previously stated. They are capable of understanding logic and are able to understand television shows and many of them actually enjoy watching television shows. They are capable of following complex rules as Fosters has many rules and they are also just as capable of breaking those rules wittingly. Bendy, in the episode "Everyone Knows It's Bendy", knew how to break the house rules and how to frame others for the deed. He also proved that Imaginary Friends can be sycophants and easily manipulate their words in order gain the favor of others, and to trick others into placing faith in their words.

(END)

With that, I hope that you will take the time to post in this topic and let us know what your answers to these questions are, and what theories you have about the show.

[antgirl1]

How do Imaginary Friends continue to exist?

Asking this question is like how cats and dogs can continue to exist. ANY species, including imaginaries, are independent life-forms, but however, will never become extinct, unless the human species does. If that were so, imaginaries could possibly continue their existence, but only reproductive friends could make offspring to keep the race alive. And reproductive friends are rare to come by, as most are created by little children and therefore the children do not know this sort of thing yet.

Why do Imaginary Friends look and act the way they do?

Some imaginaries are like this because they are created to be, but sometimes the opposite works out too. A third option is just a random happening. This is the very same example as a human being - you never know what kind of personality, tastes, favorite/least favorites he/she's going to have, regardless of the parents.

Can Imaginary Friends change?

As imaginaries live, they can "mature", which will spring up new, possible interests, a change in personality, but appearance stays the same until elderly years.

Does Frankie enjoy her job and does she like Mr. Herriman?

Yes on both counts. Frankie seems to love her job, despite other peer's opinions. And yes, deep inside, Frankie likes Herriman (as a friend) and shows that she does care about him.

Can Imaginary Friends die and can they age?

Again; yes on both accounts. If imaginaries can get hurt and feel pain (physically or otherwise) they most likely can die, too. But they are, like I stated before, independent life-forms, a creator's death does not kill the imaginary in the process; whether or not they continue life after that point ids their own choice.

They can age, yes, but it's subtle until elder years. Over time, body systems/structure will weaken, maybe brake down, by age. But, maybe imaginaries' life span is longer than a human, and will take a longer time for aging to occur.

What human traits do Imaginary Friends have?

Almost all of them, actually. They have to eat, sleep, use the bathroom, breathe to stay alive, have internal organs/bones/muscles/tissue//blood/etc, they can become intelligent, they can mature, they can age, they can get sick, they have emotions, few can reproduce by themselves (needing two parents to do so), they have interests and can choose what they enjoy over other things, they can fall in love (with another imaginary, or even a human), they can die, (having nothing to do with a creator's possible death), pretty much anything a human can/need to do, an imaginary could do it too.

[pitbulllady]

[quote=antgirl1;56668]How do Imaginary Friends continue to exist?
Once an Imaginary Friend is created, he/she is a fully self-aware, sapient biological being, just like us. Their need for a family or companionship is no doubt inherited from the species which gave rise to them, Homo sapiens, but it is not so much biological as emotional/psychological in nature, as is our own need for companionship. We're social animals, let's face it. We've seen evidence on the show that some Imaginary Friends have actually lived on their own for many years, after being abandoned or being separated from their families; Uncle Pockets describes how he lived on the streets for quite some time before being taken in by Madame Foster, and Wilt apparently survived on his own for a period of eight years in between being separated from Jordan and arriving at Foster's, and THAT is with only one arm and one eye. We have no idea how long Coco survived all alone on a deserted tropical island prior to being discovered by Douglas and Adam, but it was apparently for a long time, for there to have been no sign of human habitation on the island. Survival being the most powerful of all instincts, Imaginary Friends, like homeless humans, would simply have to do whatever it takes to stay alive, but they are not, as a whole, physically dependent on a human family for survival.

Why do Imaginary Friends look and act the way they do?

I believe that genetically, Imaginary Friends are as human as any of us, despite appearances. Phenotype, the outward appearance of an organism, is not necessarily similar to genetype, the genetic composition that makes up a living thing. Appearance of an Imaginary Friend might very well be the one thing that the Friend's creator does have total control over, through their power of will. Personality-wise, though, it seems that Imaginary Friends do not often turn out much like their creators, just as human children often turn out quite different from their parents. Still, it seems that even in cases where the personalities of an IF and his/her creator differ, there is this subconcious aspect at work, with the IF representing some part of the creator's personality that is kept hidden. Mac and Bloo are a prime example of this. With others, the old saying, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", seems to apply. Wilt and Jordan are a good example of this, where it's obvious that they are related, right down to the same speech patterns.

Can Imaginary Friends change?

I do believe that they can learn and change, to some extent, but as with humans, they are still bound to some degree by the personality type that they have from their creation, and how they react to situations is dependent on that personality type. As for physical changes, we've seen conflicting evidence here; Mr. Herriman says that the appearance of IF's does not change in "The Big Picture", yet many IF's have a clear notion of how they'd look when old, as seen in "Something Old, Something Bloo", among other episodes. It appears that the humans in that episode accepted that the IF's who showed up at the nursing home were aged, yet it was clear that they were Imaginary Friends, and they never questioned the notion of Imaginary Friends getting old. We know that Imaginary Friends are NOT immortal, and that they are subject to the same biological processes that we are, which means that eventually, even if their outward appearance belies it, their internal parts will just "wear out", and they will die. Perhaps they live longer than us, but they will not live forever. On the topics of physical change/aging, I still maintain that Wilt's appearance, other than just the loss of his arm and damage to his eye and the aquisition of those facial scars, HAS changed. Wilt does indeed look older now than he did in those flash-back scenes from GWH.

Does Frankie enjoy her job and does she like Mr. Herriman?

I believe that like most of us who have to work for a living, Frankie has moments when she absolutely hates her job, and moments when she would not trade it for anything else in the world. She is a very loyal individual, and while she most likely could find work, for better pay, outside of Foster's, her sense of loyalty to her grandmother and the residents(yes, even Bloo), keeps her there. I'd describe her relationship with Mr. Herriman as "love/hate". She obviously gets aggravated with him and his pushy rules, but he's still family after all, and she's shown in episodes like "Setting a President" that she certainly can feel sorry for him and doesn't want to see him sad or hurt.

Can Imaginary Friends die and can they age?

See my response to "Can Imaginary Friends Change?"

What human traits do Imaginary Friends have?

Biologically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, Imaginary Friends have all the same needs and characteristics that humans do. Some of them, like Prince Charming, even LOOK exactly like us. Like us, they are set apart from other animals by the capacity to imagine situations that have never happened, to ponder the future and formulate complex abstract thoughts, as well as displaying a clear indication that they can believe in the concept of an immortal soul, of life continuing after physical death has occured, and of a "better place" for souls who have departed their physical bodies. No other creatures, other than us humans, displays a definate belief in spirituality and is capable of determining their own actions based on a moral/ethical concept of right or wrong, or to consider how their actions will affect others, both long and short-term. That's why I would consider Imaginary Friends to be our equals, in all respects, regardless of how different they might LOOK from us.

The only trait that Imaginary Friends apparently do NOT share with humans is the ability to IMAGINE another living being into existance, but then, not all humans can do that, either, not even all children, hence their need to adopt an Imaginary Friend if they want to have one. However, at least some Imaginary Friends DO appear to have the capacity to reproduce biologically, the "old-fashioned way", requiring a male and a female. We know that the Imaginary Fleas in "Land of the Flea" sure "got bizzay", and I would not be surprised if at least some of those monster babies in the Foster's nursury weren't the products of some of the adult Imaginaries' biological, if not emotional, "urges" as unpleasant as some folks find this. I can't fathom a little girl imagining a baby MONSTER-a human-like baby IF, yes, a sort of living baby doll, but a MONSTER? I can't picture little boys imagining a baby ANYTHING; that just doesn't seem like something a boy would do, create something that has to be nurtured and coddled continuously. Some probably would, but there's a LOT of young'uns in that nursury for little boys to have accounted for!

pitbulllady

[The Huntsman]

Thanks, both of you, for taking the time to participate in this topic. I might re-write my own answers in due time, since my answers are roughly three years old. Granted, I’ve missed about a dozen episodes of Foster’s, so I’d need to catch back up before I can do anything of that sort. Still, I enjoyed reading your answers.

[Ub3rD4n]

Well, I thought that was a well-spoken, well-thought-out essay on Imaginary Freinds. Although you may be wrong about IFs needing someone to remember them, you haven't been proven wrong yet, and I for one think it would be very suitable to the setting. There is some room for some changes and annotations, like PBL and Antgirl said, but all in all, a very good essay indeed.

[The Huntsman]

Originally Posted by Ub3rD4n

Well, I thought that was a well-spoken, well-thought-out essay on Imaginary Freinds. Although you may be wrong about IFs needing someone to remember them, you haven't been proven wrong yet, and I for one think it would be very suitable to the setting. There is some room for some changes and annotations, like PBL and Antgirl said, but all in all, a very good essay indeed.

Thanks. I have another question I’d like to ask, as I’ve missed too many episodes to ponder it properly. What rights, if any, do Imaginary Friends have in the Foster’s world? I can only imagine that, if Imaginary Friends were “real” in the “real world”, the government would be using them as cannon-fodder soldiers and there would be a lot of illegal activity going on. Fortunately, Imaginary Friends seem to be rather well treated in the Foster’s universe, and from what I recall, they’ve pretty much integrated into society without any questions being asked. However, can humans do things that Imaginary Friends aren’t allowed to do? Can Imaginary Friends own their own property and so forth? I wish I could answer my own questions, but I’ve practically missed the entire fourth season, except for a few episodes, and I need to seriously catch up before I can do anything of that sort.

[pitbulllady]

Originally Posted by The Huntsman

Thanks. I have another question I’d like to ask, as I’ve missed too many episodes to ponder it properly. What rights, if any, do Imaginary Friends have in the Foster’s world? I can only imagine that, if Imaginary Friends were “real” in the “real world”, the government would be using them as cannon-fodder soldiers and there would be a lot of illegal activity going on. Fortunately, Imaginary Friends seem to be rather well treated in the Foster’s universe, and from what I recall, they’ve pretty much integrated into society without any questions being asked. However, can humans do things that Imaginary Friends aren’t allowed to do? Can Imaginary Friends own their own property and so forth? I wish I could answer my own questions, but I’ve practically missed the entire fourth season, except for a few episodes, and I need to seriously catch up before I can do anything of that sort.

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information about this on the show, but as the seasons have progressed, it would seem that Imaginary Friends do have most of the rights that adult humans have. We've seen several hold jobs, if only for brief periods of time, although the jobs have all been more or less menial labor jobs. The judge in "Cheese A Go-Go", however, didn't question Madame Foster having an Imaginary Friend for a defense attorney, and I doubt very seriously that Wilt had passed the bar exam! That same judge also didn't question the notion of an Imaginary Friend(Jackie) being able to legally sue a HUMAN, and awarded judgement to the Imaginary Friend! We've seen that both Wilt and Coco can drive, apparently legally(unlike Bloo), so they must have driver's licenses. Wilt was given a trial in GWH, so we know that IF's have the right to a fair trial if accused of a crime. No one in that movie told him he had to sit at the back of the bus, either; he was treated as any other person would have been treated, even though he was clearly on his own, not with a family. When he was reading that magazine at the train depot, the man who wanted to read it asked him very politely if he could read it when Wilt finished, rather than simply taking it(but then, I wouldn't try to take something away from anyone who's 10-ft. tall and has a scarred-up face, either, not knowing their personality). Doctors and dentists treat Imaginary Friends along with human patients. We have not yet seen any of the Imaginary Friends hold "white collar" jobs, nor vote in a real election, but that doesn't mean that they can't. I've seen the argument made that families can kick out Imaginary Friends to survive by any means necessary when they feel their kids have outgrown them, and this is often taken to mean that the Imaginary Friends have no rights, but think about it-families can kick out any child over the age of 16, too! As for property, Eduardo owns extensive stock in several toy companies, and a human child cannot legally do so. I'm sure that if Wilt wanted one, Jordan would happily pay for him to have a sports car, in Wilt's name, and no one would contest his right to have one, especially since he's got a license to drive a car.

As an addendum, in "Room With a Feud", when Coco apparently suggests killing Peanut Butter to get him out of the coveted room, Mac reminds her that "I believe we'd go to JAIL for that", so obviously Imaginary Friends have the same protection from murder and violence that humans have under the law, but are also bound to follow those same laws with regards to committing such acts, and are subject to the same punishments if they break the law.

pitbulllady

[Lynnie]

Wow, these are some awesomely thought up theories, very interesting indeed. Really makes me put on my thinking cap. I'll try to submit my own, if I can keep that thinking cap within easy reach.

[KazooBloo]

Thanks for sharing.