Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia

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Deborah: A- | 322 USERS: B-
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"Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True"

He opens the door, and she looks at the steering wheel and announces, "God has The Club." I can now see that Umbrella Guy probably isn't as middle-aged as I first thought. Probably in his late twenties or early thirties. Umbrella Guy just smiles a weak, dopey smile at her, trying to look disarming, but coming off as slightly desperate, and Joan gets a bad feeling. I actually say out loud before I can stop myself, "Oh God, please listen to that voice inside you." What Joan's going through in that split second is exactly what author and security expert Gavin de Becker is talking about in his book The Gift of Fear, and even if you disregard everything I or anyone else may ever say to you about personal security, please, please understand that listening to that quiet voice inside yourself that tells you something's not right will save your life. De Becker makes the point that a lot of women are assaulted or killed because they are socialized not to make a scene or a fuss or make anyone feel uncomfortable, so they ignore that voice, that intuitive feeling, Spidey-sense, whatever you want to call it -- their survival instinct. We have to learn not to do that. End of PSA, but I had to say it, because this is one of the best, most subtle dramatizations of it I've ever seen, and I'm glad a lot of teenagers in particular will have seen this. Joan says suddenly that she thinks she's going to walk. He says she doesn't want to do that, and that it's cold. He tries to grab her arm but she says, "No!" and starts struggling with him. He insists, as he's trying to force her into the car, "It's gonna be fine!" Yeah, that's convincing. She yells, "No!" again and starts running. He slams the car door, and it's unclear whether he's chasing her or not as she runs up the street. She gets back to the bookstore and is struggling with the key as someone comes up behind her and puts his hand on her back. She screams, but it's Sammy, asking, "What the hell are you doing? Why are you leaving?" She shouts, "There was a man!" and explains that he tried to get her in his car. They look down the street, but he's gone. Sammy's confused; Joan just stands there hyperventilating, wondering if she's completely lost it.

Joan of Arcadia

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