MovieChat Forums > The Stepford Wives (1975) Discussion > Are the children in the town like the wi...

Are the children in the town like the wives? [spoilers]

posted 9 years ago by devrock
14 replies | jump to latest

You pretty much just get the one scene on the bus, and they do seem pretty blank and robotic. Also, the kinds of men who would prefer a sparkly kitchen and a life-size masturbation aid to a real thinking woman, and would murder the woman they fell in love with, would probably also prefer quiet, well-behaved robotic children to noisy, messy, challenging, real children. The whole thing is so disturbing, especially when you think that there are some men who really would prefer it if they could get away with it.

[–] ncdwbmk6 9 years ago

I don't see any point in having robot children.

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Choocheechoo choocheechoo choocheechoo ya ya pow!

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

No, the children are not robots.

But hilariously, they did make a 'sequel' of sorts called The Stepford Children. Its a riot!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094036/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] sewhite-13579 8 years ago

It occurred to me while watching the film that you would have to be satisfied you'd already had all the children you wanted before you Stepfordized your wife. Presumably the robots weren't that sophisticated!

[–] brucedgo 8 years ago

They'd have to be robots to be logical. They obviously would not be fooled by robot mothers.

[–] iheartnormi 8 years ago

I thought about that too. Sure, when the kids are 8 or 9 they can be fooled by their moms not having a personality. But, when the kids get in their teen years and are wanting intellectual conversations with their moms and can't have that because the moms are all programmed to cook and clean and fulfill other "wifely" duties..😐

[–] creatorof2002 8 years ago

In the original INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS children were freaking out when their parents got body snatched, one kid was yelling SHE IS NOT MY MOMMY.

Trust me, the kids AND THE PET DOG would very quickly figure out something is up.

What is more, if I was a child and found out that my father killed my mother and replaced her with an android I would never forgive him and would see to it that he ends up in prison for life for murder.

[–] iheartnormi 8 years ago

Seriously! I realize that this is suppose to be satire, but something like this could never happen in real life.

[–] fiatlux-1 8 years ago

***spoilers for novel ahead***
Ira Levin's novel makes a couple very brief mentions of that, about how the children did react or 'might react'.

After Bobbie is robotized (Joanna doesn't know the secret yet, just that Bobbie is completely different), Joanna asks Bobbie's son outside what he thinks about his mom's drastic change.

Bobbie's son says "I know she's so different! She doesn't yell any more, she makes hot breakfasts. I hope it lasts, but I bet it doesn't."
Remember what time period we're dealing with here, hence the men's evil desires to begin with. Both the men, and the kids, want Mom home only & caring for the family 24/7.

Joanna, near the end when she is surrounded by Diz and his men, confronts them with her knowledge of how she knows the women are now robots.
They reply "Robots that can drive cars? Cut kids' hair? So real the kids wouldn't notice?" in a mocking way.
Joanna says "You're the men who put us on the moon." (meaning they have created an amazing *feat*, much like space travel.)

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] Faridah (1363) 5 years ago

"Bobbie's son says "I know she's so different! She doesn't yell any more, she makes hot breakfasts. I hope it lasts, but I bet it doesn't."
Remember what time period we're dealing with here, hence the men's evil desires to begin with. Both the men, and the kids, want Mom home only & caring for the family 24/7."

I agree that some kids would act like that. My childhood was filled with abuse from a parent but oddly enough I was also a spoiled brat. I often heard "Just give her what she wants so she shuts up". So I knew how to get my way but also treated like trash verbally & emotionally, I was often told I didn't matter & not loved. But anyway, I felt it was a parents job to do stuff around the house and my job was to goof off and have fun. So thinking back to my childhood and being a kid around 8 or 9 I could have cared less if my mom was taken away and made into a robot. First off she would have loved me more than my real mom. She too would have not verbally abused me and treated me like trash so I would have loved having a robot mom. One of my favorite books as a kid was a book about some kids going to a mom store to pick out a new mom. The book was written by Nancy Brelis & I think called Trading Mom. It's also a movie for kids.

So some spoiled kids would have loved having a new mom. One man from the man's group talks about his spoiled son so I'm sure his son could care less than if he has a real mom or robot mom.

[–] Drooch (5333) 6 years ago

This is a problem with the story - presumably the robots won’t age, won’t this be extremely noticeable by the kids as they grow up, along with all the other weird robo-behaviour?

[–] Faridah (1363) 5 years ago

I agree, children & dogs really would know the difference fairly quickly. I once cut my hair very short, think of Rosemary's Baby short lol that is how short it was. My son was about 8-9mts at the time and he actually shunned me for awhile. He was mad and upset. I would hold him and he'd reach up to grab hold of my hair like he had done since he was a newborn then he'd whine and reach for his dad or want down. He would look at me and get upset. We thought it was funny at the time and he adjusted.

But, my point is babies and kids can tell the diffeence when mom isn't mom. I have friends who are identical twins & they had babies about the same time too. They were worried the babies would be confused who was mom but they know for sure who is their aunt and who is their mother.

Babies and kids also know mom by scent, our natural smell not just fragrance. It's proven that a sick baby in a hospital will calm down if something mom has worn is put near them. I doubt the robots smelled exactly like mom.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Not a big deal.

We're talking about people who can afford boarding schools, here.

[–] CalvinJarrett (451) 2 years ago

I think the movie is an indictment of children as much as it is men. Certainly children in an affluent suburb like Stepford, Connecticut. As another poster pointed out, Bobbie (Paula Prentiss)'s son welcomed the change and felt no desire to ask questions and have his 'old mom' back. If a child can be that dismissive before adolescence, imagine how aloof teenagers would be. The daughters would probably want to know mom's secret for not aging, and not care much about learning about their mom's past as a girl, young woman. The sons just wouldn't care at all as long as their rooms were picked up, cookies were baked for them, and any clothes and other goods were purchased for them. The kids are going to be spoiled whether or not their mothers go through the 'Stepford Wife' process. They're not going to ask questions as teens/college students because it would take time away from their own selfish endeavors, like getting laid, drinking, doing drugs, and seeing KISS, Zeppelin, Grateful Dead, Rush, and AC/DC in concert.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

I disagree, I think the children are victims here, and would grow up massively fucked in the head. Imagine your mother vanishes and is replaced by an uncaring impostor, and nobody will admit that there's a problem!.

The thing is, we only get a few glimpses of the kids, as face it, they aren't really that important to any of the main characters. We don't know what their personalities or emotional state are like.