MovieChat Forums > Infinitely Polar Bear (2015) Discussion > Maya Forbes' family was never poor

Maya Forbes' family was never poor

posted 9 years ago by Ruthlilycat
21 replies | jump to latest

First, the father (Cameron Forbes) came from super-wealth. The mother came from wealth. The bio-mother, Peggy Woodford-Forbes is reallly light, her hair is also only just curly, not 4c lllike most black hair (which is 4c). Peggy just looks like an older Jewish lady if you look her up, but I believe both of her parents are black. Peggy's father, I think, was one of the Tuskagee Airmen, then became hugely successful physician. There was always tons of money.

Peggy was working on Wall Street as a wealth manager in NYC, then founded her own firm. She was way up in the ranks. This family always had tons of money.

I kind of resent it when people purport "truths" that are clearly un-true..

The film production budget was almost $7m, but as of today this film took in under $1m, and who knows what the advertising budget was.

[–] redd4576 9 years ago

I'm confused. What do you mean by 'the mother' and 'the bio-mother'?

It's funny you catergorized black hair by 4c. I'm black and have no idea what that type is or means. I don't think you can catergorize most black hair. We have all different hair types. So I don't get why you even said that

[–] KayDrama 8 years ago

There are black hair care web sites that categorize black hair by degrees of straight, wavy, curly, kinky. And for each type there are levels based on how lose or tight the curl is. It is very helpful if you fall into a certain level to find out what products will give you the best results. People share what works for them.

[–] MettaQueensbridgeWarfare 8 years ago

George Lucas' father wasn't a former Jedi turned Sith lord and his mother wasn't a former queen turned rebel. And they weren't from a galaxy far, far away. How dare he write such a story!

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] MettaQueensbridgeWarfare 8 years ago

The point

Your head

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] trisul 8 years ago

A film is a story, even if mostly based on real-life events, it is not a documentary. The question is whether it works on the screen, not how true it is to the real life of the writer. This movie worked, really worked.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] trisul 8 years ago

I think not, you are thinking of documentaries, a completely different genre.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] trisul 8 years ago

When I saw it, I was completely unaware of the autobiographical elements, so I had none of qualms that you had about this, and I took the story at face value. It worked for me. I can why a friend who is a movie director refuses to even look at IMDB before seeing a movie, everything colors your view.

Going back to your argument, being from a rich family does not mean that you actually have money to spend. The movie even deals with this, as Cam is also from a rich family, but is unable to get much out of it, the grandmother even refuses to pay for a good school. Odious, in my opinion, but there it is.

Reading about the movie later, I see mentions of autobiographical elements, but I still see no reason whatsoever for her to be bound to such details. I do not think that this was the point of the movie. She did a brilliant job depicting Cam and what it is like to grow up in such a family. I think that this is what it is all about.

Even when seeing a full documentary, I am completely sceptical about the veracity of details, and more concerned with the message and the way it is presented. I do not assume anything in a movie to be necessarily true. I really do not think yours is a good approach to film, as an art form ... you are in danger of missing the point. But, each to their own concept.

[–] TxMike 8 years ago

"Reading about the movie later, I see mentions of autobiographical elements, but I still see no reason whatsoever for her to be bound to such details. I do not think that this was the point of the movie. "

You may not think it was the point of the movie but if you were to view the DVD extra where she (writer/director) explains it then you'd find out you are wrong. It is very closely autobiographical.

..*.. TxMike ..*..
Take a risk, Take a chance, Make a change. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

[–] trisul 8 years ago

Yes, I saw that. But I just do not interpret her words the same way. She wanted to say something about her family, and this she did really well. In the story, Maggie did not have access to the family fortune. I have no idea whether this is truth or fiction, and I just do not see that it would diminish the movie if in real life she could have collected the money, but did not want to, or wanted to, but couldn't or whatever.

She speaks a lot about wanting to present her father, how it is to live with such a parent. The love and the difficulty of it. I think that is what this movie is about. I do not think it is about the Forbes fortune.

[–] Kariann1 8 years ago

I had no idea the movie was about that Forbes family. However, as a Grandmother with money, there would be nothing my Granddaughters wouldn't have. Taking them shopping or ordering from a catalog would be a priority. There was a perspective of how lack of money was part of the children's life.

[–] trisul 8 years ago

And yet, here we see a rich grandmother unwilling to foot the bill for a good school. She would gladly let them use an existing expensive car, but not incur fresh costs. I found that puzzling, I know there are people like that, but I do not fully understand their state of mind.

[–] hollywoodpsychic 8 years ago

It seemed to me that the grandmother was willing to give them the car only because she wasn't using it and wouldn't be put out by the gift. She seems happy to "help" only so far as it doesn't affect her, and it allows her to live guilt free and claim some generosity toward them (such as when she points out that she pays their rent.) I found that scene to be quite telling and realistic. Not that I know the specifics of the real grandmother, but I recognized some truth in that scene as I've definitely known people like that.

A lot of strange things happen in this world. Things you don't know about in Grand Rapids.

[–] trisul 8 years ago

I also think it is realistic, there are such people. This is the answer to people who think that members of rich families never need any help, because they have rich families. It is not always so.

[–] sfwmson 8 years ago

BASED THE STORY ON........that's all you need to know.

[–] lexyladyjax 8 years ago

People with great wealth often attempt to use it to manipulate other people's behavior. Gaga was a master manipulator with money. I know several people with great fortunes. Some of.them are manipulative and some are not so.

Great white sharks are attracted to death metal music.

[–] JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies 8 years ago

The film isn't presented as non-fiction, it's fiction.

"Based on a true story" doesn't imply that it's not fiction.

One very easy way to tell that Infinitely Polar Bear is presented as fiction is that the character names are different than the real-life people the characters are based on. That wouldn't have to be the case for something to be presented as fiction, but it's one easy way to tell that something is fiction.

Also, a lot of fantasy in the narrower sense of that term is actually based on truth. Writers constantly mine their real-life experiences for material.

[–] mslady89 8 years ago

im really trying to understand this 4c comment, because zoe saldana's hair is not 4c.... so whats your gripe?