Inside/Out Season 1, Episode 21: But They Might Laugh

1

Because It's Fun

Bill is an intensely competitive boy who thinks "winning is the only thing that really counts." He can't understand why others enjoy themselves jumping rope, roller skating, and just playing around. As he helps an inept friend learn to handle a basketball, he appears to be changing his attitude. Maybe, just maybe, there is something more to physical activity than winning. In the end, however, he remains true to form when he says, "I guess those activities are all right as long as you're the best."

15 min

2

How Do You Show?

It's a mighty good day for showing how you feel, and Nick, Brice, and Richard do just that. As the three friends leave a playground, they are jumped by older boys who wrestle two of them to the ground and take their money.

15 min

3

Strong Feelings

In a fantastic dream a boy named Edgar is visited by the "Professor of Anatomy" and his animated chart of the human body. During a series of zany sequences, Edgar discovers how the emotions of love, Eight, disappointment, confusion, and embarrassment affect the body.

15 min

4

Must I / May I

In interwoven stories Debbie and Bobby must each deal with situations that try their growing sense of independence. Debbie is supposed to look after her younger cousins and get them safely to a day care center. Overwhelmed by the task of minding the children and being responsible for general housekeeping and cooking at home, she is distracted by other things she would rather be doing. Bobby, unlike her, has been given too little responsibility for his own actions. His mother constantly fusses over him and fails to let him do things for himself. Eventually he gets his chance when he is given a package to deliver. How the children resolve their separate problems is left for classroom discussion. The emotions they feel as they work through their problems are clearly expressed.

15 min

5

Traveling Shoes

Larry Billups has come to the hard decision that he must move his family from the country neighborhood where they have always lived to Washington, D.C. He knows that he needs to make a better living for them, although moving means giving up their relatives, old friends, their church, and the pleasures of the water. Stuart, his son, resists the whole idea, and tries to persuade his parents to let him stay behind with his grandfather. His older sister, Kim, can hardly wait to get to the city, where she expects to discover a more exciting kind of life. Didi, the youngest child, is a passive observer of the events that surround her.

15 min

6

Just Joking

Although David is really more mischievous than malicious, his idea of amusing himself is playing jokes on others. On the morning of the all-school hobby day, he scoffs at the doll clothes his younger sister Sandy has made to show to her class, and she gets back at him with a prank that spoils his breakfast. Their mother scolds her, cautioning that "jokes are all right if they don't hurt anybody."

15 min

7

But Names Will Never Hurt

Matched against each other in hockey, Mark and Jean-Pierre collide on the ice, and Mark charges in sudden anger that Jean-Pierre has deliberately tripped him and is a "dirty French frog." The ugly incident breaks up the game as Jean-Pierre, deeply offended, goes home to Hull, the French-Canadian city that borders Ottawa, the English-Canadian city where Mark lives. Upset by his own outburst, Mark later discusses what happened with his mother, who explains to him what discrimination has done to many peoples. Afterwards, when Mark goes to Hull to apologize, he encounters an unforgiving Jean-Pierie.

15 min

8

Home Sweet Home

Eddie's parents are so angrily involved in their own conflicts that they neglect him emotionally and verbally abuse him. Steve comes from a loving family whose high standards and strict discipline are sometimes at odds with what he feels to be fair.

15 min

9

Jeffs Company

Jeff 's home is in the mountain country of the West. An only child, he is separated by long distances from his schoolmates, and his life on his parents' ranch is often solitary. Chores around the ranch, rides in the mountains on his horse, and his various interests usually keep Jeff occupied and seldom leave him feeling lonely. One of his classmates invites him to come to his house for a roundup, but it's forty miles away and someone will have to drive him there. Jeff 's mother is willing to let him go, but his father says that he can't spare the time to take the boy, and that Jeff will just have to content himself with being on his own. Jeff begins to feel sorry for himself as he rides off alone. He stops at a neighbor's cabin, and the older man who lives on the place hears him out and then talks sympathetically about being alone, giving Jeff reassurance that solitude does provide its own pleasures.

15 min

10

Buy & Buy

Captain Selmore, the host of a T.V. cartoon show, is up to his usual tricks, He's making a frantic sales pitch to his young audience for the latest gimmicky toy, the iron whirligig. Two of the Captain's regular viewers, Pete and Joe, are excited by the Captain's spiel and beg their mother to buy the toy for them. Their father, however, has his doubts and says no. The boys are determined to work out some way to get it after all. Pete tries to persuade Joe to use the money that he's been saving for a bicycle, but Joe has begun to have his own doubts about the real value of the toy. The brothers talk over the pros and cons of the purchase and then go off to a store to inspect the iron whirligig to see for themselves whether it's really as spectacular as Captain Selmore has claimed. Pete is all the more enthusiastic about the toy, but Joe hasn't yet made up his mind

15 min

11

Can I Help

Lisa's class is on a field trip to a Civil War fort. As the children inspect the fort and the park that surrounds it, forest ranger Bob Kempf describes the strategy of a battle once fought there and remarks, "Many men died needlessly because there was no one to help them." This moves Lisa, who says earnestly to her friend Julie, "If I had been there, I would have helped them." A classmate of theirs, Jamie, overhears her and scoffs, "There's a lot of difference between really helping and pretending."

15 min

12

Living With Love

Dorothy Smith works for the Cuyahoga County Welfare Department in Cleveland, Ohio. She works at home, for her job is to care for children who are waiting to be adopted. Although it is a foster home for them and, because of that, a temporary one, the home that Mrs. Smith makes is full of love, Throughout a typical day in their lives, Mrs. Smith and the children express in countless ways, often without words, how well love brings them all together and lets them live, even for a short while, as a family.

15 min

13

Can Do / Can't Do

Dotty and her friend Betty are practicing somersaults, but Betty can't quite get the hang of it. Dotty's older sister, Bernie, joins them to show the girls how the stunt should be done. Dotty resents the performance, complaining that her sister is "just a big old showoff." Betty hears Dotty's brother Morrie practicing piano and admires his skill, and Morrie responds by helping her learn to play "Chopsticks." This upsets Dotty all the more.

15 min

14

Breakup

Becky's parents are separated, uncertain of what will become of their marriage and their lives. On the day that her father is flying into town to see them for the weekend, Becky's mother drives her and her younger brother Cory to the airport. The mother is anxious and distracted, Becky is confused and frightened, and Cory restless and innocent of the troubles around him. All along the way Becky questions her mother with growing intensity about why "people fall out of love" and what is going to happen to them if there is a divorce. Edgy about seeing her husband again, the mother cannot find the patience to answer the questions to Becky's satisfaction. In spite of her mother's reassurance that both her parents love her very much, Becky imagines fantastically the frightening consequences of divorce.

15 min

15

Love Susan

Susan has been painting a water-color portrait of her family, which she is eager to give to her father the moment he gets home from work. As she hurries to finish the picture, her father is fighting one traffic jam after another to end a day that has already left him out of sorts. As soon as he gets in the house, he slumps into a chair, frazzled and exhausted. Susan applies the finishing touches to the picture, signs it Love, Susan," and dashes into the living room to welcome her father. She excitedly tries to get him to come out to the kitchen to see what she's made for him. Rattled by her pleas, he explodes, "I don't want to see it - I don't want to see - you get out of here!"

15 min

16

Brothers and Sisters

David wants to go to t horror movie with his friends, but admits in embarrassment, "My mother won't let me." The boys go off to David's house to run his model racers, but the playroom is already occupied by his sister Sarah and a friend, who are practicing for a school play. The boys barge in and make fun of the girls. David and Sarah bait each other until their mother stops the quarreling by ordering the boys out. This angers David, who tells his friends that he will go to the horror movie anyway.

15 min

17

Someone Special

Remembering what he was like as a boy, David wistfully recalls the crush he had on his teacher, Miss Simpson. "I thought she was the prettiest lady in the world." His fantasies come back to him how he would prove himself a hero in her eyes by winning races and saving her from a mugger. There were furtive phone calls and bicycle rides past her house, even a ruse about selling raffle tickets.

15 min

18

I Want To

In an imaginary courtroom scene, Patricia is demanding her rights as a nine-year-old, accusing the rest of the Michaels family of treating her like a baby. Through her friend Bud, who acts as her advocate, she tries to prove that she is old enough to take on more and greater responsibilities. Her parents, her older sister Joan, and her brothers Tony and Kevin dispute her claims, through their own advocate, Elvira Smith, asserting that she isn't ready yet to do all the things she wants to do.

15 min

19

When is Help

Karen and Roger disagree about how much or how little help people really need, and Pete just doesn't know one way or the other. Roger insists that "people should do things for themselves, not always look for help," but Karen believes that "everyone has to help everyone else." To prove his point, Roger sets out to collect materials so that he can build a doghouse. He refuses all offers of help and muddles through in his very own way, spilling nails, stumbling about with boards, and groping with tools.

15 min

20

Bully

Adrian is a new boy in the school, and an outstanding student. Frankie, who is not good at school work, increasingly resents him, and as Adrian returns to his desk after starring in a math quiz, Frankie suddenly trips him. The teacher startles Frankie by asking him a question, and his fumbling response brings derisive laughter from the class. But it's Adrian whom Frankie singles out as the one who is mocking him.

15 min

21

But They Might Laugh

Becky and Laura are whispering in class about their ice-skating lessons later that afternoon, but the conversation is interrupted when Becky is called to the board to spell a word. When she makes several false starts, the other children laugh at her mistakes, an She gives up in frustration. Although Laura offers encouragement, Becky grumbles that she can't do anything when anyone laughs at her.

15 min

22

Lost is A Feeling

Amador and his family are moving from Puerto Rico to Washington, D.C., and his parents have sent him on ahead by plane to stay with his Aunt Rosa and Uncle Roberto. When he arrives at their apartment, he looks out on the new and strange city streets, noisy with traffic and walled in by buildings, so unlike the neighborhood he knows at home.

15 min

23

Donna (Learning To Be Yourself)

The world of Donna Pugh is different, but not strange. Because she is blind, Donna has to learn to be herself as well as she can in spite of being unable to do some things that sighted children take for granted. Although she must often struggle to get things done, Donna has accepted her disability and come to live with it so that she can cope with the world on her own terms.

15 min

24

You Belong

"You are a part of all that you see" is the theme of a visual essay that explores the vital connections between human beings and their surroundings. Scenes of city life with high-rise apartments, freeway traffic, and urban sprawl are intercut with rural landscapes. A camping experience brings the manifold facets of nature into focus.

15 min

25

Just One Place

Kevin has always taken the run-down city neighborhood where he lives pretty much for granted. His attitudes start to change, however, when he goes off with his 4-H club on a week-long camping trip in the country. For the first time in his life, he encounters the unspoiled beauty of green open fields, clear streams, and wildflowers. The experience moves him to think about his own environment, and he talks it over with Jimmi, the club's adult leader, who tells him that the easiest way to make the city better is to find "just one place" and make it beautiful.

15 min

26

In My Memory

Linda comes home from school to find her parents saddened and subdued. They tell her that her grandmother, who had suffered a stroke, had died during the day. Throughout the next few days Linda experiences many strong emotions. She feels guilt and separation at the loss as well as support and comfort from her parents and the relatives who come to help. Through the experience of the funeral, the love of her parents, and the explanation of death by her mother and father, Linda's fears ire lessened, and she comes to accept her grandmother's death. In a final poignant scene Linda and her mother join hands and cry together in the realization that Grandmother will never come back but will live in their memories.

15 min

27

I Dare You

Clarissa, a new girl in the neighborhood, wants to join the "gang." To be accepted as a member, she must carry out a potentially dangerous dare. The gang is also shaken by the potential danger and debates whether the dare is necessary and how hard it should be.

15 min

28

Yes I Can

At summer camp in the mountains nine-year-old David insists that he is ready to go out on his own for an "overnight" Although the counselors are skeptical and the other campers mildly supportive or openly derisive, David goes ahead doggedly, trying to show everyone that he is now capable of "solo camping."

15 min

29

A Sense of Joy

Setting off for the beach, Chuck and his sister Jean go their own ways. She goes there directly, eager to enjoy the water, but he wants to take his time. When Chuck finally shows up, strolling casually along the sand, Jean calls out to him, "Come on - you're missing all the fun!" What she doesn't realize is that he has already enjoyed himself greatly along the way. In the course of his-leisurely walk he has just let his senses respond freely to all sorts of things in the world around him - the gaiety of a street carnival, the coolness of a fountain, green grass and leafy trees, a playful puppy, a lively ball game, flowers, music, food, and people passing by. Chuck has opened himself wide to simple, unexpected pleasures, and by actively exploring them with his senses, he has practiced the fine art of enjoying life. Although he hasn't gotten to the beech quite so quickly as his sister, Chuck has discovered a sense of joy in the surprises of everyday life.

15 min

30

Getting Even

A construction worker comes across several children scrapping in a vacant lot and makes them tell how it all began. They explain that three of them have built a clubhouse and formed the Secret Club of Three. They say that they have asked their two friends to join: "All they had to do was pay." The three complain that the others began to tear down the fort to build their own: "That's why the fight began."

15 min