Daily Dialogue — August 7, 2015

BOB: Hold still?
VOICE: Match. Mister Incredible.

Drops the tablet, which scans the room.

VOICE: Room is secure. Commence message.
MIRAGE: Hello, Mister Incredible. Yes, we know who you are. Rest assured your secret is safe with us. My name is Mirage. We have something in common. According to the government, neither of us exist. Please pay attention as this message is classified and will not be repeated. I represent a top secret division of the government designing and testing experimental technology and we have need of your unique abilities. Something has happened at our remote testing facility…
HELEN: Honey…
BOB: Huh? What?
HELEN: Dinner’s ready.
BOB: Okay, okay.
MIRAGE: …although it is contained in an isolated area, it threatens to cause incalculable damage to itself and to our facilities, jeopardizing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment and…
HELEN: Is someone in there?
BOB: It’s the TV. Trying to watch…
MIRAGE: …because of its sensitive nature…
HELEN: Well stop trying, it’s time for dinner.
BOB: One minute!
MIRAGE: If you accept your payment will be triple your current annual salary. Call the number on the card. Voice matching will be used to ensure security. The supers aren’t gone, Mister Incredible. You’re still here. You can still do great things. Or, you can listen to police scanners. Your choice. You have twenty four hours to respond. Think about it.

— The Incredibles (2004), written by Brad Bird

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Call To Adventure. Today’s suggestion by Will King.

Trivia: Mr. Incredible’s “secret identity” name (Bob Parr) is an inside joke. ‘Par’ means ‘average’.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “In this scene Bob Parr receives a double invitation to adventure. On the surface, Mirage’s promise of “triple your current annual salary” is enticing because Bob has just become unemployed. But beyond that is the implication that he can return to the glory days of being a superhero (‘The supers aren’t gone…’), which is the imbalance that Bob hasn’t yet learned to deal with, and the weakness Mirage can exploit. Mirage even lays it on the table: ‘Your choice.’ And, she imposes a time limit to keep the tension level elevated. As the message concludes, Bob sits back in his chair, regarding all the news clippings and awards lining the walls. We can pretty much guess where his mind is going.”