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In AEGM , there’s a brief moment where Max gives a quick saddened expression after he is happy about persuading his dad to join the Gamma’s . This moment in the movie is often seen as Max feeling a bit guilty for wanting/tricking his dad to get away from him. And this is of course, a valid interpretation to be had. It is what a lot of people assume to be the case when watching the movie.

But is this moment really about Max feeling guilty or could this brief moment be towards something else?  Some may say it’s even about Bradley but is there really some truth to this? 

To know for sure I think it's important to look at the scenes that led up to this moment for proper context and to see how Max ultimately acts after this scene to see if there really could be any other cause for Max’s sudden disheartened reaction. 

So let's start off when Goofy first attends Max’s college.

When Max see's Goofy enter his classroom , Max screams , is absolutely horrified and ( jokingly) wants Bobby to kill him . Even screams “NOOOOOO!” at the top of his lungs after everyone in class laughs at his ordeal for having his own dad attend college with him. 

This was supposed to be a fresh start for Max and he wants to be popular and make a good impression on everyone , but Goofy’s unexpected arrival has now potentially jeopardised all that. 

But after Max understands Goofy’s situation of being fired and needing a degree to get a good job  , he sympathizes with him and gives Goofy ground rules to follow. Even defends Goofy's arrival to PJ and Bobby when they fear he will get in the way of the X games and their social life on campus.   

“Look, I talked to him and laid out all the ground rules. No interfering with the X games practice. No hounding us about schoolwork. No coming into our room unannounced. And no acting like a father. Especially mine. He's got his life , I’ve got my life”- Max to PJ and Bobby 

However , Goofy pushes the boundaries and neglects these rules, causing Max to feel embarrassed and annoyed by his father’s constant interference in his life. It’s becoming a problem for Max and it’s getting in the way of his own goals and reputation.

This goes on for days or weeks until one day at the library , Max tries to sneak away from his dad.

Goofy catches him though and asks where he's going to which a nervous Max quickly try's to figure out a excuse as to what he is doing. He then comes up with the idea that Goofy needs library card. A perfect cover up and a perfect way to distract his dad.  

Once Goofy is distracted with Miss Marpole , Max actively tries sneaking away again and even jumps over one of the library stalls to get away unseen. 

Now that Goofy has someone else to latch onto and is completely distracted , Max Finally has a chance to get away from his dad once and for all and is more than happy to do so with no regret or feeling of guilt whatsoever.  

“Come on guys , we're out of here!”- Max to PJ and Bobby 

This is probably the first moment since Goofy arrived at college that Max has had time away from his dad and he willingly takes full advantage of this with a smile on his face when making his getaway.

Once at skating boarding practice , Max is impressing everyone with his skateboarding skills and Max couldn’t be happier.  

He finally got a moment again where he feels popular and validated , just like he did when he first skated past frat row and things are really looking up for him.

That is until out of nowhere Goofy shows up in the middle of the ramp and Max accidentally collides into him, causing both Max and Goofy to be swung into the air and Max falling off his skateboard. Goofy however manages to land on Max’s skateboard and accidentally ends up taking Max’s spotlight by impressing everyone with his own skateboarding skills. 

Everyone applauds Goofy , something everyone was doing to Max moments prior , making Max annoyed and snatch his skateboard ruffly away from Goofy.

Due to Goofy’s actions, Max has now had enough of skateboarding practice for the day and is ready to leave but then Goofy suddenly proposes that he should join Max’s skateboarding team.

Max at first is bewildered that his dad would even ask him something like that, especially considering what he just did moments ago even if it was unintentional.

And so having enough of his dad's constant medalling , Max makes it perfectly clear to Goofy through his firm tone and disapproving body language that he isn’t going to let Goofy join his team as this is the one boundary that he isn't going to let Goofy cross.

“ Dad, as fun as that sounds. There are no, openings on my team. Kay.”- Max

At this point , Max’s patience with his dad is wearing thin. He is already annoyed that his dad isn’t listening to the ground rules and that his constant presence is medalling in with his social life. And when Max finally gets a break from his dad , a moment where he can be celebrated for his skateboarding skills again,  Goofy accidently takes this moment away from him by impressing everyone with his own skills , making Max get more annoyed/frustrated with his dad than he was before . 

Max then walks off with PJ and Bobby to which Bradley takes this as his opportunity to make Goofy an offer to join the Gamma’s. However , Goofy lets Bradley know that he is more interested in staying close to Maxie than joining his team. Bradley tries to make Goofy realise that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity but in response Goofy infers that Bradley doesn't understand the bond between a father and his son.

Overhearing this conversation, it’s clear to Max that Goofy isn’t going to leave him alone unless he thinks of another way to keep his dad away but for good this time. So as Max watches the conversation unfold ,  he cunningly comes up with a plan to get rid of his dad once and for all. Looks pretty satisfied and happy about it too. 

"Guys, I have a plan."-Max

Once Bradley and the Gamma’s leave Goofy alone , Max convinces his dad that he should join the Gamma’s as they need him more than his team does and that they will both still see each other at practices and events all the time. Goofy asks Max if his sure about this decision to which Max happily approves by telling his dad to go for it. 

“Go for it dad”-Max 

Goofy then catches up with Bradley and joins the Gamma’s , now following Bradley’s lead as they leave the skate park. 

Max and his friends watch as they leave and Max is seen smiling and content with what he has just done. But as PJ and Bobby celebrate , Max suddenly looks briefly sad when the scene starts to come to an end ? 

It’s very odd as this change in demeanour only lasts a few seconds in the actual movie but for some reason this display of emotion from Max isn't actually addressed later or? 

Every scene leading up to this moment has implied that Max should be rightfully happy. So why would Max suddenly look sad about finally getting rid of Goofy when all he has wanted up to this point is to do just that.

Max didn't feel guilty when he pushed Goofy on to Miss Marpole in the scene previous to this one, so what's changed?

Shouldn't he be feeling … relieved? Over the moon even?

Well , if it was a brief moment of guilt it was Very short lived as in the next following scene Max is overwhelmingly ecstatic/happy that his plan had worked and he even wants to celebrate with PJ and Bobby by making a nacho toast with them.

“A Crunch to us. I can’t believe it. It worked. We unloaded my dad and now we can focus on winning. Let’s do it, to it !”-Max 

Then later on during the scene , Max happily see's Goofy dancing with Miss Marpole and makes a point to Bobby that even if the Gammas can't keep Goofy away, then Miss Marpole surely will. Even gives Bobby a high five as a sign of approval/victory to his own statement.

"If the Gammas don't keep my dad out of our hair, his new girlfriend will."- Max

So clearly , Max isn't sad about ditching his Dad or tricking him to keep him away. As long as somebody is occupying his dad away from him then it's all good in his eyes.

So , uh … what happened then? Why is there a sudden whiplash of emotions here ? Did we miss a scene? Did Max just quickly get over it? Shouldn’t Max be asking PJ and Bobby for reassurance that he did the right thing if he really felt guilty over his dad?

Well, with everything leading up to this scene it would be reasonable to suggest that Max shouldn't be feeling guilty.

Goofy has over stepped Max's boundaries despite Max putting ground rules in place and Max can only be so patient and tolerant of Goofy's interference in his life for so long. Max is desperate to get away from his dad , and now that Goofy is out of the way , It makes absolute sense that Max should be happy and relieved about this change as Max believes he will only benefit from it.

So if we are to go with the notion that Max's expression isn’t guilt, then what was Max’s expression really about ? 

One interpretation could be , Max suddenly realizing that Goofy could be a threat to him in the X games but I don't think this is the case at all. At this point in the story , Max doesn't actually think Goofy can out best him at skateboarding. In his words he thought his dad was “the most athletically challenged man in the universe”.

And when it’s time for the actual qualifying rounds , Max sounds/looks condensing when wishing Goofy luck, as if Goofy will need all the luck he can get.

And when Goofy replaces Bradley as a last minute substitution , Max is surprised at first at the sudden change but is confident that Goofy will make the Gamma’s look bad. 

"(chuckle) This is gonna be good"-Max

It's only when Goofy performs really well that Max is rather shocked that Goofy proved him wrong and could out best him. 

So what else could it possibly be? ...

Well … as you've probably already guessed , what I'm going to propose is that Max’s saddened expression is actually addressed towards Bradley …  

Let me explain why this could be the case through a character/Story perspective.

After Max walks off from telling Goofy he can’t be on his team , Bradley swoops in to offer Goofy a place to be on his team instead. 

The following scene goes as follows.   

“Mr. Goof! Your performance was, without a doubt, the most breath-taking display of alternative sport inventiveness... yet to be paralleled by mankind!”-Bradley  

“Gee! Ah-yuck. Thanks. Whatever you said”.-Goofy

“The Gammas, the number one team in the history of the College "X" Games, have an opening on our team. And it has got your name on it, buddy! Be a winner. Join us.” - Bradley

“Hey, welcome to the team.”-Tank 

When Max first skated past Frat Row, people were impressed by his skateboarding skills and the one and only Bradley Uppercrust the Third gave Max a chance to be a Gamma.

But now the tables have turned where it is now Goofy impressing everyone with his own skills and just like Bradley had done with Max, Goofy is also getting the opportunity to be a Gamma. Keep this in mind as these two scenes are meant to mirror one another as through out the movie Goofy is slowly taking Max’s place on campus.  

So as Max is leaving , he can hear this whole conversation between them both but it's only after Bradley asks Goofy to join their team, that we see Max’s reaction. 

He stops in his tracks , shocked and turns around perplexed with a raised eyebrow by what is happening. 

In this moment , Max has just overheard that Bradley , the same guy who had once complimented him for his own skateboarding skills and given Max the same opportunity to be Gamma , is now doing the same to Goofy , someone who just stole the spotlight away from him moments ago. 

When Max was first given the offer by Bradley, Max looked touched and thrilled that Bradley wanted him as his first draft pick

and when Bradley asked him what he thought , Max claimed that he couldn’t believe it and looked immensely happy. 

“No way. You want us to be Gammas?

Ha! You guys, you hear that?- We're gonna be part…”- Max

Before attending college, Max hadn’t intended on becoming a Gamma  ( probably due to not thinking it was ever going to be a possibility) but when Bradley , the College X games King , the president of the best frat house on campus and a actual royal , was so impressed by Max’s skills that he chased after Max on a skateboard all the way down to the bean scene , just to ask him to be on his winning team , well of course this gesture meant a lot to Max.

Max had even spilled hot coffee on the guy by accident and Bradley still wanted him.  

And because Bradley rejected Bobby and PJ, who are in Max’s eyes serious athletes , Max knows what a big deal an offer like this is and knows full well that Bradley isn't just going to let just anyone be a Gamma. 

So the idea that Goofy , the person who just gained applaud and admiration from everyone else moments ago ,  is now being seen as someone who is good enough to be a Gamma just like Max had been, is now being given the same opportunity he once had from Bradley, well ... this is obviously going to be something that Max is going to take to heart and take great intrigue in. 

But as the conversation between Goofy and Bradley unfolds , Max is more focused on how he can get his dad away from him than how he might be feeling inferior to his own dad at this moment. 

So after Max persuades Goofy to join the Gammas , Max gets to witness the Gamma’s welcoming Goofy to the team , Bradley presenting Goofy with his own Gamma Mu Mu pledge Pin and Bradley calling Goofy “Brother Goofy”, making him an official Gamma. 

“Gamma Brother Goofy, let me present you with your Gamma Mu Mu pledge pin.” -Bradley

Then as Bradley, Goofy and the Gamma’s walk off , we cut back to the moment where Max and his friends are happy with their plan succeeding but of course Max gives that saddened expression just before the scene ends. 

With all this in mind , what I'm going to suggest is that this isn't a sign of guilt but rather a disheartened expression of Max feeling inferior to Goofy.

It's also of Max feeling a sense of sorrow that Goofy gets to be what Max could have been if things had turned out differently.

Knowing Max's Character , It’s no secret that Max tends to be insecure about feeling replaced/inferior . He has quite the history of it throughout the Goof troop show and the first Goofy Movie. 

Some examples

E65 Buddy Building - Feels like he's going to lose PJ as his best friend to a body builder named Coop.

S1 e71 Educating Goofy - When Goofy attends his school , Max feels like Goofy is taking everything away from him

The Goofy movie - When Roxxaane suggests that she can just go with someone else to the party , Max panics and lies about going to the Powerline concert when he's actually fishing with his dad. 

So it's easy to see how Max could be feeling like he has been replaced by Goofy as a potential draft pick for Bradley.

Obviously, just by comparing how Bradley acts and talks towards both Max and Goofy , we as a audience know that Bradley doesn't actually think Goofy is better than Max and is only using Goofy for his own gain. Bradley even admits later in the movie to Max himself that Goofy was never Gamma material but in this moment , this is just how Max could be feeling towards this situation.

When they met , Max could see and tell how much Bradley really wanted him as a Gamma,

but now that Max is no longer a option , Max is dealing with the unexpected scenario of seeing Bradley choose someone else. Something Max probably didn't think he would have to deal with as he didn't think Bradley would be able to find any better competitors than himself.

And when it comes to my other reason where Max feels saddened at seeing Goofy living a life that he could have had , I feel like this goes well with the overall theme and conflict between Max and Goofy, which is Max  wanting Goofy to get his own life and Max becoming resentful that Goofy is becoming everything Max strived for and wanted.

When Goofy beats Max in the qualifying rounds and takes away all the admiration and validation that Max wanted for himself, Max feels like Goofy is living the life that he wanted and strived for. This was supposed to be how life was going to go for Max but now Goofy gets to experience it for himself instead. 

So when we take this theme into account , it makes sense that Max would feel disheartened at the idea that Goofy gets to be a Gamma with Bradley as this was something that could have happened to him if Max didn't turn Bradley’s offer down.  

If Max had accepted Bradley’s offer , he could have been in the same position as Goofy is in now. He could have become a Gamma , he could have been given a Gamma Mu Mu Pledge Pin by Bradley , he could be the one following Bradley around campus as Brother Max. 

But due to circumstance , he had to turn the offer down due to PJ and Bobby not being allowed to join. A decision he doesn't regret for the sake of his friends but now that he see’s Goofy living out a life that he could have had , it probably dawned on Max in that moment what he actually did and that he gave Goofy a life that he could have been his if things turned out differently between him and Bradley. Goofy even had permission to join after turning Bradley down where as Max didn't.

Additionally , both the library scene and the Skatepark scene are very similar in terms of Max trying to get away from his dad and pinning his dad on someone else, but the only difference between these two scenes is that Max looks sad after pinning his dad on Bradley/Gamma’s but not when he did the same thing on Miss Marpole.  

So in a sense , Max’s expression is about Goofy but it's really about Bradley. Or at least that's what I think.

Regardless of what interpretation anyone has , it's all valid. People even suggesting that Max is pining for Bradley from a far is fine as it all depends on your own perception. And if you want to believe that Max was actually feeling guilt towards Goofy then that's fine too.

This was just my take/analysis on the scene and I hope it was at least a interesting perspective to think about.

[bradleyblog]

In the Goof Troop episode “Meanwhile,Back at the Ramp” , Goofy says that he made Max’s favorite dinner , which is Spaghetti and meatballs with Ketchup. 

From this little bit of trivia about Max ,  I wanted to share some Maxley headcanons that I had about this. 

I like to think that spaghetti and meatballs are also Bradley’s favourite dish. As much as I do love how Maxley fits the opposites attract trope , I do like the thought of this being one of the things that they do have in common with each other. It would also be pretty funny and sweet to see both of their reactions to finding out this revelation about one another.

If Bradley and Max were dating and he found out that this was Max’s favourite dish and he wanted to make it for him as a nice surprise , I like the idea of him asking Goofy for the recipe in case there was a secret ingredient. But when asking him, Goofy just tells Bradley that the secret ingredient is Love to which Bradley responds with something like “So , just regular meatballs then , got it.”

Because Max likes spaghetti and meatballs , Pizza and other cheesy dishes , I like to imagine that Bradley would assume Max likes Italian food so he decides to take Max on a date to a really Fancy Italian restaurant. Or even better , Bradley takes Max to Italy to try all the local cuisine. 

And for my final head canon , Max actually makes Bradley try Spaghetti and meatballs with the Ketchup and despite Bradley’s protests ( as he is used to having it with real fancy Bolognese sauce) , he actually likes it but pretends he doesn't. Max of course can tell his lying and teases him about liking it his way better.

[bradleyblog]

Is there LGBT subtext in the Poetry class scene? Wilde/Douglas and Max/Bradley comparison.

During one of Max’s classes in AEGM , the teacher is reading out loud a poem called “Panthea by Oscar Wilde”. 

At first the camera is focused on the teacher reading the poem to the class. 

“We who are godlike now , were once a mass…” - Teacher 

Then the camera focuses on Max who is writing notes but turns around annoyed after Tank spits a spitball at him , 

leading the camera to pan up to a smiling Bradley looking back at Max as the teacher says the line.

“Of quivering purple, flecked with bars of gold.” 

( A bit ironic with how this line goes so well with Bradley due to the colour of his sweater and how he can be associated with Gold due to his high status )

So why am I bringing this scene up? 

Reason 1, is that “Oscar Wilde” , the poet of this particular poem, was secretly a Homosexual man who had an ongoing affair with a high elite man named “Lord Alfred Douglas.” 

And reason 2, is that one of the themes presented in the poem “Panthea” , is about pursuing desire/pleasure ( the physical kind ). 

So , with these two points in mind It makes you question if this scene in the movie could be interpreted as some subtle LGBT subtext between Max and Bradley , as it’s a very interesting choice of poem and poet for the production team of AEGM to choose from to use briefly for this  particular moment between these two characters. 

Now , I do understand that the scene overall is meant to be an introduction to Goofy attending Max’s class/college but when doing research on the poem/poet , the relationship between Wilde and Douglas and the theme around the poem doesn't relate to Goofy and Max’s conflict between father and son whatsoever,

nor does the teacher continue to recite the poem when Goofy enters the room. 

So it begs the question, why out of all the poems/poets at the production team's disposal , was the poem “Panthea” by Oscar Wilde  used in this scene in the first place? Why not choose a poem/poet that related to the father son conflict between Max and Goofy instead as that is the main focus of the movie?

Well that’s what we're going to explore here today so strap on in Maxley fans as we're in for one hell of a ride.

But before I continue there will be mentions of Homophobia/discrimination and mentions of passionate acts but don't worry, nothing explicit. 

Okay so 3…2…1…Let's start off with Wilde and Douglas' relationship. 

A quick Summary of Wilde and Douglas relationship.

Oscar Wilde was a famous Irish Poet and playwright who was later known for engaging in relationships with men. 

Wilde was described as someone who was witty , flamboyant and a believer in individualism.

“Wilde’s struggle for his own autonomy and individualism became a theme in his plays, he wrestled with his own need for radical personal freedom and a need for society itself to be radically different” - poetryschool.com 

Lord Alfred Douglas was also a poet and came from a wealthy and aristocratic background, whose father was the Marquess of Queensberry. Douglas had a strained relationship with his father who was a very vile brutish man. ( Honestly , the things he said to Douglas was brutal )

Unlike Wilde , Douglas was described as someone who was privileged , selfish, spoilt , reckless ,insolent and extravagant.

His Mother called him “Bosie” (a derivative of "boysie", as in boy), a nickname which stuck for the rest of his life and was a nickname that his friends affectionately called him. -The love of Oscar Wilde and Bosie - Historical Snapshots , -Lord Alfred Douglas - Wikipedia

They both met in 1891 at a gathering of literacy figures and despite homosexuality being illegal in England at the time, they were both infatuated with each other and engaged in an ongoing forbidden love affair where they wrote many love letters between each other. 

Okay…

So I think you can already see from this quick summary that there are a few similarities between both Wilde/Douglas and Max/Bradley.  

Similarities 

Both Bradley and Douglas are Aristocats, where they are both wealthy men with a high social rank. Bradley being “Bradley Uppercrust the Third” and Alfred being “Lord Alfred Douglas.” 

A bit of a Coincidence ... isn't it  ??????...

Bradley was given the nickname "Brad" while Douglas was given the nickname “Bosie”. ( Ironically both nicknames begin with B )

Personality wise , Bradley is very similar to Douglas and Max can be seen similar to Wilde due to their wit and their need for personal freedom.   

Max and Bradley share a common interest in skateboarding as their both skateboarders whereas Wilde and Douglas shared a passion for literature as their both poets.

Bradley and Douglas could both share bad relationships with their father’s. Even though it's not 100% confirmed in the movie , I do think that due to Max and Bradley being parallels to one another and how Bradley reacts to Goofy’s statement towards him- “I’m not sure you understand the bond between a father and his son.”

that it can be interpreted that Bradley doesn't have a close relationship with his own Father. So it is possible that both Douglas and Bradley share similar strained relationships with their own dad’s.  

Both of their Dynamic’s.  

When it came to Wilde and Douglas real life Dynamic , their relationship was full of conflict due to societal pressure,  financial problems, discrimination , religion , family disapproval , and homosexuality being illegal in their time period and so their relationship would sometimes become resentful and strained because of these factors. 

“But no matter how much they loved each other they embodied that romantic paradox that serves as a curse, no matter how much heartfelt swoon and tender care surfaced, even with the friendship that remained steadfast and gripping: they continued to hurt each other out of spite, peer pressure, and protection of themselves.”- poetryschool.com 

“Douglas was Wilde’s literary muse, his evil genius, his restless lover, and together they make one of history’s greatest creative and intellectual power couples. Beloved of Wilde, betrayed by Wilde, betrayer of Wilde, Douglas raged at his fate and grew more vindictive in his disputes. Despite this, and all the arguing and blame-throwing, the men decided to reunite and try again after all the ‘wide abysses now of space and land’ between them.”-poetryschool.com 

“They often argued and broke up, but would always be reconciled.”- wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Alfred_Douglas 

A real Love , Hate relationship going on between them , you could say.  

So when you compare this Dynamic to Max and Bradley , they both seem to share a similar relationship that is filled with conflict. That being for different reasons of course . 

When they first meet in AEGM , Max and Bradley do have a admiration/respect for the other,

but due to Max rejecting Bradley’s offer to be a Gamma and therefore making them rivals in the X games, their relationship becomes a back and forth of conflict of trying to outwit/outdo the other. 

When you compare both Dynamics , it seems rather poetic that they mirror each other so well. Maybe even intentionally so? 

Like I said before , Wilde and Douglas dynamic fits very well with Max and Bradley , so it feels like a conscious choice that they decided not to focus on Max and Goofy's father and son relationship when choosing a poet/poem for the class room scene. Maxley takes priority I guess.

And considering how Wilde’s relationship with Douglas was a same sex relationship , it begs the question if Max and Bradley’s relationship was meant to mirror this also???

Like did someone on the production team just really ship Max and Bradley and just so happened to be a fan of Oscar Wilde and knew Wilde's relationship with Douglas would fit so well between them ;)

LGBT presentation.

Back in the early 2000’s LGBT representation in media was often sub textual , very censored , and unfortunately homosexuality was associated with being something bad , hence why Disney villains tended to be rather queer coded. ( This is one of the reasons why Bradley’s own sexuality is debated with in the fandom ) 

So if someone on the production team of AEGM did want LGBT representation between Max and Bradley but had too many restrictions against it , what better way to do that than them subtly adding in a Gay poet who just so happened to have an affair with a gay wealthy lord as a parallel to Max and Bradley.   

Again , the production team working on AEGM could have done something relating to Goofy and Max’s dynamic but for some Unknown reason they chose to choose a poet that had a relationship similar to Max and Bradley’s ??? 

The Poem’s Themes 

Moving on to the poem itself , one of the ongoing themes in the poem is about passion and desire. Down below our quotes about the theme.

“explores the themes of the transient nature of human life, the pursuit of desire, the beauty of nature, and the idea of an interconnected universe.” - www.sevenov.com/panthea-by-oscar-wilde/ 

“Embracing Passion and Desire - The poem opens with an exhortation to move from “fire unto fire”, suggesting a journey through intense experiences and emotions. The speaker claims to be too young to live without desire, emphasizing the importance of passion in life. This sets the tone for a celebration of youthful vigor and the pursuit of pleasure.”- www.sevenov.com/panthea-by-oscar-wilde/ 

“Rejection of Conventional Morality- Throughout the poem, there is a subtle rejection of traditional moral and social conventions, favouring a more liberated, passionate existence that is in harmony with nature and primal desires.”- www.sevenov.com/panthea-by-oscar-wilde/ 

Here is one of the verses of the poem that they are referring too. 

NAY, let us walk from fire unto fire, From passionate pain to deadlier delight,-- I am too young to live without desire, Too young art thou to waste this summer night Asking those idle questions which of old Man sought of seer and oracle, and no reply was told. For, sweet, to feel is better than to know, And wisdom is a childless heritage, One pulse of passion--youth's first fiery glow,-- Are worth the hoarded proverbs of the sage:10 Vex not thy soul with dead philosophy, Have we not lips to kiss with, hearts to love, and eyes to see!

Another theme within the poem is how Wilde wants to reject social institutions ( religion ) in order to pursue his own desires ( subtext for his own homosexuality) and that we shouldn't worry about judgement from religion/god but instead live our lives how we see fit as life is short.

O we are wearied of this sense of guilt, Wearied of pleasure's paramour despair, Wearied of every temple we have built, Wearied of every right, unanswered prayer, For man is weak; God sleeps: and heaven is high: One fiery-coloured moment: one great love; and lo! we die.

“The Gods appear to be too absorbed in their own comings and goings to care too deeply about the humans beneath them. But , as Wilde says , the people are tired of the gods disinterested attitudes:”

“ It is a statement about the church and the government's position on homosexuality. Wilde is railing against his inability to express affection for his lover outside of closed doors.” - Oscar Wilde's Poems: Analysis & Quotes | Study.com  

Throughout the poem there are other themes such as the beauty of nature and the transcendent nature of life and death which ill be bringing up again shortly. But it is clear to see that the theme of desire is prevalent and that Wilde wants the reader to question their own pursuits of pleasures.  

So when you relate this to Maxley , where you have a scene where a poem about desire is being read in the background while we focus briefly on Max and Bradley, it becomes rather suspicious, doesn't it? Especially when Oscar Wilde's same sex relationship has similarities to Maxley.

It just makes you wonder if the theme of the poem was deliberately chosen to sub textually say that these two college boys ( or even just Bradley) have some hidden desire for the other ???         

Now , I know how all this sounds. Trust me , I know...

But from Wilde being a gay poet to the parallels between Max/Bradley and Wilde/Douglas ,  to the theme of desire in the poem , you can’t help but speculate can ya. It just seems suspious dont it?

Beret Girl’s Poetry slam

Now , Like I said earlier, one of the themes in the poem is about the beauty of nature and the transcendent nature of life and death.  

Ironically , Beret Girl recites a poem about how Life is like a Lime.

“Life is like a Lime  Hmm. It’s tart and tangy Sweet. Oooh, so sublime. Quiet, speechless like a mine. Bold and noisy , like a crime. Don't you dare waste my time.  Cause life can stop…on a dine.”

This is an interesting comparison to make as it feels like Beret girls poem was intentionally made to be inspired by "Panthea". Both Beret girl and Oscar Wilde's poem try to convey how short life can be , hence why Beret girl states that you shouldn't waste her time as Life can stop on a dime.

Some may even see the beginning of Beret girls poem to have a "suggestive" tone to it from the way she speaks and the focus on her lips.

That being said , both poems seem to be intended to relate to one another for an unknown purpose where both Max and Bradley are shown to be listening in to her poem. It’s also right after she tells her poem that the scene focuses on Bradley introducing himself to Max after Bobby faints from emotion.

Interesting how both the Beret girl poem scene and the class room scene have Max and Bradley as a focus ? Perhaps life is too short for them to let their rivalry get in between them?

Another point that I wanted to make relating to the scene is that both Wilde and Douglas met at a social gathering with other literacy figures.

This is ironic, as the first time Max and Bradley talk to each other in person is in the Bean Scene.

A Coffee Shop which is filled with people who have a love for poetry slams. 

Guys , I swear I'm not making this up. The comparisons to Wilde and Douglas just keep pooping up for some reason. 

It's like poetry , it rhymes.

And like I mentioned earlier , it's straight after Beret Girls' poetry performance has ended , that the focus is put back on Max and Bradley, where Tank points out Max from across the room ,

to which Bradley happily goes over to Max to introduce himself. 

Now I can't 100% confirm this but according to Patrick Marano , when Wilde was at the event and saw Douglas for the first time , he set eyes on him from across the room. 

“Almost immediately Oscar sets eyes on a young beautiful creature standing at the end of the room casually talking to another man. The object of his desire , is Lord Alfred Douglas”- Patrick Marano

If this is true then when it comes to Maxley , it becomes the opposite of what happened between Wilde and Douglas where it’s Bradley setting his eyes on Max , to which Max is talking to a Barista from across the room. 

It really is starting to feel like there's LGBT subtext between these two dont it?

Homosexuality in the 19th century compared to the early 2000’s.

Unlike Wilde and Douglas , Max and Bradley dont live in the 19th century in AEGM and would legally be able to be together but both relationships would still share themes of discrimination if you are to be historically accurate. 

Because of the time period , Wilde and Douglas' relationship was a real life tragic love story and so as you can already guess , the relationship between Wilde and Douglas was greatly thwarted and didn't end happily ever after. 

Their relationship started to grab the attention of the public and became a subject of gossip and speculation. It also didn't help that Douglas’s father , the Marquess of Queensberry also questioned their relationship and was hugely Homophobic. 

Wanting to stop their relationship , he threatened his son Douglas with disowning him and stopping all money supplies and later sabotaged Wilde's career just when Wilde's career was at its peak. 

Wilde was then sent to jail for two years of hard labor, being accused of gross indecency when evidence of Wildes relationships with men came to light. 

After Wilde was released from prison , both Wilde and Douglas briefly reconciled and lived with each other for a few months but due to financial problems and the consequences/trials of their relationship , they ultimately separated. They both then tried to pursue religion ( Catholicism ).

“the two reunited in August at Rouen but stayed together only a few months due to personal differences and various pressures on them.”- wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Alfred_Douglas 

“With all the pressures the distance, the financial bickering, the punishments, the hearsay and the passing of time, the two separated and went on crusading different paths.”- poetryschool.com 

“In 1911, Douglas embraced Catholicism as Wilde had done earlier.”- wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Alfred_Douglas 

“Though Wilde's health had suffered greatly from the harshness and diet of prison, he had a feeling of spiritual renewal. He immediately wrote to the Society of Jesus requesting a six-month Catholic retreat; when the request was denied, Wilde wept.”-  wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde

When it comes to Max and Bradley however , they are instead fictional characters that are set in the early 2000’s within AEGM timeline and like i said before , their relationship wouldn’t be illegal if they chose to pursue a relationship with one another. 

That being said though , despite progress having been made,  LGBT groups still had to face challenges in the early 2000’s such as fear of coming out to their strict/religious parents in case they were disowned, same sex marriage not being allowed in America yet , bullying , Homophobia from bigots etc.  

Goofy of course wouldn't care if Max was attracted to guys or not as he's just a good dad but when you keep in mind that Bradley comes from a high elite background where he was raised in an upper-class American Household , it can be easily assumed that Homophobia would have been prevalent. Furthermore , Bradley is a member/descendant of royalty so being openly gay could easily be frowned upon.  

There’s also a lot of Religious/catholic imagery within the Gamma house during Goofy’s inauguration scene such as the Gamma’s looking like Monks , 

Bradley looking like a priest , 

the wine , the candles etc. 

And due to the Gamma house being a visual representation of the upper class  , you can easily interpret that Bradley could have been raised in a religious household/upbringing. 

Therefore, the comparison between both relationships mirroring each other becomes more noticeable as both time periods had their own obstacles to overcome when it came to being LGBT.   

Even the comparison between Bradley and Douglas can be seen as more prominent due to them  both sharing themes of discrimination in high elite social circles and the religion of Catholicism .  

You can even head canon that Bradley could face a similar situation to Douglas where if he wanted to pursue a relationship  with Max , Bradley’s father could potentially threaten to cut him off or disown him and even plan to sabotage Max’s career/future right when Max is at the peek of his popularity if he does not approve of their relationship. 

This isn't to say that Max and Bradley’s relationship would end tragically like Wilde and Douglas though. They are fictional characters after all. This just means that both relationships would face different kinds of discrimination in their own respective time periods. 

Conclusion 

So all in all , there are a lot of comparisons and similarities to be made here.

It's just interesting that someone on the AEGM production team consciously chose the poem “Panthea by Oscar Wilde” to be presented in this scene when they really could have done anything they wanted. When making a movie , every choice has to have a purpose as it needs to impact the story or it’s going to get cut.

So with all the points I’ve mentioned above , I can see how the poetry scene in the class room between Max and Bradley can be interpreted as gay subtext between them even if the moment is very brief. 

Of Course this can all just be one big happy coincidence or maybe it is indeed something intentional going on behind the scenes but will never know for sure. 

Regardless though,  this is just something fun to theories over and an interesting point of discussion. Everyone has a right to their own interpretation of a source of media and I’m more than open to criticism/other interpretations. 

I Hope I was able to get my points across properly and that it was at least entertaining enough to read. 

I'll leave my sources down below. If anyone wants to cheek them out for yourself then feel free to do so.  :)

Sources

www.sevenov.com/panthea-by-oscar-wilde/

The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name: Oscar Wilde & Lord Alfred Douglas • Poetry School

Little Motel: Panthea by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde's Poems: Analysis & Quotes | Study.com

Was Oscar Wilde Gay? Gender And Sexuality

Lord Alfred Douglas - Wikipedia

Oscar Wilde - Wikipedia

The love of Oscar Wilde and Bosie - Historical Snapshots

Oscar Wilde's Forbidden Love ❤️ (Gay Love Story) | Patrick Marano - Youtube 

Unusual Historical Romances: Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas - Youtube 

Oscar Wilde's lover - Youtube

[bradleyblog]

At the moment I'm working on a maxley post about a specific scene in the movie that i dont think anyones really talked about as far as im aware.

I know the fandom isn't as big as it used to be so not many people will probaly read it but Id still like to share it regardless as I just enjoy talking about maxley.

it will probably be some time this week as I'm still rewriting it to make sure my points are written correctly but for what the post is about, all I can say at the moment is that it's to do with potential LGBT subtext in a certain moment in the movie.

[bradleyblog]

Max's imaginary friend

I don't really know if this counts as an actual Maxley moment but in the Goof Troop episode “Pistolgeist” it’s revealed that Max used to have an imaginary friend that was a cow named “Moophus”. 

Goofy - “You remember your imaginary talkin cow? (Chuckles) You ‘n’ old Moophus , used to go flyin’ out your window and jump over the moon. Saw it myself. 

PJ - “Heh. Moophus? 

Max - “Dad, I was only a kid. 

PJ - “ Wow. Hey , do you still see Moophus? 

I just thought this was a funny coincidence as in AEGM , Bradley is associated with Cows due to Cows being the chosen animal mascot to the “Gamma Moo Moo Fraternity”. 

That being said, could you imagine Bradley’s reaction to finding out about Moophus. I can only imagine how funny that would be. 

Like what if Goofy told Bradley this information when Goofy was a Gamma due to all the cow theming at the Frat House reminding him of Moophus?

And then one day in the future Bradley just brings up to Max that he knows all about Moophus and Max is absolutely mortified/embarrassed that his dad would even reveal that.  Oh the possibilities. 

Speaking of possibilities , a fun idea to play around with could be that if kid Max had a Talking Cow for an imaginary friend then why not give kid Bradley a Talking Bear for a imaginary friend. 

Fans tend to give kid Bradley a cow plush toy due to Kid Max/Max having an Old stuffed bear as his plush toy so them both having imaginary friends associated with each other’s specific animal would be so cute/funny wouldn't it.

[bradleyblog]

Bradley's mum?

I would say Bradley probably has a positive relationship with his mum. He seems to really like being in the company of girls as he receives positive validation from them so I would assume he got positive attention from his mum too.

Bradley even prefers to play with girls on his team than with his Gamma brothers when playing Volleyball. 

So I would guess that growing up , Bradley was probably a momma's boy where he would get a lot of praise and attention from her as he mostly seeks positive attention from girls than with boys.

I also think she would probably be an enabler as Bradley doesn't seem to understand that he can’t always get away with the things that he does to other people. Like she would probably let her son do whatever he wanted as she thinks so highly of their family status and of him. That’s not to say that his father couldn’t also have been an enabler too but we're mostly talking about his mother.

In terms of what she could be like I would say quite traditional in terms of looking pretty. They come from the best and care about their status so she would probably look the best too.

If she had a career I would say something in makeup and fashion as for the time period of the film I think Bradley’s family would be quite traditional. 

This being said though , if she is alive it’s not clear if she is still married or divorced to Bradley’s dad.  Like I mentioned in my father's speculation posts , Bradley prioritizes business even over girls so it’s hard to say how his mother would feel if Bradley’s dad did the same to her.

Maybe being married into the Uppercrust family though would mean more to her though or just wouldn't care , who knows. 

These are just my opinions though. 

( I do like to head canon though that the mirror that Bradley used to cheat with was given to him by her mother. Maybe they both had a love for their appearance and bonded over spa’s , hehe. )

[bradleyblog]

Bradley’s father speculation part 4 - final

There were going to be five parts to this series but while writing part 4 , it was really hard to tell if Bradley’s lack of emotional/physical intimacy with others and him trying to hold in his anger even when he lashes out is up to his own personal choice or due to his own upbringing.

So I decided to scrap it , sorry. It is possible that even if Bradley was told not to show negative emotions in public and to be emotionally composed while doing business that he was still allowed to express himself openly with his family. It's just hard to tell really. 

So instead we're going to talk about if Bradley and Max’s father relationships are parallel to one another ? This post isn’t going to be very long but I hope for those that are interested it is a good read nonetheless. 

Throughout the film it is shown that both Max and Bradley are foils to one another. But could their dad’s be foils to one another too? 

In the first goofy movie , Pete and Goofy are meant to be foils to one another in how they parent PJ and Max. Pete is too much of a dictator whereas Goofy can be too lenient. 

In the sequel film, Goofy’s problem is that he wants to spend too much time with Max and is giving him too much attention. Even loses his job over being too focused on Max. 

So due to Max and Bradley being foils to one another , I wondered if Bradley had the opposite problem to Max where his father spends too little time with his son and focuses too much on his career. . 

If this was the case it would certainly add more depth to Bradley taking the mick out of Max for when Goofy attends college with him , as in Bradley’s eyes he feels better about himself knowing he can handle being left alone compared to Max as his used to it.

“Daddy’s little baby couldn’t be alone”- Bradley

It could also add more of a reason as to why Bradley didn’t want Goofy to quit the Gamma’s as in a sense he now has something he didn't have growing up and wants to keep Goofy away from Max out of spite. 

Additionally , something I also noticed was how at the end of the movie , Bradley only interrupts Max’s victory with a cough when Goofy is about to hug Max after congratulating him, haha.

Maybe getting a victory hug from his father was where Bradley drew the line when accepting his defeat but this could just be because Bradley was getting impatient when having to wait to congratulate to Max. 

This all being said though , it is possible that Bradley did get a lot of attention from his dad as just because their foils to one another doesn't mean they have to necessarily be the opposite. Bradley could have been showered with affection and attention too from his own father, giving both Bradley and Max a lot more in common. 

Again , Bradley’s relationship with his dad is really up to the fans to interpret at the end of the day as there's no concrete answer in the film as to what their relationship was like so anything is possible. Could be good or bad really. 

Thanks for reading. This is the end of my Father speculation posts. Hope you enjoyed the ride.

Whatever interpretation anyone has is totally valid.  

[bradleyblog]

Bradley’s father speculation part 3.5

Continuing from Part 3 , we discussed how Bradley’s father is probably a businessman of some sort and how his father focused solely on his career.

Now like I mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2 , I assessed that Bradley’s dad didn’t have an emotional bond with Bradley, due to Bradley’s reaction when Goofy accused Bradley of not understanding a father’s bond with his son. 

So , with this added knowledge that Bradleys father could be a successful businessman , it would make sense that Bradley wouldn’t understand If he felt like his dad always chose his career over him and focused more on himself than his son.  

Now from this part onward though , everything I'm going to say is more debatable and up to interpretation as Bradley’s backstory is left so much to the imagination that there isn’t really any concrete way of saying if any of this is true. This is more like possibilities , hence why this part is more like a short bonus to part 3 as who really knows. Even I don't know really? But never the less here are just some things to potentially consider ?

Was Bradley’s love from his father conditional ?

As we know, being seen as the best really matters to Bradley. To Bradley, even though he's on the same team , It’s not enough that the Gamma’s win the College X games but it has to be himself who has to be the one to come first in the final race. 

Any person in Bradley’s position would have just let Tank win for the team as at the end of the day , if you want your team to win it shouldn't matter who crosses the finish line first as long as it’s one of your own team members that does so. 

But not to Bradley though. Having and keeping his status as the College X game King is really important to Bradley. It’s what makes Bradley feel like he really is the best , what gives himself more self-worth and keeps people giving him attention. 

Now , putting Bradley’s ego aside. It is possible that when growing up, Bradley has been conditioned to be seen as the best due to his dad giving him unrealistic expectations. 

If his father is a narcissistic parent this wouldn’t be too surprising. 

www.psychologytoday.com

We also have to remember that due to Bradley being born into a family who are descendants of royalty, a high elite family , it is possible that he grew up with high expectations whether it be from within the family or from society itself.  Their mentality would probably be ‘They come from the best so they should of course be the best right?’  

But any good parent regardless of background , would let their child know that it’s okay to fail and that it's okay if somebody else beats you at something and yet Bradley is very competitive and cares alot about his own status. We also have to remember that Bradley’s values on being the best and being successful are probably values that have been passed down onto him.

so it it makes you wonder how his father would react if Bradley didn’t do better than someone else in something. 

As in , did his father only give Bradley positive attention when he was successful and negative attention if he was not? 

Here is a segment from How a Child Can Grow Up to Become a Narcissist | Psychology Today

“the child is raised in a family that is very competitive and only rewards high achievement. One or both of the parents are Exhibitionist Narcissists. The family motto is: If you can’t be the best, why bother?

Love is conditional: When you come in first in the race, win the science fair or star in the school show, you are showered with praise and attention. When you do not, you are a disappointment. Everyone in the family is supposed to be special and prove it over and over again. No matter how much you achieve, the pressure is never off. As one woman said: “When I came home with a report card with all A’s, my father asked me if anyone got an A+.”

Children in these families do not feel stably loved. It is hard for them to enjoy anything for its own sake if it does not confer status. Instead of being supported by their parents to explore what they like and want to do more of, they only receive support for high achievement. Their parents are not interested in their children’s “real selves,” they are mainly interested in how their children can make the family look good. They want to be able to brag to their neighbors: “Look at what my kid did!”

The children who grow up in homes like this only feel secure and worthwhile when they are successful and recognized as the “best.” The conditional love of their childhood and the over-evaluation of high status and success in their home sets in motion a lifelong pattern of chasing success and confusing it with happiness.”

If this is true then Bradley would believe that people only think highly of you when you are successful and that you're not worth anyone’s attention if you fail.

It also might give Bradley more of a reason as to why he likes winning so much as he feels like it's the only way he can get constant positive attention from people if he's a always a winner. 

To me Bradley wanting to win all the time is like an addiction of his. He can’t just win once or twice , he has to keep winning every year even though he could just quit any time and let one of the other gamma’s compete for him instead.  It’s like he doesn't understand that your value doesn't come from your status or from your own achievements.  

This being said , it’s hard to know at what age Bradley started to cheat. His cheats are very child-like after all such as using rockets , marbles , fireworks etc. 

In a upbringing like this , if he felt pressure as a kid to be the best and was worried about receiving negative attention from failing , I could certainly see him cheating and then feeling good from the attention he got when he got away with it. Then continuing to keep cheating into his adult hood. But it's hard to say when he started to cheat really?

Or maybe his dad told him it was okay to cheat, who knows?

Now it's not clear if Bradley is given high expectations when it comes to his studies , but I do think he was influenced to take part in sports and to be good at them. 

From what we see he plays 

snooker 

Volleyball 

skateboarding 

And in the X games we can see that he can cycle and roller skate. You also don't get a body like Bradley’s without being athletically fit and healthy.

Not only would sports elevate Bradley’s success but it would also elevate the family's success, making their family look more superior. 

We also have to remember that with royals in real life ,  it is common for them to attend , host or take part in sport events. 

The Royal Family and Sport | The Royal Family

So sport and royalty go hand in hand really. 

Makes you wonder if his father was also a sports champion too, doesn't it ? or if he invests his business money in sports. 

Well that's all i have for part 3.5 

I don't really have any evidence for any of this hence why it's more of a bonus post but it was still something I wanted to add for the sake of consideration and debate as this series of posts is just speculation at the end of the day.

The only thing we know for sure about Bradley’s backstory is that he grew up super privileged from having a royal title and that’s pretty much it. But in a way it's kind of nice for fans to come up with their own interpretations.

Thanks for reading. 

[bradleyblog]

Bradley’s father speculation part 3

For this part we're going to talk about Bradley and his father having a business relationship rather than having a typical father son bond.  

( Last time I said I'd talk about Bradley’s emotional state but while writing both part 3 and 4, I felt that it would make more sense for that part to be part 4 instead. Will get there though )

So let’s talk about how Bradley values success/achievement over valuing people and how Bradley always prioritizes business. 

Values success/achievement over valuing people. 

When Max turns down Bradley’s offer to be a Gamma due to Bobby and PJ not being offered to be Gamma’s as well , Bradley doesn't see how they could possibly benefit Max.

He sees them as clowns and as people who would only hold Max back from winning.

 He just doesn't understand why Max would stay loyal to those who appear to be less than him and pick them over the chance to be a Gamma, a team in which he has stated has won every College X game since the beginning. 

“Max , Max , Max. You don't want to be weighed down by those clowns do you? I thought you wanted to win.”- Bradley 

In Bradley’s eyes , being with the best and being successful is what matters and if people are going to prevent you from your own success then those people should hold no value to you, regardless if they're your friends or not.

It’s why he has no problem with what he does to other competitors in the College X games as they are a threat to his own success and why he chooses to abandon Tank when he sees Tank as a threat to him achieving his own personal goal of crossing the finish line first. 

It’s also why he is very particular on who he chooses to be a part of his team as he only values people who can aid him in his own goals. 

Bradley also never hangs out/sits with anyone who isn’t a Gamma.

Girls being the only exception.

So being around the best is very important to him as It makes him appear more successful and important…   

Overall , Bradley is a character who just doesn't understand why valuing other people for just themselves is important. It’s like he has been influenced to believe that success and personal achievement is all that matters and that people should be seen as more of a personal asset to aid your own ambitions.  

But is his father responsible for Bradley’s viewpoint ? Well I would certainly say so as parents play an important role in determining what values their children should adhere to.

Like I mentioned in Part 2 , Bradley’s values would have been corrected if his father didn’t think they were the right values to adhere too, so when you consider Bradley’s father being a potential narcissistic parent , he would certainly value the following things and teach these values to Bradley.

( www.psychologytoday.com )

Values of People with Narcissism:

Perfection

Get attention from others

Superiority

Winning

Status

Image 

We also have to remember that Bradley was born into a family that are descendants of royalty. They come from the best , so them not being the best would damage their false image of superiority. So being successful and only associating themselves with the best is how they maintain their view point of being better than everyone else. 

Bradley the business man 

At heart Bradley is very business-like. But I don't think he learned to be this way all on his own. Despite Bradley potentially being emotionally neglected , I don't think his father would ignore his son’s education/career. He would probably want Bradley to be like him in some regard and carry on the family fortune. So having Bradley be business-like would be beneficial to the continued success of their family. 

Here are some examples of Bradley being business-like 

Words over brute force 

When trying to get what he wants , Bradley seems to prefer to persuade people through his own words rather than brute force. The only time Bradley lets Tank and the Gamma’s use physical intimidation is when both Bobby and PJ intentionally mock him and when he lets Tank hold on to Goofy in the air so he can tell Goofy that he can’t leave the Gamma’s. But in general Bradley prefers to use his words. 

Which is interesting considering how he has Tank at his disposal and yet on two occasions tells him to take it easy despite what Tank could potentially be capable of. 

When spotting Max

“Well, well, well. Look what the freshman cat dragged in, baby. Some new meat.” Tank

“Hey, easy, big fella. That new meat looks like Gamma material. Let's check him out.”- Bradley

When Goofy tries to quit 

“Should I knock some sense into his big melon?” - Tank 

“Whoa, whoa! Down, Tank. Easy, boy.” -  Bradley  

Gamma welcome

When trying to persuade someone to join the Gamma’s, Bradley’s go to tactic is to complement them first and then tell them how the Gamma’s have a history in winning. It’s like a business tactic of his. He also tries to insinuate that if they join they will be a winner.

Max 

“I'd wager that if you were on a skateboard, you wouldn't have spilled a drop.”-Bradley

“Max, we have won every College "X" Games competition... since the beginning. And we have decided to make you , our first draft pick. Lucky you, huh? What do you think of that?” - Bradley

 

Goofy 

“Mr. Goof! Your performance was, without a doubt, the most breath-taking display of alternative sport inventiveness... yet to be paralleled by mankind!”- Bradley

“The Gammas, the number one team in the history of the College "X" Games, have an opening on our team. And it has got your name on it, buddy! Be a winner. Join us.”- Bradley

While I do think his compliment to Max was more genuine ( even flirty haha ) and his compliment to Goofy was more exaggerated , It’s clear to see that he prefers to use this tactic in gaining members. 

Bradley carries around a card 

Bradley gives Goofy his card If Goofy changes his mind about being a Gamma. I don’t know about you but you can’t get any more businessmen-like , than carrying around your own name card on you.

Leader of the Gamma’s.  As Gamma leader , Bradley is shown giving orders to the Gamma’s but it’s usually related to Gamma business. 1-The Gamma’s carrying out Bradley’s plans to cheat in the X games.  2-Telling the Gamma’s to stop Bobby and PJ from mocking him while his talking to Max about being a Gamma. 3- When telling the Gamma’s to follow and leave with him 

-Wanting to recruit Max 

-Leaving the Bean scene when their business with Max is done 

-Telling the Gamma’s to pack it up when leaving Gamma practice and to exit after Goofy joins. 

But Bradley isn’t shown going around campus giving orders to other students. It’s strictly within his own group. 

Bradley also usually refers to the Gamma’s in a formal way such as calling them Gamma’s , Gamma brothers or gentlemen. The only person in the group who he calls by their first name is  Tank but even when he introduces Tank to Max he makes it clear that Tank is his right hand man , as to Bradley that is all Tank really is to him.    

“Ah yes , my right hand man , Gamma brother Tank”- Bradley 

A right hand man is a term used to describe someone as a very important assistant. Their job is to help you the most. It’s also common for someone to be a right hand man when it comes to the world of business.   

So In general , I would say Bradley has more of a professional relationship with the Gamma’s than a personal one.  In a sense, Bradley is like their boss while the Gamma’s are his loyal employees.

Bradley keeps to his commitments when he makes a deal.

When Bradley makes a wager with Max , Max tells him he has a deal and extends his hand to Bradley to which Bradley accepts and gives Max a handshake , cementing the deal.

Considering how he didn’t even shake Max’s hand when Max first introduced himself , it shows that Bradley is at least willing to shake someone's hand over a deal.  

In business , Handshakes are an agreement between two people who commit to an agreed business deal and can be seen as a symbol of trust , commitment and mutual understanding. For the handshake to be legally binding though , it needs to have witnesses. 

Now during the scene , Bradley is fully aware that not only are the Gamma's witnesses but everyone else in the room is a witness also. So when he makes this wager and gives Max a handshake he is very aware that he is making an actual commitment between the two. 

Then at the end of the movie when Bradley decides to congratulate Max after losing, he is the one out of the two who brings up the bet by telling Max that he hasn't forgotten their agreement. He could have tried to weasel his way out of it, denied that he even agreed to the wager or not even brought it up to Max in the first place but he didn’t. 

He wanted Max to know that he was going to follow through with his end of the bargain as even though he was willing to do whatever it took to win the College X games , it shows that he doesn't back out of an agreement that he shook hands on,  which says a lot about who he is as a person. Very business-like indeed.  

Business first , no exceptions

When Bradley first see’s Max and wants to make him a Gamma , he expects the Gamma’s to stop what they're doing and go with him to recruit Max to the team.

However , Bradley completely neglects what he was previously doing, which was playing Volleyball with a couple of girls at the Gamma party.

Doesn't even say goodbye or apologize, just focuses purely on getting Max to be a Gamma.

Then later on in the movie when Bradley is confronted by Beret Girl , he tells her that he's busy right now ,

despite clearly liking her stage performance and stating he likes her style.  

“ Hey, Daddy-os. This is a real L-7 scene. Let's all take a trip down the road of forgiveness and compassion.” - Beret Girl

“Ooh, passion ( Chuckle ). I like your style, Little Miss Mochachino, but I'm busy right now.” - Bradley 

Now , throughout the movie it’s pretty clear that Bradley likes to hang out with girls as he can get positive attention from them,

so the fact that Bradley prioritizes taking care of business over them, people he has a positive association with, is quite interesting...

Could Bradley’s dad be a businessman ?

So from all these points about Bradley being business-like , I think it’s safe to say that he probably learned this behaviour from his dad either from being taught or witnessing his Father’s behaviour, which would suggest that Bradley’s father is probably a businessman of some kind.  

This also gives another reason as to why Bradley could have probably been emotionally neglected , as his father could have always been focused on his career and prioritized it over Bradley. Maybe even prioritized his job over his wife if Bradley is mimicking this behaviour with his own relationships with girls?

But I dont think Bradley’s father would pick his career for the sake of providing for his family. 

Again, being an Uppercurst would put you in a financially well off family , so even though he still needs to pay the bills , Bradley’s dad isn’t some struggling father who needs to put food on the table. 

I think he would pick his career solely because he valued it more. After all, if Bradley values his own success over people then why would his dad be any different. 

His father could easily make time for Bradley if he really wanted to but when you consider that Bradley doesn't understand the bond between a father and son, i dont think his father put in the effort to form an emotional connection with Bradley. I believe he intentionally put his own career first as it held more value to his own ego. 

When researching narcissistic parents , a point that was made about them neglecting their kids is that if the parent is so self-absorbed in themselves, their sole focus may lie in their own hobbies and career. 

( www.choosingtherapy.com )

To Bradley’s father, his job would hold more value as it’s what makes him feel successful, have more authority and make him feel more important than he already is as it would amplify his already high status. 

So all in all , if Bradley’s dad is a self absorbed narcissistic parent who values success and himself above everything and always puts his career first over his family,  it wouldn’t be too surprising if he influenced Bradley to be the same. 

I have to end this part here as it's probably getting too long for one post but I've still got a bit more to say on this topic so part 3.5 will be next. Sorry part 4 , you have to wait a little longer. 

Hope my points came across clearly , had to do so many rewrites haha.

[bradleyblog]

For those that are interested in my Bradley's father speculation posts I thought id give a quick update on part 3.

It was going to focus on Bradley's emotional state but while I was writing it , I felt like it would make more sense for it to be part 4 instead.

Altogether this series will be 5 parts at most so when part 3 does come out I thought id clarify that Part 3 will instead be about Bradley and his dad having more of a business relationship rather than having a father son bond.

Thanks for your patience.

[bradleyblog]

Bradley's handshake with Max

While Bradley is talking , Max starts to pull his hand away with a amused face but Bradley immediately pulls Max's hand back towards him as Bradley calls him Freshmen.

Just doesn't want Max to let go first huh? haha

Bonus gif - Really Slow version

[bradleyblog]

Bradley observation

I noticed that when on his own , Bradley tends to back away from people during verbal confrontations where they get to close in his personal space.

Beret Girl

Goofy

Max on the other hand...

literally stands there in place.

Even lets Max get close and tap him on the chest without backing away ?

like what ?????????

[bradleyblog]

Bradley Uppercrust’s Father speculation Part Two

( Before reading part 2 I would recommend reading part 1 first )

From Part 1 we looked at Bradley’s conversation with Goofy about him not understanding the bond between a father and son and how Bradley responded to this statement. 

From the scene overall, I concluded that If Bradley doesn't seem to understand the bond between a father and his son , let alone understand why someone would pick family over success, it's likely that he doesn't even have a strong emotional bond with his own father to begin with. 

It can even imply that in his own family, success is always the top priority and that family isn’t even an expectation to this rule. 

This makes me believe that the root cause for Bradley’s lack of a bond with his dad is probably due to emotional neglect. Along with their family values of being successful and needing to appear to be the best, taking priority over his own emotions. 

If Bradley had a bond with his dad then there would at least be an emotional connection between them but it doesn't appear to be so. 

Throughout part 2 I will be discussing the idea of Bradley being emotionally neglected by his father but remember, this is all just speculation. 

Emotional neglect 

“Emotional neglect is the ongoing lack of emotional support, validation, and acknowledgment from a caregiver. It is a form of emotional abuse in which the caregiver doesn’t respond to or acknowledge their children’s emotions.” - www.makinwellness.com

If a parent Emotionally neglects their child, they fail to provide that child with attention , affection , engagement and other forms of emotional nurturing.

Now while I do understand that Bradley’s need for attention does stem from his own ego, him having emotional neglect from his father would certainly make him crave attention even more. A bit like him trying to overcompensate for the lack of attention his own dad didn’t give him by getting it from other people.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. What I just discussed here will be for a future part. 

But why would Bradley’s father of all people emotionally neglect his son? 

Well , I believe it’s because it’s very likely that Bradley’s father is a Narcissistic parent. It wouldn’t be too surprising considering how Bradley possesses some narcissistic traits himself but one common factor that I found about a narcissistic parent was the fact that they can be neglectful. 

“A narcissistic parent expects children to be present when needed , but will not provide support to children in return. They may also be so self-absorbed that their sole focus lies in their own hobbies or career. Narcissistic parents often seek instant gratification , leaving their kids to fend for themselves.”

Some other points about a narcissistic parent that I also came across were…

They need to be the center of attention 

They show little concern for others needs and feelings 

They are manipulative and Exploitative

Obsessed with maintaining the family’s image  

Their love is conditional 

They will do anything to be the best 

They are neglectful and never present when needed 

They are allowed to be emotional but you are not

If anyone wants to cheek the full list of 23 signs of a narcissistic parent , the link is shown below  

Narcissistic Parents: Traits, Signs, & How to Deal With One (choosingtherapy.com) 

These traits of a narcissistic father would certainly give a lot of reason as to why there might not be an emotional bond between Bradley and his dad. It would certainly make their relationship very emotionally distant/strained and make Bradley's father be presented as very self-absorbed and absent. 

But is Bradley’s dad really a narcissistic parent ? Well,  if he is emotionally neglecting Bradley then it’s not because he's a struggling parent with never ending bills to pay. They are super rich and decadents of royalty after all. And Even if Bradley’s dad is really busy with a super successful job , you would still make an effort to attend to your son’s emotional needs and to have a good bond with them. 

So to me , his father being self-centered makes the most logical sense as to why he could be emotionally neglectful of Bradley. 

But to really determine if Bradley’s dad is a narcissistic parent ,  we have to look at Bradley himself. 

Bradley has narcissistic traits and feels important due to his heritage. 

When Bradley declares who he is to Max , it's clear to see that he thinks highly of himself for being an Uppercrust. It’s his heritage that makes Bradley feel important, giving him an ego and in return makes him feel like he should be treated with admiration. 

Now obviously, being rich doesn't automatically determine that you're going to be narcissistic. But it is understandable as to why Bradley as a character would feel more important about himself due to him being a descendant of royalty. 

That being said though, if you were in Bradley’s shoes and were actually raised by good parents then they would surely keep your ego in check, teach you good values/morals and that you need to be compassionate and empathetic towards others. But Bradley doesn't seem to have any of this influence. 

As a person , Bradley is very success/ambition driven where it's his first priority and possesses narcissistic traits such as exploiting others for his own benefit, lack of empathy , having high self importance and a need for constant attention/admiration. 

But what would cause Bradley to have these narcissistic traits? His heritage for one and him valuing success over people but because his behavior never seemed to be corrected when he was growing up , It makes me think that these traits are also contributed by his upbringing. 

As in , his father was probably a bad role model and bad influence to him who taught him all the wrong things to value in life.  

But let’s look at what some of the causes of narcissism could be from a Physiology perspective. 

Here are some screenshots of my resources. 

( www.choosingtherapy.com ) 

( www.healthcentral.com )

Any of these causes could relate to Bradley but among these causes are “Learning narcissistic and manipulative behaviour from parents or peers”. In my opinion , Bradley learning narcissistic behaviour from his dad would be very likely due to their high status. But Something else to note is that neglect can also be a factor too. 

Well would you look at that, what a coincidence...

But in all seriousness though , if neglect can be one of the causes then it is possible that Bradley could have actually been neglected. 

But when we relate this to his dad , the only reason I can think of as to why Bradley’s dad would be neglectful of him is because he is indeed a narcissistic parent.  

Reason being is that If Bradley has narcissistic traits that aren't being discouraged from his family , nor does he have an emotional connection to his dad,  then him being emotionally neglected by a narcissistic father does seem the most likely. 

We also have to remember that Bradley is a descendant of royalty, which means their family probably have a lot of privileges. So it's highly likely that they have servants to do a lot of their manual labour and whose job it is to attend to their every request. Why bother taking care of your own child when he has servants to do it for him. 

So now that we have speculated that Bradley’s father is a narcissistic parent and could have  emotionally neglected Bradley , I think it’s important to talk about Bradley’s emotional state next but that will have to wait for part 3. 

There’s a lot more that I want to say but it was important to establish this all first before going forward.  

( For those who read part 1 , thank you all for the previous feedback )

[bradleyblog]

Bradley Uppercrust’s Father speculation Part one

When it comes to Bradley’s family and backstory not much is known. The one thing that we do know for certain is that Bradley is probably a descendant of a monarch due to having a regnal name ( “Bradley Uppercrust the 3rd” ) as these titles are as far as I know only given to those with regal backgrounds. 

But despite not knowing much else , I do believe that the movie does give us the audience a small hint about what kind of relationship Bradley has with his own father. 

When Bradley is trying to convince Goofy to join his team , Goofy respectfully declines due to the fact that he only wants to stay close to Max. 

“That’s real nice of you to ask, but I’m really only interested in stayin close to Maxie.”- Goofy

We then cut to Bradley’s reaction where just by his body language of him moving back slightly while pressing his fingertips between his forehead, you can tell that he thinks Goofy is lacking common sense and isn’t thinking clearly.

Bradley then counter’s Goofy’s statement by bringing up how he doesn't think Goofy understands how big of a deal being offered to be a Gamma is due to it being a once in a lifetime opportunity.

”Uh… I’m not sure you understand this once in a lifetime opportunity.”- Bradley

Goofy however prioritizes spending time with Max and mimics Bradley’s body language and choice of words to emphasize his point that Bradley doesn't understand the bond between a father and son if Bradley thinks he would choose the Gamma’s over Max.

“Well , ah-yuck, I’m not sure you understand the bond between a father and his son.”

Now what’s interesting about Goofy’s choice of words is how he could have said something along the lines of “I’m not sure you understand the fatherly son bond between me and Max”, as Goofy should really only be referring to him and Max’s relationship. But instead he chooses to refer to a bond between a father and son in general. 

But what is Bradley’s reaction to Goofy’s statement? Well at first he is smiling while waiting for Goofy to respond but once Goofy says “I’m not sure you understand-” Bradley’s smile drops into a neutral expression to see what Goofy thinks he doesn't understand. 

We then cut to a wider shot of Goofy and the Gamma’s when Goofy is finishing the rest of his sentence to Bradley.

As Goofy says “the bond between a father and his son” , you can see that Bradley’s expression has changed slightly to something more vulnerable looking. 

It’s one of those if you don't look close enough you may miss it moments but just by looking at Bradley’s expression to Goofy’s assessment of him , it looks like Goofy may have briefly struck a chord with Bradley and that he took it a little personally. As if what Goofy just said to him is actually true but deep down he doesn't want it to be. I mean he does look a little sad don't he?

So why would Bradley’s expression look like this? Well I think it’s because Bradley knows Goofy is right about him not understanding due to the fact that he himself doesn't have a bond with his own dad. Something he probably would have wanted but is too proud to admit.  

If he had a good bond with his dad I don't think his expression would look like this as if he did then his expression would have been portrayed differently. You would even think Bradley would try to prove Goofy wrong and may even brag about his own father but he doesn't. 

Instead , Bradley doesn't even retort back. He just changes the direction of the conversation into a Exit strategy by giving Goofy a business card if he changes his mind about joining the Gamma’s. 

To me this looks like a classic defence mechanism of personal deflection where when someone doesn't want to deal with a topic that makes them uncomfortable , they will turn the focus onto something else of their choosing. This to me suggests that Bradley isn't comfortable with the topic of father's and sons , more specifically him and his own father.

Bradley even does a similar kind of deflective behaviour earlier on in the movie when he is confronted by Beret Girl. At first he tells her that he is busy as he just wants to deal with Max being a Gamma but she wont back down from him. Instead she accuses him of making her dizzy from being a downward spiral ( making things worse and worse) , to which Bradley responds by deflecting her statement by telling her to go save some whales as he doesn't want to engage with what she's negatively saying about him.

But back to the scene at hand. When Bradley wants to leave the situation with Goofy he starts by folding his arms across his chest which in body language terms is a classic gesture of defensiveness where it’s usually done out of discomfort , uneasiness , shyness , insecurity , feeling threatened or feeling like you're in an undesirable situation. I get that Bradley is failing to persuade Goofy to join and all but the fact that he gives up so quickly after what Goofy just said to him is a bit suspicious.  

( Psychmechanics.com was my resource about body language ) 

So despite Bradley putting on a smile and acting composed when leaving, you can tell by his overall responsive to Goofy that Bradley was probably effected by what he said but would rather deflect than deal with it.

Of course this is just how I Interpret the scene.

So if they dont have a good bond then what could Bradley and his father’s relationship really be like and how does this impact Bradley’s character? Well Be ready for Part 2 as we got a lot of speculating to do.