on social media there seems to be a lot of interest in reading Obsession as a straightforward morality tale about rape culture and entitled men, but the male protagonist clearly doesn't intend to coerce anyone by supernatural means and has no reason to believe that such a thing is even possible by means of a novelty gift item! the fact that it is possible in this universe is an indictment of the people who sold the deadly item to unsuspecting customers for perverse reasons of their own, and their actions are the source of all the immoral acts in the story.

conceding that the wish for Nikki to love Bear more than anyone in the world is a necessary plot device for the movie, I do think that the extreme nature of this wish (as opposed to something like, "I wish she would go out with me" or "I wish she would see me as a romantic partner") indicates a kind of entitlement or at the very least indicates Bear's immature understanding of healthy relationships. yes, it is the wish willow people's fault for providing this curséd object (even though they did warn him), but he also asked for the most 5 year old version of what he was (ostensibly) seeking.

Just found 2 copies of a 19th century naturalism magazine and LOOK AT THEIR LITTLE ICON

it sure fuckin is buddy