Chapter 1: What unusual wish does a six-year-old have in 'The Boys and the Bees'?
A quick warning, there are curse words that are unbeaped in today's episode of the show. If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website, thisamericanlife.org. There's a new film out that's in festivals called The Boys and the Bees. Just won a prize at Sundance. And it's about a real family with two sons. The dad's a beekeeper in Georgia.
And I talked to the filmmaker, Ariel Knight. She pointed out the two boys are very different. Carver's six, Arrow's four.
Arrow is the youngest, and he's kind of always bouncing around. He's comedic relief in the film. And Carver is the oldest, and he's a lot more serious. He's a lot more thoughtful.
Carver's the one who reminds his little brother what the rules are. Arrow just breezes past them.
Chapter 2: Who was Edward Dando and why is he significant?
And the way all this plays out in this family of beekeepers... Arrow's been stung many, many times by bees, and Carver has never been stung.
And how do you explain that?
I mean, you know, Carver's probably always paying attention, taking his time, moving slowly.
World's follower.
Exactly. And Arrow just sort of puts on his suit too fast and there's a bee in there or, you know, he steps somewhere where he shouldn't or he's just, you know.
They have parents who have made a very deliberate choice to spend a ton of time with their kids, birdwatching and fishing and going through the woods and lifting up rocks to see what's underneath them, explaining everything about nature. And there's a scene that Ariel captured on film of the boys with their dad, Nehemiah.
So we were wrapping up filming for the day, and Nehemiah, usually in the evening, will check on the bees. So he's checking on the bees. He's lifting the racks of beehives out of their boxes, and then he gets stung.
Ouch! Ah, it got me! You boys back up, though. You all don't have a suit on.
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Chapter 3: How does Evan Roberts attempt to reconnect with his ex?
And they just stung me, so I don't want you to get stung.
But what does it feel like? It hurts so bad.
I mean, you can handle it.
Carver creeps up to his dad and says something that I couldn't hear in the moment, but that Nehemiah repeats, and he says... You want to get stung?
Yeah, everybody been in my family got stung, except for me.
I don't know if Mommy would want you to get intentionally stung. It kind of hurts, boy.
It kind of hurts. I never got stung.
I know that hurts, Carver says. I can get the bee and put it on you and it can sting you.
Okay, could we just talk about that choice that he's making there?
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Chapter 4: What surprising decision does a judge make during the Antifa trial?
He's a total teacher. And he's always kind of trying to find the edge in helping his kids navigate things that are scary to them or that they never tried before that they're curious about.
I can get the bee and put it on you and it can sting you. All right. Well, let's do it.
Mommy got stung. I got stung. Daddy got stung. You haven't got stung.
So that's Arrow in the background.
Then Carver goes to his dad. I just don't want to get stung in my face.
Yeah, me either. That's the worst. We'll let you get stung right here.
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Chapter 5: What lessons can we learn from the family's beekeeping experiences?
So Nehemiah is pointing to Carver's forearm.
I'm telling you right now, son, look at daddy. It's going to hurt.
Okay.
Okay? Sure you want to do it? Yeah. Okay, my boy, I like it.
Carver is starting to look a little bit concerned right now, and he gives his dad like a really weak high five.
Uh-uh, black bandana. Yeah, there we go, I like it. All right, let's do it. Which lucky girl are we gonna choose for my son?
Oh my God, so Carver's kind of like touching his arm where he's about to get stung. His dad goes off to get a bee.
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Chapter 6: How does the courtroom drama unfold in the Antifa trial?
You ready? Tell me when you're ready.
When you lift your arm up, then you'll be ready.
So Nehemiah is holding a bee by its wings with the stinger pointed out.
And then Carver has his arm kind of down and his other hand is kind of like shielding it from his dad and the bee.
And he keeps kind of wincing and jerking his arm away in anticipation.
You ready? Good job. All right. It's all right. Three. Don't jump, don't jump, don't jump. And I'm going to get it out, okay? I'm going to get it out. You sure you want to, son?
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of the judge's decision on the trial?
You're acting like you don't want to now. I know you're nervous.
All right, three.
Relax, relax. You can't do that. You just have to let it happen, okay?
It's so funny he puts the bee on him, and the bee just won't do it. Well, she doesn't want to sting you, eh?
Well, she didn't want to get... All right, let me get another one. Dang, you're just not a mean bee, huh?
You're just a nice guy, but you don't want anybody to get stung.
That's the younger brother again, talking to the bee.
All right, here we go. Why are you playing with my son? Okay, okay, okay, let me see.
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Chapter 8: What is the overarching theme of choosing what we want in life?
Okay, oh, see? Now let's get it out, let's get it out. You wanna see? Ooh. Son, now you're making me feel bad.
So Nehemiah kind of looks at me in this moment, and I can see that there's a little bit of doubt in his eyes. He's kind of looking at me like, oh, man, I don't know if I did the right thing here. But then you can kind of see the moment he also snaps back into dad mode.
Come here. Let me see. All right. Now wipe your tears off. Wipe your tears. Let me see it. Let me see it. Let me see it. Let me see it. Let me see it. Where is it at? Where was it? Okay, I got it out. Okay, good, good. Good, good, good.
Nehemiah's kneeling in front of Carver, and he's kind of examining the bee sting and wiping his tears away.
Beekeepers get stung, right? You got your first one, my boy. High five. Now let me see where it is.
Now let me see. I'm sorry.
I got it out, I promise. You want me to make sure? Yeah, I got it out. Now. Yeah, that hurts. Do you wish you didn't do it? I can't hear you. Huh? You said what?
You feel proud of yourself?
Boy, I'm proud of you.
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