Teenage Ben is frustrated with his abusive father and the daily incidents of domestic violence his mother has to endure. He asks his mother to leave his father, but his mother continues to stick with her husband because he is the sole breadwinner of the family. Ben’s friend Taylor, an aspiring scientist, invents a time machine that can transport people back and forth through time. The two make a trip back to the 1940s to test the machine and are delighted with the experience. After an unpleasant episode of violence, ben feels he has to protect his mother. With Taylor’s invention at his disposal, he thinks of a plan to prevent his parents from getting married, so his mother gets a better life. When he discusses his plan with Taylor, she rebuffs him, saying she cannot be party to his plan of intervening in the natural course of events and change history. But, when the situation worsens, Ben travels back into the past, alone, to put his plan into action.
‘The Oedipus Paradox’ is a feature length script by Writer Sebastian McGraw. McGraw conceives a story where the son travels back in time to protect his mother from his abusive father and ends up becoming her lover and marrying her. Introducing elements like time travel and actions that alter the natural course of history, McGraw has ensured that he has tied up the loose ends that weaken a story involving time travel. McGraw has told a sweet love story amid the bigger questions involving propriety and morality.
‘The Oedipus Paradox’ is a refreshing new take on the questions surrounding Freud’s theories relating to the Oedipus Complex. Ben’s intentions while wooing his mother and his rivalry with his father may not align with the classical theories of Oedipus complex, but his wish to give his mother the life she deserves and protect her from his abusive father do not stand in his way of giving his mother a satisfying love life and even convincing her to start a family with him. ‘The Oedipus Paradox’ is a wake-up call to discuss the problem of domestic violence and how cases stay unreported as the victims are unwilling to report such incidents for fear of losing the breadwinner of the family.
