For me, most of it resides in the facial expression. In animation, every movement in every frame is very carefully crafted. A lot of this centers on the mom, and the difference between what she was saying and her facial expressions. A good example of this is when she mentions Caleb's friends, the disapproval is strong. Then there is the way she hisses out the name "Satan". A lot of effort was made to make her appear evil and manipulative. Another example is the hissy fit she threw in Caleb's mind as he thought about her finding out he had gotten dirt on the floor. It was very over played. This video makes JW mothers appear shrewish, manipulative and evil. Someone inside had to be aware of this, even as many were also clueless about how this would appear to outsiders. Another thing is Caleb's expressions. Even though he did the "right thing" to make Jehovah happy, it is very obvious that this whole episode really crushes his spirit, right up to the very end. Perhaps a manifestation of what some of the producers felt in their own JW past?
Perfectly said. The facial expressions are conveying terrible subtle messages.
Though this process Caleb is so sad. And its not that he's getting a rewarding satisfaction of "learning" something. Its so clear that he is just getting railroaded into doing something contrary to his nature and to common sense, forced to accept it, and then partially placated by his moms emotional bait and switch to some lame biking adventure.
And the mother is very extreme in her facial expressions. Her sighs of disapproval (in front of Caleb and even when he isn't watching), her manipulative glances and glares, her over-reactive sobbing. She is cold and says ridiculous things like, I'm proud of you for obeying, as if Caleb was supposed to be a loyal pet dog and she's having trouble breaking him.
