TFF ThinkTank | Everything Everywhere All at Once with Philosophy: Is Jobu Topaki a Taoist sage figure like Big Goose Dummy?

By Yujia Wang

In The Essentials Chuang Tzu, Big Goose Dummy is a wise sage figure who guides Cloud General through his troubles. In the story, Cloud General wants to know how to fix the chaotic heaven, but Big Goose Dummy doesn’t answer his questions directly. In the first attempt, Big Goose Dummy says he doesn’t know; in the second attempt, he blames the “excessive ruling humankind,” and then suggests that Cloud General not step in and let everything develop on their own. He says, “Stay put and do nothing. Things will change on their own. Drop your form and body. Drop your seeing and hearing.” He is a sage figure because he observes the world well and knows his inability to change the world as a human. He is also a content Taoist sage because he is unbothered by his limit and trusts the world to fix itself. 

In the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, Jobu Topaki is a sage figure like Big Goose Dummy. Visually, she is dressed like a sage, wearing all white living in a heaven-like palace with many followers. Like Big Goose Dummy, Jobu Topaki has immense knowledge of the world given the ability to experience all universes at once. She also understands the limits of human values and believes humans should not control or change their surroundings. During the scene when Jobu Topaki explains the pain of being Evelyn’s daughter, Evelyn defends her control over Joy by saying it is the right thing for her. However, Jobu Topaki argues that “right” is merely a restriction humans set for themselves, and Evelyn’s “right thing to do” is actually the cause of Joy’s pain. Furthermore, Jobu encourages Evelyn to escape Gong Gong’s control: “You don’t have to hide behind him anymore. You should feel relieved.” Thus, Jobu Topaki is a sage figure who has knowledge and understands human limits to control their surroundings.

However, Jobu Topaki is not a happy unbothered sage figure. Unlike Big Goose Dummy who is unbothered by his inability, Jobu is troubled by hers. Jobu cannot determine what is right and what is wrong, so she believes that nothing matters. According to Waymond, “She’s seen too much, lost any sense of morality, any belief in objective truth.” Experiencing every universe has only shown her more problems she could have with her mother Evelyn, and her inability to solve these issues leads her to self-destruction. The difference between Big Goose Dummy and Jobu Topaki lies here: Big Goose Dummy is nonchalant because he believes in the world to fix itself, while Jobu Topaki is in pain because she cares about these personal problems. As audiences, we empathize with Jobu’s misery because her tension with Evelyn is common between mothers and daughters. As she fights for her mother’s understanding, we see her vulnerability despite her sage powers. Additionally, during the rock scene, I genuinely feel joy for Evelyn and Jobu’s peaceful communication when they find a compromise. This makes me reflect on Big Goose Dummy: to become someone so carefree and happy, Jobu Topaki needs to step out of her disagreements with her mother and leave it alone. However, after fighting with my mother for the past 17 years of my life, I don’t think Jobu and Evelyn’s problems will solve themselves. Instead, their attempt to talk, not a Taoist move because she interrupted, actually made things better in the rock scene. I wonder, maybe being an extreme Taoist like Big Goose Dummy is not always the best choice, and sometimes we have to sacrifice the Tao for things that we really care about. In conclusion, Jobu Topaki is a flawed but empathetic sage figure who challenges the Tao.