To Be (1990) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A woman investigates whether a copied person can truly be the same person as the original, then submits herself to the machine.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Impossible Exhibition

The narrator attends a public demonstration of a teleporter. A volunteer appears in the second booth, creating the first mystery about what the machine actually does.

Key Events

• Haunting Opening Song — The narrator sings that thoughts of being keep her awake. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Opening cartoon space
• Invitation To Exhibition — The woman is invited to view a new teleporter. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition venue
• Teleporter Exhibition — A crowd gathers around two antenna-equipped booths. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Public exhibition stage
• Purple Volunteer Enters — A man dressed in purple enters the stage-right booth. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Successful Teleportation — A replica walks from the stage-left booth after a burst. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage

The Originality Debate

The woman demands a truthful explanation and learns that the machine copies information while destroying its occupant. She rejects the claim that an original and a copy are morally interchangeable.

Key Events

• Demand For Explanation — The woman questions the demonstration and rejects a film explanation. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Teleportation Mechanism Revealed — The device is explained as copying information and destroying the original. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Moral Objection Raised — The woman argues that destroying the original is immoral. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Identity Argument — The discussion challenges whether an original and copy are identical. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Open Door Test — The woman insists that the booth doors remain open during a test. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• First Scientist Duplication — A copy appears while the person in the first booth is annihilated. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage

Copies Without An End

The inventor demonstrates the machine repeatedly, producing successive copies. The woman refuses to accept a copy as the original, even when documents and personal recognition are offered.

Key Events

• Recursive Copies Multiply — The newly created copy repeats the process, producing more copies. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Copy Claims Creator Identity — A copy claims to be the invention's creator. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Identity Rejected — The woman insists that the visible creator is only a copy. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Delayed Destruction Proposed — The woman proposes delaying destruction for five minutes. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Original And Twin Emerge — Two identical figures emerge together and enjoy each other's company. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage

The Twin's Fatal Choice

A delayed destruction test creates two simultaneous figures who dispute their identities. A chess game leads to one twin being forced into the booth and destroyed, leaving the participants overwhelmed by guilt.

Key Events

• Twin Identity Dispute — Neither twin admits to being the person from the first booth. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Chess Death Game — A chess game is used to decide which twin must die. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Twin Forced Into Booth — The defeated twin is forced into the first booth. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Destruction And Guilt — A burst signals destruction, leaving the woman and inventor guilt-ridden. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage

A New Beginning

The woman enters the teleporter herself and emerges as a copy. She celebrates her supposed innocence while singing about having just begun to exist.

Key Events

• Woman Enters Teleporter — The woman enters the first booth and begins the process. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Exhibition stage
• Guiltless Copy Departs — Her likeness emerges, and the narrator calls herself a guiltless copy. Characters: Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice) Location: Outside the exhibition

Story Breakdown

• Restless Opening — The narrator introduces the existential concern that keeps her awake.
  • Haunting Thoughts — She sings about thoughts of being that continue to haunt her.
  • Narrative Begins — The cartoon shifts from song into the woman's narrated experience.
• Public Demonstration — The woman witnesses the teleporter and begins questioning its apparent miracle.
  • Crowded Exhibition — A public audience gathers around the two teleporter booths.
  • Purple Volunteer — A man enters one booth and appears from the other.
• Hidden Mechanism — The demonstration is redefined as copying followed by destruction.
  • Rejected Film Explanation — The woman remains suspicious of the initial radio-wave explanation.
  • Original Destroyed — The machine is explained as annihilating the person in the first booth.
• Identity Argument — The woman challenges the moral and philosophical logic of treating copies as originals.
  • Moral Objection — She argues that destroying the original is immoral.
  • Same Person Claim — The inventor argues that the original and copy are the same person.
• Endless Duplication — Repeated demonstrations make personal identity increasingly unstable.
  • Open Door Test — The woman requires the booth doors to remain open.
  • Recursive Copies — Each new copy repeats the process and produces another copy.
• Twin's Fatal Game — A delayed destruction test creates two competing identities and a deadly decision.
  • Chess Determines Death — A chess game is used to select which twin must enter the booth.
  • Guilt Aftermath — The destruction leaves the woman and inventor overwhelmed by guilt.
• Self-Copy Ending — The woman applies the machine's logic to herself and leaves as a new copy.
  • Woman Enters Booth — She begins the teleportation process despite the preceding tragedy.
  • Innocent Departure — Her likeness emerges and sings about having just begun to exist.

Directed by

John Weldon

Key Cast

• Kim Handysides — Woman / Narrator / Singer (voice)
• Howard Ryshpan — Scientist (voice)