Liz Rao takes a look at a post-Roe America in her short film The Truck. The short follows a Chinese American teenager and her boyfriend as they navigate the challenges of trying to get the morning-after pill in a state where birth control and reproductive rights are policed by neighbors, pharmacists, and everyone who can judge.
Rao’s approach is absolutely perfect as it makes the viewer feel the anxiety and discomfort these teenagers, particularly the girl, go through to get a medication that no one should be policing.
By starting The Truck sharing the dreams and goals this couple has, the short gives us a close and personal look into the lives of these characters. We quickly come to understand what motivates them and where they see themselves going in life. And because the scene happens while they are in bed, one feels like we’re looking into an intimate moment that shouldn’t be shared beyond those walls.
But shortly after, the feeling of the short and the dynamics change. As soon as the couple walks into the pharmacy, we feel their tension and understand exactly why they are there. Rao’s decision to have a voice in the background talking about reproductive rights and having a baby is the perfect addition to this moment and the anxiety the characters are feeling.
From that moment on, the audience is on edge. We know the journey won’t be easy for these characters because they are constantly being judged by those around them. It is even more obvious when the pharmacist refuses to sell them the morning-after pill. Instead of simply selling them what they are looking for, she tries to make them go through impossible and unreal hoops to please her own religious beliefs.
However, this pharmacist’s judgment isn’t the most uncomfortable experience these characters will go through. The moment the girl approaches the man outside the pharmacy to ask for his help, we know things won’t be any easier.
This man’s behavior is extremely creepy, and viewers can feel the young couple’s fear as well. The religious imagery in the man’s truck, his words, and his pushing the teenagers to the edge are a small representation of what post-Roe America is truly like in certain states. The judgment and the control are everywhere, restricting women from having full control of their reproductive rights.
But what truly hits the audience and the young girl is her boyfriend’s behavior. From the moment they have to sell their bikes until the very end, it is obvious that he doesn’t support his girlfriend’s decision to take the pill. Instead of trying to understand where she is coming from, he is silently judging her as well. This becomes even more obvious after she takes the pill and he walks away from her.
The feeling viewers can mostly take away from The Truck is one of loneliness and desperation. This young woman is left completely alone with her choice because there are no policies in place to protect women and their decisions. When she takes off running after her boyfriend leaves, it feels like she is running away from the cruel reality that surrounds her.
Even though she knows she is well within her rights to do what she wants with her body, she has to fight the negativity that surrounds her and the fact that she is left alone by the person who is supposed to always be by her side.
Rao does an incredible job of explicitly demonstrating the feelings that come with the decision to take a morning-after pill in a world that doesn’t give women the autonomy they deserve.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature known as a Media Relations Expert. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). In addition to Eulalie Magazine, you can find her work published on Tell-Tale TV, Geek Girl Authority, W Spotlight, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.