“Breeder” tells the story of blue-collar single mother, Shawna Greeley, and her son, Blair, whose former stardom on the kiddie-circuit of talent contests, dance recitals, and pageants was once the primary focus of his mother’s energies. Now Blair has grown into a shy, homely teenager and Shawna has lost interest, focusing instead on the little dogs she breeds and the string of foster kids she takes in and trains up in Blair’s stead. Everything changes when Blair is injured in a freak baton-twirling accident and left a “thoraxoplegic”--paralyzed from the waist up. Blind, deaf, dumb, and unable to move anything but his legs, he is reduced to an infant-like state of dependence. Shawna eagerly reestablishes dominion over her son’s world, dressing him, cutting his hair, and making him her living doll. When she notices him trying to communicate by tapping his foot, she seizes the opportunity to teach him to “speak” again. In their old basement studio, she straps his limp upper body to a rolling costume rack and uses his childhood tap skills to form a dance “alphabet.” This inspires a renewed spirit of trust in Blair and he asks his mother if she will transcribe some of the poetry he has been secretly writing, tapping it out for her. Watching him, she is inspired. Shawna sets in motion a plan to exploit her son’s unique “talent” by booking him at the local community theater. The night of the performance arrives and Blair, unable to hear or see the audience, believes he is alone with his mother, dancing out the words to a dreadfully tender poem about their estrangement and his forgiveness and love for her. For an instant, she is moved. When he stops tapping, the audience erupts in applause and Blair feels the vibrations through the floor. Enraged by the betrayal, he freezes and, in the only act of defiance left to him, he urinates on the stage. Blair goes to live with his father and Shawna returns to her dogs and foster kids, failing to have grown.