Mommy Reflection

I thought Mommy did an exquisite job in presenting this narrative, carefully outlining the genuine realities of life. A lot of Hollywood films have the tendency to overlook the harsh actualities of life, but this Canadian film portrays a genuine journey of a mother and troubled son. I want to bring attention to a couple of particular scenes in the movie. First, the fast montage of what Die hoped Steve’s future looked like: a college acceptance, a girlfriend, a wedding, a child, a job, etc., this is how Die wished her little boy’s life would unravel, but that was quickly washed away by a slap in the face from reality (of the movie, of course). The second scene being the scene where Die goes to visit an old “friend” to ask for a job. As Die sits to chat with a friend in their luxurious living room, the two catch up a little bit. Die never mentions her struggles with Steve, or her current employment status- rather she puts up a “I’m great, and life is great, too” facade. These two scenes remind me about our discussion of online personalities and sharing. We all wish our life could play out as a perfect narrative, so in a way I feel as if we share content on the internet that somehow portrays the fantasy of “our perfect life” that we have crafted in our heads. Not many people share life’s unfortunate situations on their online profiles, instead we choose to share our happiest, proudest, most attractive moments. Die seems to be a reflection of this online sharing concept because she decides to sugarcoat what she shares with her friend, never actually sharing her struggles and harsh reality. This makes me question whether this makes it a dishonesty or simply a protective mechanism? We don’t want anyone to feel sorry for us or to use our struggles that we share with them against us, but does that mean we would rather be dishonest with others?