Oct 26 2009
A Loving Mother
From the very beginning of the film, “Wasp” invites judgments from me with a theme of a bare-footed Zoe leading her children into a fight. As the film progresses, this trend continues as the it shows a disorganized home where the fridge is pasted with foul language and the only food is molded bread, a picture that identifies Zoe as a unfit mother.
However, as more and more of such details are presented, the judgmental attitude in me does not intensify but subsides. It is no doubt that I still think that a woman who leaves her children on the sidewalk to flirt with a man doesn’t deserve to be a mother and that anyone who leaves his/her children outside a bar should be thrown in jail. 
Zoe's children left at the sidewalk while she is flirting
Nevertheless, I cannot claim that Zoe isn’t a loving mother despite the fact that she committed both of these crimes and more. “Wasp” shows me a side of life that I have never seem before. While it initially causes judgments because of its drastic difference from my life, it gradually makes me question my standards concerning motherhood. When I see Zoe and her children singing and laughing together, I ask myself, “who am I to say that Zoe can’t bring happiness to her children in their neglected state?” When I witness Zoe giving up her own drink to buy a snack for her children, I question in my mind, “who am I to judge that Zoe’s selfishness places her children’s welfare after her quest for romance?”
In the end, “Wasp” leaves me as confused as ever about the role of mother. I am just glad that my mother took care of me as I was growing up. However, I do wonder what life would be like if my mother was like Zoe and where I would be right now.
Sijia, I think Zoe, by the end of the film, portrays herself as a loving mother. She comes clean about having her children with Dave, despite the many different consequences that could have come about. She knew it was necessary for her and her children, though.
Yes, she may not have been a responsible mother when she was on her date with Dave, but can’t you guys see? She is SO young for someone with four children, she is a single mother, and she’s distraught. Her apartment is most likely government-subsidized and she has no family in her life to help her.
People make mistakes in their lives, but for Zoe, her kids are no mistake, no pain. She loves them. 🙂