Nov 09 2009
Poor Mommy
I think that the way that Andrea Arnold was able to portray such a controversial issue in 26 minutes was outstanding. I never imagined being so impacted by a short film.When the film first started I thought, “Oh, another psycho woman fighting over a man.” When I realized that she was arguing over her kids I realized, “this is a completely different story.” Throughout the whole film, I felt bad for Zoe, she seemed so naive and helpless. The fact that she had kids didn’t mean she had the knowledge to take care of them. I felt like this poor girl is just one among many real teenagers in the worlds today who end their youth early by having kids. Even though it was her mistake, I could tell she was just confused; she clearly loves her children, but at the same time wants to salvage whatever is left of her youth by having fun, and getting a boyfriend in her life while she’s at it. I know so many young girls who just end their youth by having kids; One day we’re talking about tests, boys, and baking a cake, the next moment their like “Oh, I have a sonogram tomorrow.”
On top of the fact that she got pregnant, clearly her husband left her alone. When I saw her feeding her kids sugar, it just ripped me to shreds. Even when she buys her kids the soda when she doesn’t have enough money, she just looks like a little girl who wants to feed her kids but doesn’t know what. I’m sure the same fear we all had when the wasp was one the baby’s mouth, she was feeling. I know that this is something that happens around us everyday and its just sad to think about. ABSTINENCE!
The film was supposed to draw out the sympathetic hearts of the audience. So we just all felt what the director wanted us to feel. It was sad, but even if we feel sympathetic, we should still be critical about her mistake. Her THREE mistakes. I’m not trying to sound cold, but I once is enough.
i think it was so powerful that the mother was fighting for her children. overall, i think the impression that most people got from the movie was the zoe was a bad mom, but when you detach yourself from all stereotypes, step back, and really think about it, zoe was a good mom, she always put her kids before her, and she wanted the best for them ALWAYS.
sure, she came off a little psycho here and there (especially when she left her children to play in the parking lot of a bar) but she was just doing her best. i do think that leaving them in the parking lot and close to her was a better idea than leaving them at home, where they could have started playing with fire, water, knives…
also, the boyfriend thing, i think a part of her wanted a man simply for the sake of having a man. she was alone, lonely, poor, and on top of that, forced to deal with three children. that is a hard thing to do. having a boyfriend would provide her with a companion, a best friend, and a form of support that she needs tremendously.
I hate to just agree with everyone but i also was harshly judgemental during teh begining of the movie until i understood what the message was. It still wasnt making Zoe’s actions right but more of giving the veiwer a sense of understanding that its much easier to judge from an outside standpoint.
In addition to whatever I said above, I agree with Amrita, this movie really enables us to understand the plight of single mothers, and their many troubles that are often overlooked.
I agree with you as well. At some points I was thinking that common sense would tell you not to do what was she doing, but at the same time it isn’t that simple. Obviously for us, feeding her kids sugar was a bad idea; but at the same time it made them happier. I feel like this short film definitely highlighted a lot of problems with young, single mother today that most people look over. Normally they just say, “Oh she’s a terrible mother,” but I feel like this film forces people to think twice about the situation.
I absolutely agree with all you have mentioned. I was very critical of her in the beginning, however, I soon realized that it was not fair to blame Zoe for her inability to provide for her children. Had her husband been there, things would have been very different for the family.