The Politics of Art & Authenticity

At first, Wasp by Andrea Arnold left me speechless. I was unsure about what to think about this short film.  It was not the thick accent that left me wordless, just the storyline.  In this film, Zoe, a young mother of four, is attempting live out her life how she thinks someone her age should.  This means, at times, she will disregard her children and, despite their young ages, she will leave them to fend for themselves.

I watched this short film twice because I felt I was missing something.  I was.  At first when I saw the film in class I thought that Zoe was a horrible mother.  Her actions annoyed me.  The way she treated her children annoyed me.  In my eyes she was not doing anything right.  Even after the discussion in class I felt this way.  However, I watched it again and began thinking.  The audience doesn’t know what type of life Zoe lived before.  She could be following in her parent’s footsteps and doing the same thing they did, having children at an early age.  Her parents could have abandoned her after having her first child.  There are numerous possibilities as to which could determine what shaped her into this type of woman.  One thing became clear to me though; Zoe loves every one of her children.

I find it interesting how Andrea Arnold showed Zoe’s love for her children.  The short opened to Zoe, in her nightgown with no shoes on, grabbing her children and bringing them to another child’s house and starting a fight with the mom who lives there.  This may look irresponsible to some but I’m sure many would do the same.  In Zoe’s eyes she was protecting her children, protecting her child who was hit by another mom.  It is not like this does not happen.  In fact, it does happen.  In the news a few years ago a mother beat up the bully instead of the parent.  On the way to meet David, Zoe tries to make things fun for the kids by having them race and makes a zig-zag pattern with the stroller.  This shows she cares by knowing what they like and what can make them smile.  Also, she takes them with her to see David and keeps them outside which is better than keeping them home; if something happened and they were at home without her, she might not be able to make it back in time.

I’m not too sure what the wasp represents.   In literature a wasp represents a female warrior.  I think this could also work for the main character Zoe.  She might not have the greatest life, she doesn’t have a man to support her, she has four children but she’s still trying her best.  Zoe is still able to make all four children smile which is what counts in the end.  She will fight for them, she will fight to protect them. She will do anything for these four children.

Arnold is unique in that she made this short which reveals the flaws of humanity.  She went below the surface and looked past the picture perfect families to this, a not so uncommon scene.  Through his film Arnold showed that life is not all smiles that it is not what many believe it to be.  There are those who have it harder than others and we should be thankful for what we have.  I find it different how Arnold used the children as foil characters in order to show how irresponsible the mother was.  The older children were left in charge to take care of the baby and the third oldest.  The children were more mature than the adult who is responsible for their lives.

The piece that remains in my mind is the ending.  In the end the children get to eat and as David drives away they’re singing the song they heard and that uplifting song begins to play.  To some this may seem weird.  Why would such a sad film have such an uplifting ending?  I believe it shows that they have hope.  The children survived another day and their mother, quite possibly, will change how she does things.  She may become more responsible.  I believe by having the children sing and have the music play it shows there is hope.  As Allison Clarke stated in Taken, “Hope is the biggest lie there is, and it is the best. We have to keep going as if it all mattered, or else we wouldn’t keep going at all.”

Sources

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