Sep 23 2012
Don’t Judge a Book By its Cover
Wasp, by Andrea Arnold, is just one of those short films where you have a love/hate relationship with the main character. The mother, Zoe, is a young girl with four kids. Clearly, she did not know how to raise a family for she curses in front of her kids who are all under the age of 10 at least. She does not bother to properly feed them, dress them, nor give them a strong figure to look up to. The one thing that I hate about Zoe was the way she spoke to her kids and the way she treated them. She didn’t talk to her kids with kindness or as a mother should talk to her kids. Zoe spoke to them as if they were nothing but a bother to her, as if the kids are just troublesome in her life. Although Zoe does not really treat her kids the way they should be treated, Zoe does care about them. Maybe not the most proper way, but she does. The way she tries to bring some sort of fun to the kids in the situation they are in, the way she tries to feed them even though she doesn’t have enough money, and the fact that she brings them out shows how she does care for them. Bringing the kids to a bar and having them wait for her outside wasn’t the smartest idea, but there is a possible reasoning behind it. As Konstantin said in class, that Zoe brought the kids to the bar with her because she would be close to them and if anything were to happen that she’d be there sooner than she would be if she left them at home. Zoe, by the way she acts, is not fit for being a mother, however, she does care for her kids and she does try to be the mother her kids deserve. I guess that is what I love about her. The unconditional love that she has for her kids.
I agree with you in saying that I didn’t like the way that Zoe treated her children but I think we have to take into account that Zoe herself is still a kid. It doesn’t justify her lack of responsibility, judgment, or common sense but I think she’s just lost. She hasn’t had time to grow up herself and we can’t totally blame her for her behaviors. She’s just like a child in the way she lashes out at her children just as she’s a child in trying to make an uncomfortable situation, fun. It’s very true that we have a love hate relationship with her but I think that’s exactly what the director was trying to create. Her flaws make her a more complex character and the more complex she becomes, the more real she becomes to the audience.
I agree with this love/hate relationship with the character. I give her respect for trying to raise her kids and showing that she truly loves them but then again, she should take more responsibility as a parent. Instead of hanging out with friends, so should have watched her children. It took a near death experience to realize that. She shouldn’t be acting like a child. Her kids acts more mature than she does. Andrea Arnold has shown a short film that conveys controversy and real life.
Thank you for pointing out my ideas, I know I’m right. I agree with Jacky that Zoe is still a child herself and a child can’t raise a child. I also think that a parent learns to be a parent from past experiences. I think that Zoe is that way she is because that’s the way her mother was with her. Even a young parent can be a good parent with support and a positive role model, I think Zoe didn’t have that growing up. To fit in a regular life with three children is impossible and she simply can’y make it up.