Mother! My thoughts
Resumo em português: Neste texto apresento minha interpretação sobre o filme Mãe! Para maior divulgação redigi em Inglês, mas segue um breve resumo. Creio que a mãe e Ele sejam dois personagens ou, em conjunto, expressões de partes de nós mesmos quanto a criatividade e nossas impressões sobre o mundo. Mãe seria nosso senso de segurança e Ele nosso senso de exploração. Quanto as pessoas seriam experiências e novidades que o mundo fornece e a casa seria nosso senso de nós mesmos que muda conforme pessoas entram em nossas vidas, mas ainda se mantém uma casa erguida.
Mother is a movie by Darren Aronofsky in which “A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.”
While watching the movie I thought about some references to the Bible, but I really couldn’t relate so much to this view. I think the movie can tell another story. Actually, I’m not an anthropology expert but the Bible itself is a story of stories, lets put this way. It’s the famous Hero’s journey, like this movie. This aspect of narratives, why they exist and what stories they really tell, is extremely complex and I’m just telling that this topic exists. Bottom line: This, and other stories, can be interpreted in a lot of ways, and may tell many stories in one. These considerations make a ground to talk about the Symptomatic meaning¹ of movies like this.When was watching it it seemed to tell a lot more about ourselves, our creativity and how open we are to new experiences.
Here I offer an alternative interpretation. The following text will be an analysis of the movie. I’ve decided to explain my view through comments about the characters of the movie.
Characters
First, I think that characters of Mother and Him can have two interpretations, maybe all the characters. The characters can represent us, an interior struggle or people in real life, like personalities.
Mother (securance)
I think mother represents our sense of conformity. She just wants to make the house as “squared” as she can. Put some art yes, but not so much.
Mother always wants to keep things like they are and wants protection. She doesn’t want you to be exposed to the external world (represented by different people in the movie). It wants to create (the child) but above all else she wants security. She doesn't have a good relationship with him, they are OK but not passionate and together, like two forces orbit each other.
As the movie progresses, mother is always holding transformations, it’s in a changing world but no, I have to hold it, and as the world starts to be a burden too heavy, she holds to an idea, the child, her last stand to make some sense of all of the mess happening.
Him (life and creativity)
People say then he doesn’t give Mother the respect she needs and is like a villain in this movie. I Think the oposite. It is our instinct to get out of our houses of our security, our walls and explore the world. Mother is the oposite, it’s our Instinct of making things like they are equal. Creativity can come from linearity, but it`s most rich source inequalities in our lives. We have to get in the streets, meet new people, get exposed, open ourselves. This can cost us a lot, it’s risky, but can reward us greatly too. “I want to open the house and meet new people” would describe Him. Securance is killing creativity, it needs a shake. Him wants to make things better, but is willing to risk for it. Maybe the movie leaves this point ambiguous on purpouse, shure, he like change, he likes the world, but it didn’t seem to me he despises the Mother. People does’nt ssem to think like me, seeing Him as a poor father.
The house
I think the house represents “us” or some kind of sense of personality, linearity in our lives, like when we say “I’m a person that works hard” or “I’m a student”, “I’m this” and “I’m that” . First we start our lives with a lot of expectations and trying to make it like mother this beauty the house or grey with little strokes of paint but just that. to be really creative and test the bong in this what the hell else can be in how convenient we have to open our doors. it is interesting that the house even with bones in arm is in it in the end of the movie two isn’t destroyed I was waiting for it to really confirm that it would represent ourselves that can be shocked and terrified and have feelings and break relationship relationship with people but the house isn’t destroyed until we die and even after we die if people remember us. I think that the house can be something like her like our bedrooms, which some people say that represents are in ourselves externalized.
As you show your house, people expect things and sometimes ask you for advise. As the world comes in contact with it, your house gets tested and may get modified ( if it gets destroyed you would be in a mental hospital).
As the movie goes, the House pays a huge price for creativity. The house can get wrecked but when this is done properly, when we don`t ignore new people this can bring us new points of view and expectations.
The child
For me the child is creation. Not the same creation as the poem made by Him. The poem for me is something like our a way of seeing the world, our ideas.
People worshiping the poem can be an metaphor for people asking you for advice and people loving you, your way of seeing the world. The child is more than that. It would be something like a glue in your in your life, like a dream. “I want to be like Elon Musk” or “I want to own Amazon” things like that, something that you are described by, or identified with (that boy that wants… that girl that is always…).
Lots of things in life can happen with you, with these dreams. Mother tells us “Let’s go slow and in and take care of her dreams and go one step at a time and protect it” but our artistic and exploratory behavior represented by Him thinks “let’s tell the world about ourselves, get exposed” which can make what has happened in the movie. As people touch our dreams they can destroi it. This is where our sense of linearity gets extremely angry and starts to destroy people, to destroy relationships and get people away from us because we all hate to ever dreams analyzed and being criticized.
Humanity (Man, Woman, Younger Brother, Oldest Son, Cupbearer, Damsel, Consoler, Bumbler, Philanderer, Fool, Wanderer, Idler, Whisperer and others)
People, new ways of seeing the world, new experiences, everything that isn’t in our control. The movie doesn’t tell us, but those people may have their own houses too. The story depicted on screen could have been in any home.
The end
For me, greatest flaw in the the Bible interpretation is the end. Why would it suggest something cyclical if this story of the Bible is supposed to tell the story of Earth? Is the director suggesting that they would be other planets or something like that? I’m not so familiar with the bible too, so I will just write my thoughts.
A lot of times in their lives like we get exposed to the world or house is destroyed, burned and then we just have to start over. People which burns their houses for good would be something like suicide, death or maybe their “purpose” fulfilled, like someone who reached a dream and dies, or just lives a routinary life.
Heart and the mark
Maybe just a visual meter of suspiciousness and confidence in Him . For me, just a form to tell you how mother feels.
Glass artifact
Well, I’m not sure what the artifact represents. I think Memory would be a good bet, that wich is colected from past experiences and “stored”.
Conclusion
I’ve exposed my thoughts. Basically, the movie would be another heroe’s journey and tell about our daily internal struggles.
I had more comments to write but I was postponing the release of this post for too long, better have something published than nothing.
Notes:
1: Bordwell, D., Thompson, K., & Smith, J. (2016). Film art: An introduction. McGraw-Hill Education. Page 62
References:
