Grey Garden’s Inhabitants Grey Gardens is what is known as a documentary about two women Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale, is known as big Edie, and Edith Bouvier Beale her daughter is known as little Edie. I think these two women appear in what could be known as a first reality show, the lives of these women are shown unscripted and without any narration of the documenters. These women could also be viewed as the first documented hoarders. They appear to be comfortable inside their tiny junk filled room within their deteriorating mansion. These women depend on the companionship of each other, the cats, the raccoons and the open air of the land and ocean. It is mentioned that these women are the aunt and first cousin of first lady Jackie …show more content…
Kennedy Onassis. She and another relative helped the women to bring the house to property codes so that they would not be evicted. These women had one regular visitor Jeri and other visitors were few and far between. The reality of this film shows the results of a mother daughter relationship that has not ended. As you viewed the film, what emotions/feelings struck you? Why? As I viewed the film I did not have much in the form of emotion or feelings. These women seemed happy with the lives they were choosing to live. I like that they could disagree or argue about something that they obviously remembered to be different, and the disagreement did not cause a separation in their relationship. My mother currently resides with me and if we disagree with a memory it causes hurt or damaged feelings and we need to be apart from each other for a period of time. Big and little Edie were with each other for most of their waking and sleeping and continued with what seemed to be an extra ordinary relationship. What does “normal” mean to you? Normal is hard to define. It is an internal feeling that can be applied or viewed by an individual as a feeling or viewing something that is not out of the ordinary. When I view mental health issues there are two types of individuals. There is the individual that when mental health issues are experienced they will seek out a diagnosis when it is experienced or known to them that something within them is not normal or wrong. This type of person will insist on finding out a reason why they feel they are not normal. However, there is type of individual that displays mental health issues to others in observance, and this type of person does not think or feel any part of their behavior is out of the ordinary, they feel that they are normal and will not take steps to help or resolve their mental health issues not matter what others say or do. What did you learn or take away from the film? What I observed is that while Grey Garden’s was this huge multi-level and multi room mansion, we can live in the most smallest of area’s and be content.
I think the Beale’s showed the audience that we should pursue our dreams and aspirations or we may spend the rest of our lives with some regret. There was an interesting conversation when little Edie disagreed with big Edie about being taken care of, little Edie wanted to have that same experience that her mother big Edie had. Big Edie was taken care or provided for by her husband, and in the end had lost everything, her father basically disinherited her and her husband eventually refused to provide for her which was one of the many reasons big Edie lived in that isolation and filth. It appears big Edie had developed a since of distrust in men. Big Edie’s distrust was also thrusted upon little Edie. Little expressed a desire to be married and provided for by a husband. It was clear she did not completely share in her mother’s distrust of …show more content…
men. Was the film exploratory or exploitation? Grey Gardens appears to be both exploratory and exploitation. The ladies appear to enjoy being on film. These ladies gave the performance about their lives to an audience that may not understand. Big Edie and sometimes with little Edie gave multiple singing recitals from her cat and garbage overrun bed, while this may seem to be an exploitation it is who she is. Big Edie appeared to be searching her long term memory for the correct pitch along with finding the correct words in each recital, sometimes her songs flowed out of her as if she were performing for a large audience and other times there pauses some longer than others, whatever was going on in her mind, she displayed pleasure in her performance, her laughter at her own imperfection caused me to laugh also. She truly enjoyed being in front of the camera. Little Edie also performs her one-woman dance recitals for the cameras throughout the film. The audience could see the pure joy as she would dance for the camera. I think exploitation presents itself in the minds of those who would choose to criticize the women. These in the minds of others did show some signs of mental illness, such a schizophrenia, dementia, possibly hoarding due to the filth and junkiness of the room in which the lived. The women most likely suffered from a fear of being alone, big Edie expressed this more than little Edie in the film. Both women express a great fear of losing the other, something many individuals will not admit to but experience this fear just the same as the ladies. Are the rich really different from everybody else? Yes, the rich are different from everybody else. Most individual lives are governed by choices. All individuals make choices for everything. There are decisions made on what to eat and when, when to arise and when to sleep, what to do daily, who to marry and so on. A wealthier individual is usually more educated, and is more affluent sectors of society. One’s social status governs how an individual views themselves. When a child grows up in a college educated household the individual will be accustomed to making choices. It is generally believed that upper-class families become accustomed to the idea of choosing things for themselves. They appreciate the abilities of making unique choices that differentiate them from others. The environments of individuals who are less educated than affluent children are definitely different. There are fewer resources which will lead to fewer choices. This type of environment increases the likelihood that individual choices of the less affluent are less likely to be valued and important to relatively lower-class individuals. Instead, these individuals would rather blend in than make unique choices that will separate them from other individuals. What is your perception of the Beale’s? These ladies had great self-esteem.
Big and Little Edie were not embarrassed of who they were as individuals. It appears they did not care what individuals outside of the home about them. This depiction of these ladies is the reverse of what most of us are trying to acquire. Most individuals are seeking to go from rags to riches, while the Beale women both went from riches to literally rags. Both of these women in their youth were gorgeous. They appeared to have the talent to entertain. Big Edie with her large eyewear and matted hair continues to display an inner beauty. She would display a beautiful singing voice even though it had become flawed with old age. Little Edie’s modeling talents continued on with her prancing and performing throughout the Grey Gardens in her table clothes, towels and whatever else she could find to fashion her body’s attire. Little Edie appeared to be tall and picturesque. The phots of little Edie during her brief modeling career highlighted her beauty. I think little Edie’s strong character was further accentuated with the scene of her swimming in the ocean, I thought that scene showed an inner and outer strength of little Edie as a women. While these two women could be viewed as two crazy old ladies, they revealed to the world that their life was perfect as this is the way they choose to
live. Is there a problem? If so, can you come to a satisfactory conclusion to fix the problem? I do not think there is a problem here. Big and little Edie appeared to be happy with their life, and appeared to live for quite some time within the way they chose. I think others who may have wanted to perceive themselves as good Samaritans in saving the women from the conditions in which wanted to fix a problem that did not exist to the women. The Grey Gardens property was too much for the women properly care for. I think the overgrowth added to it beauty. The Grey Gardens is shown to be sanctuary, at best to little Edie. These ladies retreated to their property most likely due to the distrust of others as they continued to enjoy life in their later years. Grey Gardens is what kept the mental issues from unfurling within their minds. Had it not been for Grey Gardens the ladies would be nothing more than another homeless statistic. Provide any other feelings you have about the film. This film documented how a mother-daughter relationship may remain the same overtime. While these ladies have relatively an unusual relationship, it is remains similar to that of a typical mother and daughter. The nagging and squabbling about insignificant topics is comparable to the type of bickering many daughters have with their mothers. I think this film represents the attachment mothers have to their children. While children prefer to be independent they will generally fear leaving their parents. While the audience can clearly see that little Edie loves living with her mother, she justifies this close mother daughter relationship with her having to take care of her mother, and if she didn’t have to attend to big Edie, little Edie states that she would be living in New York. This film exposes a disturbingly yet enlightening travel through the Beales past and present issues. The main point is there is an inability to let go of their painful past. These ladies display a very low standard of living which is something are accustomed to. There is a definite loneliness in the performances for the camera, and a very real codependence on each other.
To further show the injustice African Americans experience, African Americans and several other minority groups were barred from buying houses in desirable neighborhoods because African Americans, single white women, and elderly couples did not fit the ideal white middle class suburban family image (Haralovich, 76). The Hendersons are nicely dressed up for dinner―Alice is wearing a fancy dress and Harry is in a suit― in the pleasantly decorated dining room. Meanwhile, Beulah and Bill are less put together and less perfect; they are depicted eating in the plain kitchen wearing ordinary clothes. In addition, this recreates the slave and slave owner relationship from the Antebellum period. Indirectly supporting segregation, this shows the discrimination African Americans faced despite the massive efforts by various organizations to fight for equality. Beulah will never be shown eating with the Hendersons because her role is to be the maid: she is their employee, not their friend. However, because she is the Mammy, she will never pose a threat to the father’s masculinity or the family’s authority over
The story also focuses in on Ruth Younger the wife of Walter Lee, it shows the place she holds in the house and the position she holds to her husband. Walter looks at Ruth as though he is her superior; he only goes to her for help when he wants to sweet talk his mama into giving him the money. Mama on the other hand holds power over her son and doesn’t allow him to treat her or any women like the way he tries to with Ruth. Women in this story show progress in women equality, but when reading you can tell there isn’t much hope and support in their fight. For example Beneatha is going to college to become a doctor and she is often doubted in succeeding all due to the fact that she is black African American woman, her going to college in general was odd in most people’s eyes at the time “a waste of money” they would say, at least that’s what her brother would say. Another example where Beneatha is degraded is when she’s with her boyfriend George Murchison whom merely just looks at her as arm
The main point of the story, in my opinion, is to be happy with what you have just like the girls were. The story says, “But that’s all we can afford, besides one extra outfit a piece.” (576) It is clear throughout the story that the girls were not very well off. In one instance, the narrator talks about not having a Ken doll for the Barbies to fight over because they would rather spend their money on a new outfit next Christmas for their Barbies. (576) Another instance shows that the girls knew they were less fortunate than other people, the story states, “We have to make do with your mean-eyed Barbie and my bubble-head Barbie and our one outfit a piece not including the sock dress.” (576) The narrator refers to the Barbies as “mean-eyed” and “bubble head” in this sentence, which shows the narrator realized that she did not have the best of things but she was still satisfied.
Lareau’s main argument in the text is that when children grow up in certain environments, parents are more likely to use specific methods of child rearing that may be different from other families in different social classes. In the text, Lareau describes how she went into the home of the McAllisters and the Williams, two black families leading completely different lives. Ms. McAllister lives in a low income apartment complex where she takes care of her two children as well as other nieces and nephews. Ms. McAllister never married the father of her two children and she relies on public assistance for income. She considers herself to be a woman highly capable of caring for all the children yet she still struggles to deal with the stress of everyday financial issues. The Williams on the other hand live in a wealthier neighborhood and only have one child. Mr. W...
In the story the characters are described in their own certain way. Mama Johnson is a very hard working woman that has done everything that a man can could do. Dee is a very educated optimistic woman who has never liked living in the poor way her mother and her sister Maggie use to live. She is very stuck up and very presuming. She likes to make her mother and sister feel like their worthless compared to her. Maggie on the other hand is a very shy timid girl who has always lived with Mama Johnson, and is not used to having her mother stand up for her.
The girls feel that people need to mask their imperfections and true selves to uphold the image of how they are supposed to be. These dolls were found in a less than desirable place, such as “Lying on the street next to some tool bits ,and platform shoes with the heels all squashed, and a florescent green wicker wastebasket, and aluminum foil, and hubcaps, and a pink shag rug, and windshield wiper blades, and dusty mason jars, and a coffee can full of rusty nails”. They find another Barbie with heals in the depths of junk. They cover up the physical flaws of the burnt barbies with pretty outfits such as the “Prom Pinks” dress. One of the girls state “as long as you don't lift her dress, right? - who’s to know.” This attempt to cover up where the dolls came from and their imperfections seem to parallel their feelings about themselves and where they come from. The girls have an image of how their dolls would be if they were new. This could be the role society plays on the image of how women are supposed to be and look
Lorraine Hansberry herself clarified it when she spoke about the play. She states, “We cannot…very well succumb to monetary values and know the survival of certain aspects of man which must remain if we are loom larger than other creatures on the planet….Our people fight daily and magnificently for a more comfortable material base for their lives; they sacrifice for clean homes, decent foods, and personal and group dignity”. (Lester 417). Hansberry used Walter Lee to stand for that exact representation. Many African American men in the 1950’s and the 1960’s suffered pride and personal crisis issues because of the incapability to support and provide his family with the minimum of their basic needs. Walter Lee incriminated himself and his family for what he sees as his personal failure. (Lester 417). During the meeting with Mr. Linder the family, with the exclusion of Mama and Travis, stated that they was not interested in the offer of selling the house back to the welcoming committee of the neighborhood. This showed that the family stood firm for their moral values (dignity) that they share as a collective unit. Then something switch; Walter recklessly invested the family insurance money on a shaky liquor business startup. Feeling that all hope is lost and that his way of changing the family way of life is out of reach, he despairingly call Mr. Linder and
After five years of being raised and living with their grandmother whom they truly loved, the girls had a rude awakening. Their grandmother, Sylvia had passed away. “When after almost five years, my grandmother one winter morning eschewed awakening, Lily and Nona were fetched from Spokane and took up housekeeping in Fingerbone, just as my grandmother had wished” (Robinson 29). This was the final attempt that their grandmother had made in order for the girls to have a normal and traditional life. This is a solid example of how the sister’s lives are shaped by their family and their surroundings. Lucille’s ultimate concern in life is to conform to society and live a traditional life. She wishes to have a normal family and is sorrowful for all of the losses that she has experienced such as her mother’s and grandmother’s deaths. On the other hand, Ruthie, after spending more time with her future guardian, Aunt Sylvie, becomes quite the transient like her.
After her grandmother passed away, her aunt Nadine and cousin Dora took her into their home. Ellen hated living with them, for she knew in her heart that they didn’t truly care about her. Despite being passed from one residence to another and having no place to truly call home, she held onto the belief that she could do something to escape her present circumstances and bring about positive change: “I decided that if I quit wasting time I could be happy as anybody else in the future and right now with one year ending and a new one starting up I thought now was the time to get old Ellen squared away for a fresh start (Gibbons 95).” Instead of giving up and settling for a miserable life with her relatives (or ending up on the street), Ellen took matters into her own hands. She searched for a “new mama” to live with - someone that would keep her, take good care of her, and be the parent that she never had. Rather than succumbing to a defeatist mentality or waiting around for her circumstances to change, Ellen took control of her
The summary of this fictional novel begins with a 16 year old, protagonist, named Starr Carter. Starr grew up in a poverty-stricken slum of Garden Heights with her parents to two brothers, Seven and Sekani, but attends a suburban prep school at Williamson near Riverton Hill. Her Uncle Carlos, a policeman, also lives in Riverton Hills. She has a white boyfriend that her father doesn’t know about and is afraid of telling him. She is a party in her neighborhood, Garden Heights, run she runs into Khalil Harris, an old friend from childhood. As they catch up, gunshots were heard and they flee the party. They drive off in Khalil’s car but are pulled over by a police officer named Brian Cruise. As the officer orders Khalil to get out the car, he ask why he was pulled over. While the officer
All dramatic productions feature the elements of drama. Following a viewing of the scene ‘Someone’s crying’ from the 1993 movie ‘The Secret Garden’ three of the elements of drama have been assessed. Role, character and relationships have been utilised in ‘The Secret Garden’ to create anxiety and suspense, enticing the viewer to solve the mysteries the Secret Garden presents. The protagonist in the scene is a young girl, around the age of ten who during the night leaves her room to explore her residence. The protagonist narrates the scene; she begins by stating that the ‘house seems dead like under a spell’. This makes the viewer anxious and fearful for the safety of our young protagonist. The protagonist is brave. She pushes open a door and
All three of the main female characters are treated in a way that many would consider rude towards any human being, despite their various classifications. Big Mama has to constantly endure Big Daddy’s cussing and ungrateful behaviour towards her. She shows him as much love as one person can show, and in return, she is certainly notified of the want for her to be gone from Big Daddy. In Act two, it is also assumed her somewhat “bossy” behaviour is her wanting to take over the plantation when, in reality, it’s how she shows she cares. It is also assumed she doesn’t love Big Daddy even though everything she does is essentially to please him and make him happy. This is explicitly shown in the last act after she finds out Big Daddy definitely has cancer and she is even more willing to stand up for Big Daddy when it becomes obvious Mae and Gooper are just trying to take over control of the plantation when he dies, when he hasn’t died yet. She asserts her position as his wife with pride. The treatment of Maggie doesn’t come from Brick, who treats her in an ignorant fashion through virtually silence, but more so from the rest of his family. She is treated different because she has not yet had children. This causes many unfair and uncalled for statements concerning her ability to be a good wife and her personality. She is seen as a bad woman by the majority of the family when in
In Elizabeth and Hazel Two Women of Little Rock by David Margolick, racism plays the main role during Elizabeth’s life. In 1957, Elizabeth, a young African American girl attained a high school, where all the students were white. It was a period of integration between blacks and whites, and that implied that people were extremely vulnerable. White people were furious with the fact that they had to be considered equal with black people and their children had to be in the same school with African Americans. In the same way, Hazel’s reaction on the picture that a reported captured symbolizes how white people felt for integration. On the other hand, black people appeared insecure, but peeved too because they were not being traded as equal. For
The story Little Women takes place at a time when women were taking on uncustomary roles like physical laborer, family protector and provider, and military volunteer while their husbands served during the Civil War. Keeping within the boundaries of the time, Louisa May Alcott uses herself and her own three sisters to create this classical novel from personal experiences. Each sister is different. They each set goals and dreams for their selves whether it goes along with their contemporary society or not. With the assistance of their mother, friends and experiences, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy struggle between their personal expectations and society’s expectations as they plan for their future and choose their destinies.
First, we find out that Else and Lil Kelvey are part of the lower class, “daughters of a spry, hardworking little washerwoman; they were the daughters of a washerwoman and a gaolbird” (Mansfield 71). As a result this separates the girls based on their social distinction derived by society, having a mother in the working class is deemed unrespectable. Adding to this, their peers will not associate with them due to their lower class status; their clothing comes from the neighbours cloths that their mother receives from homes she cleans, provide ammunition for the other children to further look down upon them. Ultimately the cruelty these girls endure is heartbreaking, but what is even more devastating is that families, peers and mentors condone this