How do the characters of the movie Mother (1996) represent American society? The characters of the movie, Beatrice Henderson, the mother, and her two sons, John and Jeff, all grapple with issues of awareness and individuality that are evident in their behavior. Society of the 90's can be described with words such as culture, poverty, resiliency, assimilation and oppression. They all have an effect on one's personality, interpersonal relationships, self-concept and values. This paper focuses on analyzing these issues as they pertain to the movie Mother(1996).
The impact of culture has a significant role in the movie. This is most evident in the differences between Sausalito and Los Angeles, the two towns in which characters reside. Sausalito, a small town, is homogeneous in almost every social aspect, including race, financial status and marital status. Los Angeles is a major city that represents a wide range of social levels. The population of Sausalito is largely white families from the upper middle class. Although, parts of Los Angeles have the same demographics as Sausalito, the city is generally diverse in many social aspects.
Beatrice's role as mother changed immediately when she became a widow and a single parent, she was the only one who could work and provide for her children. Usually, children of single parents fail to make successful transitions to adulthood. A large number of children and youth in this position are at great risk of not becoming successful adults, which is what happened to Jeff Henderson (Blank, 1997). At his age, he still had strong connections with his mother and always had to have her approval. He was .
angry when she changed her mind about visiting him on the weekend. Jeff was also confronted with another problem when his wife thought that he was a "mama's boy". He bought a picture phone to seek acceptance from his mother and to impress his mother with his status.
