A Road of Misery
When life is tough, just keep going. The movie Boyhood (2004) is about growing up, maturing and making decisions for yourself. “Paper Menagerie” is about a boy who is struggling with his Chinese-American heritage which he got from his mother. Through a Feminist lens, Boyhood (2014) and “Paper Menagerie” similarly focus on mothers, and their toughness and the choices they make.
Feminist lens allows the viewers to notice the way Olivia, Mason’s and Samantha’s mother, is treated. To begin with, Olivia is with her professor, Bill, which leads her to marry him. Via a medium shot on Olivia and Bill talking in the classroom when she brought Mason to the class, the characters’ body language can be read and predicted that the two are
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Firstly, she did not come to America completely by her choice. She writes, “She told me about American men who wanted Asian wives. If I can cook, clean, and take care of my American husband, he'll give me a good life. It was the only hope I had” (Liu 10). An older woman tells Jack’s mom about America and the possible opportunities if she marries a guy she would meet via catalog. It was not ideal, but it was her only hope because she did not want to stay in China and work for a family that is abusive toward her. As a woman she does not have much of a choice in order to make her future better. Secondly, Jack’s mother writes him a letter to let him know how she feels and further explain her situation. In the letter she writes, “Why won't you talk to me, son? The pain makes it hard to write” (Liu 11). Because Jack avoids his mother, she leaves him a letter in which she writes about her past and the way she feels. She explains that she feels like losing everything all over, from which the readers can develop empathy. Understanding her is major especially through Feminist lens because her feelings and needs were neglected and never looked at because she is a