Welcome to Culture Crash, where we examine American culture – what’s new and old in entertainment…
We have countless movies and TV shows that celebrate superheroes from outer space, secret agents and their double lives, and massive, world-threatening catastrophes… but it can sometimes be a little difficult to find film and TV that celebrate the everyday people and heroes in our lives, such as the mothers who make the world go. But this year, there is a wonderful new movie that celebrates exactly that…
Judy Blume has long been known for her compassionate writing and her powerful ability to write characters and situations that readers can truly see themselves in, especially adolescent readers and especially young women. But it took until this year for her work to finally get a mainstream, big-screen adaptation. And now, teens and their families can finally see her most iconic work, Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret, in movie form.
Since it’s Mother’s Day, I wanted to note this is truly a perfect movie for mothers and daughters to go see together. While the movie honors Margaret’s journey, it also expands the role of her mother, Barbara, played by Rachel McAdams, and allows audiences to see what it looks like for multiple generations of women to find themselves and understand their own identities better in 1970s New York.
Similar to movies like last year’s The Fabelmans or the 2017 film Lady Bird, Are You There God it’s Me Margaret centers our young protagonist and allows them to be the gateway to the story, but it is also smart enough to center the story of that young protagonist’s mother. It shows just how confusing and overwhelming adolescence can be for an 11 year old, as well as that 11 year old’s parents, who want to do the right thing in the face of changing times and a curious young mind.
Of course it’s a cliche at this point, but mothers should be celebrated every day… but this weekend serves as a great reminder of that fact. The Fabelmans and Lady Bird get that, and so does the new film Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, which is now in theaters.
I’m Evan Rook.
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