Identity Crisis
Identity. It’s the state of being a specific person. Whoever that specific person may be. We all have an identity whether we like it or not, the question is what that identity is and can we proudly claim it?
Spanglish is a story about three different mothers with misplaced/unknown identities. I think every mom can find a little part of herself within these three mothers. Tea Leoni plays Deborah Clasky the selfish, low self-esteemed mom who we love to hate. Cloris Leachman plays Deborah’s mother, an alcoholic who finds one last chance to redeem herself as a mother. Paz Vega plays Flor Moreno a stubborn, single mother who knows exactly who she is and who she intends her daughter to be.
I could watch this movie over and over again for the dialogue, quotable quotes, performances and life lessons on how to raise your kids and how not to. I hate watching Deborah instill in her daughter the low self esteem she herself suffers from, but I have to laugh at her competitiveness. The one time I passed someone on the jogging path I wanted to yell, “Left! Left!”
I love watching Flor try desperately to hold onto her mothering values despite and in spite of what the people around her are doing so easily. Who says peer pressure is only a school age problem? Mothers deal with highly concentrated doses of peer pressure on a daily basis. “But mom, everyone else’s parents are letting them go!”
Every time I watch this movie I learn something, whether it’s something new or something I just need to learn over and over. I learn the definition of ruse and that, 'Some mistakes are too risky when you have kids' and that motherhood is powerful. It creates people with characteristics that are beautiful or destructive and everywhere in between. Motherhood defines identities. Flor’s daughter Cristina states, 'My identity rests firmly and happily on one fact: I am my mother’s daughter.' We all have identities, the question is… can we proudly claim them?
And can our kids proudly claim us?
Danielle’- ClearPlay’s Spanglish-English Interpreter
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