All About My Mother Reflection

All About My Mother is a Spanish film that captures a variety of individualized women whose lives end up intertwining. Not only does this film emphasize on women but also transgender women. The director repeatedly steps outside of the social norms and margins (what is acceptable and what is not). The stories behind the characters allowed me to make connections as well as discrepancies to the material we have learned throughout the semester. The movie starts off by with the main character, Manuela, who is a single mother raising a 17-year old son in Madrid. This character relates to the material presented in week 5 as she goes against society’s patriarchy expectations. In the movie we learn that she decided to flee and leave her husband (Lola a transvestite) when she became pregnant. Her character shows she was perfectly capable of attaining a good job (transplant coordinator) and raise her son without the help of a man. The way Manuela lives her life goes against ‘The Problem That Has No Name’. Pressure is put on women to become idealistic wives and homemakers, however Manuela did not follow this idea and did not remarry or become dependent on a man.

One of the main things we see throughout this film is a significant emphasis on gender. The director approaches important points not only about gender but also about identity, and body image. One of the main characters is Agrado, a transvestite who is very open about her gender identity. In a scene where she takes the stage after announcing the cancelation of a play, she demonstrates her pride in her body by entertaining the audience with the description of the cosmetic work she’s had done. Agrado talks about each surgery she has put herself through to look the way that she does. S...

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...aughter, feeling empty and dead inside. Offred feels she could die from lack of love. In this film, when Manuela looses her son she feels the same way, as if there is nothing else for her to live for, but she finds herself surrounded by the companion and love of the other women. The novel describes a government that controls women completely, but there is a sense of sisterhood and unity in the birthing room. The handmaids and midwives are there to support the women giving birth. All About My Mother is essentially about the everlasting power of female companionship and sisterhood. In conclusion, the director did an astounding job in showing strong, hard working, independent women that do not need men to support them. Most importantly this film shows a variety of characters that stand outside conventional life, which is what we have learned our society is against.