How The Grandmother depicts ordinary aspects of life in a surreal way

 Being born- Birth in The Grandmother is depicted as people growing from the ground like a plant. The film also shows that people can also be born at any age, as when the boy is born he appears to be around 10, but when the grandmother is grown she is already elderly. Also, when the boy is born at the beginning of the film he is conceived by his parents in what is shown to be a violent and animalistic way, while the grandmother is simply planted and watered, also like a plant. This shows that while the birth of  humans is comparable to that of plants in The Grandmother, the rules are relatively inconsistent.


Growing up- The Grandmother presents growing up in a negative way. This is due to the boy's abusive relationship with his parents throughout the film. The surrealism and darkness (both literally and metaphorically) are there to represent the boy's fear. 


Trying to please your parents- As the boy's parents in The Grandmother are shown as abusive, trying to please his parents is shown as a very daunting and intimidating task, which can end in either being humiliated or harmed.


Finding comfort in a grandparent- Finding comfort in a grandparent is seen as simply a way of escapism in The Grandmother, as when the boy finds comfort in his grandmother he has to first grow her.


Family dinners- Family dinners in The Grandmother are shown as intense, intimidating and perilous environments due to the abusive nature and unpredictability of the parents.

Comments

  1. Coulsdon Media and Film17 March 2021 at 06:16

    Tommy- these are great notes.

    Please turn these notes into at least two paragraphs answering the question:

    How David Lynch uses film techniques to portray ordinary life as nightmarish?

    Julian

    ReplyDelete

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