In Pariah, Alike knows that she is attracted to girls and prefers performing masculinity, but throughout the entire movie, her mother continuously attempts to make her more feminine. She tears down any walls of independence and privacy by telling Alike to stop hanging out with Laura, introducing her to Bina, and gifting her with feminine clothing, only for that all to backfire in the end.
Laura and Alike's friendship really made me happy, despite their little fight. Laura offered Alike opportunities to explore her sexuality, as well as providing her a safe place after Alike's mother beat her for confessing to be lesbian. One scene that was a bit ambiguous to me was after meeting Bina, Laura privately talks to Alike and tells her she loves her. I am curious about whether that scene was demonstrating a platonic love between friends or an intimate, romantic love for Alike.
On the other hand, Bina really pissed me off because it felt like she had just been using Alike to experiment with her sexuality and completely disregarded Alike's feelings after they had sex together. That moment of disregard became abundantly clear the morning they both woke up and Bina was acting very cold towards Alike, as if she had regretted every moment with her. Although I do not identify as a lesbian, I was extremely angry by how Bina treated Alike because on some level, I could understand the frustration and disappointment of not being respected and considered in a relationship.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the incorporation of poetry throughout the film, especially because I vibe with poetry in general :) The last poem really hit me the most because Alike talks about brokenness and relates that to freedom. It reminded me of the times when I felt broken and almost felt okay with being that way, but now, I don't associate myself with the notion of brokenness, giving me a sense of freedom.
Hi Tida! I really enjoyed reading your post! I agree that the father character is very complex. I also agree that there were times when he could have done something more or done things differently in terms of how he handled Alike's identity. I think he caused her pain by brushing her identity under the rug or pretending it wasn't true. One example I'm thinking of is when she asks him for advice about knowing that someone had a crush on her. He automatically assumed it was a man, and when he said "what's his name?" you could tell that Alike was hurt, or that she felt disappointed. In class, someone mentioned that they thought he wanted to help her and support her, but he didn't have the skills or tools to know how to do so, which I thought was an interesting point.
ReplyDeleteI was also very intrigued by the conversation between Laura and Alike. I almost wanted Laura and Alike to be together but wouldn't have wanted it to complicate their friendship. I am going to assume it was a platontic "I love you" since the film didn't explore it any further but it does leave room for viewer interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI was also a little unsure if Laura telling Alike she loved her was just platonic or something more. Either way, I really loved their friendship. They did go through some tough times but they were there for each other, especially when Alike began staying with her after coming out to her parents. The incorporation of the poetry was really interesting. I found the last scene so powerful when Alike is getting on the bus to leave for college, and she's reading a poem she wrote and the whole film ends with her saying, "I'm not broken, I'm free."
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