Mike Bedard, Author at GeekFeed

WARNING: Major spoilers follow, so only read ahead if you have watched mother! Now that it has been released in theaters, audiences have been treated to an utterly bizarre affair with Darren Aronofsky’s latest film, mother! GeekFeed’s own review stated the film would likely be divisive, and it has certainly split audiences. Members of the audience taking the film at face value are likely to be disappointed. On the surface, the movie is about a wife (played by Jennifer Lawrence) who descends into madness when all these people simply will not leave her house. Her husband (Javier Bardem) doesn’t seem to care. Plenty of think pieces have already stated the film is a clear allegory for the biblical story of Genesis. Javier Bardem is God. Jennifer Lawrence is the planet Earth. Bardem brings Ed Harris’ character into the house, and Harris represents Adam while his wife (Michelle Pfieffer) is Eve. This couple’s children represent Cain and Abel with the one son even killing the other to really drive the point home. However, things get a little crazy halfway through the film. Personally, I’ve seen plenty of pieces argue the rest of the film represents the rest of the Bible. Lawrence’s baby represents Jesus Christ, who is ultimately sacrificed with the people literally eating the savior’s body. Now, what’s the point of all this? Why make a bizarre, surreal retelling of the Bible? Well, I think the film is doing more than simply being a crazy version of the Bible. I believe it actually has something very deep and meaningful to tell about humanity’s place in the current world. Buckle up your seat belts because we’re about to get philosophical in here. Next: The Philosophy of mother! mother! and How It Relates to Theistic Existentialism Existentialism is a fairly convoluted philosophical principle. Basically, it states that existence takes precedence over essence. Instead of taking a traditional religious view that everyone is embedded with the spirit of some higher power, existentialism states that this so-called “essence” either doesn’t exist or doesn’t matter. The fact that we exist and can determine our own path is what gives human life meaning. Now, let’s divide this into two subsets: atheistic existentialism and theistic existentialism. Atheistic existentialism basically states that without the presence of God, people are responsible for making their own decisions and therefore responsible for finding meaning out of life. Theistic existentialism does not deny the existence of God. But it merely states that even if there is a God, people still need to discover life’s meaning and put themselves before serving some higher power. mother! draws upon the latter. God exists in this move via Javier Bardem’s character. However he plays a very passive role in the film. He allows people to enter his home, but he doesn’t control what they do. Lawrence’s character is running around telling people to not go in certain rooms, stop painting, and not to sit on the sink. If all the guests are to represent humanity as a whole, then it is clear Aronofsky has a very pessimistic view of how humans behave. Despite being given food, shelter, and companionship by “God,” humans still just plain suck. Indeed, it is only when Jennifer Lawrence’s character (who is meant to represent Earth) intervenes that the house guests are finally stopped. So what is all this supposed to mean? Again, being an absurdist retelling of the story of Genesis is cool, but what can audiences learn from it? And is it worth another look? I think you’ll see that it is. Next: mother! and Climate Change We Need to Respect Jennifer Lawrence, er, I Mean the Earth Aronofsky has actually commented on how mother! can be viewed as an allegory for climate change. Here are his full statements in The Hollywood Reporter: It was the strangest thing. It came out of living on this planet and sort of seeing what’s happening around us and not being able to do anything. I just had a lot of rage and anger and I just wanted to channel it into one emotion, one feeling. So what’s the point of making a movie that explores both concepts of religion and the degradation of the environment? Well, here in the United States, there’s a little problem with people in power somehow refuting the fact that climate change exists, a point virtually all scientists and people in general agree upon. Here’s a quote from Representative Tim Walberg (a Republican from Michigan) commenting on global warming. Well, as a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it. That right there is a problem, and it is a problem I believe mother! is trying to address. Any time a natural disaster seems to come around, there are plenty of people who claim that God will save us. God will figure it out. However, the viewpoint of mother! is clear that God is not going to do anything to protect Jennifer Lawrence/Earth. It’s not that the film argues God will not do anything because he doesn’t exist. He does exist. In fact, he’s all-powerful as evidenced by the fact he survives the massive explosion at the end of the film. The film exemplifies the primary tenets of theistic existentialism: God exists; He’s just not going to save us. It’s not all doom and gloom there. There is an all-powerful force that can save us. We’re just not listening to it. Throughout the film, Lawrence/Earth repeatedly tells people not to do things. She tells people to not sit on the sink, which eventually breaks, causing the house to flood. She tells people to give her back her baby, which the crowd ends up killing. Although viewing the baby as Jesus Christ is certainly one interpretation, the baby could also be viewed as simply all the gifts bestowed upon us by the planet. And humanity treats those gifts with absolutely no consideration. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence the way Lawrence’s character ends up killing all of the house guests (who represent humanity) is by spilling oil onto the floor, lighting it on fire. God may not save us, but the Earth can, and it’s sending humanity some very clear signs that something is wrong. Combining the story of Adam and Eve with the current issue of climate change is very deliberate. Adam and Eve is arguably the most famous example of humans being given some pretty explicit instructions, ignoring them, and suffering severe consequences. The first half of the film sets up a story we are all familiar with and then showing there are still lessons to learn from it. People can view mother! as a lot of things. It’s a religious allegory. It’s a disturbing psychological thriller. It comments on what people need to start doing to protect the planet. This is certainly not going to be the last think piece written on the film, nor should it be. It’s a fascinating movie that’s worthy of additional insight. What did you think of mother!? Do you think I’m way off-base with my assessment? Let us know in the comments. Images: Paramount Pictures