Lady Bird: Redefining the Love Story in the Coming of Age Genre Written by Michelle Cruz 1 Department of English, 2Department of Cinema Studies 3 Fifth-year undergraduate of University College, University of Toronto Lady Bird: “I just wish that you liked me.” Marion: “Of course I love you.” Lady Bird: “But do you like me?” Coming of age films typically represent the¬ transitional stage from a young person’s childhood into their adulthood. In most coming of age films focused on teenaged girls, this is conveyed through the experience of a first romantic love which leads to the “losing” of virginity to gain a sense of enlightenment. Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird revises this trope. Instead, the film prioritizes the strained relationship between Lady Bird and her mother, Marion, to uncover an alternative love that is arguably as essential as romantic love. While Lady Bird experiences romantic love and heartbreak twice, the declaration of the love she has for her mother over the phone at the end of the narrative is what officially allows for her to come of age.
“We’re Afraid That We Will Never Escape our Past and We’re Afraid of What the Future Will Bring.” Lady Bird is set in the year 2002 – post 9/11. This timeframe serves as the “design principle” as the film aligns the nation’s attempt to reconstruct its collective identity after the previous year’s tragedy with Lady Bird as she is trying to come to terms with her own identity. The global financial crisis caused by this historical event is mirrored in the film through Lady Bird and Marion’s financial conflictual dynamic. Additionally, the setting propels the narrative in its climax; when Marion finds out that Lady Bird applied and got accepted into NYU, Lady Bird infers to her mother that she was most likely waitlisted because not as many people applied due to 9/11. In other words, the film’s narrative structure relies on the effects of this American historical event to relay this coming of age story and tension between mother and daughter.
“Fuck You, Mom.” Lady Bird’s cast represents one of the ways that she rebels against her mother. After a heated argument in the car, Lady Bird opens the door and abruptly throws herself onto the road while her mother screams. The writing of “Fuck you, Mom,” (03:21-03:23) on her cast signifies her bodily autonomous defiance against her mother, who harshly tells her that she will Screenwriters’ Perspectives Vol. 3 No. 1 2022
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