Good morning, afternoon, and evening from the bathroom floor. I'm gonna start a series (I know crazy). It's gonna be all about the media that's made me feel a hell of a lot less alone. Luckily, there's a good amount of it. It'll be anywhere from books, to movies, to paintings, and more. Today I need to talk about the movie that quite literally altered my life and I watch at least once a week: The Edge of Seventeen.
Here's a little summary (without spoilers) for those of you interested. Nadine is a 17 year old girl whose father passed away when she was younger. He was the only person she really connected with and now she's stuck with her mother, who loves to let her know she doesn't like her. To make matters even better, her older brother is extremely popular and those two do not get along. Eventually her best (and really only) friend begins to date her brother. This throws everything completely out of balance and Nadine's world starts spinning out of control. She'll occasionally vent to her teacher, but he responds with tough love. The story progresses from there. (GO WATCH THE MOVIE) (I screamed when it was on Disney+ because I payed to buy it).
Nadine is a character of which I heavily resonate in. Having the golden child be your perfect amazing older brother. But the biggest thing that resulted in me seeing myself in her, was when she was drunk out of her mind, on the bathroom floor, her best friend holding her hair back, and she said, "I just had the worst thought. I gotta spend the rest of my life with myself." That's the kind of thought that I've been thinking since I was 11. And to hear that I wasn't crazy, that it was actually not insane to feel that way, I felt a little less alone. Actually a lot. Nadine is surrounded by people who don't understand her, who judge her for her every move and don't take into account how she's impacted by a situation. The portrayal of being a 17 year old girl, with no one to go to, no one who even attempts to understand, is unfortunately, something I resonate deeply with. I think Nadine's relationship with Mr. Bruner (her teacher), is especially relatable for more people than just me. When you have or have had a lack of parental presence, physically or emotionally, you are naturally drawn to adults who you feel can take on that role for you. I believe she especially trusted him because of her loss of her father. He became such a prominent figure in her life, especially as she and her mother began to clash more and more. I think she's such a good characterization of people who struggle with absent families, loneliness, and difficult home lives.
Overall, The Edge Of Seventeen is literally a masterpiece that in my opinion, captures the essence of being a 17 year old girl. Every single scene has meaning; there's no filler scenes where you sit there and wonder what is happening. It's all meaningful and relatable to some degree. Watch it.
No comments:
Post a Comment