The topic of family and motherhood
The film is as blunt as its namesake: "Instant Family," about a couple whose worlds and long-term careers adopt children, and how they get along and build relationships.
While telling real stories and real social issues, director Sean Anders interprets the family in another dimension.
Not by blood or by birth, the so-called "motherhood" can conquer everything. Leeds' biological mother is an example. And even for the heroine Ellie. The idea of "mother's love is supreme" in many earlier works may have another interpretation in modern society. Whether it is a biological mother or an adoptive mother, there seem to be other considerations before directly connecting with their children. For Liz's biological mother, it is a strong expectation of her biological daughter, and for Ellie, it is a challenge to the concept of blood and family.
But it does not mean that this film is subverting the concept of traditional family, on the contrary, it interprets the multi-faceted possibility of "family" from another perspective. The overthrow of "maternal love is supreme" or women's "natural motherhood" is precisely the redefinition of "parents" and "family" under the values of modern society.
In this film, "theory" is a contradictory system: (1) Forming a family requires an impulsive decision whether to prepare or not, just as Ellie's decision to adopt a child was motivated by her family's opposition. At the same time, it takes time to run in, in other words, it takes preparation. If you are not prepared to accept and give, and you are not prepared to properly ask and take, the relationship between people will always stay in the polite relationship of "no need, thank you". Peter's mother made a good demonstration and adjustment for this; (2) In the face of teenagers' rebellious psychology, or any solution to relationship conflicts, following the "3R" rule like Peter and Ellie cannot solve the problem. At the same time, those laws work very well in the long run of any healthy relationship. Just like the happy state of unconditional mutual trust and support between parents and children in a model foster home.
The setting of these binary oppositions in the film makes these contradictions impact each other, resulting in confusion and no idea where to find the answer. It is the contemporary society where modern multiple thoughts coexist. I think the most vivid example is Ellie's dazed attitude when Liz asks Ellie why she's adopting them. There are many reasons for them to adopt, and many reasons for their hesitation, but none of them are enough to bring Leeds into their family world with confidence.
Especially a few days ago, there were a lot of news about children being abused in the circle of friends. This is not an accidental phenomenon, but a long-standing domestic violence problem. So at that time, there was a rumor on the Internet that the Japanese writer Kotaro Isaka said: "It's really scary to think that you don't have to pass an exam to be a parent."
What exactly should a parent prepare for, and what kind of ideal should one not properly require between themselves and their children to be considered a qualified parent? These problems sometimes appear not only in families with obvious problems, but also in some model families who have been facing such doubts all the time. Obviously it is a daily question mark, but it takes a long time to think about it like a philosophy. Maybe even in this lifetime can't find the answer, and even think it doesn't need the answer.
2. Social Issues
The role of Liz actually shows many social problems faced by the United States, such as race, family, and adolescent psychology. I stumbled across a film the day before the movie, about the problem of homelessness among college students in California (of course not only California). This concerns the social, economic, and universal teenage values phenomenon in modern America.
The growth state of adolescents is bound to be closely related to the growth environment. But as the example of Leeds in the movie presents: the problems faced by people outside the legal system, such as parental or guardian delinquency, make teenagers homeless orphans, and teenagers have established relationships in the family of origin and the whole social world environment And the stage of self-worth, from physical to psychological, adolescents are hardly the first choice for foster parents.
In addition, the role of Liz is handled extremely well. It is not the problem of young people generally presented in American movies, but a smart, sensible and rational girl. How to get to Peter and Ellie's family in countless foster families, Externally, he seeks refuge in the family for life, and internally, he expresses his desire to find the meaning of family.
3. Narrative Skills
In one movie, it tells the story of a family, but at the same time, with the participation of other supporting characters and passers-by, information about family problems is also revealed from time to time. For example, the daughter who spoke as a model foster family at the briefing session, the sharing session between foster parents, the explanation of the head of the welfare agency, the interaction between the mother of the hero Pete and the parents and sisters of the heroine Ellie, and even the adopted Leeds , Huaen and Rita's identities are constantly revealing many social problems.
As small as the family's annual quarrel at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, as large as the entire society's label-style concepts and prejudices against people outside the so-called social legal system; An exploration of the meaning of individuals to "family composition". The film is telling a story that is obviously not very common, but has been regarded as common by the public - the orphan problem, which designs multi-dimensional symbolic connections, such as "The Blind Side" (a film about a white family adopting a sportsman who is gifted in sports). The true events of the black teenager film) and sparked a multi-layered discussion.
It has to be said that Sean Anders' narrative in "Instant Family" is more mature and successful in the shaping and use of techniques and symbols compared to the "Daddy's Home" series.
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