Everyone in the world is assigned a role, and with this role comes a sense of belonging. This role may not be found straight away, and thus leads to where one belongs. As an individual moves through their life, they are given different roles and belong to different communities. This path is fulfilled as one matures. As an infant, you belong to your mother and father, current and even potential siblings. As a young child, just beginning your education, you begin to belong to a new community of strangers so that you may advance intellectually. You grow and get involved in your first romantic relationship; you again belong to something new. You begin the steep path towards your first career, you put forward effort and acquire acknowledgement from colleagues, a new area of belonging to conquer. You grow elderly, but still sprightly in your middle age. You associate yourself with former contemporaries, only you and your comrades may belong to your collective. You age once again, slowly turning feeble and slight as the years take their toll, you belong with your family once again, if not from love, then for the basic needs for life. At last, your ripe life is ended, you are buried in a cemetery and are mourned, but you are still where you belong. But what happens if in one of these scenarios, you do not belong? What do you do? One would think you would try to find somewhere else that would accept you for you.
But unfortunately this is not always the case. My first piece of related material is a French film entitled ‘Ma Vie En Rose’ by director Alain Berliner. The film illustrates the story of a young French family who move to a new, high-end suburb due to the husband’s new job. Their son Ludovic aged 7 is the main character as the audience views his struggle with being ostracized from his family, his new school, and his entire neighbourhood due to his gender confusion about being a boy.
To convey Ludo’s lack of belonging, Berliner has used a few techniques in order to show his differences from his family and neighbours. During one of his first days of school, the class has a session of show and tell for the students. Ludovic brings in two dolls; Pam and Ben. These two props distinguish his separate tastes from those of his class mates. To further this notion, Berliner uses a child to convey society’s view on young girls and boys and what toys they belong with. “He plays with dollies!” is yelled out in a mocking manner, gathering many laughs from the rest of the class.
In another scene, Ludovic is at school once again sitting next to a friend he believes that he “wants to marry”. After attempting to speak to him, his friend Jerome ignores him and gets his teacher’s attention. “Can I move miss?” is spoken, she replies with “Why Jerome?”, and he ends the dialogue with “If I don’t, I’ll go to hell.” This quote not only shows how not accepted Ludovic is, but also conveys the views of society at the time about homosexuals. Jerome’s acting in this scene, along with his speech, is very derogatory and shows just how strongly Ludo does not belong.
At the end of the film, the family moves to a new neighbourhood as the father was let go from his work. This new neighbourhood and the first new neighbourhood are the only settings of the film, and they provide a strong juxtaposition towards one another in how the family is accepted. “Don’t overreact like all of those idiots!” is spoken by Ludovic’s grandmother regarding his behaviour; this demonstrates their closed-mindedness to different things and the Fabre’s lack of acceptance into the neighbourhood. But after the family has successfully moved into the new, middle class neighbourhood, “She’s really gone on him! I hope he’s eligible.” Is spoken, this is by the new neighbours, showing acceptance and welcome into their community. Ludovic’s mother also says “Whatever happens,
you'll always be my child.” This shows her final acceptance and understanding of her son, this dialogue ending the movie.
My second related material is a song by Carrie Underwood, ‘Don’t Forget To Remember Me’.
The song speaks of the singer leaving home after finishing her education and being faced with the terrifying, real world. The song consists of a dialogue between her mother and herself where her mother is telling her to remember her.
Underwood uses a few textual techniques to place emphasis on her song, including personification, a cliché statement, repetition, and slang.
In the second stanza, line one, “Before you hit the highway” is sung. “hitting the highway” is cliché, the line is personal, and affectionate when seen in context to it’s stanza. When heard, this conveys how the singer belongs with her family, and is leaving. It shows the pain for all of them as she leaves them to become independent.
The personification is used in the fourth stanza, the second and third line. “And those bills on the counter keep telling me I’m on my own” This displays her feelings of not belonging anywhere except with herself, and her dependence on herself as a result of moving out. She belongs by herself as a young, independent adult, and she knows that she has to make her own way in the world.
“And make sure you tell Daddy that I’m still his little girl” clearly shows that she still feels like she belongs to and with her family, even though she is not there, the slang used here is the word Daddy. This line is followed by “Yeah, I still feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be” even furthers the notion that she still feels like she belongs with her family, and even though they are not present, she still feels like they are there.
The song ends with the repetition of “But don’t forget to remember me” This shows how she wants to belong, and she wants to make sure she is not forgotten to make her role in her family and her life permanent.
In both of my related materials, belonging is shown in both of its forms. Not belonging and belonging, Ma Vie En Rose and Don’t Forget to Remember Me both represent the concepts of belonging and alienation through a variety of visual and literal techniques.
