Sociological Analysis Of The Movie 'Motherhood'

Sociology 2303
5 December 2012
Critical Sociological Analysis of the Movie 'Motherhood '.
A number of recent Hollywood movies depict family issues that are of interest to sociology researchers. These issues range from family relationships, sexuality, identity, socialization, all the way to parenthood and the diverse types of families that exist in society today. The family as an institution has changed and is continuously changing over the years. This institution serves as a source of reproduction, nurture, and socialization of its members in the society. Through this definition, the stereotypes of gender roles in the family have evolved, thus becoming a controversial topic within a number of studies and disciplines. The ways in which gender
By doing all of these things, she agrees to have herself placed in the role of being a compliant wife and not complaining. She seems to have succumbed to the stereotype of a woman 's place being in the home. Although, as the film moves on, we start to see the frustration build up, and the tiredness and loss of identity that results from continually doing the same things over and over again. Also, this frustration evolves as a result of feeling like her efforts went unnoticed by her husband. This perception can be seen as somewhat similar to the idea Barbara Mitchell(2009) terms "labour of love", which refers to unpaid or unrecognized work in the household. As the film shows, even Eliza is aware of this constriction being a housewife puts on her, although unlike many women she does not seem to view her work in the home as real work. In a scene when she is talking to her best friend Sheila about wanting have a job, she rants and finally states that "there 's something validating about having a real job". This scene in the movie can be scene somewhat as criticizing this notion of housework not being a "real job". Also, the job that Eliza is interested in getting by winning the competition can be seen as similar to the idea that even though society is changing and women are now going into the workforce, the jobs they are going still constitute of the same requirements
Through a number of scenes, this term is stressed by majority of the mothers. An example of this is the scene in which Eliza takes her son out to the park and is seated when a friend comes over with her son to sit by her. After a few minutes, her friend 's son begins to cry and his mom start to cry with him almost instantly. Eliza is confused by this occurrence and asks the reason for her doing so, she replies by saying she read a book once written by a pediatrician, and he came up with a theory that :if you really connect with your child in a moment of pain, it calms them down". As written by Barbara Mitchell (2009), mothers in earlier centuries tended to focus more on children 's physical health, but as economic conditions became favourable, child-rearing literature "began to focus more on the social context of mother-child relationships and its role in psychological health" (151). She quotes Wall and states that there has been a wider expansion of educational material targeted at parents that stresses the importance of secure attachment.