“Boyhood” Reflection

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Boyhood (2014) Reflection

“Boyhood” is a movie film by Richard Linklater. The film analyzes the life of Mason (main character) over 12 years, from childhood to the time he joins college. The director is inspired to film how young people grow with high expectations, love, and the cycle of the moments until adulthood. Other characters included are Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, Mason’s parents, and Samantha as his Sister. The film covers all our childhood memories from adolescence when we enjoy most of our time on road trips, those family times during dinners, to celebrating birthdays until we graduate. I enjoyed watching the film because of its clear time events filming of the recent past and children growing up life while also filming parenting styles.

In 2002, the film reflected on how work disconnects parents from their children. This scene demonstrates that our childhood misses an opportunity for a proper family union; many male parents are always working away from home. The Mother’s love is more felt, as seen when Olivia is working hard to seek a better life for the two children while also trying to satisfy her emotions. The director is trying to tell the perceptions of divorce in the eyes of the kids. Children are innocent of the reasons that cause the separation. Mason and Samantha want their parents to live together. Still, the two parents are seen trying to move on with their separated lives with open signs that they will never reconcile. The environment the parents create for the children affects their thinking and emotions. Mason is seen in the film being affected by the circumstances and doesn’t enjoy enough time with his family like other kids. This destroys his relationship with family members and evolves him into an emotional kid. The times his father takes him and his Sister out, the tough ones when as young as a 12-year boy, Mason Jr must focus on chasing his own life and career and face the harsh conditions set by his parents. He has seen his parents remarrying, and he has to face the ugly truths of life.

The dark times and happy moments are seen through the eyes of Mason Jr, his parents, and Sister Samantha. Just like the moon, our life is full of phases. In 2002, six-year-old Mason was lying outside in the grass, staying in the blue sky after being detained at school for breaking a sharpener machine which made his class teacher call the Mother. The conditions he faces at home are reflected by his acts, where he doesn’t put much effort into academics and behaves differently after the divorce. The scene is a perfect example of how kids’ schoolwork is dependent on the situations around them. Kids learn and do what adults around them do. Therefore, this movie is a perfect example of why bright kids suddenly start failing in simple school quizzes.

We then see Mason character affected life when he is hugging out with his friend Tommy; they are spraying graffiti on the walls and checking our adult pictures of women in magazines. I can relate the acts to a lack of parent’s observation and attention to the point that the children are free to do this thing without fearing somebody might be around to warn them. The better part of this part is that Samantha enjoys messing up with his brother, the relationship between this two is so strong, and I see it as an excellent way to make fun of and take away the stress for Mason Jr.

The childhood friendship is also affected by relocation; when Olivia tells Mason Jr and Samantha about the new house in Houston, Texas, the two kids are not excited, but they have to follow the decision made. Olivia is a woman of sacrifice; she sacrifices her social life to take care of her kids after declining to go out with her boyfriend, Ted. She saws the kind of sacrifices mothers make for their children’s safety. She takes responsibility for her children. The film is full of the harsh times kids face as a result of their parent’s decisions; Mason has grown up seeing his Mother marrying and remarrying multiple times. Every moment of argument and unhappiness hits Mason and changes his emotion when he sees his Mother being criticized by the men.

This movie has different marriage, family, politics, and education themes. The movie mostly filmed how marriage is built on fights and arguments. The family theme is portrayed everywhere and Mason loves his Sister, visits his Mother at college, and the connection with the new family members, Mindy and Randy. The better part of this film is portrayed in the education theme. The movie has many scenes of school activities from an early age, where Mason is taken to school to his Mother rejoining Campus to become a lecturer at Texas State College, and ends when Mason and Samantha Join College.

The film also puts out a political theme, and Mason Sr had one day talked about the war in Iran to his kids and advised his children not to vote for Bush once of voting age. In the year 2008, in the script, the political theme explodes when Mason and his kids go around putting on Camping posters for the Presidential elections. I see this film as a way that the directors wanted to tell how the situations and seasons change over time. People are now focused on politics, schools are closed, and the kids can have fun at home. This movie has most scenes filmed in locations that make it more realistic to the boyhood theme. The life of children, from irresponsible ones to career people, is well acted. The children go through most phases, from being in toxic situations to youths, attending colleges, and getting themselves into a relationship.

To sum up, “The boyhood “highlights the stages of a young person in a family full of controversial situations. Not every person is lucky to be in a perfect family. Education has been outlined to be essential for a better life. The director has used drunken Bill as an example of parents ruining children’s lives. They cause pain to innocent kids, like how Bill orders Mason to shave his hair unwillingly. The film’s story short follows growing up as a child and how kids deal with the typical travails of childhood like parents’ divorce, evil stepparents, falling in love, finding an artistic voice, and fighting other life struggles.

References

IMDb.com. (2014, August 15). Boyhood. IMDb. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1065073/