WARNING- This is a review which I will reveal the story
Living life to the fullest can make life balanced as revealed through the characters in Alfonso Cuaron's Mexican motion picture Y Tu Mama Tambien. When looking at the movie cover and movie rating, perhaps the film seems like the Mexican version of a mix between Road Trip and American Pie, but after watching the film, deep life lessons can be found in the background of the picture. After being enthralled with the message and theme of this movie, I was excited to test Linda Seger's theory, `Creating the Myth'. I knew that most mainstream Hollywood movies would follow this theory, but was interested to see if this theory transcended both language and culture in this independent film. After the completion of Y Tu Mama Tambien an additional time, I was surprised to find that Linda Seger's `Healing Myth' theory truly explains the components Alfonso Cuaron's masterpiece. Before delving into the specific nature of the theory, describing the colloquialism of the movie helps explain the movie's cultural phenomenon. The audience is introduced in Spanish with subtitles to two Mexican teenagers, Tenoch and Julio, who are seemingly free for the summer after their girlfriends leave for a European vacation. Despite having to read subtitles the movie is easy to understand by the characters lively expressions and acting ability. Julio and Tenoch stumble across a beautiful woman, Luisa, who happens to be the wife of a distant cousin. They lightheartedly invite her to go to a beach, really joking about it. After Luisa finds out her husband has cheated on him, she agrees to go out on a road trip to a beach named Heaven's Mouth. On this journey, she seduces the teenagers and has sex with both of them. The sexuality of the film is realistic, which in no way is pornographic or crude, but rather honest and respectful. In their journey to the beach, many scenes of the reality and blight of rural Mexican life can be seen through the windows of the old Volkswagen. People being searched at checkpoints, drug busts, deadly traffic accidents, and poor villagers walking the streets, all give the film an underlying message reminding that many people are left behind in rich economies, penniless and hopeless. Once reaching the beach, they are in paradise and relax and live in the beauty of nature. As the teenagers have to go home, Luisa decides to stay at the beach. The ending shocks the audience with a surprising twist. It is revealed that Luisa knew she had had cancer and soon died after the guys left. Much meaning is added to the movie after this realization is made and Luisa's character takes on a true mold of the healing myth. Seger's theory begins by stating, `All of us have similar experiences' (Seger 161). This theory therefore not only applies to American films, but all people in all cultures. This is evident in seeing the two seventeen year old Mexican teenagers in this film. The emotions, growing up, searching for oneself; all humans can relate to this. Although the film does not fit the popular mold of the Hero Myth, it fits the Healing Myth mold almost perfectly. The one-line description of this myth is `some character is 'broken' and must leave home to become whole again' (Seger 165). Luisa, the attractive female is this broken person, who flees home for two main reasons. The reason the audience is led to believe for most the film is because of her husband's affairs, she has left the life in Mexico to get away from her problems. What the audience does not realize during the duration of the flick, is that Luisa is actually diagnosed with cancer, and is terminally ill. Her need for rejuvenation and balance takes her to Heaven's Mouth and allows her to become whole again. She does this by simply living a life which is meaningful and seeking the truth. In telling colorful stories of old times and sucking the marrow out of all interactions, this allows her to become whole and ready to die. In realizing her frailty and death, she realizes the importance to live up to the ideal of `living life to the fullest'. As Seger's theory gets more specific, it discusses the many ways the character can be broken. Whether spiritual, physical, emotional, or even sexual, the journey which the character goes must heal the broken aspect of them. Luisa is broken on many levels. The one that is apparent to the audience is the sexual and emotional brokeness. She cries her self to sleep after she hears her husband has cheated on her and sexually misses his love and presence. This is the `outer wound' in a sense that the audience can see it. Just as the theory states, this outer wound forces Luisa into exile, which begins her process of transformation. Seger discusses the `inner wound' as something that the character does not know about. This is a different variation in the theory because in fact Luisa knows that she is suffering from cancer. The interesting twist is that the audience is the one who does not know about this wound and is hidden until the film's conclusion. Although this shows a difference from the theory and the film, it does not disprove the theory. It is merely a trapping which is a product of the culture. As Seger states, `The trappings may be different, the twist and turns that create suspense might change from culture to culture,...but underneath it all, its the same story' (Seger 161). In noting this variation the audience can fully appreciate the beauty of the film's writing. Although her cancer is a physical ailment, this brokeness is also inner due to the place she keeps it. Luisa does not let cancer slow her down but rather she lifts herself to live life to the fullest. This transformation of the way she lives her life can inspire all people to break out of their shell and live everyday as if it were their last. The archetype present in the film also adds to the cultural phenomenon and proves Seger's theory in yet another way. The archetypes, usually found in hero myths, are commonly present characters. Y Tu Mama Tambien does not have the typical archetype, in that it is not a character, but rather the narrator's voice who fits the archetype. This archetype is the wise old man who provides the audience with special knowledge. This part is essential to the success of the film. The narrator has an older, deep, calm, and soothing voice which gives the impression he is wise and intelligent. The narrator's voice fills in all the gaps of the movie which are not said by the characters, which allows him to serve as the wise man for the audience. One example which summarizes the narrator's purpose happens during the long car trip. Suddenly the noise of the movie becomes silent for two seconds and the narrator's voice calmly comes in. The voice explains that the village they were passing was the village which Tenoch's nanny was born in. His nanny was forced to leave the village alone at the age of thirteen to look for work because of the desperate poverty she was experiencing. This really contrasts the two worlds present in Mexico, the rich upper class, and the marginalized poor. Throughout the film the narrator's voice provides similar comments which opens the viewer to an entirely new insight of the often painful Mexican life. The narrator even reveals the secret of Luisa's cancer in the end. He then tells of the way she continued on with her life as balanced and full of energy. The narrator captures the essence of the film in his wise old man archetype which he beautifully fulfills. Balance in life is something that all people want, but do not necessarily seek out actively until it is too late. Luckily for Luisa she balanced her life by simply taking a trip with two guys to a beach. In this journey she learned life lessons of friendship, humor, compassion, pain and joy. The movie has certain differences from the exact mold of the Healing Myth, but those minute differences do not affect the overall theory. Rather they add to the uniqueness and power of the movie. In closely following Seger's `Healing Myth', Luisa truly has been healed, maybe not from cancer, but healed from all worry and fear of the painful world, and she enjoys life as a blessing.
Living life to the fullest can make life balanced as revealed through the characters in Alfonso Cuaron's Mexican motion picture Y Tu Mama Tambien. When looking at the movie cover and movie rating, perhaps the film seems like the Mexican version of a mix between Road Trip and American Pie, but after watching the film, deep life lessons can be found in the background of the picture. After being enthralled with the message and theme of this movie, I was excited to test Linda Seger's theory, `Creating the Myth'. I knew that most mainstream Hollywood movies would follow this theory, but was interested to see if this theory transcended both language and culture in this independent film. After the completion of Y Tu Mama Tambien an additional time, I was surprised to find that Linda Seger's `Healing Myth' theory truly explains the components Alfonso Cuaron's masterpiece. Before delving into the specific nature of the theory, describing the colloquialism of the movie helps explain the movie's cultural phenomenon. The audience is introduced in Spanish with subtitles to two Mexican teenagers, Tenoch and Julio, who are seemingly free for the summer after their girlfriends leave for a European vacation. Despite having to read subtitles the movie is easy to understand by the characters lively expressions and acting ability. Julio and Tenoch stumble across a beautiful woman, Luisa, who happens to be the wife of a distant cousin. They lightheartedly invite her to go to a beach, really joking about it. After Luisa finds out her husband has cheated on him, she agrees to go out on a road trip to a beach named Heaven's Mouth. On this journey, she seduces the teenagers and has sex with both of them. The sexuality of the film is realistic, which in no way is pornographic or crude, but rather honest and respectful. In their journey to the beach, many scenes of the reality and blight of rural Mexican life can be seen through the windows of the old Volkswagen. People being searched at checkpoints, drug busts, deadly traffic accidents, and poor villagers walking the streets, all give the film an underlying message reminding that many people are left behind in rich economies, penniless and hopeless. Once reaching the beach, they are in paradise and relax and live in the beauty of nature. As the teenagers have to go home, Luisa decides to stay at the beach. The ending shocks the audience with a surprising twist. It is revealed that Luisa knew she had had cancer and soon died after the guys left. Much meaning is added to the movie after this realization is made and Luisa's character takes on a true mold of the healing myth. Seger's theory begins by stating, `All of us have similar experiences' (Seger 161). This theory therefore not only applies to American films, but all people in all cultures. This is evident in seeing the two seventeen year old Mexican teenagers in this film. The emotions, growing up, searching for oneself; all humans can relate to this. Although the film does not fit the popular mold of the Hero Myth, it fits the Healing Myth mold almost perfectly. The one-line description of this myth is `some character is 'broken' and must leave home to become whole again' (Seger 165). Luisa, the attractive female is this broken person, who flees home for two main reasons. The reason the audience is led to believe for most the film is because of her husband's affairs, she has left the life in Mexico to get away from her problems. What the audience does not realize during the duration of the flick, is that Luisa is actually diagnosed with cancer, and is terminally ill. Her need for rejuvenation and balance takes her to Heaven's Mouth and allows her to become whole again. She does this by simply living a life which is meaningful and seeking the truth. In telling colorful stories of old times and sucking the marrow out of all interactions, this allows her to become whole and ready to die. In realizing her frailty and death, she realizes the importance to live up to the ideal of `living life to the fullest'. As Seger's theory gets more specific, it discusses the many ways the character can be broken. Whether spiritual, physical, emotional, or even sexual, the journey which the character goes must heal the broken aspect of them. Luisa is broken on many levels. The one that is apparent to the audience is the sexual and emotional brokeness. She cries her self to sleep after she hears her husband has cheated on her and sexually misses his love and presence. This is the `outer wound' in a sense that the audience can see it. Just as the theory states, this outer wound forces Luisa into exile, which begins her process of transformation. Seger discusses the `inner wound' as something that the character does not know about. This is a different variation in the theory because in fact Luisa knows that she is suffering from cancer. The interesting twist is that the audience is the one who does not know about this wound and is hidden until the film's conclusion. Although this shows a difference from the theory and the film, it does not disprove the theory. It is merely a trapping which is a product of the culture. As Seger states, `The trappings may be different, the twist and turns that create suspense might change from culture to culture,...but underneath it all, its the same story' (Seger 161). In noting this variation the audience can fully appreciate the beauty of the film's writing. Although her cancer is a physical ailment, this brokeness is also inner due to the place she keeps it. Luisa does not let cancer slow her down but rather she lifts herself to live life to the fullest. This transformation of the way she lives her life can inspire all people to break out of their shell and live everyday as if it were their last. The archetype present in the film also adds to the cultural phenomenon and proves Seger's theory in yet another way. The archetypes, usually found in hero myths, are commonly present characters. Y Tu Mama Tambien does not have the typical archetype, in that it is not a character, but rather the narrator's voice who fits the archetype. This archetype is the wise old man who provides the audience with special knowledge. This part is essential to the success of the film. The narrator has an older, deep, calm, and soothing voice which gives the impression he is wise and intelligent. The narrator's voice fills in all the gaps of the movie which are not said by the characters, which allows him to serve as the wise man for the audience. One example which summarizes the narrator's purpose happens during the long car trip. Suddenly the noise of the movie becomes silent for two seconds and the narrator's voice calmly comes in. The voice explains that the village they were passing was the village which Tenoch's nanny was born in. His nanny was forced to leave the village alone at the age of thirteen to look for work because of the desperate poverty she was experiencing. This really contrasts the two worlds present in Mexico, the rich upper class, and the marginalized poor. Throughout the film the narrator's voice provides similar comments which opens the viewer to an entirely new insight of the often painful Mexican life. The narrator even reveals the secret of Luisa's cancer in the end. He then tells of the way she continued on with her life as balanced and full of energy. The narrator captures the essence of the film in his wise old man archetype which he beautifully fulfills. Balance in life is something that all people want, but do not necessarily seek out actively until it is too late. Luckily for Luisa she balanced her life by simply taking a trip with two guys to a beach. In this journey she learned life lessons of friendship, humor, compassion, pain and joy. The movie has certain differences from the exact mold of the Healing Myth, but those minute differences do not affect the overall theory. Rather they add to the uniqueness and power of the movie. In closely following Seger's `Healing Myth', Luisa truly has been healed, maybe not from cancer, but healed from all worry and fear of the painful world, and she enjoys life as a blessing.