‘Mamma Mia! from a feminist’s standpoint.A FILM REVIEW

Despite the apparent  age of Meryl Streep, her role as Donna in Mamma Mia fondly and wonderfully expressed the sentiments of a lot of  women in their olden years. Disregarding what the critics are saying about the movie, Mamma Mia showcases Meryl Streep in this movie, who sang with passion, danced with fervor, swayed and gyrated like a real band leader and even donned  wildly impractical costumes that looked so hilarious at this age but was the preference during the flower power era. But Meryll Streep is… Meryl Streep. Nothing can go wrong with her. You see her in a movie “The Devil Wears Prada” and you will like her and you see her in “Mamma Mia” and you will like her even more. As you watch and enjoy  watching this movie, you will realize that Meryll Streep enjoyed doing it, too, and you will sense it  in her ability to execute footworks, very sprightly,  her facial expressions laced with girlish naughtiness. You will feel it,  that she in fact had a ball doing this movie and she did it with zest and passion that never mind if she looked ridiculous in some of the scenes. “She danced as if no one was watching”. Wrinkles and all, an apparent overdose of sodium and perhaps lack of sleep which were all written under her eyes, the flabs which jiggled, women will love her even more because of her down-to-earth portrayal of a typical woman’s role  which is very relevant to many women’s lives nowadays.    Mamma Mia is a beautifully concocted story about a mother and daughter relationship, spiked with narrations of family tales, laced with a colorful past and friendship intertwined with beautiful music in a glorious backdrop in the middle of Greece, all confusingly gaudy and ingenious at the same time. You don’t need to be an artist to be fascinated with this wonderfully woven tale.   It all started with Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), Donna’s daughter, who was about to wed the man he loves most who “made her jealous even before they met”. She was so in loved with him enough for her to sing him “lay all your love on me” in one scene. Unfortunately, Sophie has some uncertainties in life. She has longingly wanted to know who her father is and desperately wanted that father to give her away to the man she is going to marry on her wedding day. Days before her wedding, she stumbled upon the diary of her mother recounting her summer romance which was apparently a mischief or a little promiscuity with her three lovers. However, even with the journal intact, the question about the father is still unclear. Until she decided to secretly invite the three men to her wedding. Pierce Brosnan (Sam), Colin Firth (Harry) and Stellan Skarsgard (Bill ) dropped everything just to be at the wedding. What followed was a hilarious encounter with Donna who was still clueless why suddenly all three men showed up in one place at exactly the same time. A little earlier, Donna’s best friends Rosie( Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) arrived to be with their best friend. Rosie and Tanya formed part of  Donna ’s band called Donna and the Dynamos. While the three girls bonded, relived their colorful past, sang and danced even more, all the while poking fun at each other, Sophie took time out to spend one whole golden afternoon with the men of her mother’s life. Instantly, all doted on Sophie while she yearned more for a father’s relationship in return. It was at this point that Sam found out that Sophie had a talent in art just like him when they took the chance to draw each other.  Surprisingly, the ABBA songs carved its way into the lives of every character of the story while intermingling sensibly with every scene. The songs immediately connected to the audience especially among the babyboomers, and it was fantastic, deliriously and deliciously fantastic, as the songs which I did not exactly like nor abhor in the past, brought  fond memories of my younger days back into my consciousness. I wanted to stand up and dance to the music until I realized that I was in the middle of an audience whose social construct ingrained in them to just sit down while watching a movie. So I did sit down while my adrenalin danced to the beat of Dancing Queen. “You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your lifeSee that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen” I particularly loved this song. Donna was practically telling the women in the island, who were mostly housewives, to get out of their houses while reminding them of the things they used to do when they were still young, sweet and even seventeen. Most women used to have the time of their lives but look at what they are now. Ageing, stout, physically unattractive and perhaps they have even abandoned their chance of learning. Is this the result of marriage? Of old age? Why don’t housewives take care of themselves as they take care of their families? Is this another manifestation of feudal love where married men can still enjoy their freedom while they are served by women who are already suffering from double burdens at home?  “I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to payAint it sadAnd still there never seems to be a single penny left for me.That’s too badIn my dreams I have a planIf I got me a wealthy manI wouldn’t have to work at all, I’d fool around and have a ball…” Donna was whining here as she told her friends about her present condition, that of being stuck up in a situation similar to those of  millions of women all over  the world who have toiled in order for their families to survive in this frenzy world. However, Donna forgot that she had already displayed a very strong sense of will  by raising single handedly a daughter while still managing her small resort. By admitting that her dream is to get herself  a wealthy man who can pull her out from a financial quicksand, Donna has overlooked that a woman’s strength is not extracted from any man’s wealth but is revealed  from within herself.   The angle about women friendship warmed the viewers’ hearts as this was explained well in the song Chiquitita. It was a funny but meaningful interpretation of how friendship is appreciated among women. Trusting, honest, and very natural and manifesting solidarity among them, supporting each other strongly in times of distress. Although Tanya and Rosie rendered the song in the silliest manner, the scene  did not falter in its purpose to emphasize that friendship is a vital part of growing up and growing old.    “Chiquitita, tell me the truth, I am a shoulder you can cry onYour best friend and the one you must rely on...” In the song “Take a chance on me”, Rosie, who by this time was completely enthralled with Bill, explicitly pursued him until the end, unmistakably casting off any sign of qualms about her sexuality. It was powerfully liberating knowing that women can pursue men after all. She liked him and there was nothing in the world to stop her in chasing him, and chased him she did until he finally succumbed to her wishes.  “If you change your mind, I’m the first in lineHoney I’m still freeTake a chance on meIf you need me let me know I’ll gonna be around If you’ve got no place to go, if you’re feeling down” It’s crazy but a woman, if in loved, would offer herself completely to a man, unmindful of any circumstance: “Honey I’m still freeTake a chance on meGonna do my very best and ain’t no lie
if you put me to the test, if you let me try” Tsk. I liked very much the funny scene where a young man was smitten by Tanya. It was commendable for Tanya not to have submitted to the boy’s sexual innuendos. Despite the call for sexual revolution and open ended sexual relationships, their age discrepancy was very glaring. I can already see the deprived future of the boy. It is true that  age limitations in intimate relationships is just one of those so-called social constructions, but a woman falling for someone less than half her age is a time-consuming and futile effort. It was sensible of Tanya to just sang him  “Does your Mother know you are out?” There was a take on Harry’s sexuality. Harry, as one of Donna’s lovers surprisingly realized that he is in love with a man and not anymore of Donna. Although that gay thing did not merit any more than a few lines of a song, it was very clear that at one time or another, Donna could have experienced a queer personality falling for someone who was inclined to the same sex. Did Harry already have an inkling that he was gay when he met Donna?   Finally at the end,  both mother and daughter found their pathways, each to the lives that they have been dreaming of. Interestingly, both mother and daughter had all the while cobwebs in their minds interconnecting and disturbing their emotions. For Donna, it was enough that she had raised her daughter well but unwittingly did not realize that she can not fully let her go because she was afraid to be left alone. For Sophie, she thought that finding her real father is finding her real self and getting married was the only thing she wanted in her life. Until she realized that she has so much dreams, and in order for her to realize those dreams, she just have to cross the stream. “I’ll cross the stream, I have a dreamI have a dream, a fantasyTo help me through realityAnd my destination, makes it worth the whilePushing through the darkness still another mile” At the end, Donna yielded to marriage. Was there a hesitation from her end? Yes, but realizing that she was still in love with Sam, she then said “I do, I do.”  So finally she got back the man she fell in love with in the first place, a rich man  who will now pay all her bills. Early on, one can easily conclude that this story was from the beginning permitted by the author to have a happy ending. The writer of the story, Catherine Johnson, wrote it in anticipation of delight from the many women who will watch the movie.   And oh yes, why would a woman deny herself  a piece of a hunk like Pierce Brosnan, a divorcee who had everything nice in life such as career and success? Wouldn’t it be great to be married to such a man? It could have been a beautiful twist if Donna decided to just stay put and single even after the marriage proposal of Pierce Brosnan. That way, she could have proven to all women that it is alright to  be alone and still enjoy life, have fun despite hard work, be beautiful and desirable even without a husband, age with grace and confidence despite manual labor. It’s quite a tall order alright but it is possible. Many women, consumed with their desires to live their lives with men in tow have lost the significance of pursuing a fuller life while alone. Being single can be a liberating experience, free from pesky squabbles, jealous episodes and all forms of harassments.  Being free is the ability to decide alone for one’s self without having to consult a husband, allowing herself to take charge of her own life and owning her own body. One greatest triumph of a woman is the ability to rely on her own skills, talents and hard work for the better purposes of her life. However, most women would prefer to rely on their husbands as their safety nets. According to Rosalind Miles in her book “The World History of Women”, the Victorian wives depended so much on their husbands that the wives have become a status symbol for men.  Gerda Lerner in her Androcentric History stated that  “Women have for millennia participated in the process of their own subordination because they have been psychologically shaped so as to internalize the idea of their own inferiority. “And then what is lost if life is without a husband aside from him being a security blanket? Orgasm. It is that ultimate thing which they call orgasm. For many wives, husbands are just orgasms, yet, they cling to them as if there is no tomorrow. Tanya asked Donna if she is still “doing it” and Donna replied by drawing out a girlish shriek and said “Thank God it’s over and I don’t miss it.”  However, she did not realize that  she was still desirous of sex. It was not very clear if Donna, after giving birth to Sophie remained to be sexually active. She could have been a celibate, yet this was not  defined overtly because for some, just the mere thought  of life without sex is illogical. However, one should realize that it is very possible to set aside libido and replace it with other self-fulfilling pursuits. In the book “ A History of Celibacy” by Elizabeth Abbot, she wrote that  “  …her contemporaries could choose and practice celibacy without fear of ridicule and that celibacy had a great deal to offer them. First of all, coitus is about much more than physical expression. As soon as people realize that they are expecting sex to bring them something quite apart from the physical act, they may well begin to concentrate their attention somewhere else. “ “ …she denounces sex therapists and psychologists who accepts this “normalization” of sex  and therefore its concomitance, that a failure to engage in sex is unhealthy, something that therapy should strive to remedy. “ Abbot also explained that “good celibacy is a choice that feels right and natural and involves a certain mental and emotional outlook through which the experience of the celibacy can be fully enjoyed.”So I wonder, why is being a celibate being stigmatized in our society?  For all its flaws against women and equality, Mama Mia is definitely a must-see movie. Set aside the women’s issues and the viewer will enjoy every second of it.  “Love me or leave me, make your choice but believe meI love youI do, I do, I do, I doI can’t conceal it, don’t you see, can’t you feel itDon’t you tooI do, I do, I do, I do Oh, I’ve been dreaming through my lonely pastNow I just made it, I found you at last So come on, now let’s try it, I love you, can’t deny itCoz it’s trueI do, I do, I do, I do Oh, no hard feelings between you and meIf we can’t make it, but just wait and see So come on now, let’s try it, I love you, can’t deny itCoz it’s trueI do, I do, I do, I doSo love me or leave me, make your choice but believe meI love youI do, I do, I do, I doI can’t conceal it, don’t you see, can’t you feel itDon’t you tooI do, I do, I do, I do”  Jane Arrieta Ebarle is the senior marketing manager of Faber-Castell in the Philippines. She is advocating art education in the country and is the current president of Phil. Art Educators Association. Ms. Ebarle took up units in B.S. in Architecture and completed her B.S. Fine Arts major in Advertising Arts at the University of Sto. Tomas. She is the founder of Birthday Club, an open ended group of women volunteers whose vocation is to share their talents and skills and celebrate their birthdays with underprivileged women. To prepare herself for this undertaking, she is currently taking up her Master of Arts in Women and Development at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.