MOVIE REVIEW: “LITTLE WOMEN” BY GERWIG.

Watch the Trailer of the movie here

This movie is Big!

A Screenshot from Sony Pictures

Gerwig, the writer of “Little Women”, portrays her most talked about Character Josephine March, who is also known as “Jo” an aspiring and eventually a successful writer. Her up-bringing is made clear to Gerwig’s audience when she drives herself mercilessly and tastes the rejection of her works with which some writers in her vicinity are not so pleased and unhappy with.

A scene from the Movie!

The movie also takes a romantic stage. This is made real in a way where the audience could actually relate to the scenes. From the outset of the movie, Gerwig sets these two characters, Jo and Laurie as perfect for each other in every role played. With the exception of the one into which sentimental conventions would force them: and that is “Marriage”.

Jo: “it will be a lie to say I do, when I don’t…”

Jo’s career as a scribbler makes her lonely, but she is made much lonelier by the realization that love in real life does not greatly resemble the kind of love she describes in her most of her stories. Now, even though her other three sisters, Meg, Beth and Amy and her Mum loved her Write-up’s, Hers, to many didn’t meet that of the standards to what most authors and the professor wanted.

Jo does more than show affection for her family. She showed much love by cutting her hair to sell when the news broke out that her Dad was ill. She must also earn the money that supports them, and this necessity sometimes means neglecting them in favor of her work. Her love for Laurie, grew when she let him find a greater happiness in her sister Amy than she can give him as a wife. To borrow the words of Leonard Cohen, “Love, for Jo, is not a victory march”

Lessons learnt from Gerwig’s “Little Women”

1. The act of Kindness and Sacrificing is a great value.

I have never experienced anything like this as I have now in my field of endeavor. After watching this Movie, I couldn’t help but relate with the sense of Kindness and unconditional love from Marmee and her Children to other neighbors.

“Let me be your shoulder and please let me make you happy”

Whenever someone utters these words, I get goosebumps and I am lost for words. Marmee shed tears when she gets to know Hannah her neighbor and children had no food for their Christmas festival. She had to pack up breakfast meant for her household to Hannah. This scene is so epic and heart-warming.

Even though they don’t have much themselves. Kindness is one of the cornerstones of how Marmee raises her girls, and in turn they learn how to weave kindness into their everyday. Tell you what, I have and I am still experiencing this act. I, however, wonder how this person does it.

2. Learn to focus more on your previous achievement and work on new dreams: Overcome the Obstacles.

From the movie, we see the attitude of strength demonstrated by Marmee. This moral trait is exhibited on the four March sisters. Their father is a chaplain for the Union army who was not living with them. This makes Marmee and her children firm in their own task. Somehow, she is seen as a woman who steers her four teenage daughters on very little money while still raising her daughters with love and values. She does this perfectly well. Her strength and activeness is impeccable! Gerwig presents her as unassuming in this movie.

3. Live for yourself and not for others.

You might probably do anything when it comes to matters of the heart. Once someone advices “If you are going to add value to yourself,it should be that you are doing it for you and not for others or anyone” Amy tells Laurie, who’s been in love with Jo for years, that he can love her forever if he chooses. She adds: “But don’t let it spoil you, for it’s wicked to throw away so many good gifts because you can’t have the one you want.”

Listen, if you are doing it because of someone else, stop and ponder over it. Remember these, do it for you and not for them! Expectations hurts! Don’t succumb to it. Learn to let go of your expectations and accept things the way they are.

Is there a more quintessential human challenge than letting go?I personally think Jo should have married Laurie. But she had her own opinion about how love should be and finally had to let Laurie go. And just like Amy suggests, I’ve let go of my expectations and accepted change. Many a time, we let the one thing we have thought we wanted destroy all the good things going on in our lives.

4. Self-love is the best!

I have come to understand this in a very wired way. Now more than ever, we have got to tell ourselves whether they care for us or not, whatever happens, the good, bad and ugly. If you don’t love yourself, there is no way you can love others too.

The Little Women quote, “Be worthy love, and love will come”. Lesson learnt: Learn not to expect someone to come along and save you or make you whole. Enjoy the moment, Live life to the fullest, Add Value to life. “We have to be fully satisfied and sure of ourselves as individuals before we can truly experience everything that love has to offer us”

Rating of “Little Women” Screenshot from Google!

This Movie was worth my time! Please find time, download and watch it too!

Time: 2hrs 15 min

Written and Directed by : Greta Gretwig

Published Dec. 23, 2019

Updated Jan. 2, 2020

ODOMANKOMA’s VERY OWN

POETESS AKOSUA
Who is the woman, the world asks
A demi-god
The mind blowing smallness of an existence.
We are the riddle the world is still solving
And a reason why men take a stance
We walk with purpose and our image lingers; mirrors
We, we become a God soaked metaphor when we support each other

AGB
The woman is a creature not carefully moulded,
But seriously needed,
A rib taken to make life meaningful to mankind,
In Odomankoma’s own wisdom,
The woman came to being,
Wisdom surrounds her,
Strength, she never lacks,
Yet, she is brushed aside like she never matters

POETESS AKOSUA
The African woman is thought from some fairly sculptured stone
She uses this strength to unravel her emotions
She tells of her love life
And she’s rejected and mocked by society
To them, it’s odd
She’s odomankoma’s tiny little creature walking home all alone
As the universe slowly rolled and rolled on by
Her sight was bleak, roaming the lonely sky
Sometimes a breath left her chest, a rising song
But she had forgotten the rhythm of the gong
She could not remember how the lyrics began
Her life was simple and ordinary without plan

AGB
Yet, many despise her and wish to tear her apart,
She wishes to fight
But society mocks her when she does,
So she walks away in fear,
When she stands,
Her legs shiver,
Tears roll down her cheeks everyday but she still keeps the head up,
She never quits
Because she doesn’t know how to.
She’s the pillar to lean on
Yet, men have gathered around her with hammers,
To break and destroy her.

POETESS AKOSUA

This African woman is the many reasons “to live and die for”
Don’t get me wrong; she isn’t Christ.
From society despising her and tearing her apart
To a long winding menstruation cycle
To always being ranked second, even in the Bible
She wishes to fight and never quit
Still she had grown up attractive, innocent, and shy
When she tells of her shyness, people look at her in amazement
Her gentle eyes were always filled with surprise
To the world of mankind she is the African Woman.
She wants to be pampered, caressed and loved to forget her yesterday’s.

AGB
As she wondered if a woman could be free of a man
For people heard her voice sweet and strong
But deep inside she knew they were so wrong
Life ate her sweet flesh, and left an empty bowl
So sometimes she smiled at the world around her
In her heart firing a massive mysterious tale
She wondered if the creator too was a female.

Poetry (A Duet) : A Ghanaian Boy (AGB) & Poetess Akosua

Image: Pinterest

ARE WOMEN THEIR OWN ENEMIES?

They didn’t only frown their faces but waited for her to leave the scene and gossiped about the issue. They could have at least rejoiced with her and given words of encouragement. Instead, they cared less about her cheesy promotion or the fact that she was going to receive extra money for earning that promotion. This clearly shows women are their own worst enemies.

My circle of friends know most of the people I roll with are guys. I used to say that “some girls are like this or that” This was once a saying of mine but there are some things that only a girl can relate to. Apparently, both men and women know of this phrase, “Women are their own worst enemies” and it is really nauseating to see women act negatively towards their fellow women. The little, unnecessary drama and trivial issues set in, when we fail to support each other in various ways. It’s been said that women are complex creatures and they have the gift of multitasking. It is a sight to behold when you see a woman trying so many things at the same time. Then I begin to ask a hoard of questions like,

“Why envy your fellow woman when you can as well strive towards pressing the same goal and win?”

As a woman, somewhere in my career I had a hellish experience which made me conclude that we’re our own enemies. The bottom line is, all the unnecessary chit-chats coupled with jealousy and evilness retards productivity. Once I got tangled between two women who harbored hatred in their heart because of a little misunderstanding. I cast my mind back to their first encounter and asked myself

“what really changed?”

The world celebrates 8th March as International Women’s Day (IWD)and acknowledges the great things women are doing. Sometimes we give credit to those who agree with us on views and ideas. Those who oppose our ideas and opinions, we tag them with a bad name and fail to give them the accorded respect. Any person who is scared of another person’s success and feels threatened is yet to figure out her purpose and identity. On the contrary, if a person is certain of her purpose and passion towards work, she will not be jealous or perturbed because, she will first decipher what trend works out perfectly for her.

As a woman, you’ll start questioning a whole lot of happenings and maybe, you’re just a representation of what people would want to be. What is more beautiful and refreshing to see your fellow woman progress and succeed in a particular field of endeavor? I say to all young and old women to show love, fairness and affection to themselves and help pull each other up to attain higher heights. The woman to woman relationship needs a massive improvement to debunk the notion and perception that “Women are their own enemies” Women in this era need to grow into thoughts and reflect on some of their actions and attitudes towards their fellow women.

Image: Elorm Richards (Photographer)